Customer Reviews

Pioneer DEHP3100UB SCD Receiver with USB control and LCD

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have a 2002 Mazda Protege 5 sport wagon. I had replaced the crappy stock double DIN unit with a different but unfortunately also crappy JVC unit, mostly because I wanted a unit that had an aux port for my iPod.

The attractive points of the 3100UB was not just the aux port but the built-in USB port located right on the front panel, facilitating an amazingly easy install and no need to buy additional adapters or route cables around the dash or glove box. The Pioneer site says you need to pick up their USB cable for iPod functionality, but you don't; my standard iPod sync cable works perfectly for both charging and playing with no problems. I suppose if you have an extra $25 to spend you can get the Pioneer cable, but it isn't necessary. You can use USB flash drives as well - but the iPod/iPhone system integration is seamless, easy, and very satisfying.

I knew that in getting a single DIN I would be giving up interface real estate and the convenience of more buttons. However, the "joystick" control on this unit along with the bezel button functions are very easy to use, and do not take a lot of time to figure out. It gets intuitive after a few hours of use and you're set. Compliments too on the included remote, which does just about everything even easier and quicker than the front panel controls. READ THE MANUAL! It's an easy read and the instructions are simple. Once you've got it - you've got it.

The other wonderful feature is the unit's ability to read every audio file format you can throw at it on a CD. MP3 and WMA are pretty much standard on everything, but harder to find are units that read Apple AAC files. This unit does it without hesitation (unless they are iTunes store DRM files, which you can either skip over, or use iTunes Plus on the iTunes store to convert your protected songs to DRM-free for about $.30 a pop). I can fit about 80-90 tunes on one CD and it makes having a large listening library easily available with just a few discs when I don't have my iPod with me. Pioneer's Sound Retriever processing for compressed files takes the quality of these discs up to near-standard CD fidelity - great stuff!

The unit can be expanded in several ways: a Bluetooth module (about $85) which allows for audio streaming and cell phone functionality, HD radio and/or satellite radio, but I have no interest in any of these at this point. It's also got a pair of rear RCA ports for an amp and/or sub-woofer expansion. The unit itself has a 50 watt x 4 channel MOSFET amp and the sound is pristine and puts out a lot of power. The EQ settings are plentiful with both factory presets, user programmable slots with a 3-band eq as well as frequency based adjustments, bass boost and loudness settings, as well as sub-woofer and high/low pass filter options with a fully adjustable crossover. It's ridiculously multi-faceted and you can really fine tune it for your tastes and speakers. I have stock speakers and this unit really makes them shine. I'm going to replace them next month with four Pioneers and I can't wait to hear it.

The detachable faceplate is, of course, a great security feature. The only con I can come up with for the unit is that the display could be brighter. The 4100UB model (same functions across the board but about $25 more) has a much brighter display, but honestly, it's a real "set it and forget it" unit, so it doesn't bother me much.

This unit sells just about everywhere else for $140 and Amazon had it for $125. I'm so happy to have a high-end, iPod and AAC file compatible unit that can be expanded with a nice array of upgrades in the future if I want. It's flexible, powerful, subtle in appearance, and a joy for iPod/iPhone owners. Just plug it in and go! No need to buy anything else. I can't recommend this unit enough. Pioneer quality and broad functionality at this price point is just ridiculous!

OK, first off, being able to play your ipod through your car stereo is really really nice... especially for this price. I chose to get the 3100ub over the 2100ib strictly for the ACC capabilities, extra sound tuning options/sub hookup. Otherwise, I'd have gotten the 2100ib and loved the fact that the ipod cable came out the back.

I do wish that there was an easy option to put this cable out the back as well. Its nice to have easy access in the front, but not very clean looking with a cable popping out the front. Just another thing to accidently hit in my opinion... especially if you drive a stick like I do.

Note: I've had this head unit for about a month now and have road tripped all the way up and down california using it. I also have a 10" sub hooked up to it.

I drive a 2003 subaru outback and attempted to put this in myself. If you have any idea what you are doing, its really not that hard at all. Taking apart your dash is the toughest part. Although somehow I managed to mess up the radio tuner and live without it now. I don't listen to the radio anyways now that I can do the ipod thing. I'll blame it on the person before me putting in an aftermarket XM tuner and making the wiring back there really hard to figure out.

