Jamming with Pioneer’s latest car audio technologies

Awaiting my return from my 10-day Auckland trip last week was the awesome Pioneer AVH-P8450BT with MIXTRAX happily installed in my little CTmobile. Remember how excited I was about it? [Read previous post on it here]

Installation was done at New Generation Auto while I was away and I was looking forward to checking out my new in-car audio system because I can finally have my personalised music collection on the drive!

I couldn’t enjoy the Pioneer set immediately because I had to order a particular part in the centre console before I could fit the seven-inch double DIN multimedia AVH-P8450BT receiver in. This was how it looked like previously:

This is how it looks like now:

Doesn’t it look a lot cooler now?

The first thing I did was to save all my favourite radio stations and then I plugged in my iPod with the connecting cable! HOORAY! Now I can offer my passengers the CHERYL TAY preferred list of tunes… (Be prepared for a lot of techno and Eurodance options, don’t say I didn’t warn you :p)

The cool thing about this is the MIXTRAX technology where you can seriously create your own mix of music from your iPhone, iPod, USB or SD device with added transitions and effects. Tapping on Pioneer’s experience in developing internationally-renowned professional DJ products, MIXTRAX is designed for the music lovers and avid party animals.

Thanks to Pioneer’s sonic centre control feature in the AVH-P8450BT coupled with the brilliant MIXTRAX technology, my customised nonstop hits list is delivered in a dancefloor atmosphere. Sound phase is controlled and gives a holistic aural experience regardless of where you are seated in the car. Sound quality is amazing and I’m not the only one who holds this opinion – passengers that I ferry regularly noticed the much improved sound quality within my cabin too! In case you are wondering, I did not install any additional speakers. Now I am tempted to upgrade my car’s stock speakers, hmmm…

Literally having control of my music at my fingertips, navigating the AVH-P8450BT was easy with the touchscreen. Adjusting the EQ was really simple, just run your finger over the screen or tap the levels of the EQ bars that you want. If you are not familiar with EQ, just switch to Auto EQ – it monitors and analyses the acoustics inside your car and uses the measurements to automatically adjust your audio equalisation levels. Higher accuracy can be achieved with an additional microphone.

I was just exploring the features of the unit and I discovered this function where I could customise the display colour theme! You can also put in your own photos and customise your own screensavers. Want a hands-free calling system? Use the Bluetooth connectivity, which can be used for wireless audio streaming as well.

Something interesting you might like is the Pioneer Advanced App mode – AppRadio – which can connect to your iPhone 4/4S or iPod Touch (4th gen) and allow the AVH-P8450BT to use apps like Google Maps or even view your photos on the screen. 

This feature is designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, network connectivity and apps of the iPhone 4/4S and iPod Touch as the primary source of information and entertainment capabilities. You can even control most functions using similar motion gestures like today’s smartphones, but on a larger screen. AppRadio can be downloaded for free into your iPhone 4/4S or iPod Touch.

There are two more compatible apps (available for purchase on iTunes) that you can download for AppRadio – the MIXTRAX app where you can customise your music library on your iPhone 4/4S or iPod Touch, and the Navgate Drive Southeast Asia app which provides numerous intelligent features such as traffic information, city guides, short route calculation time, simultaneous calculation of multiple route variants and more. 

Having experienced this impressive in-car audio quality, I fully realise and understand the benefits of having good music on the drive. I find myself turning up the volume and soaking my favourite beats, improving my mood as a result and making the horrible traffic congestions more bearable. Yes, good music quality does make a difference.

The Pioneer AVH-P8450BT has been available since February 2012 with a suggested retail price of below S$1,100. For more information on the product, read here.