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(More customer reviews)I used this to replace a DEH-P7000BT that I had previously installed in my car, because that one would not work correctly with my new phone, a Nokia N97.Even after a Nokia-specific firmware upgrade from Pioneer, which had solved some issues for my "old" N85, it would not pair with my new one in "Bluetooth Audio" (A2DP/AVRCP) mode, only as a "Bluetooth Telephone" (HSP).
I went through several car receivers (both buy/return and in store) to get one that actually worked:
* A Sony MEX-BT2700 (works fine, but inferior sound and also inferior handsfree pickup),
* A Clarion CZ509 (complex controls, had to download the user manual on my phone right in the store in order to figure out how to pair it; would only work in "Blueooth Audio" mode and NO SOUND would come through in handsfree mode)
* An Eclipse CD5030 (nice unit, good sound, but same problem as the DEH-P7000BT: No A2DP/AVRCP with my phone)
I had previously also tried out other solutions, including a Kenwood unit along with the KCA-BT200 Bluetooth adapter.The main issue with these was that there was a delay from when Bluetooth Audio were initiated from the phone until it was heard over the speakers.This may seem like a nitpick, but I also use my phone as my GPS/navigation system - and the result was that instructions like "In 400 yards, turn left" would become "n left".No dice.The Pioneer unit, at least, did not have this problem.
At this point, I had resigned to using my original factory stereo along with a cassette adapter to get music through the stereo (turns out that this setup worked OK as well, my phone is mounted close enough to the driver's seat that its built in microphone picked up my voice better than e.g. the Sony above).But as I came across the DEH-P6100BT in a store, I figured I would try it anyway - despite the issue with the older Pioneer unit.
Finally we had a winner! Not only does the Pioneer units have excellent sound (good dynamic range/bass/treble, good FM receiver, and very nice handsfree pickup using the supplied microphone mounted in my center ceiling console) - but this unit is also more accessible than the DEH-P7000 with front auxillary and USB inputs as well as an exposed CD slot, rather than a face plate that folds down.
In short, I am very happy with the DEH-P6100BT so far - though it, too, DOES have a couple of issues:
* The controls are not very userfriendly.The sole rotating knob is overloaded with functions: it can be turned, pushed in, or pulled up/down/left/right, for different functions.The gestures are not always intuitive: Rotating the knob usually goes to the previous/next menu item, pushing left/right sometimes chooses sub-items (e.g. equalizer low/mid/high), other times confirms; pushing up/down sometimes chooses among different settings (bass up/down, source level adjustment up/down, etc), pushing it in sometimes (but now always) toggles a selection, etc. Plus, because the knob is smaller than the DEH-P7000BT, it is much harder now to perform the right action (especially if your car is moving).If you try to push it straight in, you will invariably push it up/down instead.
* Although this unit behaves better with the N97 than most of the others, there is still one issue:Each time it connects, it initially gives me only "handsfree" functionality (not stereo audio).I need to manually go into the menus EACH TIME and enable A2DP and AVRCP (quite cumbersome), OR start playback from my phone (in which case A2DP, but not AVRCP is enabled automatically). In other words, getting my steering wheel controls to do what they are supposed to do - control the playback - is usually more hazzle than it's worth (except for longer trips).
UPDATE: I have since replaced my N97 (for a lot of other reasons as well) with a Sony Ericsson C905a; the unit performs much better now. When initially pairing the phone with the unit, I *did* have to select "Hansdsfree phone" rather than the default "Other phones" in order to get AVRCP setup correctly - but now it works fine: Play/Stop, Prev/Next, etc do what they should.
* On the topic of steering wheel controls: As I mentioned in my DEH-P7000BT review, I don't care much for the Sony/Pioneer standard for remote control signalling. Using a SWI-PS steering wheel interface from Pacific Audio, if I map my "previous/next" buttons on the steering wheel to "previous/next track" on the Pioneer (for CD, USB and Bluetooth modes), then those will become "seek up/seek down" in tuner mode (not preset up/down).Likewise, if I map them to "preset up/down" for the tuner, they would be "previous/next disc" in CD mode, "previous/next folder" in USB mode, and nothing at all in Bluetooth mode. :(All this said and done, this unit still offers the best ratio of features/sound over annoyance/price -- especially for "problem phones" such as the N97.
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