Alpine: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
Rep Power: 0 
Alpine: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
I just bought an Alpine CDM-9823 to replace my Pioneer DEH-P3600.
Here are my thoughts:
THE GOOD
- Sound quality is a lot superior to Pioneer (A LOT).
- Installation was a breeze (as always)
THE BAD
- It lacks some very basic features like low/high pass filters, mid EQ
- The UI is somewhat stupid when I compare to Pioneer. For example, I'm listening to radio and I press the Eject button when there's no CD in, it stops the radio, tries to eject the CD for about 5-8 seconds then turns the radio back on...
- Pioneer's UI is a lot more user friendly
- No remote control
- No sub phase inverter
- No sub frequency booster
- No illumination dim at night+
THE UGLY
- DAMN IT'S UGLY! My Pioneer (which I paid cheaper than the Alpine) looks way better
CONCLUSION
- If you want sound quality, Alpine is for you. If you need certain features or want a good looking radio, either buy something else or the higher end Alpine radios.
Here are my thoughts:
THE GOOD
- Sound quality is a lot superior to Pioneer (A LOT).
- Installation was a breeze (as always)
THE BAD
- It lacks some very basic features like low/high pass filters, mid EQ
- The UI is somewhat stupid when I compare to Pioneer. For example, I'm listening to radio and I press the Eject button when there's no CD in, it stops the radio, tries to eject the CD for about 5-8 seconds then turns the radio back on...
- Pioneer's UI is a lot more user friendly
- No remote control
- No sub phase inverter
- No sub frequency booster
- No illumination dim at night+
THE UGLY
- DAMN IT'S UGLY! My Pioneer (which I paid cheaper than the Alpine) looks way better
CONCLUSION
- If you want sound quality, Alpine is for you. If you need certain features or want a good looking radio, either buy something else or the higher end Alpine radios.
Thread Starter
Registered!!
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
Rep Power: 0 I kind of regret not looking at Clarion at all. In my mind, it was either Pioneer or Alpine. I was sick of Pioneer's muddy sound so the choice was obvious for me, although maybe not the right one.
Don't get me wrong, the Alpine is good, i just wish it has more feature and a nicer display!
Don't get me wrong, the Alpine is good, i just wish it has more feature and a nicer display!
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 51,241
Likes: 20
From: NV
Rep Power: 812 
Maybe should've gotten a better alpine? There's one with that cool display and that mystic has with red lights and white dot matrix. Really nice... but expansive. That's what I would've bought if I had a coupe.
Originally Posted by eetfunk
I just bought an Alpine CDM-9823 to replace my Pioneer DEH-P3600.
Here are my thoughts:
THE GOOD
- Sound quality is a lot superior to Pioneer (A LOT).
- Installation was a breeze (as always)
THE BAD
- It lacks some very basic features like low/high pass filters, mid EQ
- The UI is somewhat stupid when I compare to Pioneer. For example, I'm listening to radio and I press the Eject button when there's no CD in, it stops the radio, tries to eject the CD for about 5-8 seconds then turns the radio back on...
- Pioneer's UI is a lot more user friendly
- No remote control
- No sub phase inverter
- No sub frequency booster
- No illumination dim at night+
THE UGLY
- DAMN IT'S UGLY! My Pioneer (which I paid cheaper than the Alpine) looks way better
CONCLUSION
- If you want sound quality, Alpine is for you. If you need certain features or want a good looking radio, either buy something else or the higher end Alpine radios.
Here are my thoughts:
THE GOOD
- Sound quality is a lot superior to Pioneer (A LOT).
- Installation was a breeze (as always)
THE BAD
- It lacks some very basic features like low/high pass filters, mid EQ
- The UI is somewhat stupid when I compare to Pioneer. For example, I'm listening to radio and I press the Eject button when there's no CD in, it stops the radio, tries to eject the CD for about 5-8 seconds then turns the radio back on...
- Pioneer's UI is a lot more user friendly
- No remote control
- No sub phase inverter
- No sub frequency booster
- No illumination dim at night+
THE UGLY
- DAMN IT'S UGLY! My Pioneer (which I paid cheaper than the Alpine) looks way better
CONCLUSION
- If you want sound quality, Alpine is for you. If you need certain features or want a good looking radio, either buy something else or the higher end Alpine radios.
if your looking for sound quality you would amplify your speakers seperatly apart from the head unit
I just bought the P80 from pioneer, I love how everythigns on the left side like alpines and it has a LIST feature which allows you to look at directory / file trees visually making it easier to find songs and folders, it also loads mp3s and reads tags way faster, best purchase ive made since my HID's
Registered!!
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
From: Cali
Rep Power: 0 i went from pioneer to alpine stricking for cosmetic reasons of matching my system....and i was really happy with the pioneer 7400 deck....i must say it is easier to use because you can see visually what ur adjusting ...and i was upset for a while till i figured out how to use my alpine 9815....and now i love it with time correction and the crossover...but i still miss the wonderful screen savers....but if you learn how to tweak the alpine deck...it's worth it....
Registered!!
iTrader: (18)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,209
Likes: 0
From: La Puente (626), California
Rep Power: 313 Im into sound quality! So Im always gonna stick to Alpine, Im not into dolphins, or racing cars on the screen of a radio, those are just features to substitute for bad sound quality.
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 26,704
Likes: 0
From: Poco, B.C. Canada
Rep Power: 564
Originally Posted by AlpineCivic
Im into sound quality! So Im always gonna stick to Alpine, Im not into dolphins, or racing cars on the screen of a radio, those are just features to substitute for bad sound quality.
My deck has the shittiest screen savers of all time but its still one of the best sounding out there imo.
Registered!!
iTrader: (18)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,209
Likes: 0
From: La Puente (626), California
Rep Power: 313
Originally Posted by VTECHGRL
racing cars huh? lol, is that right?
Registered!!
iTrader: (18)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,209
Likes: 0
From: La Puente (626), California
Rep Power: 313
Originally Posted by Pharoh
My deck has the shittiest screen savers of all time but its still one of the best sounding out there imo.
Im not saying Alpine is the best, Im just saying I would rather have a radio with good sound quality than a radio with a bunch of lights and pictures!
Registered!!
iTrader: (18)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,209
Likes: 0
From: La Puente (626), California
Rep Power: 313
Originally Posted by VTECHGRL
um i told you i wanted that touch screen! 
HEHE
HEHE
After 6 months of convincing! And why do you want the IVA-D310? cause it looks cool
(women ) 
) Registered!!
iTrader: (18)
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,209
Likes: 0
From: La Puente (626), California
Rep Power: 313
Originally Posted by VTECHGRL
you wanted the touch screen one to! lol.. remember!
Yes I do want it! It sounds good and it has all the features I want and need to run my system.
The LA Clipper
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,539
Likes: 0
From: SoCal, California, US
Rep Power: 346
Originally Posted by AlpineCivic
Im into sound quality! So Im always gonna stick to Alpine, Im not into dolphins, or racing cars on the screen of a radio, those are just features to substitute for bad sound quality.
My last radio had a dolphin