The remote is really nice to have. Some people don't see a use for it but I actually really appreciate it sometimes. If you have a truck and spend time in the bed, its really handy.

Technical stuff:

I'm not sure how I feel about the user interface. The single dial thing is kind of a hassle sometimes. Personally I prefer hard buttons to get to the settings I like. Like others have said, its really weird at first, but once you get the hang of it, its not toooo bad. I'd still prefer another method though.

The "random" button is a hassle to accidently hit because it immediately exits your current playist and chooses a random song off your whole library.

*** I'm really hopeful that the dial doesn't decide to break off eventually. Being that everything is controlled with it, including volume, it really sees a lot of use. I sincerely hope that Pioneer put some solid engineering into making that a very durable piece!!!***

The detachable face is sort of a pain to get back on once removed. It also is not entirely stable once clipped in. There is a small amount of play still. You'll notice once you are plugging in the ipod cable. Its totally usable still, just not rock solid. At this price though, its understandable. Sometimes I'm slightly sketched to pull the ipod cable out... fearing it might just take the whole face with it.

I wish there was a mode that would scroll both the artists name and the song title on the display. so far, all I can find is one or the other. Not too hard to toggle between the two, but still.

I don't have experience with HD radio, (or normal FM for that matter :/ ), or XM, auxiliary output, or anything like that. I'm pretty much strictly an ipod user while in the car.

The sound retriever is nothing to write home about in my opinion. It sometimes picks up too much mid tones and produces a little noise. Could be that some of my music is not suuuper high bit rate.. i dont know.

**one extremely pleasant surprise: my phone happened to come with a USB cord so, naturally, i plugged it in. The 3100ub immidiatly found the one song i had on my phone memory card and started playing it. It also charged my phone as well! **

OVERALL: This receiver is nothing fancy or over the top. It will successfully play your ipod, let you mess around with the sound, and hook up to a sub nicely... while not costing you an arm or a leg. It takes some getting used to and some dealing with, but it definitely does its job.

Fair warning: I've read the manual though sort of quickly, and am decently good with electronics and this is the review I've come up with so far. Hope it helps!

*small update*: It should be noted that although this head unit will play music off a 5th generation ipod (mine), it will not allow you to use the ipod itself to change music. I was bummed to find this out because I feel like navigating though an ipod is much easier than with the head unit dial. I think but am not sure that if the head unit is set a certain way, you can also control the music through other generation ipods.

I actually brought this product from Best Buy and paid about 35 dollars more for it with tax and all. Plus I got it installed by the Geek Squad for another 100 dollars (which I recommend for anyone who is not or doesn't know someone who is savvy about installing such things) but anyway the product works great. The sound is absolutely wonderful and clear with a nice bass. I got it so I could play my iPod Touch in my car and the USB port makes this easy. I had actually had a cheaper Pioneer in my car for about a week that only had the AUX port, but I quickly found that driving and trying to pick up my iPod and control it was a hazard...actually worse than me trying to text while driving...so I exchanged it for this one...but anyway some people don't like that it disables your iPod but the great thing about this radio is it gives you the option to control your music through the radio or the iPod. If you are like me and want to control the iPod through the radio you should sit in your car for awhile with your manual to play with the buttons, because like others have said the controls are a bit confusing and take some getting use to. Plus the display is difficult to see when its sunny which is another reason you should take some time to play with the controls before driving. Also it might help some people to create a few playlist and get everything ready before you drive so that you're not constantly fidgeting with the iPod and the controls and so you can sit back and just enjoy the amazing sound of your music.

I was initially happy with this stereo - though the controls were a bit hard to navigate and programming the radio stations was next to impossible, it definitely sounded better than my previous car stereo and had a lot of features for the price. However, after about six months, it began spontaneously powering off randomly - would just go dead for no reason. The lights would go off and none of the controls would function, though it would come back to life eventually after removing and jiggling the face plate. At first it happened occasionally, but then more often, so I contacted Pioneer. They have been less than helpful - I am told that I am responsible for paying to have the unit removed and shipped to their authorized repair center, and will have to pay for the reinstallation if they are able to fix it, even though it is under warranty (they have no local service centers). I emailed them through their site but only received an autoresponder. Called the national service center and left a message for a supervisor, but no one called back. So, I am very disappointed in Pioneer - sometimes things break, but if you don't care about your customers then you don't deserve their business.

