Pioneer DEH-P85BT

14th March 2008 Adam Rayner

Single DIN CD Tuner headunit with Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, blue dot-matrix Pioneer-developed OEL display and three pairs of 4V cord-plug-mounted RCA outputs. IP Bus allows connection of iPod or USB device via adapter wires and there is an audio accessory input socket as well, hanging from the rear, cable mounted. The iPod control is direct from the headunit’s front panel and operates via a multi-control that may be manipulated up and down and from left to right as well rotated or depressed to register input. The device is fan cooled and has a fully motorised flip-down front panel that is removable for security. A hard case is provided. The P65BT model below it is not motorised. The player can read WMA, MP3 and AAC and WAV files, whereas the lesser P65BT model cannot read the MPEG-4 iTunes favoured AAC format. The unit can control a TV tuner although the images would of course have to be displayed on an accessory screen. It can store 12 broadcast TV stations for recall on each of two TV bands making 24. A twenty-two button, plus joy-knob control (five further micro switches) remote Infra Red controller is provided, as is a microphone and the furniture needed to fit it. All normal CD Tuner functions.
The basic extras for your further £120 over and above the DEH-P65BT are thus, the motorisation of the face; its OEL blue display; the AAC file reading abilities, a seven band rather than three band inbuilt EQ system and the extra set of line outs, making three in total, each with a ‘Hi-Volt’ 4V signal level. This model can also run a subwoofer on its rear inbuilt amplifier channels.
– 4 x 50w (MOSFET Power IC) can operate 2 x 50w @ 4 Ohms, plus 1 x 70w @ 2 Ohms for subwoofer
– 16 BIT Digital to Analogue converter
– iPod Direct Control from headunit with addition of CD-I200 cable
– USB Input via addition of CD-UB100 adapter to IP Bus
– Bluetooth 1.2 certified for phone pairing and audio streaming from BT devices
– FM/MW/LW Pioneer D4Q tuner with RDS
– MP3/WMA/AAC/WAV file reading capabilities
– Front/Rear/Subwoofer RCA out @ 4V
– Blue dot matrix Organic Electro-Luminescent (OEL also now known as OLED) display
– Seven band parametric EQ +/-12dB @ 50Hz/125Hz/315Hz/800Hz/2kHz/5kHz/12.5kHz
– Loudness Low setting: +3.5dB @ 100Hz & +3dB @10kHz.
– Loudness Mid setting : +10dB @ 100Hz & +6.5dB @10kHz.
– Loudness High setting: +11dB @ 100Hz & +11dB @10kHz.
– High Pass filter settable @ 50Hz/63Hz /80Hz /100Hz /125Hz @ -12dB per Octave
– Low Pass filter settable @ 50Hz /63Hz /80Hz /100Hz /125Hz @ -18dB per Octave with +6dB to -24dB gain control and phase flip control
– 0dB to +12dB selectable bass boost
– Pioneer IP Bus
– 3.5mm mini jack for audio input to rear (cable mounted)
– Microphone supplied with 4m lead, wire clamps and mic clip
– Signal to Noise Ratio 94dB
– Dynamic Range 92dB
– Fan cooled
– Removable front panel for security
Review by Adam Rayner
Pioneer were the developers of this Uber-cool sort of display and it is now coming on stream with all sorts of makers, licensed in all sorts of ways, from monochrome to mono colour to full colour. Sony even have a television set made this way (seen at last winterï¿½s CES in Vegas) and current car audio makers using it number Fusion, Kenwood, Panasonic and others. This display is not too all-huge and yet is compellingly attractive, with two seriously clever demo modes that patiently repeat to the owner in a visual style, what all the features are. (As well as the de-rigueur images of whales, dolphins and undersea vistas.) It really is not a vital requirement to Read The Flipping Manual with this deck as it is low on button count and so utterly intuitive in use that I found the manual was really for me to assemble a nice authoritative specification, rather than being vital to explain the cunning. I did RTFM. Itï¿½s cunning enough to be clever but able to be operated by the hard of thinking.
I really liked the seven band equaliser, which has a set of presets, such as Super Bass, Powerful, Natural and Vocal, as well as one sensibly left as ï¿½Flatï¿½ for the purist and of course two slots for you to set your own seven band EQ curves. I felt that the multi control knob was a bit wobbly at first but then realised it was actually a very clever and serious control interface piece and is in fact the direction car makers like Mercedes and BMW have been travelling in for some time. It can effectively navigate your way swiftly into complex menu systems and find and effect what you want to sort out. It was easy to scroll to the tracks I wanted. Equally, it was easy to do deep menu-based stuff through the remote control too, so you could sit in the back and EQ the thing if you felt the urge.
The DEH-P85BT has got a better set of 4V RCA outputs; ï¿½Hi-Voltï¿½ as Pioneer call it but I reckon the advantage is really only going to be heard when used in a proper install rather than on a test bench, as I didnï¿½t really detect any overall improvement in sound quality over the CD tuner DEH-P65BT previously reviewed. The aforementioned has the same specification CD mechanism and electronics and so when played through the same Genesis Stereo 100 amplifier, I found it to be the same level of clean sound as the cheaper deck.
It certainly feels like a much more expensive item, as well as most assuredly looking like it. I can also reveal that the USB side of life for the deck is very effective. There is a group USB review of some high quality headunits, carried out by our own Talk Audio forumï¿½s Guru, written in direct response to a mass of questions about this computing and data specific issue that has been covered by a thread here, that was effectively requested by a group of our more digitally inclined members.
You can take it that the term ï¿½Guruï¿½ is well advised, itï¿½s a big detailed data-based test and that Pioneerï¿½s USB performance is rapid, with PC-equalling speed. Also, I confess I had the help of a Pioneer product technician for just this part of the assessment. This member of Pioneer staff attended to collect some review product and took me through this bit as I am primarily audiophile and basshead, with pompous views on compressed files and cannot wait for the second digital dawn. Thatï¿½s when we all go high definition digital audio with nice high sampling rates and big bit depths that use big space. Imagine, say only being able to carry eighty albums at 15MB per epistle. Iï¿½d love it and all those mad-end iPod docks out there will finally sing.
Back at the DEH-P85BT, it really is a luxury product and although the value for money of its little brother is higher, this has so much sex appeal that I can see it selling for the slice of Organic Electro-Luminescence. The display was developed for high background light conditions and is so far superior to LCD in a car environment that I want to see who will make the first ever in-car Blue Ray disc player with full OEL flip-out 1080p HD screen. Right now, that would have to cost a couple of grand at least (and I checked that with a top chap from a different top Japanese manufacturer!)
All in all, a serious slice of the Pioneer desirability factor, together with really high performance on the digital addition issue and creditable output from an industry-unique power amplifier system that can even run a subwoofer from just headunit power.
Good looking digital powerhouse.
Sound Quality 8.0
Appearance/Display 9.0
Ease Of Use/HMI 10.0
Features 9.0
Value For Money 7.0
Overall rating 8.6