Customer Reviews

alpine

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

 

 

For $200 I guess you can't beat this head unit for IPod compatibility. Still, there's some shortfalls... The first is that the menu interface system is completely non-intuitive and outright wacky. I hate to admit it, but I have yet to figure out how to use either Album MIX or Song MIX to shuffle songs. The second drawback is the large size of the display characters/font. If your album has a long title, and you happen to have multiple volumes or discs of the same album... forget it. The display will only show part of the title, and the end is cut off. Makes it a real pain. Because of this, I might recommend you go for the Alpine CDA-9857 for $100 more. The CDA-9857 has an allegedly superior display (and it has a percentage search feature that helps you speed through song lists I hear), but I haven't seen the HU, so can't really say. Check it out.

I used to have a Pioneer deck DEH-P7600MP and i thought that was a pretty good deck...but compared to this Alpine 9856 this thing blows it out of the water...by far the best deck i've ever owned...vocals are clear and precise, the lows are tight and responsive, and the treble is right on as well!! the controls aren't that hard to get used to either...BUY IT you will not regret it...be prepared though this thing is powerful!

I won't buy anything but alpine from now on that's how good it sounds...

I have this cable installed on a CDA-9856 deck, using a 60GB iPod Photo. The interface completely circumvents everything that is good about the interface on the iPod itself.

1. The controls and display on the iPod are disabled when connected the head unit. You MUST use the head unit to control the iPod, and you cannot see information about the currently playing track on the iPod.

2. When searching through artists, albums, songs, or playlists on the deck, only one item is viewable at a time (contrasted with 5 or 6 items viewable on the iPod screen itself). This makes it extremely dangerous to browse through your music while driving if you don't already know exactly what you want to listen to.

3. One "tick" of the control knob on the deck scrolls through 1 item (artist/album/song/playlist) on the iPod. Scrolling does not speed up as you continue to turn the knob. If you want to scroll through 200+ artists, expect to spend fully 2 minutes or more twiddling the knob. While driving. I can't even begin to describe how frustrating this is.

4. There is absolutely no way to speed up the process: there is no fast scrolling mode that skips through 10+ artists at a time, there is no way to scroll by letter of the alphabet, no nothing.

5. When scrolling through items, the menu returns to the beginning of the list each time you pull it up. If you spend 90 seconds scrolling to "New Order", then next you want to listen to something by Nirvana, have fun scrolling for another 90 seconds.


It's as if Alpine didn't bother to user test this system AT ALL with large-capacity iPods. It's a complete embarassment and I will be returning it as soon as possible.

This deck is very cheep used, and is now discontinued. It runs very easy and the user interface is quite simple for changing bass level, treble level, and balance. The CD player part is the best because it hides the disk, but you have to press the removal button to get to the player making it easy to possibly break the thing right off. The I-pod interface could have been better but you need to learn how to COPE with the annoyance of having to change the songs with the I-pod not plugged in or by clicking the buttons on the deck to change the songs. But this is why you make a playlist prepared for your drive and use the deck to change the songs. To other MP3 capable decks this is very good. I never figured out what the BAND button does but I could give a crap. Not only can it use MP3 but it can use Serius XM and make it sound nice. The screen is easy to read and the deck has many features that allow you to adjust the power to your speakers. I run all alpine speakers and no sub at the moment. But this deck can run a sub. I find this deck to be very nice and would buy another used one if mine broke.

I agree about menu. It has to be the worst I have ever seen. Nothing is intuitive. I have to have the owners manual with me to make just the simplest changes. Nothing like the Sony's and Pioneers I have used. Totally sucks. So much so that I am just going to through mine away. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I have to. Another thing, why can't Alpine put a crossover into a $200 CD player. I have an older Sony that cost me $150 that has it. I was lied to by the owner of a small shop in Bridgeport WV that it did have one. I should have researched it better so that is my fault but he still should have let me know as that was one THE most important criteria in a head unit for me.

I bought this as a replacement for the same model that was stolen from car. I decided to purchase this unit over a newer model because of the BBE feature. The newer Apline head units no longer have this feature. It enhances the bass specturm and I really enjoyed the sound it produced without a powered subwoofer.

the item i rivieved is just what i ordered from amazon. THANKS