Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

If you are purchasing a Pioneer head unit that can use this mic for fine-tuning the equalizer, buy it. It worked well for me.

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Not a one step fix

This microphone is a good starting point for quickly getting your system sounding the way you want it to. That said, it is not a one-step method of tuning everything to satisfaction (at least it wasn't for me). I found that the time alignment was spot on and some of the other settings were close to what they are now that I am done tinkering, but I had to continue making little adjustments over the course of two weeks (I have a pretty good ear and I have to listen to a wide range of music to get things exactly dialed in). If you know what you are doing and are willing to put in a little extra time, I think that this microphone is a little bit expensive for what it contributes to the tuning process, but every installation is different and perhaps this will be more useful for you than it was for me.

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Awesome

This is a Christmas present. Will be installed after Christmas will update then

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

The microphone helped me set up the listening position as well as time alignment and auto equalizer in my vehicle quick and easy .

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Extra money is time saved for quality audio

This is the tool that made it all come together. If anybody says in their review useless they are either an audiophile or incompetent. This device plugs in and sets your sound quality to a premium level. Remember audiophile or incompetent. Buy it if you are neither of those two and you will know it was money well spent. Tweak tour radio yourself and then plug it in and let it do its thing. Or just plug it in. I have a Pioneer AVH-W4400, with 4 Polk db652, and two Kickers for tweeters.

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Umm...

It helps with the timing of the stereo to wherever you want the sound in the car. Front left, right, both front seats or all four. That being said, the equalizer part is up to you. There are no directions! They should however be in your manual you got with your head unit. Every radio is different. Mine happens to plug in from the front.

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Works great fo MCACC setup

Used this to set up MCACC on a Pioneer VSX-52 stereo receiver. It worked like a charm. The setup is complete and sounds excellent. Definitely worth the few bucks to get a nice receiver set up right.

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Pro or Not....

You need this anyway...who wants to sit and measure? It will improve your staging tremendously....GET IT!!!

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Total waste of money, after performing Auto EQ, the sound was horrible, I turned it off and adjusted everything manually to get the sound balanced.

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Automatic EQ for the Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX

I bought this microphone for the automatic EQ feature of my Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX head unit. Unfortunately, the instructions of how to perform automatic EQ in the manual for the AVH-W4400NEX are missing necessary steps. I was eventually able to figure out how to make it work, but I am experienced professional with over 30 years experience in this field. The average user would be stymied, I am afraid. Once I got it to work, it was nice, but did not provide a great deal of improvement over the manual EQ I had done prior to using it.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Helps set speaker volume to your vehicle. Works well

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

I used it to optimize the sound in my 2000 Camaro SS. The factory settings on my Pioneer AVH-2440NEX were not satisfactory. Even with the advanced settings, I was not happy. My previous Kenwood that was several years old even sounded better. I followed the instructions and once completed, the sound was so improved that it was literally night and day. I have to say, I was initially not very optimistic about the microphone's ability but the price was right so I bought it. If done correctly you will be impressed.

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Every bit worth the $$$

Made all the difference in the world, been out of the stereo world for awhile. I won a Pioneer AVH2300NEX couple years ago, it made it come alive !!

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A necessary component

I had the unfortunate experience of making a misstep in my car stereo upgrade, so I have the honor of being able to hear 3 different stereo setups in my own car within the last month. What that has taught me is: 1) Crutchfield service is awesome and 2) Pioneer audio eclipses Sony in every possible respect. I was already floored by the difference my new Pioneer H/U made, but once I setup the Auto EQ with this little guy I was amazed at just how much better it is. It really makes such a huge difference in the staging and balance of the speakers and sub that its *almost* a shame that it isn't included with the H/U to begin with. At an additional $20, though, I can't really complain. If you care about getting you system setup just right, you need this. For proof, just flip the Auto EQ setting on/off while you're listening to your favorite band, you'll see what a difference it makes.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

The product is an excellent choice. Getting it from crutchfield was a great idea. The price was the lowest I could find and it arrived earlier than expected. You just can't beat Pioneer or Crutchfield.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Takes the work out of guessing. A good tool to have

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Works well

Worked as expected. No issues

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Does what it says

Worked as expected

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Win Lose Situation

Ordered this just to try it out and see how it really worked, it worked amazing in my 09 Maxima running a avh4800bs set in network mode running 2 12s for bass, 8 10s for mids and 8 baby bullet tweeters for the heights it tunned the crossover points and slopes, eqs perfectly but then when it came to tuning the stock bose system with a avh1500dvd in my qx4 it made it distort after volume 15 but with auto eq off it makes it all the way up to 29. Its a win lose with it but it definitely is capable of making the perfect starting point to start your tuning.

