Pioneer has released a head unit designed for 80s and 90s vehicles. The Pioneer SXT-C10PS uses an old school single-DIN standard so it can slot into the dashboard or console of most cars from that era. Inside, it features all the latest technology we expect from a car stereo, including Bluetooth.
Visually, it’s a great fit with 80s and 90s cars. The face is matte black and in the upper left corner even includes Pioneer’s classic tuning-fork-inside-the-Greek-letter-Omega logo. Like old school head units, the faceplate is detachable in case you park in any sketchy neighborhoods. The best feature of all is what appears to be a cassette tape slot that opens to reveal USB and AUX inputs.
On the back there’s the standard outlet to connect the head unit to the car’s harness, which may require an adapter. However, it also includes an outlet steering wheel inputs for newer cars, three RCA high-voltage pre-outs (for front, rear, and subwoofer), as well as jacks for car antennas as well as DAB. It can also charge your smartphone, has Spotify on the audio source rotation, and can make phone calls.
The lighting is RGB so it can be customized to match the dash illumination of any car, including the serene light green of 80s and 90s Japanese cars. The LCD screen can show a graphic equalizer as well.
So far Pioneer is only officially releasing it in Europe and Australia. It retails for €399 ($465 USD) and you can import one, but the radio frequency steps will not match up to all US broadcast frequencies. Hopefully Pioneer decides to bring it stateside soon.
Now that is hot. I’m all about single DIN since it’s all you need for that 1990s experience. Anything bigger and you’re essentially CarPlay. The Pioneer head unit really evokes retro. I stick with Alpine single DIN for my JNCs and they also have RGB that matches up with the dashboard’s green. Always remove the faceplate when stepping out of the car!
Rad. Bring it here Pioneer, it will sell to the JNC crowd.
Wild that none of the promo shots show it in the dash of a Japanese car. There are already better-suited vintage-themed Blaupunkt options for German steel.
That looks GREAT
It’s got the pre-LED, “Vacuum Fluorescent Display” vibe down.
It looks clean, but the black finish with the 6 membrane buttons gives me more Alpine vibes than what Pioneer’s 80s head units looked like. When I think Pioneer, I think of those silver Lonesome Car-Boy units and the crazy VU meters.
BUT it looks infinitely better than a touchscreen and I hope they lean further into the retro look considering most people in the AV hobby drive old stuff.