Customer Reviews

Alpine CDA-9885 CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver

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

 

 

I bought this for my wife's Honda CRV after the in-dash CD changer failed (as they all do, in my experience). She is very happy with it, especially its control of her iPod which is tucked away out of sight. I prefer Blaupunkt's approach where one uses the familiar iPod touch screen to control that unit, but this one is nice. It will also accept satellite radio and bluetooth add-ons.

I bought this as a replacement for my factory system which had finally given up the ghost, and because I wanted a decent front end for my Ipod. As a receiver and CD player the Alpine CDA-9885 does a fine job. Being able to play MP3's from a CDR is also a nice feature, something that my factory stereo couldn't do. I didn't upgrade my speakers or add an amp, and I think that most experts would recommend this. But it still sounds better than what I had before.

I was impressed with the Ipod integration. The only limitation seems to be that you can only see a few lines at a time. Feature-wise, it's got everything that you need, once you get used to the interface. The Direct Search allows you to jump through the long lists of Artists or whatever you're searching by, so you can zip down to what you want quickly.

Overall, this is still better than fumbling with the actual Ipod while trying to drive. It's a crystal clear audio connection, vs. what you'd get using an FM adaptor for the Ipod. And it charges the Ipod, as you'd expect.

An Ipod purist might want to spend an extra hundred or so and get the Alpine model that has a full Ipod screen on it. But for most of us, the CDA-9885 is a good way to go.

Looking for a stereo with 10 thousand light efects and futuristic looks.... ok this is no it... Now if you care about sound, you are in the right place. Only down for alpine is that every extra gadget (bluetooth, cel, etc) requires a seperate module, tipically expensive, so research first.

Still I love the sound, which need to be match with decent speakers and maybe (depending what are you expecting) an amplifier. I only use it with very nice front and rear speakers and small amp for the bass but nothing fancy and I kick my friends expensive set up with crappy stereo brands such pioneer...ooh yeea!! So check with some who really knows for proper set up

I bought this in 2007 and it has served me well.
Pros- Outstanding sound, great looks. Cons- The time change setting is not intuitive and tricky to use. The ipod jack is located on the back of the unit. I had it I installed without one and am out of luck.

Great sounding and looking deck with a poor a ipod jack set up configuration. It's frustrating to change the time through the controls. Everyone I have exposed it to agrees that it sounds fantastic.

Bought the 9885 because of Alpine's reputation. I agree with the previous reviewers -- the sound is amazing and the iPod integration is great (although not very iPod-like). Again, the CD and iPod sound amazing with good speakers.
However, the FM SU**s. It does not lock onto stations correctly. The reception seems like its over-powered and music is very distorted. Tried putting an attenuator on it and that helped some but strong stations, even in LOCAL mode, are just distorted. The AM, if you listen to that, is actually comparatively good -- almost as good as the FM if you don't mind the lack of high notes.
I would have expected much better from Alpine. Apparently their HD radio has many problems also. Maybe they are just great audio people and don't get the radio frequency thing.

Alpine DOES NOT sell through Amazon. I recommend you go to Alpine's website (www.alpine-usa.com) and VERIFY the person selling is an authorized dealer. Be warned that unauthorized dealers DO NOT have a factory warranty. In many cases the serial numbers may be removed and/or altered (thus ownership of electronics with serial numbers removed/altered is in violation of most state laws). DO NOT BE SCAMMED.