PIONEER FH-X830BHS Double Din CD Receiver with Built-in Bluetooth & HD Radio

I upgraded from the FH-X820BS and do not regret it. The newer 830 is snappy, has all the features you could want, and sounds incredible. Not sure what they did between the X820 and the X830, but there is a noticeable increase in sound quality on the X830. Bluetooth is much faster and I no longer experience the dropped BT connections that I was experiencing with the X820.The HD radio sounds amazing. The 13 band EQ is way better than the X820's 5 band. Installation was no different than the X820 (I used all the wiring from the X820, so it was a quick replacement). The LED color adjustments are better and brighter than the previous model. Call quality is the same through bluetooth and the provided microphone. All-in-all, its a way better product than the model it replaces.The only thing I have an issue with is that you cannot remove the Pandora menu option. Might be that way due to marketing reasons, but its a petty thing to get hung up on anyways. If they chose to add the option, it may come with a firmware update (this model allows for firmware updates through the front-facing USB port. Updates can be found on the Pioneer product page).I would easily recommend this to anyone looking for a unit that focuses on audio quality, bluetooth, and tons of features that are not overly complicated.

Bass is difficult to control, as well, balance.Initial settings should be left "AS-IS' to avoid these issues.

I searched forever for a regular radio to replace my dead factory one out of my 14’ wrangler. This thing is great if you want a no frills radio! It has buttons to press, a volume knob, great Bluetooth, and a cd player. No touch screen. I had already replaced the factory speakers with some new kickers and added padding around them, but the sound is great and a bit louder than factory. It isn’t going to rattle the doors off, but it has decent bass as well. As far as being able to see the screen in daylight, it isn’t as bad as most say. Sure the screen is hard to see when it is being hit with direct sunlight, but that it just about any other factory or aftermarket radio. Under normal conditions, you can see everything you need to. So far I’ve had this radio installed for about a year. It’s been getting dusty and blasted by the sun with the top down, and it’s been running like a champ.

I am not a big fan of navigating this head unit's menu, but the sound is pretty good and the bluetooth works really well. I purchased this head unit to replace my 2001 Mustang GT Mach 460 which had a bunch of cds stuck in the changer and I wanted the addition of ipod/USB connection and bluetooth. You may need some additional parts to install this, such as a double din installation kit, a metra wiring harness, and a 12v to 5v converter, and possibly some pry tools to remove the car panels to get to your car's head unit and to install the bluetooth wire. I purchased all of these on amazon. This is the first time I have installed a head unit and I have no knowledge on such things. I spent quite a bit of time researching how to undertake this task, while never finding one source that had all of the information and instructions I needed. so, I viewed dozens of videos and read bunches of blogs and had to take pieces from here and there and figure it out. I had some wires remain unused, which is fine. I just did not know this and assumed all of the wires had to be connected to another wire.

Took me forever to find a stereo with an actual remote instead of making you use your phone as a remote. Who wants to sit there and mess with their phone to control the stereo?? I have a conversion van and wanted to be able to easily adjust the volume from the back. The manual is for various models so when you try to look up how to do something, it's usually not much help. I'm an engineer and it took me a while to figure out a lot of the options. But it works and looks great, with or without an amp.

I love this unit. For one, it is not a touch screen. I despise touchscreens in cars. I like the older, button navigation. It works well with AM, FM, and XM. I wish it had the XM tuner built in, but I suppose there is a reason for it. It would be nice if I could set a custom color for the display and keys on the same page, but that's not a real issue, as it can be done on separate pages. Also upgrading the firmware wipes settings on it.One issue I have is in the center of the display, the brightness is lower than the rest of the display.I think it would be nicer if the screen was an LCD with different themes instead of the matrix display it uses. I only say this because it can not display some characters IE @. That would also theoretically allow for a backup camera. I did not design it, so I don't know if that would even work. On paper I think it would.It would also be nice if it could change its brightness with the cars brightness settings. I suppose that would be hard to do because every vehicle is different. I do wish it could get darker, as at night it is a little too bright for my liking.

I installed this radio with new speakers and the sound quality is great even without an amp. Brightness is good in direct sunlight and at night but without a dimmer, it's a little tedious changing the settings between the 2, which is not the radios fault but my car being old-school.