Pioneer's DEH-2800MP
Appearance: Functional, with a small, but easy-to-read display — the Plain Jane of the bunch. You'll find no knobs on the Spartan exterior, as all adjustments are made with buttons.
CD Playback: The Pioneer read my CDs a little more quickly than the other three stereos, taking only a couple of seconds to pull up the first track. With tone controls set flat, the Pioneer has a full, warm sound, noticeably less bright than the other three. I wonder if Pioneer intentionally voices the stereo with a little more bass and a little less treble so it sounds better next to other stereos in a retail store display case.
Pioneer rates the built-in amp at 22 watts RMS per channel, but this is not a CEA-2006 compliant rating. Cranked up, the Pioneer continued to display plenty of low-end muscle but lacked a little bit of sparkle and spaciousness in the higher frequencies — nothing that a little tone adjustment wouldn't cure, though. It's easy to find the "Pause" button, an often overlooked but very convenient little feature.
MP3 Playback: It was very easy to navigate through the files and folders on my test disc. Without looking at the manual, it took me a minute or two to switch the display so I could read folder and song titles. The relatively small readout is limited to displaying just a few characters at a time. The Pioneer offers a couple of processing options: compression and BMX. The two compression settings actually seemed very useful — I could listen to a folder that contained quiet and loud songs without having to adjust the volume up and down. Without the manual, I couldn't figure out how to activate the BMX settings which "control sound reverberations to give your music a fuller sound." But maybe that was for the best.
AM/FM: AM reception was good, and it seemed as if the Pioneer's slight high-frequency deficiency served to eliminate some of the static on the distant station. FM reception was excellent, especially impressive on the distant station, and getting from one station to the next was a breeze with the Pioneer's control setup.
Ergonomics: I love the Pioneer's control setup. Audio adjustments are not made with the volume control, so you can switch to the audio menu, make an adjustment, and then turn up the volume immediately without having to work your way through the menu first. Very nice. Audio controls are split left and right on the faceplate, which means you have to move your hand to make adjustments — not a huge deal, but slightly annoying when you're driving.
The built-in EQ curves are way too dramatic, but once you change an EQ curve, it stays changed. That means you can come up with several usable variations that work for you, including one for CD and one for radio. Unfortunately, Pioneer doesn't include a remote control with this model.
Connectivity: The worst of the bunch. This stereo does not have a changer port, so it's not compatible with any Pioneer add-ons. You'll find one set of preamp outputs for hooking up an amplifier.
