Why are Alpine head units so popular?
If you have ever owned an Alpine then you would know why. I have owned several Alpines over the past 3 years and the sound quality is by far the best that I have heard. I owned several pioneers prior as well as a few Kenwoods and they didnt sound nearly as good. Also the motorized faces on some of the higher end pioneers gave me problems. After getting my first Alpine I wouldnt use anything else.
Originally Posted by 2QUIK4U
If you have ever owned an Alpine then you would know why. I have owned several Alpines over the past 3 years and the sound quality is by far the best that I have heard. I owned several pioneers prior as well as a few Kenwoods and they didnt sound nearly as good. Also the motorized faces on some of the higher end pioneers gave me problems. After getting my first Alpine I wouldnt use anything else.
Does anybody know of any Alpines that dont look like crap though? It seems like they all, for the most part, look pretty much the same. I'm not buying a head unit based on just looks, but I wouldn't mind having something that didn't look like it would have been futuristic in 1987.
Originally Posted by Gallstaff
Haha well then maybe I got the wrong impression about Alpine's head units. If they aren't the end-all be all of the industry then WHY the hell do so many people have them? To me, they physically look outdated and overpriced compared to some kenwood, jvc, and pioneer units. And I also kind of want something that illuminates red so it'll match 
Tech. Info........ 
This extremely powerful head unit is also extremely sophisticated. It features Alpine's unrivaled Bass Engine Pro sound personalization functions, including 6-channel digital time correction and a 5-band parametric EQ. You can even download sound settings using Alpine's i-Personalize website. With the ability to customize up to eight amplifiers, select from 512 illumination colors, and much more, this is simply an amazing head unit. The CDA-9833 is compatible with XM Satellite Radio- Simply add the TUA-T020XM tuner box and you will be enjoying coast-to-coast digital quality XM radio (XM service subscription fee required). 
Features- • 60W MAX x 4 V-Drive™ Power Amplifier
- • Bass Engine Pro™
- - 6-Channel Digital Time Correction
- - 6-Position HP/LP (24dB/Octave) Digital Crossover
- - 5-Band Parametric EQ
- - Subwoofer Level Control with Phase Selector
- - 3-way or 2-way electronic crossover with adjustale slope
- • MediaXpander™
- • XM Satellite Radio Ready
- • MP3/WMA/CD-R/RW Playback
- • CD Text and MP3/WMA Tag Informtation Display
- • Quick Search Function
- • CD Text, CD Text Display, CD Text Scroll
- • Versatile-Link™ Ready
- • MaxTune SQ Tuner
- • BlackOut Display
- • Regulated 1Bit DAC
- • 3 PreOuts (4 volt)
- • MM Driver (Hard Disc Drive) Ready
- • MobileHub™ Ready
- • Swing Mechanism with Detachable Face
- • RUE-4187 wireless remote incl.
Last edited by Kage; Feb 1, 2007 at 05:41 PM.
Originally Posted by 2QUIK4U
If you have ever owned an Alpine then you would know why. I have owned several Alpines over the past 3 years and the sound quality is by far the best that I have heard. I owned several pioneers prior as well as a few Kenwoods and they didnt sound nearly as good. Also the motorized faces on some of the higher end pioneers gave me problems. After getting my first Alpine I wouldnt use anything else.
Originally Posted by Gallstaff
Really? Well then it looks like I'll have to seriously consider it.
Does anybody know of any Alpines that dont look like crap though? It seems like they all, for the most part, look pretty much the same. I'm not buying a head unit based on just looks, but I wouldn't mind having something that didn't look like it would have been futuristic in 1987.
Does anybody know of any Alpines that dont look like crap though? It seems like they all, for the most part, look pretty much the same. I'm not buying a head unit based on just looks, but I wouldn't mind having something that didn't look like it would have been futuristic in 1987.
To some, this is a disadvantage, with all of todays tricked out displays, loud colors, and crazy layouts. But to many, that classic layout is tasteful and easy to use. Just like in cars, one man's classic is another man's boring.
