Demo car of the Pioneer DEX P99RS. Lexus IS-F.

Wouldn't mind one of the 99's on the benches to see how it really performs next to modded old school.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...yers/DEX-P99RS

 

Read similar reviews about this head unit...



Will find out next week how it will perform..

 

It's been a few years since the last true high end unit. (Alpine F#1 Status, 2nd gen). Think people are ready yet?

 

This sounds like its going to be one hell of a HU, most definitely going to see if I can incorporate this piece of technology into my newly acquired 99 GS400. Not to mention that this piece will cost a fraction of what the F1 Status from Alpine. I just hope it will sound just as good or better than my previous Clarion DRZ9255.

Flip

 

The flagship Pioneer units are usually pretty good. Still waiting for Alpine and Sony to come out with theirs.

Strangely enough, McIntosh MX406 hasn't changed in over a decade. That's 1000 dollars for the HU alone. And they're still selling them! IMO, they're not the best sounding HU - that honor goes to the C90.

 

I think it could make a resurgence, but the economy right now kills many a good product. Given the fact that many (the overwhelming majority, unfortunately) consumers want the most bang for their buck and are willing to listen to almost horrific quality MP3 compressions of music so they can get 4.8 million songs on a 2GB player, the high end will be represented by the few. Those of us who will never allow bad sound in our homes or vehicles will probably continue to have options, but they don't seem to really get cheaper, do they Percy? Seems like a quality CD player with decent features and good components to truly reproduce the sound as intended is never going to be in the $200 range, but stakes a position in the $500-800 range. A high end unit is at least $1K, if not closer to two. Oh well, I still love this stuff, and that Pioneer looks verah nahce.

Big Mack

 

It has definitely bringing a lot of "old school" SQ individuals (drz9255, denon, mcintosh mx series (like percy mentioned), alpine 7909 and so forth) to reconsider to upgrade (utilizing "all-in-one" functionality under one head unit w/o using a separate processor) and compare their current head unit(s).

I even noticed that the caraudiomag editors are bringing up a lot of classic head units in the "top 10" audiophile sources and interesting to see that the p99rs ranked among them.
http://caraudiomag.com/articles/top-...e-source-units

A member provided some insights and took multiple pictures of his carrozzeria (p01) to depict some features available on the domestic Japanese head unit a few months ago (w/ exception of some changes of internal caps); although it's not technical for an car audio enthusiast may want more information but the pictures he posted makes up for it is stunning display:
http://www.buwaldahybrids.com/phpBB3...st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Another member in diyma posted a summary of the frequency test on the equivalent p99rs unit (p01 Japan's domestic head unit.)
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...eq-x-over.html


Percy, may I ask what new head unit model that you are referencing that may be released from Alpine and Sony this year?