Working at the CES show gives one the opportunity to see just what is going on behind-the-scenes with many of the exhibitors. The Pioneer booth, which was located to the right of what many refer to as the ‘front door’ of the South Hall had lots going on this year. Pioneer chose to dedicate a significant portion of their booth to the new MIXTRAX feature found on about one third of their head units. Let’s check out the vehicle they brought to show off this cool new feature.
Having worked closely with Toyota on many projects in the past, it was a natural choice for Pioneer to choose the sleek Sienna mini-van to demo this cool new DJ feature. Fear not folks, we have a mini-van feature happening right here in the pages of PAS! Fear not, we haven’t gone all soccer-mom on you, this thing is cool.
The Sienna was taken to the skilled crew at Five Axis for its transformation. They installed an AirRunner TC-5 air suspension. This system includes a Digital Controller to let you make all the settings for the system. You can set 6 different ride height presets and tweak the 5-way adjustable damping and rebound settings on the bagged struts. This is a classy system! The Sienna rolls on FIVE:AD S5:F wheels in a 20x9” size. Those are wrapped in Yokohama S drive tires. The exterior of the Sienna was treated to a custom vinyl wrap designed by ANYONE CCL. The wrap was installed by Sticky Fingers Design to complete the exterior modifications.
In preparation for the greatest personal listening environment possible, the Five Axis crew started by gutting the rear section of the interior and setting rear-facing seats which were created and finished in gloss white. These sit on super-furry white carpet. Centered between the seats is a podium that is home to a Pioneer AVH-P8400BH DVD Receiver. The whole thing has a very 70’s sci-fi movie feel to it – very cool.
Audio signals from the Pioneer receiver are sent to a total of 8 Pioneer amplifiers. Three GM-D9500F four-channel amps feed three pairs of TS-D6902R co-axial 6x9 speakers. The speakers are located on the wall in front of the seats, but are hidden from view by a white fabric screen. Five Axis created an awesome light show presentation using LED lighting to add to the night club theme of the vehicle.
Beneath the screen are five TS-W3002D2 12” Champion Series subwoofers. The subwoofers are installed in a ported enclosure that sits right on the floor in front of the listeners. Each sub is powered by its own Pioneer GM-D8500M 600 W Amplifier.
So, what is Mixtrax? With their years of experience in the professional DJ industry, Pioneer has taken some of that know-how and developed a software application that will analyse your music collection for tempo, beat position, vocal position and the overall mood of each track. The software identifies the best locations in each track for transitions and groups your music into customized playlists. You also have the option of making your own playlists. You can also incorporate DJ style effects like a high-pass filter, Flanger, Backspin, Roll and Scratch to name a few. It truly is like having the perfect DJ who can nail every transition, every time... then taking him on the road with you.
The driving area of the Sienna was treated to some upgrades as well. A Pioneer AppRadio2 was mounted in the stock radio location. The factory speakers were upgraded to Pioneer TS-D1320C components to improve the realism and detail of the music.
Once the doors opened to the public at CES, there was always a line up of people waiting to hop into the Sienna and enjoy their own personalized non-stop music experience. That is a sure-fire sign that the Five Axis crew was once-again successful in creating an amazing corporate demo vehicle.
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