The retro car audio revival has officially reached the 2000s – and Pioneer has apparently decided the 2010s deserve another go too.
The DEH-X8700DAB originally appeared in 2014, but as Hayes installer Car Audio Security discovered this week, the brand has brought the single-DIN head unit back into production as demand grows for audio upgrades that look like they actually belong in older cars.
That makes plenty of sense. While owners of classic cars have been snapping up period-looking stereos from Blaupunkt and Pioneer that look like they were introduced in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s – with Pioneer even dabbling in retro speakers – there is an increasingly large pool of cars from the early 2000s that don’t necessarily need or want a giant touchscreen grafted into the middle of the dashboard.
The DEH-X8700DAB sits somewhere between old-school and modern. You get a CD player, DAB+, AM/FM radio and that unmistakably 2010s combination of a large LCD display, physical buttons and a rather magnificent spectrum analyser. It also happens to be considerably more capable than many original stereos found in 2000s cars.
Bluetooth provides wireless music streaming and hands-free calling, while the front auxiliary input and rear USB connection give you plenty of options for connecting older and newer devices. There’s also direct iPod/iPhone control, Android compatibility and Siri Eyes Free for compatible Apple devices.
And then there’s the stuff that matters if you're actually interested in the sound. The built-in MOSFET amplifier delivers 4 x 50W, while three 4V RCA pre-outs provide connections for front, rear and subwoofer channels. There’s also a five-band graphic EQ, high- and low-pass filters and Pioneer’s Advanced Sound Retriever technology. In other words, you can build a pretty serious system around it without making the dashboard look like it belongs in a Tesla.
Car Audio Security is selling the revived Pioneer for £199 and recently highlighted the retro trend by wheeling a Renault 5 GT Turbo into its showroom, fitted with Pioneer’s SXT-C10PS head unit and TS-X40SXT rear shelf speakers – both recent releases, but with old-school looks.
It could lead a few customers to the DEH-X8700DAB too. And while the 210,000-colour RGB illumination might sound spectacularly 2014, that’s rather the point. Sometimes the best way to upgrade an old car is not to make it look new – it’s to make it look better at being old.
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