New Car Stereo: Pioneer DEH-P6700MP
Well,
if I’m going on a cross country road-trip, I’ve got to have tunes. Along the way, there will be spots where geography and the laws of electromagnetic propogation will conspire to reduce my musical choices down to God fearin’ Radio and God Fearin’ radio. So I got me a Pioneer DEH-P6700MP CD receiver with MP3 / WMA playback with Organic EL display. It is so tech. I just hope the display doesn’t pull a Trapper Keeper on me.
Quickie review: It sounds -nice-. The tuner is a tiny bit better than the tuner in the stock radio. MP3s sound sweet. It sounds very “full”. I’m a little worried that I’ll blow out my speakers if I crank the bass too much; the factory sound system has something like 12 watts, now we’re cranking 40+.
I freaked out when I was driving home in the dark. The display kept inverting every 10 seconds… first white on black, then black on white. It was as if my (ficticious) little brother was sitting next to me and flicking on a flashlight every couple seconds. After 5 minutes of that, I was screaming at the radio, “Cut it out! You’re driving me crazy!” I vowed that if I couldn’t find a fix, I’d have to return the radio. It turns out that…
Demo Modes: This unit has a Reverse Demo Mode and a Feature Demo Mode. In Reverse Demo Mode, if you do not perform an operation for a period of 30 seconds, the display begins reversing colors. It continues reversing colors every 10 seconds until a button is pushed…
What the frig is that “demo mode” for? Whatever. I turned it off. Chalk up 1 “win” for the day.
Here is how to disable the annoying “Demo” mode
- Turn the radio off.
- Push “Memory 5” for just a second (you’ll hear a little beep)
- Done!
There is another demo mode by pushing “Memory 6”. Read the comments for more…
One problem down, one to go. I just have to figure out how to make the screen about 1/2 as bright at night and I’ll love this radio.
(actually, I’d -love- if it could do .ogg or .flac but I’ll live. It just takes 5 minutes to convert an entire CD from one format to another.
update: Here is the Operation Manual for the Pioneer DEHP6700MP. And here is the Installation Manual.
Hey, I was trying to figure out how to turn off that stupid, pointless reverse demo mode too! Everytime I try to turn it off nothing happens…can you explain exactly what you did??
Why they even bothered to not make a real menu w/ this option is ridiculous.
Also, check your initial settings, brightness is on there!!!!
1 Turn the radio off.
2 Push Memory 5 for just a second (you’ll hear a beep)
3 Done!
There is also a (slightly useful) demo mode by turning the radio off and pushing Memory 6 for just a second.
>Why they even bothered to not make a real menu w/ this option is ridiculous.
Absolutely!
>Also, check your initial settings, brightness is on there!!!!
Yeah, I found the brightness controls, they just don’t go low enough for my liking. I have it set to the lowest, which is 5 with the headlamps off and 0 with the headlamps on and that is just a little too bright for my taste with the headlamps on… I’ll try and find some smokey film to cover it…
Guys, How do you store the Sat radio channels as pre-sets? I can do it for Am and FM but I can’t get the Sat channels to.
By the way- I also hated the constant changing (inverting) of the screen.
Thanks, my Pioneer was doing that same stupid inverting thing. It was impossible to drive at night because of the distraction. I agree that the display is still too bright even at its lowest setting – what I will do is open the display panel (as if I were going to insert a CD) and drive with it that way. =P
Before I had figured how to turn “demo mode” off, I tried leaving the CD door open. But that was just such a kludge! After $300, I wasn’t happy with that choice… it’s like leaving brand-new kitchen cabinet doors open because the kitchen guy did a poor job on the facings.
Pete, I can’t help you with the Satellite channels. Beuller? Beuller?
I did not have any trouble tuning Sirius satellite stations and storing them on presets. Everyone is right about the Demos, they are absolutely STUPIDI am having an issue with the way the unit displays information from satellite radio. I want to see the artist name and song name scroll continuously, and maybe the station name too. I can only get it to scroll the artist name and the station name. The system does sound great.
