On The Bench
Moving into the lab the next day, I expected the unit to measure very well, and it did not disappoint. In all regards, the unit produced excellent measured specs as I had expected it would, after having such an enjoyable listening session.
Frequency response of both the amplified and pre-amp outputs was nice and flat, signal-to-noise was excellent, and the output impedance of the RCA outputs were the lowest I’ve measured in quite a while, at a very impressive 46 ohms. With the high voltage and great low impedance output, this unit should not suffer from radiated noise problems when installed properly. Stereo separation was also excellent, as was the AM/FM tuner sensitivity specs.
When I was playing around with adjustments and settings, I noticed that the very lowest and very highest bands of the built-in 8-band equalizer seemed to have a lot more effect on the overall sound than any of the 6 bands in between them. As I later found out on the test bench, the 40Hz and 10kHz bands use a very low Q, and could be used by themselves for basic tuning. Cleverly implemented features like this one are useful and make the product simpler and easier to use.
When a unit sounds as good as this one did, superlative specifications like this are expected, and that’s exactly what the AVH-P3300BT delivered. From an audio performance perspective, this unit is as good as any that I’ve measured in this price range this year.
Conclusion
If you are a connected type of individual with an iPhone and you want to have your apps available in your car, or if you just
really enjoy great sound in your car and don’t want to drop a grand or more on a new source unit, the Pioneer AVH-P3300BT could be exactly what you need to upgrade your ride to today’s technology. And with all the available options like the simple to install AVIC-U220 navigation, SiriusXM satellite radio and HD Radio, the AVH-P3300BT might just be about as “future-proof” a source unit as you can find- as long as you have an iPhone!
MEASURED
SPECIFICATIONS
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AMPLIFIER |
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CEA-2006A Power per channel (all channels driven,@ 4 ohms) 18.7 watts/ch x 4 |
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A Wtd S/N Ratio (ref to 2V/1W @ 4 ohms) Amplified output -81.5dBA (CD) |
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THD+N @ 2V/1W @ 4 ohms 1kHz 0.01% |
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Frequency Response (-3.0dB 20Hz – 20kHz |
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PREAMP SECTION |
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Usable RCA Output Voltage 3.9 Vrms |
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A Wtd S/N Ratio ref to full output voltage -89.9dBA |
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Output Impedance 46 ohms |
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Frequency Response (-3.0dB) 20Hz – 20kHz |
Power vs THD+N @ 14.4v Batt
High Pass Crossover
- Frequency Response
Pioneer AVH-P3300BT / AVIC U220
Amplifier Output, Mat Flat - Frequency
Response CD Source
