Pioneer Headunit Comparison

[supercarman]

I need to know from those who know about the Premier line of Pioneer.

I have 2 choices:

The Pioneer Premiere DEH-P740 or the Pioneer Premiere DEH-P940

Info on the DEH-P740 :http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PioneerCanadaEng/CDA/CarProducts/POC_Eng_CarProductDetails/0,1825,40~4020~4020100~2587,00.html

Info on the DEH-P940 :
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PioneerCanadaEng/CDA/CarProducts/POC_Eng_CarProductDetails/0,1825,2661,00.html

Is the DEH-P940 worth the extra costs?

The main differences that the DEH-P940 has over the DEH-P740 is:
-Motorized Faceplate
-13 Band EQ with Auto EQ option (mic to measure sound levels is included to adjust the EQ automatically)
-6v Preout (instead of 4v)
-Steering Wheel Remote (instead of the credit card style)
-Plays Windows Media Audio (but who really uses that format anyway?)

Opinions are appreciated, hopefully i can get enough positive feedback as i have to decide on which deck tomorrow.

[Need4Spd]

If i were in your position I'd go for the 940... mostly because of the EQ... motorized faces are also a nice thing to have.

Ultimately, it's up to you.... I get the feeling you are asking this question because you REALLY want to the 940 but you want to hear opinions in order to justify paying a little more for it...and well, if that's true, I'd just bite the bullet if I were you and get what YOU really want.. you'll be happier in the long run and won't risk the chance of regret...

[supercarman]

you're right, im just finding that reason to go with the 940. the price difference is only $150 cdn which is not bad at all, but im a 19 year old student with a part time job, and $150 is half my pay cheque. thats why i was hesitant.

[J3adSeed]

i have the 940 and i think its awesome. i don't know if the 740 is motorize or not but the 940 is. the screen is bigger and has more stuff as well. i have a link kit also, the link kit you can get off ebay sometimes, it lets you put your own pics and vids on the 940 and 930 models. 6v output is definately cleaner and will get rid of more possible interference, but most important to me was the 13 band eq. having a built in 13 band eq is bad ass. also the auto eq lets you get a flatline eq before you go adjusting the main eq. thats an awesome feature because there is NO way you can sit there and try to get a flat eq by just your ear. i don't know as much about the 740 as to what it has but does it have time alignment? i would think it does. time alignment is really really good for getting good center image and overall imaging, especially if you have speakers in the stock location. it also has tons of things like BBE (donno if the 740 has that). the buttons on the bottom have labels on the screen that change by the menu making it much easier to use. the remote is not as good since i don't put it on the steering wheel (and if you do the led in it hardly reaches the cd player anyway) but who really cares about the remote. brushed aluminum face is nice too..

a lot of it is cosmetics and features but there is almost every audio feature you can get in that thing.

you may want to wait since the new ones are coming out real soon. the lower models already have new models posted. the higher models usually take longer. by spring probably. things that should be in the new models that i want are more damn characters for the xm radio display. it only shows 8 chars at a time and only artist or title or whatever. not both. the lower models already say more than 8 i think. mp3 playback is slow as hell, hopefully the new ones are faster but who knows about that.

anyway hope that helps

[supercarman]

basically all the stuff you mentioned the 740 doesnt have.

[J3adSeed]

i use almost everything in that cd player, so its worth it. a lot of people wouldn't and in that case its more about the looks and the goodies. so its up to you. if you're doing a system and you're serious about sound quality and having control then there's no comparison.

[supercarman]

very good points indeed.

id like to get more serious about SQ since i've done SPL. i just wish i had more time to think about it.

[SQ GT-S]

Another huge difference that you mentioned is the RCA preout voltage. I would take the 6-volts over the 4-volts any day. The higher voltage will do wonders for your system. One of my old setups had a 12-volt RCA signal into my processors and amps. And damn, that helped wonders. The amps ran cooler, and no noise of any kind. And I could turn it up to full volume and no problems. Get the 940.