Mine has been acting up. The unit itself is just fine, but now, the display will switch from the original display to a bright blue one. It will do this every few seconds and it’s really annoying, especially at night. Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.
I just got this radio, and the display light changing back and forth is the most ridiculous feature i have yet to encounter. i just wanted to thank those that have answered this question as i was about to rip my unit out of the dash! so, thanks
Wow I just missed the answer to my problem and it was right there. Haha thanks.
If any of you have an amp and subwoofer with your system, what are you guys putting your settings (sub: mid, high, etc) at?
I just recently put a new battery in, which messed up all my settings. Just curious what the optimum settings are…
Hey, how change color buttons Deh-P6700MP (US-Model)
yeah i can’t stand the different colors switching back and forth too, it was about to drive me crazy! but i also have a different problem, whenever i turn my car off, all my settings dissappear. i’ve tried and tried to figure this problem out but i just can’t. if anyone can help me with this it would be deeply apprciated.
P.S.
Circuit City is the one that installed my cd player in because i have a cadillac catera and they had to re-wire everything. So should i go back to them and see if they screwed up the installation?
Yup. They screwed up your installation. Go back to Circuit City.
That sucks. Thanks for the help tho
I can’t get my receiver to enter Satelite mode. I hit the sorce button but it only goes to Tuner. I took it off Demo mode, still no luck. Radio, CD all work
Tez ma to radyjko i niemam pojecia jak zmienic kolor guzikow oczywiscie radio w wersji US tak ja te powyzej do ktorego tyczy sie ten temat :) niech ktos pomoze
What does that mean in english
i’ve had my deck for a few months now, flawlessly working
Now its not playing sound out of the subs, or speakers. The fuse in the back is fine,
any way to reset this or any tips? or is thi sjust a dead deck now =[
i’ve had this Head Unit for only 4 weeks now, and i got a big problem…
it just doesn’t do nothing anymore, fuse is good, all wired right. is there any way to reset it or what else can i do??? i hope it’s not dead!
plz help me, cause i like this HU, nice soundquality, easy to control my Subwoofers!
thanks
I’ve had my unit about a month and just recently it became possessed. For some reason the function button no longer works and it just shuts off by itself on occasion. I’m thinking that maybe if I just reset it the function button will start working again. Only one problem. I haven’t found the reset button yet. How can I reset this silly thing!?!?!?
Does anyone know if this deck can display unicode mp3 ID3 tags?
like for international languages?
thanks
Is anyone able to get the scroll to work continuously? Mine will scroll once, then it only displays about 10 or so digets of the text and remains static. By the way, the solution for the inverted blue screen works. I must have spent hours trying to get the blue screen off (this occurred after I had disconnected the battery), but by pushing button 5 for a second….presto! Thanks
I can not fiugre out how to make the scroll feature work either, I have the same problem. I do not think this unit is capable of scrolling like we se on our Sirius, or XM receivers at home. Someone tell me I am wrong, please….
Yes, you can make it scroll continuously. It’s on the same menu that the clock is on.. you know, to change the time when stupid daylight savings changes.
Oh dear, I already forget exactly how I got to the menu…. I think this is right:
While the radio is off, push the upper right lit button, it’s just to the right of the screen. Follow the menu to “continuous scrolling” and turn it “on”. I had some trouble getting to the menu. Maybe you have to hold the button in for 3 seconds, or maybe push it twice quickly. I was only stuck in traffic long enough to find the menu once.
Unbelievable. I bought this about a year ago, and have put up with that ridiculous inverted display the entire time. It was my only real complaint about this unit. I found the dimmer the first day and turned it all the way down, but searched the owners manual and was unable to find out how to turn off that display, who would have ever thought it would be listed as the “demo mode”? I was looking for display options.
THANK YOU for posting this. I should have searched the Internet when I first got the unit. Right now I just cannot believe that I put up with that inverted display for over a year before looking online. Why did Pioneer make this the default setting? I am angry that I had to look at for so long, but thankful I found the answer here.
