Customer Reviews

Alpine CDA105 / CDA-105 / CDA-105 CD Receiver MP3/WMA Player

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My old Alpine stereo was still going strong, but this one had so many cool new features that I had to buy it. And I am very, very glad that I did.

It has the usual Alpine virtues: intuitive controls, perfect sound, etc. But some new features make it special:

#1 new feature: USB port on rear of unit. Attach an iPod, iPhone, memory stick, or like me, a 500 GB Buffalo MiniStation Cobalt hard drive. Have your entire music collection at your fingertips!

#2 new feature: Imprint! This automotive version of the Audyssey processor has worked miracles on the sound of my system in my truck. The PXA-H100 processor plugs directly into the back of the CDA-105 and should be considered a must-have accessory. After an hour of setup (stepping through the menus) I was shocked at the level of improvement in the overall sound. Before, it was a good-sounding car stereo. Now, it is the best sounding car stereo that I've ever heard. Wow! Really, this is a life-improving feature.

This is a great head unit, and I am very happy with it. It is very easy to navigate your iPod with. However, you should not buy the Alpine KCE-422I iPod cable as Amazon recommends. It WILL NOT work with this head unit. All that you need to use is a USB cable like the one that comes with your iPod. I purchased one from WalMart after finding the KCE-422I cable that I ordered would not work. This unit has independent subwoofer control which lets you control the power to your amp seperately from the bass control. With all of the adjustments on this HU you can get an incredibly good sounding system with a little adjustment.

Good stereo overall. But a few problems...

The first unit I received had a defective CD player, so I had to return it and order a new one. I was not able/allowed to simply exchange it - no big deal though.

The reason I only gave 3 stars - I purchased this unit mainly because I wanted something that had a USB input, so that I could play MP3's from a thumb drive. It works, but there are a few things I do not like:

-you can't have more than 100 songs in any given folder. No problem I guess, just divide your files up into multiple folders.

-you can't have more than 100 folders on the USB device - not just in the root directory...you can't have more than 100 total folders on the device. What is up with that?! It's the year 2011 - I can't understand why modern technology would have such a limitation. I use a 16 gig USB drive, I have about 3,000 songs, and they are divided up (by artist) into about 200 folders. Well, when you scroll through the list of folders in the device, it only allows you to select from the first 100 folders that were copied to the device. Anything beyond 100 is not accessible.

-the stereo does not recognize folders within folders. You can still access those folders - but it treats all folders on the device as if they were in the root directory. Since I have over 200 different folders, I wanted to organize them into categories. That would make it quicker to find a specific folder/artist you are looking for. Well, when you use the search folders function on the stereo, every single folder on the device is on one big list. So if you have 4 folders in the "root" directory, and each of those 4 folders has 20 sub-folders - you get 80 folders listed when you use the search folders function. And they are listed in the order that they are copied to the device - not by name in alphabetical order. ( FYI - you can download various freeware programs available online to re-sort the folders on your device, if you want).

So ultimately, the issues with the folders and organizing your songs is a deal breaker for me. I would not recommend this unit, if your main intent is to play music from a USB device. (none of these issues apply if you're using an I-pod, just FYI)

Part of the reason I'm being a little harsh is because I also have a cheap sony media player receiver, with USB input, in my other car. It was under $100 here on amazon. It doesn't have any of the same problems that this more expensive Alpine has.

This is a killer unit- I highly suggest it. Installs easily, has many options for additional features (external CD, Sat Radio, Ipod, USB, Bluetooth, etc.) and sounds fantastic.. but do know that this unit DOES come with an iPod / USB cable, so there is no need to buy one separate. The cable included will allow you to control your iPod/Phone from the head unit.

I have always been a big fan of alpine. ok well in all actuality its the only brand of in dash that i will have. i purchached a chevy sil. with a pioneer and hooked a system up to it. and it sounded ok but i knew the sound quality just wasnt there we sat in the shop and listened to it for a while and jerked out the old deck and put in the alpine and let me tell you the alpine literally sounded like i put all new speakers in the doors and new subwoofers all the controls on this deck are perfect the sub control is the first thing that it pops up which is great for when you are ready just to listen to music not beat. it reads my mp3 player just fine ran the cable over to the glove box. and this thing will not skip a beat on cd's bumpy roads, pound the dash whatever its not gonna mess up.

Take this with a grain of salt, I replaced an older, poor quality Pioneer Super Tuner with this unit. However, this Alpine unit was a HUGE step up in quality and sound. The controls feel solid, the buttons set up to quickly access the most common functions. The rest of the functions are accessible in shallow menus, that is you don't have to drill too deep to get to the function you need.

The difference in sound quality was HUGE.

Unless you need the most tricked out stereo, this one is an excellent buy.

im very happy with my new alpine stereo. it was a plus that the thing lights up the same red and blue as my vw passat. i mean the exact same blue and red, almost looks like this alpine was made for a VW. i only have it hooked up to my stock speakers but it sounds really good. i mainly bought this stereo for the ipod interface, which works very well. the ipod plugs/charges through the glove compartment while u control it from the stereo. u can search through your playlist,artists, albums, songs, podcast, genres all from the stereo. for those with a large variety of music like me theres a percentage search feature that works well or a alphabetical search, whatever floats ur boat. but the most of time i drive around with my flash drive thats loaded with hundreds of songs. the flash drive also plugs in through the glove. the stereo comes with the ipod and usb connections so no worries bout that. also searching for music in ur flash drive is a ease. i have my settings to whatever im using ipod or usb it displays the artist,album title, then song title. goes through all 3 while the song is playing. i dont have the bluetooth or satelite radio hooked up because there is extra things u have to purchase. overall im very pleased with this alpine deck and i would def recommend it!

The Alpine CD105 represents a great value considering the features it has. The high quality DAC provide great sound and the built in power is more than adequate for me. I saved a lot of money not having to buy separate amplifiers to run four speakers and external crossovers for hooking up a subwoofer. It is built into the deck. All you need is a powered subwoofer. Car stereos have come a long way since the 80's and 90's.

The Bose stereo unit in the MX5 is not very good. The head unit itself is made by Clarion. I installed the CDA105, the 400BT bluetooth unit and Metra's steering wheel control adapter.
The results exceeded my expectations. The CDA105 sounds great and with the bluetooth module I can make and receive phone calls hands free. I expected some sound improvement, but this was a night and day difference. My installation was a little complicated because the MX5 Bose system has a built in amplifier and I had to solder in RCA connectors to carry line level inputs to the amplifier.

The CDA105 comes with a cable for Ipods. Ipod control is excellent and I enjoy driving to work listening to my classic rock. I highly recommend the CDA105.

Even though it doesn't say on the box or in the booklet, it works with my iPhone 3GS. Also I didn't need the cord it recomends, it works just fine with the cord that came with it. When I first plugged it in, it put up a fight saying it isn't compatable and would comprimise phone service, I turned off my phone and turned it back on and it has worked just fine ever since. Hasn't said anything, just does what it's supposed to. Charges the phone when it's plugged in, takes a little time getting used to. Just as dangerous as looking at your iPod/Phone while driving, but not illegal to mess with the radio when compared to manual data entry laws for phones while driving. With shipping still much cheaper than getting it from stores. Not hard to install if you can get installation kits from car stereo dealers. They will try to talk you into letting them install it even though you didn't buy it from them.