Customer Reviews

Alpine CDA-9857 - Radio / CD / MP3 player - Full-DIN - in-dash - 50 Watts x 4

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally bought the CDA-9856 and exchanged it for this CDA-9857 model. Why? I have a 30 Gig IPod and it's difficult to dial through all of my 100's of albums/artists/playlists, let alone songs, with the slow rotary dial while I'm driving. The 9857's "Percentage Search" skip ahead feature makes selecting/playing music from the IPod a real pleasure. The 9856 doesn't have this feature. Also when searching albums, the 9857 displays 3 albums at a time, whereas the 9856 only displays 1. Both head units, however, only display 13 characters of the album/song title. This makes it very difficult to select the correct album if you have several with the same name for the first 13 characters, or perhaps multiple discs of the same album, but easier with the 9857 because it shows 3 albums at once. The 9857 is also a digital display, rather than analog as with the 9856, and the digital interface really speeds up the menu item selection and seems to make the IPod interface more "stable" (I had a problem with the MIX feature alternately refusing to turn on and then randomly turning on by itself with the 9856). Is it worth the extra $100? Well, I plan on keeping this car and this head unit for 5-8 years, so the ease of use that the 9857 offers makes listening to my IPod a pleasure that I'll enjoy for years to come, and to me that's worth the extra money. This is a darn good unit.

I use this with an iPod interface cable and an XM-direct receiver, both do just about exactly what you would want them to. They should implement the iPod fast scroll interface rather than using the station buttons to move through the lists 1/6th at a time. But that's a small gripe, it is still reasonably easy to find any artist or album out of my 8,000 or so tracks split over more than 400 albums and 200 artists. One thing most people won't care about, the RCA pre-out pigtails have been replaced with sockets on the unit, for my VW installation this considerably reduced the amount of wiring I had to find somewhere to conceal. The display is very clear but they removed the motorized tilt that was often useful for improving visibility on the older model.

I seldom use the FM or AM radio though when I do it seems to work about as well as any outdated technology, sensitivity is probably better than the older unit, either thar or they improved the local FM transmitters.

The XM controls are also well integrated, you can search by group or channel and the control usage is similar to that for the iPod.

I had an Alpine 9815 before this, it was very hard to scroll through the albums, I seldom listened to the tracks in the middle of the album or artist list. They have reduced some functionality though, but it's nothing I miss. I trade the vastly improved iPod interface and display for the esoteric sound controls that I never used.

After looking for months for a head unit that would handle satellite radio (XM or Sirius) as well as AM/FM, CDs, and iPod, I finally located this remarkable little device. The iPod link is everything you could expect short of a clickwheel (or multi-touch, as on the iPhone announced a few days ago): you can search by artist, album, song, and playlist, as well as do second-order searches (songs within albums, etc.). Or you can use the Direct Search function, in which each of the six preset buttons takes you through 1/6 of your music library -- push 1 and you go 17% of the way through, 2 = 34%, etc. Very convenient. The display software is sensible and flexible, so you can customize the readout for all functions. Hint: if you want whole titles of songs instead of a limited-character readout, redefault the song-title display to scrolling right to left. The sound, even with factory speakers, is just great, again for all functions including the iPod. You can't do half as well with anything else.

I bought this deck about 6 months ago. It has performed flawless in every aspect. As soon as I turned it on I could notice a big difference in the sound quality from my old poineer deck. I have taken all of my cd's out of my truck because there is no need for the cd player if you take advantage of the ipod interface. The ipod function is flawless and easy to use. Just plug in your ipod and search by artist, album, song title or playlist. This can get a little tricky while driving ecpecially if you have a large library so I would suggest using playlists. The output of sound quality from an ipod is amazing. Also there is a very useful bass engine that is very useful if you have subs, this function allows for flawless bass output and easy ajustment. This deck is the best overall I have ever listened to.

I purchased this unit specifically for its Ipod compatablity. It is by far the best availiable interface availiable displaying more information than other comparable units. The scroll speed is not as quick as the ipod but very acceptable. Sound quality is excellent.

My main gripe is the confusing and inconsistant logic to operation of the ipod with the receiver. For example, selecting a song to play from the artist, album or playlist menu,you press the play/pause button. If you select a song from the song list you press the mode button. The station selection buttons in song mode rapidly advance thru your song library. In another mode, it puts the unit into repeat mode. An annoyance, hard to correct at 65MPH on the road. I think the company forgot you are usually driving while operating this unit. I can't get the manual to read or study the display while crusing down the highway.

I'll start by saying I've owned nothing but Alpine decks since 2001, and every deck I've purchased is STILL working like a champ. My car enthusiasts friends have had Blaupunkt, Kenwood, Panasonic and Sony, and they all agree that my Alpines have always trumped their systems.

That being said, I give this deck 4.5 out of 5 stars. The only reason it doesn't get that last 1/2 star is because the iPod interface needs improvement. The biggest disappointment is that you have to control the iPod through the stereo, and the small screen makes that a pain. There's also an annoying delay when changing songs, and the deck won't charge the iPod when it's connected. Other than that, this deck gets an A+. The sound is excellent, the radio signal receiver works where the stock system's didn't, and the player had only skipped once in the 5 years I've owned it (and that was during a massive ice and snow storm in Portland in 2008.)

I've been installing Alpine Head Units in my cars since the late 80's and this Receiver is the best yet. Currently I'm using the internal amp, and the sound is really good considering it's only 18 watts a channel. Eventually I'm going to wire in an external amp and I like the fact that I have front and rear outputs, as well as a pair of bass outputs. The controls are very complex, but it only took me a short time to memorize the ones I use on a regular basis. I installed this same Head Unit in my Son's Kenworth truck with the optional Sirius radio box and an Ipod cable and both worked flawlessly. This is a great Unit!

having looked and tried a number of headunits i found the ipod integration on this to be by far the best lighting fast... only gripe is that controls aren't laid out logically... minor though different buttons do differnt things depending on artist, song or playlist but still not a deal breaker... had mine since may 2006 still luvin it oh and another small gripe the sirius tuner could show more info... not really a problem with the 9857 though but with the siralp1 tuner.

Great product. The ipod interface is great. My only warning is during the installation. This stereo was installed in a 2007 Subaru Imreza. Apparently there is a power antenna cable that is supposed to be spliced with the 12 volt power cable and wasn't during the initial installation. Had to go back and it was fixed in 10 minutes. I am now in the market for 2 10" subs and a single channel amp. I feel as though this head unit is not getting the justice it deserves with only 4 stock speakers...The stereo was packaged in a "Panasonic" cordless phone box which prevents someone from knowing what is actually in the box. Highly recommend!

good cd player. ipod mini works great with it. menu is good when playing mp3 cds or when connected to an ipod. tho i wish it would remember what artist i had selected from the list. i also wish that the remote could control the ipod lists. besides all that i love the cd player and would buy it all over again.