Hey, how change color buttons Deh-P6700MP (US-Model)
HELP !
Tom, I’m really glad this helped!
Piotr, what you mean?
brian. i have a cadillac deville and i have the same problem. when i turn the car off, everything is reset. clock and presets. i took it back to the place where i installed it and they said everything looks fine. i took it to another stereo shop. and they said it looked fine.
i think it is because its a cadillac issue. did you ever resolve your problem? please let me know
thanks,chris
YOu guys having problems with the unit resetting:
It is because it need a 12v feed directly (on the yellow cord, i *think*) from battery to power the memory. If you pull the battery (or the radio) everything is reset. I think it’s a bad design to not have backup power onboard, but oh well, i guess they saved the cost of a small battery or a supercapacitor.
Either your car doesn’t come prewired with uninterrupted 12V at the stereo connector or your shop just didn’t bother to connect it. At least, my old volvo has got it :)
Either way, i think any reputable stereo shop should know about this and fix it for you.
how do you set the clock on this player? Thanks
I finally got the stupid reverse thing corrected. I still can’t get continuous scrolling even after “setting” it in the menu. I think this might be my last Pioneer.
I can’t get the continuos scrolling to work either and it really pisses me off. I can’t figure out how to change the clock either. This srereo sounds good, but it very difficult to figure out even with the manual. Nothing about this radio is intuitive, or makes any sense. This is my last Pioneer car stereo for sure. I love my Sirius Satalite radio, and the fact that it’s built in to this stereo, but there must be an easier way to have your cake and eat it too. If anyone from Pioneer reads this blog, i have a message for you. “YOU SUCK!”
Erik
Erik
Erik, email me at rick@arkansas.net and I can tell you how to set the clock. I had to figure it out for myself, as with most of the “features”. It’s also my last pioneer.
Erik, I doubt you really mean that they suck. If you did mean it, you’d return the stereo, tell your friends about your problems to protect them and write a letter to Pioneer to tell them about the problems. You know that using all-caps on some random person’s blog isn’t going to go very far.
Rick, It would be great if you posted your instructions to this blog or your own and then linked to it.
And Merry Christmas to all.
Lee,
Ok, that was a little harsh what I said, but this stereo’s lack of intuitive user controls really makes me mad. I work with computers for a living so I am good at figuring things out and very good about reading manuals. This radio is packed with features and buttons to make these features work, but it is so convoluted. Take that reverse display thing for example, it seems to make everyone mad. Why in the world does something like that even need to exist? Why does setting the clock have to be so difficult. Why does Pioneer say it can do continuous display when it does not? Therefore I stand by my conviction. There are other manufactures out there that make quality stereos and next time around I will choose one of the others. It’s too late to return the stereo as I have had it over a year now. I don’t believe writing to Pioneer will give me any gratification or reward. Maybe they will send me a letter in the mail saying thank you for your input. What does that do for me? I was unhappy with certain features of this stereo from the start but I figured I should just give it some time because maybe I am just not doing things right. OK, I am done winning and will live with my purchasing decision. Thank you for creating this forum so we can learn from each other how to use this stereo and to reaffirm that I am not alone with my issues on this unit.
Erik
Erik,
>Take that reverse display thing for example, it seems to make
>everyone mad. Why in the world does something like that even need to
>exist?
I totally agree with you on that one. I can’t figure out what that “feature” is for either.
>Why does setting the clock have to be so difficult.
Find instructions on page 41 of the Operation Manual
>Why does Pioneer say it can do continuous display when it does not?
Take a look in the manual (above). I think I disabled the feature you’re looking for on mine because I don’t like continuous scrolling.
>There are other manufactures out there that make quality stereos…
Can you recommend a good one that does .mp3 (.ogg would be even better) CDs? .mp3 playback was the primary reason I got this one.
>I don’t believe writing to Pioneer will give me any gratification or
>reward. Maybe they will send me a letter in the mail saying thank
>you for your input. What does that do for me?
