Opinions on replacement headunits

[dj_s2k]

Hi all,

Just wanted to get a few peoples opinions on a replacement headunit. My beloved Alpine CDA-9855r is starting to die on me. The RCA outs on the rear are playing up (sometimes the left channel just cuts out. No its not the cabling as i rewired my system yesterday with Stinger cabling so i can assure u its not that. I switched RCA's around and confirmed that its actually the headunit) and on top of that because its a motorized face it started to jam as well :S Having said that I know that my headunit will not last for much longer so i'm in the process for shopping for a new one.

I'm into SQ and not too concerned about budget (willing to spend up to $1000 on the headunit). I've heard good things about Eclipse and i've looked on the site and read up on the CD7200MKII. The 8v preouts seem very attractive as well as the online parametric eq program. So that is on top of the list.

Another headunit i'm considering is the Alpine CDA-9887. To be honest i'm disappointed with the latest range of Alpines as i feel the build quality of the units aren't as good as they once were. Having said that the Alpine headunit has "imprint" which i find quite an attractive feature as it will allow me to adjust to my cars acoustic environment.

I'm open to suggestions and opinions.

Cheers

[theuan101]

I bought the CDA-9886 and it is AWESOME! My mate has the CDA-9887, I would have gone for it but I am not going to run amps. The CDA-9887 sound ridiculously good on his $5000 JL Audio setup. I think you can get the 9887 for around the $475 at JB Hifi, or even eBay if you want!

Cheers

[Frost_FD]

$5000 setup.... omg...

I am looking for a head unit myself and considering the 9887 but whats the difference between 500 bucks and 300 bucks HU from alphine's range as i dont see much.....

[ICACHA]

not too many SQ headunits out there, yes Eclipse (although these models look plastic) they are very nice on the SQ side with obviously some tuning features.

on the subject of imprint, it is only as good as the install, dont believe me, hook it up with speakers in the OEM locations and tune with it, then you need to build a proper car that stages and images and try the same thing with the imprint, you wont believe your ears. imprint comes from home audio and the way its being tuned these days. home audio and car audio are on 2 different planets so dont think imprint is a fix for everyone thinking they will 'greatly' improve how their system sounds. its only as good as the install...

[arverson]

I am looking for a head unit myself and considering the 9887 but whats the difference between 500 bucks and 300 bucks HU from alphine's range as i dont see much.....

if i remember correctly -and assuming your talkin about the 9887 & 9886- the differences are that the 9887 comes with more extensive tuning capabilities inbuilt, like a usb port, 2/3 way x-over, 6 channel time-correction/alignment & a 5-7 band parametric eq.

the 9886 has those eq'ing capabilities but ONLY with the addition of the h100 processor, which is like another $200 on top.

ummm also one of them comes with a usb port & one without, forgot which one is which tho.

thats all that comes to mind atm. theres probably more differences but this should make up your mind for now

[dj_s2k]

on the subject of imprint, it is only as good as the install, dont believe me, hook it up with speakers in the OEM locations and tune with it, then you need to build a proper car that stages and images and try the same thing with the imprint, you wont believe your ears. imprint comes from home audio and the way its being tuned these days. home audio and car audio are on 2 different planets so dont think imprint is a fix for everyone thinking they will 'greatly' improve how their system sounds. its only as good as the install...

I was under the impression that imprint was meant to make the tuning of the system a lot easier for the user. Instead of manually tuning the system by ear ? I've also been told by the rep of Alpine that when "Imprinting" your car it will draw out an eq curve for you that best suits your acoustic environments ? I must admit i'm not 100% about this imprint business though and just like with anything thats meant to be "easy" it just means a quick shortcut. I know 100% that tuning a car takes A LOT of time (took me a few hours to tune my setup and I'm still trying to fine tune it) and i don't believe that it can be done within a few minutes with a program n mic. Very skeptical.

I dunno maybe it'll be good to get a few people you have actually used imrpint in their car for their opinions. Would be very interesting.

[spiderman]

Hi
I have the CDA-9887 and the imprint kit....

I was very surprised at how effective the unit was.....takes alot of the work out of tuning....have loaned it to a mate too ....he was impressed as well.....

Each to there own though....

Go the 9887 excellent deck for tuning and you can pick them up for a great price atm ...very bland display but why do you buy a stereo to look at it or listen to it.....

[ICACHA]

Hi
I have the CDA-9887 and the imprint kit....

I was very surprised at how effective the unit was.....takes alot of the work out of tuning....have loaned it to a mate too ....he was impressed as well.....

Each to there own though....

Go the 9887 excellent deck for tuning and you can pick them up for a great price atm ...very bland display but why do you buy a stereo to look at it or listen to it.....

tell me, did it stage and image? if you say yes, show me pics of your speaker install, if you dont know what stage and image is then dont answer yes or no :)

[arverson]

lmao..