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Great mic

It worked great my system sounds amazing, the front stage is where it should be

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

The microphone worked great, just as described.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Ayuda mucho pero al final en mi opinión siempre hay que hacer uno que otro ajuste. Pero esto es audio y para todos no es lo mismo

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Worked great, as described. Gave a good baseline for the settings.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

An easy way to get your EQ set up to adjust for your cars frequency response.

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Great way to get started - especially for center stage

This is a pretty cool tool for finding the center stage in your vehicle. It makes the music sound like you are in the front row at a concert, which is the goal in car audio. The crossover and eq does a fair job of getting the sound right and is a good starting point. You will likely need to do some fine tuning afterward. It completely took out the subwoofer and set it's speaker level at -10. I like a little more bass in my music so I was disappointed with the results there. I do recommend this product for those who want a quick tuning of their system. For the high-end audiophiles, it might be best to stick with RTA. I have set one of my custom eq settings to match this setup and the other for the setup that I did with the RTA. This gives me the option to change the settings based on the music and number of passengers in the vehicle. I think most people will be pleased with this product. And for the price, it is definitely worth checking out.

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Pioneer CD-MC20

avh-4200nex. Useless. Had to fix what it broke. All the settings that It changed where wrong. Cheap mic or gimmick. sets speaker distances wrong. lowers bass, raises treble to distortion. wasted my Crutchfield points on this

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Adjusted my avh-x4800 to sound a bit better than my original eq settings.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

After plugging the mic in and running the auto EQ I had some pretty decent balance between four speakers and the sub. I had to adjust the passenger side front speaker up a little. The EQ settings were horrible. I manually reset the EQ based on my listening/hearing style. The crossover was set to turn off the high pass filter on my front speakers. That caused some major clipping problems so I turned the HPF back on. The bass was set to cut off at 100...I changed that to 80. All in all, it was close but I had to tweak what it did. It is now just about where I had it set before using the auto EQ feature. Honestly...these setting can be done by ear much better. But if you're not good at setting these things manually this will get you close.

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Get the most from your audio.

I got this microphone to use with the auto equalizing function of my new Pioneer head unit. I wasn't sure about the purchase. It didn't cost a lot but the only reason was for the auto-eq. I'm glad I did. The difference in sound quality is tremendous. The unit sets not only the frequency curves, balance and fader but also sets the time delay from the various speakers. I am not aa audiophile and could not have done it myself.

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Should be included with head unit.

Works like it's supposed to but should come included with head units that have the AutoEq feature. That's the reason for only 2 stars.

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Not Impressed.

Not really impressed with this. Used it on a 4200NEX in a 2008 Ram 1500 Crew Cab. It helps with tuning the sound within your vehicle, but the mics ability to detect timing is off. I've ran the AutoEQ measurement test several times, from the same location, with different results every time. It gets my door speakers and tweeters somewhat close to the actual measurement in relation to the mic, but my subs are literally right behind me, underneath the back seats in a Thunderform box. It places them almost three times the distance away from where they actually are, This is where I discovered that my subs timing was being measured at 127" away. This would put them half way into the bed of my truck, and it also does something weird to the phase of the subs. It decided it needed to inverse the phase, which sounded like garbage, and even after I put it back to "in phase" it sounded bad. Putting in the real measurement, which was 48", made a world of difference in sound, and gave me the correct phase as well. I went back and manually measured all the speakers, which were only a few inches off from the mic measurement, and it made it sound a bit better. So overall, I would recommend to get it to be able to tune the head unit's sound to your vehicles interior, but manually measure your speakers in relation to your listening position to get the best sound. I also feel this mic should have been included with head unit I purchased. Expensive one time use item.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

System i bought already had speaker these are junk to my stereo shop.. dont need

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Do not hesitate. BUY!

If you are considering the purchase of this option? Add it to the cart. Easy to use and the sound after setup is a major improvement.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

I use this on my 4200 NEX and it worked great

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perfect sound for $20

I purchased this item from Crutchfield and it works incredible. Set my crossover and speaker levels to perfection for this item is well worth it. It made my focal flax sing like never before.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Used the mic to calibrate the sound on my nex8200 in a 2004-2008 F150. Definitely helped balance out the sound and easy to use.

