Din 1.5 Head Units
11-30-2010, 12:38 PM
#1
Din 1.5 Head Units I have been trolling the forums and ebay for quite some time looking for a Alpine or Pioneer 1.5 Din head unit. Does anyone have any source information on them? Maybe some shop out there have some sitting around or one that needs repair? I dont really want to do alot of cutting and tweaking for a double din and I dont care for the looks of a single din. HUmount or not they just dont look like they belong there.
The head unit Im looking for specifically is the CDA-857
The head unit Im looking for specifically is the CDA-857
11-30-2010, 05:29 PM
#2
Those decks are hard to find now. The Alpine was the better of them all and the Pioneer wasn't much better then stock overall.
Jenson has one model number CD615X and is pretty cheap and looks about the same as the others. It is a 1.5 DIN with preamp outs. Found one on eBay for cheap just now.
Unfortunately none of those compare to the sound, color matching, and multimedia options of other single DIN radios. With all the 1.5DIN radios that came in cars you'd think someone made a decent one but Alpine was the closest back in the day. Now those units don't compare. Good luck!
Jenson has one model number CD615X and is pretty cheap and looks about the same as the others. It is a 1.5 DIN with preamp outs. Found one on eBay for cheap just now.
Unfortunately none of those compare to the sound, color matching, and multimedia options of other single DIN radios. With all the 1.5DIN radios that came in cars you'd think someone made a decent one but Alpine was the closest back in the day. Now those units don't compare. Good luck!
11-30-2010, 05:39 PM
#3
Thank you for the info. Do you know of anyone out there that can rebuild the OEM unit to have better output and quality? I really want to keep the OEM appearance but want power too. I have even considered what folks do with classic cars and put a head unit somewhere else.
11-30-2010, 06:15 PM
#4
Correct me if I am wrong but to fit a double din you only need to purchase a modified radio bezel. My double din is on order as well as the rest of items. My understanding is the dash opening it self is double din but the radio bezel is not. 6littereaterdesigns has the double din bezel for our cars.
11-30-2010, 07:59 PM
#5
Correct me if I am wrong but to fit a double din you only need to purchase a modified radio bezel. My double din is on order as well as the rest of items. My understanding is the dash opening it self is double din but the radio bezel is not. 6littereaterdesigns has the double din bezel for our cars.
The OEM radio has nothing to do with output in these systems, the stock amp does. The stock radio is just a signal sent to the amp. The amp dictates the power output. You could always change the amp and speakers and still use the stock HU. This would increase output significantly but also be more expensive. The gain would be significant though and would improve sound quality.
11-30-2010, 08:33 PM
#6
There is a little more to it then that but not much more. You do need to trim a little plastic inside the opening just below the vents for proper fitment. You also need to cut the plastic mount thing in the very back of the opening...which has to be done with almost any aftermarket radio.
The OEM radio has nothing to do with output in these systems, the stock amp does. The stock radio is just a signal sent to the amp. The amp dictates the power output. You could always change the amp and speakers and still use the stock HU. This would increase output significantly but also be more expensive. The gain would be significant though and would improve sound quality.
The OEM radio has nothing to do with output in these systems, the stock amp does. The stock radio is just a signal sent to the amp. The amp dictates the power output. You could always change the amp and speakers and still use the stock HU. This would increase output significantly but also be more expensive. The gain would be significant though and would improve sound quality.
11-30-2010, 09:12 PM
#7
I've sold a couple of 1.5 DIN Alpine's lately and they went for crazy money IMO for a 10 year old radio. My last one was a like new Alpine CDA-D853 and it went for like $220 with shipping on eBay. I have one CDA-D855 left, but I'm keeping it for my install. I'm attaching a pic of the CDA-D853 installed in my dash, but I didn't like it because the D853/D857 doesn't match the '97-'99 gray interior. The D852/D855 does, so that's why I'm now going with the D855 and it looks MUCH better IMO in my '98. If you've got the '00-'02,then the D853/D857 is the one to go with.
Here's a brief description from my last auction with some history:
A brief history of the Alpine 1.5 DIN CD Players: Alpine manufactured 1.5 DIN CD Players from the late 90’s until the very early 2000’s. They’re designed to fit in the stock 1.5 DIN openings of many GM & Chrysler vehicles filling the entire opening with a stereo instead of a standard DIN stereo in an unsightly mounting kit. The first units manufactured were the CDA-D852 and CDA-D855 units. Alpine later updated and replaced them with the CDA-D853 and CDA-D857 units. There are only 2 major differences between the CDA-D853 and CDA-D857. The D853 has dual 2V RCA outputs and the D857 uses 4V outputs. The D857 also added BBE signal processing replacing the Loudness signal processing on the D853. The D853/D857 units were also given a bigger internal amp with 45 watts x 4 replacing the D852/D855 unit’s 40 watts x 4. The D853/D857 also have black faces replacing the dark grey faces of the D852/D855 units.
If you would like to look over the features of the CDA-D853, here’s a link to the owner’s manual:
http://vault.alpine-usa.com/products...M_CDA-D857.PDF
Here's a brief description from my last auction with some history:
A brief history of the Alpine 1.5 DIN CD Players: Alpine manufactured 1.5 DIN CD Players from the late 90’s until the very early 2000’s. They’re designed to fit in the stock 1.5 DIN openings of many GM & Chrysler vehicles filling the entire opening with a stereo instead of a standard DIN stereo in an unsightly mounting kit. The first units manufactured were the CDA-D852 and CDA-D855 units. Alpine later updated and replaced them with the CDA-D853 and CDA-D857 units. There are only 2 major differences between the CDA-D853 and CDA-D857. The D853 has dual 2V RCA outputs and the D857 uses 4V outputs. The D857 also added BBE signal processing replacing the Loudness signal processing on the D853. The D853/D857 units were also given a bigger internal amp with 45 watts x 4 replacing the D852/D855 unit’s 40 watts x 4. The D853/D857 also have black faces replacing the dark grey faces of the D852/D855 units.
If you would like to look over the features of the CDA-D853, here’s a link to the owner’s manual:
http://vault.alpine-usa.com/products...M_CDA-D857.PDF
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12-01-2010, 01:21 PM
#8
There is a little more to it then that but not much more. You do need to trim a little plastic inside the opening just below the vents for proper fitment. You also need to cut the plastic mount thing in the very back of the opening...which has to be done with almost any aftermarket radio.
The OEM radio has nothing to do with output in these systems, the stock amp does. The stock radio is just a signal sent to the amp. The amp dictates the power output. You could always change the amp and speakers and still use the stock HU. This would increase output significantly but also be more expensive. The gain would be significant though and would improve sound quality.
The OEM radio has nothing to do with output in these systems, the stock amp does. The stock radio is just a signal sent to the amp. The amp dictates the power output. You could always change the amp and speakers and still use the stock HU. This would increase output significantly but also be more expensive. The gain would be significant though and would improve sound quality.
