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Level-up your in-car entertainment with Pioneer’s latest Z-series receivers

By Marcus Wong - on 12 Jun 2017, 4:29pm

Level-up your in-car entertainment with Pioneer’s latest Z-series receivers

Ask anyone what their main entertainment device is these days, and chances are they’ll say it’s their smartphone, and for good reason. Our phones not only hold our favorite movies and music, they also connect to a whole host of music streaming services so you’ll always have music on the go.

So, why not bring these entertainment options into the car with you? Pioneer’s latest Z-series receivers allows you to do just that, with native support for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and AppRadio Mode+. The Bluetooth-ready Z-Series receivers can simultaneously connect up to five devices for easy sharing among the family. Bluetooth AVCRP 1.6 allows you to wirelessly browse your phone’s media library, while AppRadio Mode+ lets you easily stream supported apps to the larger touchscreen of the head unit.

Whether you use iOS or Android, the new Pioneer Z-series receivers will work seamlessly with them.

For example, Waze and Spotify both benefit from the larger screen, as it’s obviously much easier to sort through playlists or navigate a map with a larger 6” or 7” screen. If you’re on a longer road trip, the plug-and-play convenience of the new units extend to movies too, so your passengers can enjoy movie in Full HD (1080p) clarity while you drive.

Scroll through your phone's playlist easily via touch on the new Pioneer Z-series receivers.

The Z-series receivers support video files in WMV, Xvid, H.264, H.265, and MPEG-4 formats in up to 1920x1080 resolution, and there’s even support for NTFS file formats, so you can plug in your portable hard disk instead of your phone. Hours of video entertainment to cover even the longest of road trips.

All four of Pioneer’s new receivers have had their audio components designed and tuned by their NAD professional audio division, with a new circuit board, new PMLCAP (Polymer Multi-Layer Capacitor) and new resin electrode capacitors installed for minimum noise interference and optimal sound. The PMLCAPs in particular, are said to generate resonance and reverberation in the midrange frequencies that are easiest to hear, hence improving the quality of vocals.

Get your sound just the way you want it with a 13-band graphic equalizer.

Some of the video codecs supported by the Z-series receivers.

All the models will have a 13-band graphic equalizer, an Auto Equalizer, Auto Time Alignment, Advanced Sound Retriever function as well be able to play up to 192kHz/24-bit FLAC files.

Here’s some images and pricing for all four models:

AVH-Z5050BT

This is an in-dash double-DIN DVD multimedia AV receiver with 7” WVGA Touchscreen Display with 24-bit True Color. It retails for $999.

AVH-Z2050BT

This in-dash double-DIN model has a 6.2” WVGA Touchscreen Display with 24-bit True Color and offers Direct Control for iPod/iPhone via both USB and Bluetooth. This retails for $699.

AVH-Z1050DVD

As above, this in-dash double-DIN model has a 6.2” WVGA Touchscreen Display with 24-bit True Color too. It also offers direct control for both Android and iOS devices, but does so over a USB cable. This is going for $649.

AVH-7050BT

This is the only in-dash 1-DIN model in the new line-up, and it features a 7” WVGA Touchscreen Display with 24-bit True Color with Steering Wheel Control Function Expansion, and Siri Eyes free compatibility. This retails for $1,099.

All four units are said to be available at all major retailers by the end of this month.

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