Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this as a replacement for last year's model (the Pioneer 2700) as I heard they fixed some of the things people didn't like about the older model (700 series, as opposed to the newly released 800 series). Here are some of the updates from the previous models: 1. They got rid of the annoying "beep" as an option to turn it off (and if you read the reviews, people really hated that loud beep whenever anything was pressed. 2. As far as internet streaming radio, these new models now have Spotify and Pandora (last year only did Pandora). 3. These now actually have the option for 2 cameras (backup camera and a secondary camera that can be turned on through the drop-down menu, so long as it is connected to a 12v source). 4. Probably the most notable difference is the quality screen. I don't know the specs off hand, but it is a huge improvement over last year as far as clarity and anti-glare. The screen quality alone makes these worth it over previous models. 5. You now have the ability to turn off the source, or the entire radio off from the drop-down menu. This can be helpful if there is some sort of glitch (it's a computer, there will be glitches or errors sometimes..) without having to basically stop driving and turn off your car that way. Very good to have available. One thing about these radios (and last year, mainly just Pioneer's new integration (with firmware updates) is the ability to display Waze on the screen. Waze is probably the most popular GPS app (if you are still using Google or Apple Maps, seriously, get Waze). You have to be plugged in to the USB, and just turn "control through Car" on Waze's settings, and you will see the app in the home screen. Still has work to do as far as being clean and user friendly, but it seriously beats a built-in GPS (ask anyone who uses Waze vs their car's GPS). The Pioneer app AppRadio Live does have some built in features that I found to be fairly redundant, along with their own gps and native maps, but nothing beats Waze when it comes to mobile gps. Here is a breakdown of the features, along with some pros and cons: 1. HD Radio - great feature in the 3800 & 5800. I haven't found a ton of fm stations with digital broadcasting, but the ones I found sound really great! There is a very noticeable real-time improvement, and this is a really cool feature to have, especially in bigger cities. 2. Bluetooth - connecting was a breeze, as expected, and quality is fantastic. There can be some hiccups (pauses at first, when transferring over), which is something I was hoping not to have anymore, but is not a huge deal. You can actually connect 2 phones to the unit, at the same time. Great for work phone & personal phone, husband and wife, ect. Basically allows the ability to take calls on either phone, play music on either phone, ect. Really great feature! 3. Sirius XM - you do need a new Sirius XM converter (SiriusXM SXV300v1), but wiring is very simple and this antenna actually adds album art to a majority of artists on the stations. There are only 6 presets, which is very limited in my opinion, but in reality, most of us probably only use 6 or so as is. 4. iPod - playing through the corded usb is fantastic, as the album artwork is displayed and is quite seemless (again, to be expected). 5. CD/DVD - I have a bypass in my radio (which I would definitely recommend doing), and dvd playback is fantastic and really helpful during long road trips (for passengers, just be smart about this...) 6. Aux - this can be in the form of a mini aux input, or AV (if you have an iPhone, you can get the medialynx hdmi to AV cord). That along with the usb input can let you mirror your iPad or iPhone, which is a great road-trip feature. 7. Camera - the backup camera is self explanatory, but like I said before, you can now view the camera at any given time from the drop-down menu, as well as toggle to the other camera if you choose to install a second camera. Of course, both cameras have to be receiving power from a 12v source. Reason I say that, I have mine tied to the reverse lights, which is fine, but ultimately only gives power when in reverse. Pros: 1. Great interface (I am mainly speaking for iPhone, although I've heard the same for Android) 2. Screen resolution/clarity is fantastic!! This really beats out a majority of OEM radios, and other aftermarket radios out there. 3. Color schemes and backgrounds are customizable to match the color of the lighting scheme in your car, and you can upload your own photo for the home screen, playback screen, or both of course. I am using this in a Jeep Wrangler, so I have a very cool "Jeep" logo uploaded, just to make it look more stock and clean. 4. Audio is completely customizable, along with simple and complex equalizers. If you really know what you are doing, you can set the audio levels through a microphone to auto detect speaker distance, and such. Or, you can go simple and just choose one of the presets. Just play around with it. Great value for sure. I priced out multiple radios, and these Pioneers are the best bang for the buck. This one in particular, vs the 2800 for the HD radio. Again, if you live in a bigger city, well worth it. Even if not, more FM stations will be going digital, so worth the extra money. Cons: 1. As I mentioned above, bluetooth streaming sometimes pauses at the beginning and can sometimes be awkward, for a lack of a better term. This is a radio that is built around smartphones, so this should be as liquid as can be. I've also had it crash and give me an error message during iPod use, which happened when going from bluetooth to plugging it in the usb. Only happened once, but still that is more than it should be for a radio that has iPhone users in mind. 2. Controlling music from your phone's library, and going through your phone book will have you scrolling for days. This is almost a feature that is way less safe than looking at your phone. I know this is a problem, not just limited to this radio, but it would be helpful if it more mirrored your phone or had a search option. All in all, very happy with the radio and definitely a great upgrade.