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Worth it!

At first glance, you might not think the price would be worth a 1-time use item; however, you'd be wrong... this made a huge difference in sound quality on just stock speakers, and as you upgrade speakers or add subs, you'd also have an opportunity to retune your unit. Both points made this a very worthwhile purchase for me!

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Worked great for setting my auto EQ on my Pioneer unit.

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Worth the Cost

I used this to do Auto EQ on a AVH X3800BHS head unit. The process took about 10 minutes and made a noticeable difference in the sound.

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Cord too short

A little over-priced for the simple product that you get. And the cord is way too short to be used in the manner intended. (Another 10' minimum, is necessary to reach my actual listening area/seat.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

worked great!

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Huge Sound for a small price!!!

I have a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX head unit and four Infinity Kappa 62.11i, 6 3/4 inch door speakers. The microphone was extremely easy to use. Turn the "source off" from the home menu, go to settings, audio, scroll down to the bottom. Underneath where it says "timing" then "eq," it'll say "timing and auto eq not measured." Click that, the screen will go flat and you insert the 3.5mm male end of the mic. Sling the extremely long chord so the mic hangs down in the middle of your drivers seat head rest. Press your listening position and press start. It'll then count down from ten. GET OUT OF THE CAR!!! It'll measure white noise and tapping sounds from each and all speakers. For about 3 minutes. Then you're all done. Remove the mic and press the home button. Super easy process. Do it at night in a quiet garage with your engine and HVAC OFF. I didn't think it made a difference at all and was bummed UNTIL, I turned off the auto eq and was amazed by the difference. It measured the accoustics of my car and each speaker PERFECTLY. I have a 2014 mid size car. It worked great in a 2013 Jeep Patriot with stock speakers. It made the speakers come alive!

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Simple to use and great results!

The microphone was really simple to use to get my Pioneer AVH-4200NEX tunes in perfectly. However, it did take me a minute to figure out that I needed to have the parking brake engaged to get the automatic tuning feature to become available.

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Really makes a difference

I personally believe that this microphone should come with the stereo standard but I'll put that point aside. There was a noticeable improved difference in the sound quality when compared before and after the Auto EQ setup with my Pioneer 4200 nex. The process was easy and took only a couple of minutes.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Like others have said, it's Pioneer's mic for measuring Time Alignment, etc. if you want automatic TA, you need this. I'm glad I bought it as the auto TA from my new AVH-4200 really does help to create and shape a decent sound stage. It's not perfect but it does make a BIG difference in the sound. Use auto TA, and EQ your cabin to a flat response and you will have a very decent sound stage w/o tons of fiddling.

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Brief review

A necessary tool to use for auto adjusting sound in a given space through the receiver's guide.

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Expensive, But Worth It

Auto-EQ and don't look back

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Not really sure it's worth it

I really don't know if this thing is doing much of anything. Sure the head unit goes through all of the sounds and looks as though it's setting stuff up. Although I have to admit I don't hear much of a difference in the sound, it could be just me.

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Great Microphone!

Past car stereo experience I learned to purchase microphones while offered with head units before they become extinct! This microphone made a HUGE difference in sound quality on our AVH-4100NEX!! Very impressed and results were rather close given several separate tries (meaning the mic is rather precise). I would advise picking this up for your Pioneer car AND home stereo final tuning; its well worth it!!!

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Works well

Ordered the CD-MC20 Microphone to use with the Auto EQ feature on my Pioneer AVIC-5100NEX. The microphone and feature worked as expected. There is a definite improvement over the stock and personal settings I initially applied by ear after receiving the mic and running the Auto EQ feature. This microphone and Auto EQ will do a better job tweaking the system than the majority of users will be able to do manually. I would recommend unless you plan on using an external processor, an RTA, etc. Apart from that after running the Auto EQ feature you can still make adjustments to the user adjustable settings such as the built in EQ, crossover, time alignment, speaker levels, etc. So if you don't like the results that Auto EQ applies, it will at least provide you with a good baseline, and then the ability to further tweak the unit's settings.

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I was skeptical but it works!