Curt

[Chiznarles]

i have the 740 and i've had it for a little under a year. I was going through the same debate as you but the price difference was greater at the time. $250 vs $520 US. I couldn't justify paying double for something that generally did the same thing.

I'm very happy w/ the 740.. the smaller screen doesn't bother me one bit because i have an LCD screen/dvd player.. the built in EQ, i dont miss it .. the 740 has an EQ but not as modifyable.. good enough for me. they both have mp3 capabilities.

just really up to you.. if you have the money then 940 is cool.. if not, you willl still be happy w/ the 740..

[T3HKMAN]

940, never settle.

[GQDRAGON]

940, its worth it

[BAGGED2000CELICA]

I have the P9300 in which I love...it can be had for under $300 online. It has all the same features as the 9400 except the ability to play MP3's and the pro mode. The 940 just steps up to 6v, rather than the 4v, but you have to make sure your amp can accept the 6v, other wise you will clip the amp. Most amps only accept up to 4v inputs...

About the newer models, the 7400, 740, 8400, 840, 9400, and 940 will continue over this year, no newer models till 2004.

[J3adSeed]

i don't think many amp will have a problem with 6v inputs. thats what gains are for.

[BAGGED2000CELICA]

Majority of amps only accept up to 4v. For instance, the JBL amps that are the best bang for the buck, only accept 4v inputs. Don't get me wrong, there are several amps that accept 8v or more, just make sure your amp can accept that much before you spend high dollar on a new HU.

[surferkai]

OR you could always go with the in-between model: the DEH-8400. it's not a bad deck and it has a motorized face plate (which i think is a little cooler than the other pioneer decks) and plays Windows Media files. that's what i'm running, and it does the job pretty well. but if you can afford it, the 940 is a good deck.

[T3HKMAN]

That motorized face in the 8400 is a useless gimmick.

[1zzfe]

i just got a DEH 840MP yesterday... sound is ok... but compare to the Alpine.. i still think Alpine is better

[Grooverider]

Originally posted by T3HKMAN
That motorized face in the 8400 is a useless gimmick.
:werd: x1000

Also, the 940 is very nice for a system because of the RCA preouts. I actually had that model, but just sold it and got the Pioneer DEH-P650 only becuase I completely sold my system and all I wanted was a decent CD player so I got that.

Also, they changed the background on the 650 because its a 2003 model from that nasty annoying bright teal to a black and white which looks good IMO.

Also, the only difference last year between the 640/740 model's which Chiz has is the 740 plays MP3.

940 is very sweet if you have a system planned, otherwise if your just going with stock speakers or just speakers get a 650/640/740.

Also, if anyone is wondering, Premier and Pioneer difference is a warranty and higher volt preouts for the premier, thats it.

And BAGGED2000CELICA is right, the only new models for Pioneer this year is the DEH-550/650...I'm very happy with the new display on the 650, its a cheap cd player (I paid $215) and does all the stuff I want.

I really got it because I'm waiting for the 2004 Models...then I will get the most expensive one they make :)

[T3HKMAN]

Hey Groove, that's the first time I heard of someone actually stepping down in terms of a headunit but hey I'm sure you have your reasons. :)

I'm definitely not dissing Pioneer cause I love them, I think they are the best out right now in terms of quality and value but I still don't know what they were thinking with the 8400. What a colossal waste of space that thing is.

[Grooverider]

Originally posted by T3HKMAN
Hey Groove, that's the first time I heard of someone actually stepping down in terms of a headunit but hey I'm sure you have your reasons. :)

I'm definitely not dissing Pioneer cause I love them, I think they are the best out right now in terms of quality and value but I still don't know what they were thinking with the 8400. What a colossal waste of space that thing is.

I'm not impressed with the 8400 either. I'm actually selling that motorized LCD pioneer and my system for very cheap in the FS forum now.

Only reason I stepped down is because I'm waiting for the 04 models.. then I will get the top of the line :)