Before MP3 players became popular and before the iPod was invented, I had my eye on the Pioneer CDX-P5000. It was the ultimate CD changer for the car at that time holding 51 CDs. It was huge, unpractical and slow but there was nothing like it when it came to carrying all your music with you in the car. Now when I look at it and compare it to my tiny iPod which holds a lot more then 51 CDs, the Pioneer CDX-P5000 looks ridiculous.
12 replies on “Pioneer CDX-P5000”
yes i remember this also , i dreamed of having one in my car at that time, now i wont install it even if they gave it to me for free. LOL
You got to have a trailer for that
I had it ! It was super slow mag would jam, lol lost track what cd was were had to lable them per pos and it would jostle them all over, and screw up, which tbh was uncharacteristic of pioneers top lines, also bought eq 9200 detach face dsp, qt same time, mid to late 90’s qnd still have it! Thtas on the other side of the spectrum, selling used rn 400-500, time alignment , mic, still sick slim w hide away box, put display in my sun visors, prob 10 cars now 👍 cd changer was q bust tho
what happened to the shani post?
It looks more like a fridge than an MP3 changer 😀
For someone looking for 24bit audio CD quality, rather than compressed sound quality of AAC and MP3, this is still the ultimate mashine.
I have Pioneer DSP + component system, and I couldn’t find any more practical solution to carry around and play the elite of my music library in CD audio format, so I just bought one today.
Granted, an Ipod is compact and useful enough for an amateur, but for pro SQ/DSP applications, CD Audio is still the only way to go, and this is as big as car CD audio changers would get.
Some of you probably know, MP3 format (no matter how high you set the sample rate to when you create/rip it) will generate aweful stereo quality and back ground sounds when processed by any type of DSP to generate a field effect.
I have one of these since late 2003 or maybe 2004, bought it second hand back then for just a fraction of the original price. I use it frequently, am a lot on the road too, and even while it has been stuck a couple of times, it’s still working as I write this in 2011.
Sometimes it gets stuck with too big of a bump in the road while playing a CD, but it always somehow later just goes back to being ‘not stuck’ anymore.
The transportation mechanism (putting a CD in the top drawer and then it gets transported into a free space in the disc magazine) doesn’t work properly in my CDX-P5000, this has caused it to get stuck 2 times after which a friend of mine had to take it apart, but I just don’t use it and everything’s all right. Can easily live without it.
Even now while I’m strongly thinking of replacing my KEH-P8200RDS (Pioneer Cassette/Tuner; model year ’96/’97 I believe) witn a newer headunit which will enable me to play music from SD media and USB-sticks, I want the new headunit to have an IP-bus connection so the CDX-P5000 can still do its work. Would be a shame if I would have to remove it from my trunk and leave it unused somewhere in the addic…..
Found the DEH-P4100SD, which is one of the few Pioneers which still has the IP-bus, and also the SD-slot. Don’t like an USB memory stick poking out of my radio..
Only thing is, that I will miss the occasional cassette playing (I’m a bit old-fashioned even though I’m only 28, hence still using the KEH-P8200RDS which really even now is still a great headunit)
But this might just work with an old portable cassette player on the AUX front input, or something like that. It’s not like I use it that often.
I’ve been looking for one of these. I can’t find any of those here in Finland. If you know one for sale, let me know.
Not sure if your still looking for one, but I have one that has never been used and has been sitting up since 1997.
If you still have it, I’m very interested in buying it.
I had it ! It was super slow mag would jam, lol lost track what cd was were had to lable them per pos and it would jostle them all over, and screw up, which tbh was uncharacteristic of pioneers top lines, also bought eq 9200 detach face dsp, qt same time, mid to late 90’s qnd still have it! Thtas on the other side of the spectrum, selling used rn 400-500, time alignment , mic, still sick slim w hide away box, put display in my sun visors, prob 10 cars now 👍 cd changer was q bust tho
Keh8200 waa sweet too, remote could operate dsp too
Whats changer worth now
What’s the changer worth? Not much now. The biggest problem with this changer is that if the transport mechanism isn’t ‘parked’ (the procedure is in the owner’s manual) before it is transported it will break one or more of the 4 gears that move the mechanism up and down. I’ve bought 3 so far and have one working. I have managed to repair the broken gears. I think I paid about a Franklin for one, got the other two for less. I wish I could find one NIB.