PYLE PLR24MPF AM/FM Receiver MP3 Playback with USB/SD/AUX-IN
Filed Under (Car Stereo) by Admin on 14-04-2010
Product Description
AM/FM 2-Band Radio (USA)Built-In USB/SD Ports (Front) LCD Digital Display ID3 Tag Function Tone Control Rotary Tuning/Volume Control AUX-IN Jack (Front) Last-Track Memory 10 Songs Skip Up/ 10 Songs Skip Down Folder Up/Do… More >>
Too low to display
PYLE PLR24MPF AM/FM Receiver MP3 Playback with USB/SD/AUX-IN
Before I ever installed the unit, I already had a bad feeling about it. Being intrigued by new stuff, I pulled it apart to inspect. What I found was worse than what I expected. The comments below are in addition to the comments already made & you should take theirs into consideration as well.
1. The unit weighs almost nothing. That hints at a lack of components & heatsink (which would be necessary if it had decent amplification).
2. There are NO RCA outputs on this unit, so no amplification is possible.
3. The lack of RCAs isn’t missed much, due to the fact that the unit outputs to mono (yes, I was amazed to find both the left & right speaker wires coming out of the exact same solder joint.
4. The radio is really only capable of running two speakers (only has wires for two as well) & pushing 4 would likely run it into distortion quickly.
5. The radio used antiquated common ground speaker outputs. This is something that I haven’t seen since the 80′s. It means that the entire chassis of the car is used for the negative on the speakers. It’s not a good thing for noise at all (whining).
6. The knobs on the unit are actually knobs. Like the kind you found on radios from the 80′s. This means that the radio’s tuning isn’t digital & there are no seek functions or presets. It also means that the volume knob is really hard to use.
7. It appears that most of the solder work on the board is hand done (common of Chinese products) & not in a good way (I saw what are likely cold solder joints).
7. All of the buttons on the unit feel like they are the poor kind of microswitches that I only see on equipment that fails within a few months & so I wouldn’texpect much more out of these.
9. Top everything off by a MP3 menu system that is from the early days of MP3′s & you really don’t want this radio.
Rating: 1 / 5
This unit is not for everybody, but if you want a simple, inexpensive low-end MP3 player for your car, it may be for you.
The AM-FM radio has digital tuning and works fine, but has no presets. If you feel you need 30 station presets, don’t buy this.
The MP3 player has front panel slots for an SDHC card as well as a USB thumb drive. Buttons allow you to skip up/down one song, 10 songs, or a complete file. Additional controls include a rotary volume control (way better than pushbuttons in my opinion), a rotary “tone” knob that doesn’t do much, a MUTE button, a LOUD button which is supposed to enhance bass and treble but doesn’t have much effect, clock setting buttons and the file control buttons. The display is large and easy to read and is illuminated with a nice bright blue light. The front panel also has a mini phone plug input for an Ipod or CD player.
The claimed 160 watt power output is ridiculous. The unit draws about 8 watts primary power while driving two 4 ohm speakers at full volume. The real power output is probably about 5 watts. This provides adequate listening volume in my convertible at highway speeds, but it wil NOT shake the car or shatter your eardrums. If you want more power and enhanced tone, you could connect the player to one of the many available power amp/equalizers on the market. There are no RCA outputs on this player but many external amps can be connected direct to the speaker outputs.
The bottom line is, you’re not going to get a $300 car stereo for under forty bucks, but if all you want is a simple device that handles SDHC cards and has a rotary volume control, without the added complexity of a built-in CD or cassette player, this unit fills the bill. An external equalizer/amplifier will add much improved tone and volume performance at considerably less cost than an integrated unit of comparable quality.
Rating: 4 / 5
I bought this item thinking that is a very useful and that was what I was lookin for but…. what a fake…. is very easy to install… the sound is bad…it is hard and difficult to hear an USB device, if you do not prepare very well in the media player as an MP3 device it will not reconigze it, when you are playing and give some volume it distorsionate a lot….the final conclusion: you want an real and useful car stereo look for something with known brands, if not you can have bad surprises.
Rating: 1 / 5
Mine was a Pyramid rather than a Pyle but the exact same unit is available from several vendors. To say they suck is to damn with faint praise. The radio pulls in half the whole spectrum at a time, and the USB port is unpowered. Plus the electronics were not done correctly. I won’t bore you with how or why but trust me, you can find better uses for the $30.
Rating: 1 / 5
I read the reviews before I purchased mine, didn’t sound like much but with all the car stereo thefts in my area I figured what the heck, maybe they won’t steal this one. The first one I received was DOA but the supplier quickly replaced it, and I installed it in 20 minutes (running 4 speakers)… yeah there’s a little distortion, but you can tweak most of that out. I mostly got it just for mp3 and sd card use and the music is very clear. True, you get what you pay for, this is not a high end unit but works well for me
Rating: 3 / 5