Pioneer SPH-10BT 1-DIN Car In-Dash Bluetooth Digital Media Smartphone Receiver

Product Information

Simulated Sound Fields" add the ambience of different types of listening rooms to my tunes, like concert hall and stadium. And there's "Easy Sound Fit" for making no-hassle time correction tweaks depending on what kind of car I'm in. More advanced settings include manual adjustments to time correction and fader/balance controls. The RDS (Radio Data System) features allow users to access additional information from participating radio stations, such as program type (PTY). This enhances the overall radio listening experience.

SPH-10BT is a single-DIN receiver that mounts your smartphone into a built-in cradle on the car's stereo. Pretty simple. From there, you can use Pioneer's Smart Sync app for navigation, hands-free calling, messaging and voice-commands. What is a single-DIN receiver? First, DIN stands for Deutsches Institut fur Normung , which is the German Institute of Standardization. There are many items that have DIN — standardization — applied to them from this group, including car radios. Vik's team took a few hours to install and test the Pioneer system with a subwoofer, which is a typical amount of time. (The subwoofer was Pioneer's TS-WX400DA Class D Active Subwoofer.) If you install the system yourself, make sure you don't put the stereo where it may interfere with normal operation of the vehicle, or someplace that could injure a passenger in case of a sudden stop or anywhere near the car's heater. Pioneer also recommends installing the unit at an angle of less than 45 degrees for optimum performance. When I had my iPhone plugged into the SPH-10BT's front USB port, the artwork was always present for whatever was playing off my phone, whether streaming or stored files. And switching between those sources was quite seamless. Without the smartphone in the cradle, the receiver offers fairly limited utility.It's fair to assume that most folks will be using the stereo in conjunction with their phone, and that the phone will be mounted in the receiver's cradle. If youalready have another spot onyour dash where you prefer to mount your phone, that's fine. Mounting your phoneOverall, the SPH-10BT does offer a safer driving experience when using your smartphone. Just make sure you install it correctly and it doesn't interfere with any other controls on your car's dashboard.

One thing that took a while to figure out was the "App Control" setting at setup — if I hadn't launched the Smart Sync app on my iPhone, the stereo would use the iPhone as the audio source whether I had chosen "Wired" or "Bluetooth" as my App Control default. Just place your smartphone* in the integrated cradle, and it will transform into an extension of your head unit. Using direct access keys, you can use your favorite apps without touching your smartphone*, helping to ensure a smooth and safe ride wherever you go. Add to this, when connected with the new Pioneer Smart Sync app, various colour and sound adjustments offer a superior customised in car experience.

On the first few passes with the iPhone SE 3rd generation, the Smart Sync app and receiver performed admirably together. However, the stereo/app combo is asking a lot of the Bluetooth connection, which is not always as robust as I'd like it to be. As Bluetooth chips for both the stereo and phones improve, perhaps Smart Sync will prove to be a reliable alternative for those who love their phones but can't invest in a touchscreen receiver. In some cases with the streaming music apps and stored music files, I would not see the album artwork, although the song titles and artists would always show up. Moving between the phone sources and music on a thumb drive took a little bit longer, but that's to be expected.