Customer Reviews

PYLE PLR24MPF AM/FM Receiver MP3 Playback with USB/SD/AUX-IN

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(56)

 

 

Before I ever installed the unit, I already had a bad feeling about it. Being intrigued by new stuff, I pulled it apart to inspect. What I found was worse than what I expected. The comments below are in addition to the comments already made & you should take theirs into consideration as well.

1. The unit weighs almost nothing. That hints at a lack of components & heatsink (which would be necessary if it had decent amplification).
2. There are NO RCA outputs on this unit, so no amplification is possible.
3. The lack of RCAs isn't missed much, due to the fact that the unit outputs to mono (yes, I was amazed to find both the left & right speaker wires coming out of the exact same solder joint.
4. The radio is really only capable of running two speakers (only has wires for two as well) & pushing 4 would likely run it into distortion quickly.
5. The radio used antiquated common ground speaker outputs. This is something that I haven't seen since the 80's. It means that the entire chassis of the car is used for the negative on the speakers. It's not a good thing for noise at all (whining).
6. The knobs on the unit are actually knobs. Like the kind you found on radios from the 80's. This means that the radio's tuning isn't digital & there are no seek functions or presets. It also means that the volume knob is really hard to use.
7. It appears that most of the solder work on the board is hand done (common of Chinese products) & not in a good way (I saw what are likely cold solder joints).
7. All of the buttons on the unit feel like they are the poor kind of microswitches that I only see on equipment that fails within a few months & so I wouldn'texpect much more out of these.
9. Top everything off by a MP3 menu system that is from the early days of MP3's & you really don't want this radio.

I bought this item thinking that is a very useful and that was what I was lookin for but.... what a fake.... is very easy to install... the sound is bad...it is hard and difficult to hear an USB device, if you do not prepare very well in the media player as an MP3 device it will not reconigze it, when you are playing and give some volume it distorsionate a lot....the final conclusion: you want an real and useful car stereo look for something with known brands, if not you can have bad surprises.

This unit is not for everybody, but if you want a simple, inexpensive low-end MP3 player for your car, it may be for you.

The AM-FM radio has digital tuning and works fine, but has no presets. If you feel you need 30 station presets, don't buy this.

The MP3 player has front panel slots for an SDHC card as well as a USB thumb drive. Buttons allow you to skip up/down one song, 10 songs, or a complete file. Additional controls include a rotary volume control (way better than pushbuttons in my opinion), a rotary "tone" knob that doesn't do much, a MUTE button, a LOUD button which is supposed to enhance bass and treble but doesn't have much effect, clock setting buttons and the file control buttons. The display is large and easy to read and is illuminated with a nice bright blue light. The front panel also has a mini phone plug input for an Ipod or CD player.

The claimed 160 watt power output is ridiculous. The unit draws about 8 watts primary power while driving two 4 ohm speakers at full volume. The real power output is probably about 5 watts. This provides adequate listening volume in my convertible at highway speeds, but it wil NOT shake the car or shatter your eardrums. If you want more power and enhanced tone, you could connect the player to one of the many available power amp/equalizers on the market. There are no RCA outputs on this player but many external amps can be connected direct to the speaker outputs.

The bottom line is, you're not going to get a $300 car stereo for under forty bucks, but if all you want is a simple device that handles SDHC cards and has a rotary volume control, without the added complexity of a built-in CD or cassette player, this unit fills the bill. An external equalizer/amplifier will add much improved tone and volume performance at considerably less cost than an integrated unit of comparable quality.

I was pleased to find something WITHOUT a CD or Cassette mechanism, since these mechanisms get dusty and malfunction, not to mention the storage hassle.

On installing the unit, I found that there is no "memory lead" for the clock, necessitating connecting it to the un-switched 12VDC lead, so the clock would maintain time.

My intent was to use the front panel audio input for the XM receiver. Well, the AUX Audio input is "wide open" and cannot be controlled by the unit's volume control! No problem, just use the FM receiver tuned to the frequency as before. Well, the radio receiver (AM and FM) drifts like a rudderless ship in a Typhoon!

The USB and SD Ports do work, but sound crummy. I guess that's because the Right and Left speaker leads are tied to the same terminal, producing only MONO, according to another Customer Review!

Good grief! If I were the folks at PYLE Audio, I'd refuse to have my "brand" on this unit! I can't figure why they'd market something like this.

I was so disappointed after installing it that I almost removed it by ramming my foot through the dash! I can assure you that when the replacement ALPINE unit arrives, I will use this PYLE (of junk)as a target for my .357 Magnum!

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy this unit under any circumstances! Even if it's free! If I could, I'd give it ZERO Stars.

Mine was a Pyramid rather than a Pyle but the exact same unit is available from several vendors. To say they suck is to damn with faint praise. The radio pulls in half the whole spectrum at a time, and the USB port is unpowered. Plus the electronics were not done correctly. I won't bore you with how or why but trust me, you can find better uses for the $30.

It worked poorly for one day and then died.

This radio only has two channels and that's exactly what I wanted for a two-speaker boat install. I was delighted with my spot-on budget find.

To say it had poor sound does not quite say enough about the sound quality. The volume level was weak and the speakers buzzed and crackled with noise.

The unit failed to work at all after the first day and I returned it. I recommend that you save yourself some grief and purchase a different stereo unit.

This product is not worth the money. Pyle should be prosecuted for fraud. There is only one wire for speakers. I am surprised they let the product on this website. I threw the radio away. I will never ever never buy a Pyle anything!!!!!!!

Pyle of crud, it arrived stuck on full blast volume. I like Amy Winehouse but not full blast. This must have been stuck somewhere between her and the boyfriend. Well I see the problem the little crummy knob was all bent out of shape on the inside. It did a fine job receiving yep, just I don't need full blast audio in my Jetta thanks but this was at least appropriately named, what a pyle. Stop selling this unit please.

Cute stereo, has all the ports you could want, low price...seems to good to be true right? Well guess what...IT IS. OMG this thing was a disaster. Not only is it flimsy with the worst soldering job I've seen in awhile, it sounds like crap. It only supports two speakers which is archaic in and of itself, but after careful splicing and a lot of swearing I managed to get everything connected only to discover that when I turn it on, it sounds like poo. Horribly distorted, unable to handle even the slightest hint of bass, and the radio tuning knob is so sensitive that trying to get it tuned correctly is nearly impossible. If like me you were considering this item as a cheaper alternative to a more expensive system heed my words...Click your back button on your browser and keep shopping.

I bought this and it has the features (USB, SD MP3) but lacks basic things like both Front and Rear speaker outputs. You only have left and right. If you only have left and right speakers (like in an old truck) then this may work for you. If you have front and rear, this system offers nothing to fade in or out. No balance between left and right. This stereo distorts real bad no matter which way you wire it, either parallel, just single-left/right or in series LR,LF + RF, RR.

I also tested this with different bit-rate mp3's and neither 128, 192, or 320 made a difference. The stereo just overloads and distorts. The speakers I used were stock speakers that were used with a Kenwood system that had the face-plate stolen, so I had to replace it. Unfortunately I chose this model without reading the other reviews and am disappointed. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something decent, and I regret it now. It wouldn't be so bad if the system was a little clearer at higher volumes, but this device performs dismally.

Lastly, I did notice that the FM radio is pretty decent in it, and relatively clear sounding at higher volumes with regular radio stations, but I listed to heavy metal and the mp3s sound awefull. Even clean synth music is very distorted. Perhaps there is a problem with the MP3 Playback on the device, but that is what I listen to.