Two years ago the least expensive CD receiver offered from Pioneer was the DEH-7300BT and it did not include audio streaming. This year, Pioneer is offering 2 CD receivers with Bluetooth and audio streaming for at least $50 less than the 7300BT. We have chosen for now to only carry one of those 2 CD receivers with Bluetooth for one main reason; common sense. The DEH-X6500BT is only $10 more than its little brother, DEH-X4500BT, and it offers 5 more additional features.
They both have AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA/USB/AUX and of course Bluetooth for hands free calling and audio streaming. They both will also have wireless remote, Advanced Sound Retriever, control Pandora radio with an iPhone connected in the USB port and both are Smartphone compatible for Android music files. The difference for the extra $10 again is common sense and this is what that looks like.
The DEH-X6500BT, who I nicknamed “Reno”, will also have 2 RCA pre outs instead of 1, wired remote input to integrate to your factory steering wheel audio controls, APP Mode for iPhone, Voice Activation for iPhone Bluetooth, MIXTRAX and 210,000 RGB Dual Zone Color Illumination. This is the single din or half (sized) brother of the FH-X700BT, a.k.a. “Vegas”. The nicknames are due to the very bright, brilliant and with your choosing, very flashy illumination options of these radios and of course the names correspond to their size.
MIXTRAX is a new feature Pioneer introduced last year. It isn’t just for looks, although, depending on your eyes and I believe, youth, the appearance can be a benefit. Visibly, the MIXTRAX setting will cause these lights to flash to the beat of the music and while it’s doing this you can already have it set to stay one color or scan through a series of colors.
MIXTRAX at its core is an sound entertainment feature. This is technology Pioneer uses in their DJ products, which are REALLY cool and if you ever make it to CES in the real Vegas, you should check out the VJ booth. MIXTRAX has a lot of different possibilities depending on the user. You can go full tilt with this by setting up everything first on your PC or Mac. With your PC you can customize playlists by using MIXTRAX with your iTunes or other music organizer to group songs together by mood, beats per minutes, etc. Once you have arranged your playlists or folders download it to your iPod or USB flash drive and connect it to your FH-X700BT. Once the music starts to play and you are in your MIXTRAX setting, the songs will play just like a DJ mix. One song runs right into another with no pause between songs. This is a great feature for home or the road.
In its simplest form, MIXTRAX on your Pioneer radio can just cause your music to be non-stop. For this, no PC or Mac or App is necessary. Just connect your iPod or USB flash drive to the Pioneer radio and choose the MIXTRAX setting. In this simpler setting, its cooperation depends heavily on the type and quality of your music files.
There will be more advanced CD receivers coming out later this fall that will allow for all this and even more features such as HD Radio, Satellite Radio, 3 preouts and higher voltage, just to name a few. However, if you are not adding multiple amplifiers and like me gave up on satellite radio a long time ago when Pandora was introduced, this radio is a great fit for a great price. You can see both Reno and Vegas here at CAR Audio & Security in Wake Forest, Monday – Friday, 10am – 7pm. You won’t even need VIP passes.
Fernando
i am going to buy a radio and im between the DEH-X6500BT and the FH-X700BT can you tell me the difference because for what i see is only the size.
crhoades
I am pretty certain the size is the only difference. So, just the materials, amount of display, etc. is the extra amount. Most people who have the space for a double din will choose that. The added benefit of the single din is having a handy pocket to hold your ipod or phone when it’s plugged in, in case you don’t have one already.
darkseid007
I would really like to know the difference between the pioneer deh-x6500bt and the pioneer deh-65bt.
crhoades
Pioneer sells certain models to certain businesses. The DEH-65BT is a Wal Mart line. I have been told by Pioneer reps that those radios are typically manufactured elsewhere, and I assume that means the quality isn’t as good but cannot verify but usually there is one or two features missing from its similar model sold in stores like ours. The DEH-65BT is missing the X in the model which means it doesn’t have Mixtrax which is an exclusive Pioneer feature allowing “DJ” like music features. I have a blog on that as well if you want to know more. I read the description on WalMart.com and it claims to have Mixtrax, but I wouldn’t believe it until I could see it happen. It doesn’t describe preouts and voltage so I don’t know if those differ. The bluetooth feature seems to be the same.