I used this with a Pioneer AVIC-8000NEX. Luckily, the head unit has a jack for it near the CD slot in front, so I didn't have to remove the radio and connect it to the rear. I ran the Auto-EQ tests and at first, I didn't think much of the results. A few days later, I found where I could turn off the Auto-EQ settings. I was floored to hear the difference! Without it, my factory speakers sounded fuzzy, with a fair amount of distortion. With it, they actually sounded decent. I'm sure that they're not as good as speakers from Crutchfield, but they're OK until I get the money to upgrade them. Note: With the AVIC-8000NEX, you have to find and press the buttons on the screen while it's tilted all the way up. In full sunlight, they're hard to see, so running the tests took more time than it should have. Next time, I'll park in the shade.

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Good tool

Worked good. Helped dial in my sound for my listening.

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awesome

Easy and awesome

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Mic is good but Pioneer RTA system isn't

I'm sure the microphone is fine but I have Pioneer head units in two cars that utilize their automatic RTA systems. After performing the RTA in both cars, they sounded awful. I used a test CD and did the set-up manually and it sounded MUCH better. I wouldn't waste your money on the microphone. The best car automatic RTA system I've used is Alpine's system. It works very well.

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A Must-Have item

Okay, first, the documentation doesn't state that the process begins with the unit "off" but with accessory power turned on. I finally found a youtube video stating that the unit needs to be off. I installed my AVH-X3500BHS in my '07 Santa Fe yesterday. The sound quality was much better going through the factory component speakers, but the bass was muddy, highs harsh and mids were nothing to get excited about. I stretched a fleece headband around the top of the headrest and dropped the mic through into place at the center of the headrest and started the process. Afterward, the unit was quite insistent that I unplug the mic before I can continue. Fortunately, I left the dashboard storage off so I could reach behind and unplug the mic. The results were amazing. even the factory speakers now sound decent. They do not sound like $500 Focals, but they sound decent. The bass is tightened up and the highs are smooth. Now I can turn the music up without ear fatigue.

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Simply Awesome

I hve Focal KRX2 6.5 in my front doors. I am a bit of a newb when dealing with car stereo. I was having a problem tuning my system. The tweeter was overwhelming the music with harshness. I purchased the Pioneer CD-MC20 from Crutchfield, plugged the microphone into the Pioneer deh-80prs and the difference is AMAZING!!! No more tweeter harshness. The speakers sound spectacular now. Don't hesitate to purchase...especially if you are not sure about all the settings and the intricate programming of a car stereo head unit. Be sure to hang the mic midway on the driver's headrest.

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Pioneer CD-MC20 Microphone

Easy to use, surprised how wild the EQ settings came out. Also, wonder how much they change when the vehicle is in motion rather than sitting in my quiet garage.

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Setup made simple!

This mic is pretty awesome! Perfect for getting your stereo to sound perfect in your car. Very easy to use, just plug in and push a few buttons on the stereo and let it take it from there.

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Didn't get to try it.

I bought this speaker to "optimize" the sound of the new Pioneer TS-A1675R speakers and Pioneer AVH-X5500BHS head unit, but I still haven't figured out how to get the Auto-equalize function on my head unit to work... So I'm just going to give 3-stars.

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Used for Auto EQ on Pioneer AVH P8400BH

I guess that it did what it was designed to do but did not improve the sound to my ear. After using this to set up the Auto EQ, I was not happy with the audio curve. I prefer to manually adjust the audio to suit my ear. I hadn't considered using the Auto EQ setting as a baseline, but will try it again and see if that improves the audio.

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Used for Auto Eq of AVH-P3400BH

Works as advertised. Didn't sound like I thought it would. A little hollow and tinny. I will work on Custom equalization for my own ears. I do like having a "correct" baseline to work from.

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Nice idea - simple to do

Wasn't sure if this would make a difference in my truck but I am thrilled that I bought it and used it to improve the sound quality. A "must do"!

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Wonderful

This takes the guess work out of adjusting the EQ manually. Simply connect the microphone and let the head unit do the work. Made a drastic improvement in the quality of the music versus the preset EQ. Makes your listening position feel like center stage. I have factory speakers and now I cannot wait to get my aftermarket speakers and sub to complete my system. Bottom line; the best $30 I ever spent.

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Worth every Penny

If you want a noticalby better sound with more body and depth get this. It takes just minutes to get the optimal sound vs fiddling with the manual eq. Bottom Line: Get it!

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