I figure that it’s like writing to my Senators… my voice will speak for many… and though it likely won’t have an immediate effect, my letter might precipitate a change for the better in the future. I know it’s a bit pie-in-the-sky, but it makes me feel better.
>I was unhappy with certain features of this stereo from the start
>but I figured I should just give it some time because maybe I am
>just not doing things right.
Yeah, and after all this time, I’ve never gotten totally comfortable switching around the equalizer the way I like because of UI issues. But I’ve figured it out well enough….
>Thank you for creating this forum so we can learn from each other
>how to use this stereo and to reaffirm that I am not alone with my
>issues on this unit.
And thank you for the constructive input!
~i just got a car from a dealership and they installed this radio for me. they didnt give me an owners manual with it, so i dont no how to work many of its features. im sorry, but from what i read, i cant figure out my main problem, which is changing the clock. can someone please explain it to me step by step :) thanx
Shelly, I put a copy of the manual in my post.
im sorry this prob. would have been useful to say before, my computer, for some reason, cannot process adobe websites. i have the program for adobe 6.0 but it might be corrupted. so when i clicked on the link my computer started loading it but the page froze and i had to end the program and restart my computer. sry~
I suggest you uninstall the Adobe reader, reboot and reinstall it.
Hi, How do i change the color setting? thankyou!
Everyone,
I’ve recently taken a drive from Florida to Michigan and had plenty of time to play with my stereo and I figured out how to do the things that I want to do with this stereo. I had issues also with this stereo’s sound too. It was good, but I have heard better. The controls were my biggest beef. I have a kenwood 500 amp between the stereo and the speakers and I found that the amp was not optimally configured. The guy at the stereo store set the amp controls, and I did not want to mess with those. Well, I have finally messed with those controls, and also the stereo’s sound settings, and It feels and sounds like I just installed a new system.
It’s amazing! The sound comming from this system far outweighs any other deficiencies this stereo might have. Continuous scrolling??? who frick needs continuous scrolling?? I feel like a baboon.
Erik
In the middle of a long road trip I started playing with the buttons trying to set the clock, I ended up with the inverted colors thing which drove me crazy the rest of the trip. Since then I finally pushed the right buttons and got it to stop doing that, but now my display screen has a distorted look to it. The blue lights in it which used to be clear, now have little lines running through them, kinda like looking at your display through a screen door or like everything on the display has it’s own double image imposed on it. It is not crystal clear anymore since i got it out of that inverted colors thing. I was just wondering if anyone else had this problem. I cant find any fix gor it in the owners manual. Would disconnecting the battery reset whatever it is that i have done? Thanks Mark
You’ve probably started cycling through the pretty background patterns. There’s an unlit button on the top right side. Try pushing it a couple times and it will cycle through other pretty backgrounds. I like the underwater scene and race cars :-)
HEY I LOST THE FACE TO MY CD PAYER AT A PARTY! WHERE DO U THINK I CAN GET JUST THE DETACHABLE FACE AT. THANKS
does anyone know where the reset button is for an deh-1900 mp please…..thanx..
Super Tuner IIID Pioneer CD MP3 player.
I need advice on setting clock. I read the manual on page 41 and my clock does not come up on function.
I hear that pressing “Audio” will bring up “Clock” but I don’t have
” + or – ” to move the clock numbers.
How to set the clock for Super Tuner IIID Pioneer CD MP3 player.
Turn radio off.
Hide clock face.
Press and hold a few seconds “clock button” to bring clock face up.
Press and hold “power on button” till clock starts to blink.
The 4 buttons in a cluster on the right under audio, move the hours and minutes.
press power when done.
anybody know how to get your subs working through the AUX ? i hear the music coming from my zune but my subs stop working
Was wondering if anyone knew how to get the bass working while running the aux channel with a zune.. it doesnt pick up my subs and if i leave the zune playing and switch to cd they both play at the same anybody know whats going on ?
There sure are a lot of comments on this post! I’ve closed comments on this post but…
To help the conversation continue smoothly, please post follow-up comments under this new post, New Car Stereo: Pioneer DEH-P6700MP – Part 2