Alpine CDA-9886

[exbass94]

Anyone have any experience with the Alpine CDA-9886 head unit? I'm thinking of buying one for Christmas. The main reason I'm buying it is for the USB input. I'm sick of my CDs skipping and transferring my huge CD wallet between my car and truck every day. I'll just keep the CDs in the car and have the USB in the truck. Check it out

 

[vincedia]

I am bailing on it....too much distortion at higher levels. The controls are nice, but the pre-amp stage is too low and I don't feel like spending over $100 for the imprint unit.

DEH-P400UB
I used to run this pioneer Premier head. It sounds much better than the Alpine.
I don't like the lack of preset station buttons on the front but the remote covered that. The difference in sound quality is amazing and I will be going back to the Pioneer shortly.

Speaking of remotes.....the Alpine remote SUCKS! Buttons are too small and hard to push, the Pioneer is just right.

The one last issue is the USB connection. It's slow as hell on the alpine. There is a delay when changing songs, folders, play lists. The Pioneer was instant.


Just my $.02 If ya still want the Alpine it will probably be for sale (less than a month old) right before X-mas.

Vince

 

[exbass94]

Hmm I was considering the Pioneer as well, but the lack of buttons turned me off. I find it makes things complicated when they try to cram every feature/function into one button/knob. I might go to Circuit City or Best Buy tonight, see if they have either of them, or any other models for that matter, and try them out myself. The Pioneer is about half the price of the Alpine, so I'll definitely be considering it.

 

[gizmo_21]

I don't really recommend any of the new alpine units, i'm still stuck in the old days (7984's, 9815's, 9835's) however i was in the same situation as yourself.. hate'd skipping and having cd's laying around... I did the most expesive option lol (well not really but) I bought the ipod control unit from alpine for my 7984 and my 9835 models, then i purchased two ipod 160 GB's and now i never burn cd's and every month i update my ipods and it works, if a new cd comes out i'll buy it and play for a week then download it to my ipod (and tuck the cd away at home) no build up of cd's!!!! However expensive!!

my 2 cents

Ry

 

[Pistons23]

I am bailing on it....too much distortion at higher levels. The controls are nice, but the pre-amp stage is too low and I don't feel like spending over $100 for the imprint unit.

DEH-P400UB
I used to run this pioneer Premier head. It sounds much better than the Alpine.
I don't like the lack of preset station buttons on the front but the remote covered that. The difference in sound quality is amazing and I will be going back to the Pioneer shortly.

Speaking of remotes.....the Alpine remote SUCKS! Buttons are too small and hard to push, the Pioneer is just right.

The one last issue is the USB connection. It's slow as hell on the alpine. There is a delay when changing songs, folders, play lists. The Pioneer was instant.


Just my $.02 If ya still want the Alpine it will probably be for sale (less than a month old) right before X-mas.

Vince

i might be interested. pm me a price

 

[vincedia]

Sorry, the Alpine sold. I would not want to sell it to any of my friends here

I went back to the Pioneer with the exact same setup as I had with the Alpine.

All I can say is I am in love with my truck again! The difference is just amazing, words can not describe it. It is twice as loud with no distortion. The alpine would breakup at the 24/25 volume level with a noticeable mid range shift in tone. Once you hit the 30's on the alpine it was unlistenable.

The pioneer (premier actually) is clear as a button all the way to the top. There is a little bit of distortion at the top three or four levels but I think that is a function of my speakers more than the head.

I am running (4) Polk DB571 5X7's being pushed by a Polk Momo 400.4 amp.
I'm also running a Polk Momo 12" in a sealed .88 cu/ft enclosure being pushed by a Polk Momo 500.1 amp.

I would suggest getting a tier higher on the Pioneer level to get a few more fun features. The 4000 comes with the USB cable and an adapter for the Ipod. I would suggest the bluetooth adapter at around $90 as a great add on (even though I can't get my phone working with it yet)

Good luck!
Vince

 

[exbass94]

I'm thinking I might do with the PioneerDEH-P5000UB. I like the way it looks better than the 4000. I just have to go to Circuit City and actually try it out and see if I like the way it works. My second choice would probably be the Sony CDX-GT920U. Once again, I would have to actually test drive this one to see if I like it. I know a lot of people don't like Sony, but I've always had good luck with them and I find that they're really intuitive and easy to use.

 

[justin99]

I currently have the Alpine 9883 and im pretty happy with it. I was gonna buy the Pioneer 4000 but i found the alpine brand new (several months ago) for $130 so i bought it. Does the Pioneer really sound that much better than the Alpine? Im running polk audio db6501s and i love them. They're loud as hell but still very very clear.

 

[Pistons23]

I currently have the Alpine 9883 and im pretty happy with it. I was gonna buy the Pioneer 4000 but i found the alpine brand new (several months ago) for $130 so i bought it. Does the Pioneer really sound that much better than the Alpine? Im running polk audio db6501s and i love them. They're loud as hell but still very very clear.

its all opinion. i have a pioneer and havent had problems with it. i think it sounds fine. i also have friends with alpine and their decks dont sound any better than mine. i think its just depends on the way the user uses the eq. you can easily boost the shit out of a frequency and when you crank it up it will sound distorted.

 

[exbass94]

Well lately I've been super busy with school and exams and stuff, but tomorrow I should finish my last exam by 10 AM. So right after that, I'm going straight to Circuit City and test out the head units I listed earlier, and depending on the price, I may just buy it there. Otherwise I'll order it off Crutchfield.

 

[exbass94]

So I went to Circuit City and Best Buy today and tested out the Pioneer. It was worse than I expected. The controls/menus were way more confusing than I thought they would be (and I was already expecting them to be bad). They were very counter-intuitive and I often found myself forgetting whether I should turn the knob, tilt it up or down, left or right, or push it in. One wrong move and I was sent to another menu where I had to guess which way to turn it again just to get back to where I was. I'm really electronically inclined and am usually good at figuring out how to use electronics, but these Pioneers had even me stumped.

The knob was also very flimsy and felt like it would fall off any second, and it actually DID fall off when I was using it. Half of the other Pioneer display models already had their knobs missing.
The Alpine on the other hand, was VERY intuitive and had excellent ergonomics. I immediately knew what each button was for, even before I pushed any of them. The Sony unit I'm also considering wasn't at either of the stores, but a similar model was there that was also very easy to use, and like I said before, I always found Sony to be very intuitive. So I think it's basically between the Alpine and the Sony, just need to make up my mind now.

 

[p51musty]

Ive got the alpine set up right now and the center button is awesome for selecting music off my ipod or usb...especially playlists!!

After a day I got used to it enough that I knew just to push the button turn it two clicks and push again and I was on artists or just turn it one click and was on playlists. Never even have to take my eyes off the road with the monster sized selector switch to get to my on the go playlist.

oh and running the ipod to the glovebox, talk about people being impressed