I installed this unit and new speakers in my '96 F150. It took about twenty minutes to intall once I got the old stock am/fm/cassette out. Fit perfectly and solidly. It sounds great. Has more than enough power for anyone with functioning hearing. Hits all the highs and lows that I'm aware of. At this point, although it's leaping a pretty low bar in my old stereo, I'd give it 5 stars.

But when it comes to controls perhaps Pioneer could get some help from Apple or somebody for interface development. The controls are seriously obtuse. Granted, I've only had it a few days and I'll probably get used to it but having to consult the manual a couple of time just to figure out how to tune the radio is not a good sign. Setting and accessing presets requires too many steps. The Ipod control is awkward and frustrating. During one session of trying to tune the radio I somehow changed the Ipod control from the HU to the Ipod and was happy about it. I hope it stays in that mode. The manual says they designed it to closely resemble Ipod controls. I don't think they were using the same Ipod as I am. Although I don't have a Bluetooth, from the looks of the manual it would just add another level of frustration.

It's new and I'll get used to it but the learning curve is way too long and flat for a darn car stereo. 2 stars for user interface.

good characteristics, nice eq. simple, but with all the basic function and a plus.

only two negative thing that i noticed:
1. When you navigate the folders to search a song i always returns to the root. so if u are int the folder no 30, when you navigate it will appear AGAIN AND AGAIN since the 1st folder, so its very uncomfortable to search the songs again from the beginning. that probem has been fixed in alpine brand.
2. When you select to play the songs in random mode u hope that if you press the next button the system will ramdom your next song, but it doesnt, it only use the random mode when u have finished to hear the song, and then it randoms the next song, but if you press the bnext button it will take you to the next song and do not do random.

Sorry about my english je

Had a Pioneer before, so figured the controls would be somewhat... ummm, logical? Yea, it wasn't THAT hard to figure this deck out on the way home from the local car audio shop... without consulting the manual! Very "logic" oriented interface, and it works. But....... DUH DUH DUUNNNNN! F^%&*(fG iPod Shuffle 2nd Gen. plugged in via the USB dock? Doesn't work. It errors out and flashes back and forth between screens. Though it does apear to be charging it... and it sounds great through the aux. input so I'm happy. Other than this minor drawback, I love this unit, and look forward to using the USB input with other devices... hopefully.

I bought this unit for the very specific reason that it claimed to work with the iPhone 3g and it does. (bonus, no error pops up when you plug the phone in warning you about turning on airplane mode). The front panel usb port takes your normal ipod dock cable and both charges and controls your iPhone 3g. As another reviewer stated, you can set up the head unit to either allow the iPhone to do the controlling or use the unit to control the iPhone. You can't, unfortunately, do both. The units minimal buttons (the multi function joystick) is very much not intuitive. It does work, it just takes a while to get used to all the controls. The sound is pretty good, but again figuring out the equalizer requires you to RTFM. Overall I'm happy with the unit after a week of use. Now that I'm used to the controls I'm ok using them. Plus there's always an aux input on the front if you need it.

Awesome head unit! Great upgrade if you want the USB/Ipod features in your car. The controls are great, easy to change stations, going to USB to Disk etc... The directions is easy to follow and read. Installation was easy especially when you buy an optional stereo harness kit for your car! (Highly Recommended) The faceplate is easy to pop off and put back in. The faceplate has a good connection to the radio. It does not skip going over hard terrain. I installed two of these head units in a KIA and a Subaru & sound is crisp and clean with factory speakers. The only thing I disliked about this unit is the very glossy finish on the face of the head unit, leave fingerprints, other than that it's a great head unit for the price and features.

I thing I wanted to mention was there is not a "case" for the removable face, not a problem but I expected to get one since I got a remote.
This radio replaced an older Pioneer all I had to do was remove the old one plug in this one and I was done.
Keep the manual close as you will need it till you remember how to get to all the settings, but most radios are that way now.
I could not get it to play off my usb stick till I removed a bunch of text and word files that I had on it worked fine after that.