Hey!

Okay, my old Sony faceplate got stolen and I'm in the market for a new head unit for my 82 Z28. I've looked at most of the higher end units on the market and have narrowed it down to three: Pioneer P7700MP, Panasonic C8401U and Panasonic C8400.

All three are great units and are fairly equally matched in specs. I love the look of the Pioneer, but I know I can do some cool stuff with the custom display on the C8401U. The C8400U is last year's model, but the display is larger and higher-res - that's why I'm considering it, even though I don't like its look as much as the C8401U. I know - you're all thinking I should go with the next higher pioneer unit (P80MP) and its customizable display, but it's too pricey for me. And I couldn't care less about satellite radio and iPod readiness.

I've never had a Pioneer unit before, but everything Panasonic I've ever owned has been great. Is there anything I'm missing? Do you guys think I'm blowing this display thing out of proportion?
Thanks!

 

buy tha pioneer and you wont be disappointed.... but i have to say that if that 7700 is the one with the rotary ****, dont get that one..... the single **** is a pain and i hate it... its the only pioneer that i really get angry when tryin to use

 

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into the older Pioneer models.

 

I also hate the single **** trying to change tracks etc and i dont like how i have to open the face then hit eject it the face should come down and eject on its own i dont like that as well. Other then that its a good HU. But im still really sold on kenwoods. My next hu will be a kenwood. So far i am on my 7th HU i think and i have tried pioneer and alpine and sony and still comeback to likeing kenwood.

 

everything you just complained about on the 7700 is perfect on my 8600... schweeet

the 7700 doesn't have a motorized removable faceplate?

 

mines sure doesnt have a motorized face but i hit the button and its kinda like springloaded


comes down by itself

 

Removable, not motorized...

 

the motorized mechanism of my 8600 is suprisingly reliable... it's a shame the logic board seems to be failing... since sometimes it won't even try to open the faceplate... it's not like its stressing due to lack of grease or whatnot... plus lot's of my mp3's 'skip'... large spiky annoying sounds... the same exact disc, song or whatever will play fine in ANY other mp3 deck I've tried... every PC I've tried, and even my xbox.

I've also tried several different types of media... I never used to have this problem... and only certain songs skip... doesn't matter what bitrate or anything... that I can, that is.

Is it possible for the main logic/mother board to be defective? If it was the optical pickup, wouldn't it skip on other music or anything? -- doesn't skip on regular cds at all.

 

Just stays there in the up position even though it beeps to confirm the button operation? That's the bad grease. I do 2 or 3 of them a day.

 

Could be the optical pickup or a problem on the board. I've seen both.

 

wow... the grease can really cause the motor to simply "not respond"? I'd have thought it would at least try, and it would just be tough on it...

is there some sort of "stress sensor" that tells it not to even try to move the mechanism?

also, is the grease in the motor housing, or is this in the actual rails/linkages/moving parts of the mechanism, and not the motor itself?

 

What happens is as the motor runs to the closed position, it locks up there. So when the motor tries to run down, it can’t even start, it’s locked up. The grease goes on the gears for the drive ***’y. There’s a worm gear on the motor and that drives it large gear, this is the most critical spot to hit. I lubricate all of the gears when I get them, just to CYA. And there is a ‘stress sensor’ of sorts. The servo IC (motor drive) will detect the high current of the locked up motor and stop trying to run the motor. But this still take a second it give-up.

With the MP3s skipping, it could be the optical pickup going out. They're are more sensitive to skipping with MP3s, it relates to error correction and how MP3s get decoded. If the pickup misses a little of the encoded data, it ends up missing a lot. More then error correction can cover up for. In all reality, it’s amazing that CDs don’t skip more often, or work at all. In essence, the optical pickup is an electronically steered and stabilized microscope which is extracting a lot of information from tracks 1/20th the width of a human red blood cell while zipping along at a linear velocity of 1.2 to 1.4 meters pre second. Could also be a glitch in the decoding process which would be a problem on the board. I can’t believe you’re having all the problems you are with that deck. They do tend to be more reliable.

 

I use my deck a lot, but I still don't see that being a problem... my Kenwood deck(MP922) didn't have any problems, but I still think this Pioneer is a fluke.

I want to take it in to get it repaired, but the problem is, the guys at Best Buy said that with all the problems I'm having that it's very likely that I would just get credit towards a new deck...

I don't want any deck that's out right now....that's even near $500...

So I basically have to wait, (with the problems,) until a good deck comes out... then I can try and get it repaired.

Best Buy Repair Center will not attempt to replace optical pickups, or mainboards, will they? After all, it's a discontinued model, they may not have the parts.

I just don't want to be stuck with a pile of crap, (p80mp or worse.)

If it comes down to it, and they aren't going to roll out any better decks, I may just have to put the $450 credit towards some kind of DVD Navigation unit... that I really don't need.

 

I told you some time ago to send that thing in. If it’s still under manufactures warranty, there’s no need for them to not fix it. They’ll make more money, because no matter how much the parts cost, Pioneer pays for them, not BB. The part’s are still vary available for that unit. You can even get the whole TAU (main PCB) for that one. But they should be doing component level repair it they’re any good. You may take it in and get the number to there service center, give the tech that gets you’re unit call and just talk to him. Don’t be a ‘D’, but just explain how much that unit gives you wood. He should help you out. Just explain that no matter what, you don't what the exchange, you'll wait till something you like comes out. And don't wait to call them. And let me know when you send it in. We do over-flow for one of there more northen centers. Can't guaranty anything, but I can try to make a call for you.

 

well, if I knew that there was going to be some newer, better unit coming out... then I wouldn't mind letting them exchange it... but from the looks of it, that may not be happening.

I guess I should just send it in... but I might go insane without a deck for a whole month! Then again, the skipping has become very prevelent in the last few weeks... I may send it in based on that reason alone.

is there any chance of any good decks coming out soon, or should I just keep faith in the 8600?

 

No word on new unit to me yet. Is your 8600 still under MFG warranty?

 

it's under MFG and under the 4-yr replacement plan from Best Buy. I've only had it for about 9 months.

 

Send it in now then. You don't want to wait until that first year is up.

 

what happens if the MFG expires? does it get repaired shoddily?

 

prolly costs invovled

 

10X more likely to get an exchange that you don't want.

 

dang... I guess I'd better send it in soon then, because right now I'd be screwed...

although... if I choose not to exchange, they just give all my money back... is there any deck work having right now?

if not, I'll send it in this week... it's starting to **** me off..

can something cause the deck to have problems with certain types of mp3s? it used to play all these fine, but now it's just random... if it was a dirty lense, I'd expect a more consistant skippage... if one song is skipping, I can usually go to another, and it won't skip... typically a whole album will skip though... (but not on any other player) which is why I think it's the decoder, and not the actual optical pickup.

the thought of me driving 11 hours per week with no stereo actually causes tears to form in my eyes...