[Frost_FD]

Another option we can consider if you want to keep you existing head unit is the Alpine PXA H701 Processor

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?i=500PXAH701&tp=84&tab=detailed_info

I would still get a new CDA 9887 for that price

[keniirox]

pioneer p90rs =) ..they sex .. pioneers top range headunit

good tuning features and later on if u want more tuneability you can add its combo (forgot the name p90 somthing)..

the headunit itself is about 800 i think and the combo thing is about the same price

[ICACHA]

dex-p90 is the eq

[dj_s2k]

Hmmm have never been i fan of pioneers i must say. Had issues with them in the past and I get a lot of customers coming back with RCA problems and noise interference issues. So i want to try and stay away from Pioneer.

[Frost_FD]

Hi Guys,

I am swinging more towards the alpine CDA-9886.
Let me know if it is worth putting an extra 100 dollars for the CDA-9887 since i think the 9886 has everything i want besides the 7 band equalizer... what eva that is

[ICACHA]

Hi Guys,

I am swinging more towards the alpine CDA-9886.
Let me know if it is worth putting an extra 100 dollars for the CDA-9887 since i think the 9886 has everything i want besides the 7 band equalizer... what eva that is

Go with the 9886, 9887 does not have USB :)

[Frost_FD]

Bottom line.

I want the best SQ without using the alpine tunning kit.

[theuan101]

Bottom line.

I want the best SQ without using the alpine tunning kit.

Go for the 9886 I have one in my integra with type r splits in the front and 2 way type s in the back and it sound awesome!! Oh and I got Dynamatt!!

The only reason I picked the 9886 is because the headunit's back light is much brighter, and the fact that the 9887 is more expensive.

[ICACHA]

Bottom line.

I want the best SQ without using the alpine tunning kit.

thats very easy, DONT BUY ALPINE THEN :wave:

[shebangs]

Do any headunits these days support decent text display and Album Art? (folder.jpg preferably, or embedded in the mp3)

I loooove my 9831, but the above are the only two things that annoy me about it. Well, that and the glare you can't read it easily. Specially when you cycle through an album and all you get is "01 - Armin Va.." "02 - Armin Va.." etc.

[theuan101]

Do any headunits these days support decent text display and Album Art? (folder.jpg preferably, or embedded in the mp3)

I loooove my 9831, but the above are the only two things that annoy me about it. Well, that and the glare you can't read it easily. Specially when you cycle through an album and all you get is "01 - Armin Va.." "02 - Armin Va.." etc.

My 9886 has some anti glare feature! It works really well. It has goos text display can take a picture if you want...

[rahul]

why dont you look at the pioneer p80, its got a lot of tuning features like the 9887. so its worth comparing against the alpine.

[ICACHA]

trust me the P80 does not have what the imprint capable head units have :)

want to prove me wrong, tell me, does the P80 have 512 bands of EQ per channel by any chance? no, well thats what you get when using an imprint capable product. the reason for the EQ is to try and correct what the time alignment stuffs up with phase, phase really screws with EQ thats why when tuning a car EQ is the last thing thats touched...

[rahul]

i believe you as i know you are one of the industry members and the fact that i havent used imprint

my comments come from my experience with 9833 and pioneer 8650 head units. i personally prefer the 8650 as i found it to be more transparent than the alpine. i thought the alpine was a bit artificial in its reproduction.

anyway... that was a couple of models ago.

[ICACHA]

rahul, my personal favourite head unit of all time is the P90RS with its processor, use to own and use one and i loved it that much i asked my friends at pioneer australia to gt me in one of the ODR units and processor i seen in germany last year, i could of bought one there but at 8k euro retail (approx. 15k aud here) didnt make much sense... nothing wrong with pioneer providing the person knows what they want, nothing wrong with any head unit providing they are buying for the right reasons... buying a top of the line head unit and not using it to its full potential is a waste of money in anyones language, sadly thats what many people do these days just to say to their mates, look at me, look at me...

[Frost_FD]

Hi all, i ended up getting the Alpine 9886 and i am impressed on the performance in SQ and SPL compared to my stock hu.

I cant quite narrow down to the difference between the 9887 and 9886, so far the only difference is that the 9887 comes with 24bit and more equalizer bands and the 9886 requires a processor to activate 24 bit.

I rate the 9886 even though its my first hu

[Type R Positive]

Hi all, i ended up getting the Alpine 9886 and i am impressed on the performance in SQ and SPL compared to my stock hu.

I cant quite narrow down to the difference between the 9887 and 9886, so far the only difference is that the 9887 comes with 24bit and more equalizer bands and the 9886 requires a processor to activate 24 bit.

I rate the 9886 even though its my first hu
Sounds nice mate! :thumbsup:
Im going Alpine in my Prado soon.... Can't go wrong for the $$$ vs performance.

[dj_s2k]

I cant quite narrow down to the difference between the 9887 and 9886, so far the only difference is that the 9887 comes with 24bit and more equalizer bands and the 9886 requires a processor to activate 24 bit.



The 9886 doesn't have the 1-bit regulated Burrbrown DAC and the inbuilt imprint . But yea i've heard the 9886 and for most car setups its quite decent. iPod ready, bluetooth MODULE ready and the fact that its not bad build.

[ICACHA]

out of curiosity, what does 1bit and 24bit sound like in the vehicle environment, can you really tell that much when your engine is running? i guess with fuel prices going up or staying up it makes good sense to turn the engine off and roll down hills listening to 24bit :)