I am not a car audio expert, but I have been doing my own installs and hobbyist work for about 15 years. The global manufacturing economy has really changed things. Mike hit it right on the head as far as I'm concerned - most mass market head units are of very similar quality, despite what people might prefer. Fix a price point, identify the features you need, and then pick the one you like the look and feel of. We're dealing with digital outputs. If you really want SQ then the money is 100x more effective in drivers/power/sound deadening.
Oh, and if you are an MP3 guy, try popping in a regular CD every now and then. It's amazing how accostomed to lossy MP3 sound quality you can get. A real CD (not converted MP3 burn, but a REAL one) sounds just beautiful.
So buy what you want. You are, after all, the one who has to use it. F the naysayers.
Last edited by todddchi; Feb 2, 2007 at 12:21 AM.
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I have had 2 Alpine HU's (CDA-D857 and CDA-9835) and they are great headunits. I have installed the CDA-9856 and play around with it. The Alpine have a much cleaner look over other brands. Other brands have way too much flash and does not flow well with the interiors of our cars. I like the fact that I have 512 different colors adjust. The functions like BBE, 6 channel time correction, bass engine pro are several SQ tweaking features that make these HU sound amazing. I have used Pioneers in the past and they are great HU as well. I just am not a fan of the looks and the GUI. Alpine's GUI is very straight forward and is a big plus when driving.
I don't know how much more straight forward you can get than this:
I don't care for the glitz and glamour either, that's why I like the looks of my 880PRS so much.
Here are the SPECS/FEATURES
You can also turn off the internal amp, which is very nice.
I don't care for the glitz and glamour either, that's why I like the looks of my 880PRS so much.
Here are the SPECS/FEATURES
You can also turn off the internal amp, which is very nice.
Last edited by JR HAWK 9; Feb 4, 2007 at 10:02 AM.
Yeah those CDA 9833 Decks were ****, but they stopped making them, and unless you're looking in the right place, they are expensive. I have a 9857 waiting to be installed, I would have gone with the 9856 and saved myself a few dollars if I had known the difference between the 2 was the screen. When I bought my TA I was thinking of going all out and getting all RE speakers, and whatever crazy competition deck I could find, but I got the go-fast itch, and settled for what I could get a good deal on, which happened to be Alpine, so I'm going with all their stuff. I had always heard good thigns about them, so I don't regret my purchases. But definitely acknowledge there is other stuff out there.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
I have a question about the 2v preouts. Are they good enough? Because my pioneer only has 2.2 and I'm about to put in an amp. One more, would the 2.2 be better or worse than using speaker wire to go to the amp(it has the option for either). I want to power a set of mb quarts speakers and a set of subs.
TECH Addict
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,591
Likes: 1
From: Massachusetts
Yes, 2v is good enough for almost all setups. You'll need to turn the gain on the amp higher, and you could potentially get a SLIGHT drop in sound quality through unbalanced cables (lower signal running from the HU, same amount of noise = lower SNR), but not likely noticible.
Alpine isn't bad, but I'll take an Eclipse for quality any day. And they've recently updated their lineup and they seem to have made things a bit less hideous looking, but still fairly ugly and with the same bad layout, so PP might have the edge, all things considered, in my opinion. That 880PRS is indeed good looking.
Alpine isn't bad, but I'll take an Eclipse for quality any day. And they've recently updated their lineup and they seem to have made things a bit less hideous looking, but still fairly ugly and with the same bad layout, so PP might have the edge, all things considered, in my opinion. That 880PRS is indeed good looking.
I've noticed that there are a lot of pretty hot looking Panasonic head units out there. I never hear to much about Panasonic in the stereo department though. Should they be avoided or are they alright? If they're decent then I think that's what I'm going to go with.
Originally Posted by Gallstaff
I've noticed that there are a lot of pretty hot looking Panasonic head units out there. I never hear to much about Panasonic in the stereo department though. Should they be avoided or are they alright? If they're decent then I think that's what I'm going to go with.
Panasonic makes nice HU fo' sho'!
Go 4 it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
