Rep Power: 0

Ive decided on the 9855 in terms of Alpine but now im also thinking of the pioneer 8600MP as another alternative.

I can get them both for the same price, so money is not a deciding factor. My decision is based on which sounds better and how it looks, and reliability.

I like how the 9855 blends with the dash and how it looks, the biolite is a classy display but the Pioneer has a very nice looking display but doesnt blend into the dash aswell with the blue bottons and silver face.

Will the Pioneer 24 Bit D/A produce better sound than the Alpine's 1 bit D/A? otherwise the features of the two are quite similar

Ive heard that there are problems with both, but the Alpines have been solved but I dont know about the Pioneer, firmware issues?, why isnt it available at crutchfield anymore?? that is putting up some red flags for me.......

I notice there is a similar post a couple posts down but its pretty old (i did a search and bumped it up accidently by voting, lol)

any comments will be appreciated, i am going to purchase either of the decks tomorrow since today is thanksgiving day! thanks!

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm not sure which problems you are referring to as far as the Pioneer is concerned, but I've had no issues with any of the Pioneer HUs I've owned. Though it appears that Crutchfield has discontinued the 8600MP, it looks like CarDomain still carries it: http://www.cardomain.com/item/PIODEHP8600MP

 
Rep Power: 0

i would say go with the pioneer if u want it to last...... the alpine does sound a lil better but if ur runnin amps to ur components then the pioneer is better, also look for the pioneer premier model's www.speedsound.com has them the 860mp main difference is higher preout voltage and extended warrenty which is nice. i have the pioneer premier 960mp and havent had a single problem with it for over a year, i still got alot of old pioneers sittin around that still work and i mean old like .5volt preout tape decks.

 
Rep Power: 0

go with the alpine

 
Rep Power: 0

i've only owned pioneer decks in my previous cars, my last being the deh-6300............... i've had no problems with pioneer at all, if anything I would be going to Alpine just to go with something different

I've played around with the 9855 and the glidetouch and its not an issue for me at all........im not the type to be messing around with the buttons all the time, i just stick in a 150 song MP3 CD and just hit shuffle, case closed and i'll burn another CD in a couple weeks and do the same, so glide touch is not a factor.

I was thinking that the 8600 may be a bit distracting at night though, like i said, i had the 6300 before with the blue OEL display and it was a bit bright at night........i think the 8600 does have the edge in features though, the Auto EQ with the mic sounds pretty cool, dont know how well it works though and the fact that it will probably be much harder to tune the alpine properly........but i really like the simple and classy look of the 9855

Im gonna check out the 8600 at bestbuy after class tomorrow and then i'll decide!!!! i cant wait to stick either of them in! the 860 is a good idea but bestbuy doesnt have them and the only reason im considering the 8600 is because of employee discount........

It'll probably be a last minute decision!

 
Rep Power: 286

I was in the same situation several months back. I decided on the pioneer even though every told me to get the alpine. I think the pioneer SQ is great. Its got a 13band Eq which means you'll play around with the Eq for a long time until it sounds just right. I know I kept messing with it.

I don't have any issue's with my 8600mp, everything works fine. The lights are a little bright at night. Another thing you should know about this deck. Its hard to see the display if its a really sunny day. Its not really the deck's fault on that, I think its more of the design of the 7thgen. I've always had a hard time see the display on all the decks I've owned though.

The deck is not as distracting as you think. It does catch your attention at first, but after a week or two, you don't really get distracted from it. I use to have pioneer avh-p5700dvd, now that was distracting. Imagine trying to watch music video's while you where driving....LOL.

Anyways, I have no personal experience with the alpine, so I'm just commenting on the deck that I own. Most people give advice here, don't even own either deck, so I don't think your opinion is valid because your making assumptions, and not real opinions.

I'm pretty sure the alpine is a fine deck as well, and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. I love my pioneer p8600mp, and its going to be the last deck I install in my 7thgen. I've already installed 5 different aftermarket decks in my car, ended selling all of them. This deck is the deck that fits my needs.

Anyways, GL with your decision. Alpine or Pioneer, you can't go wrong.

 
Rep Power: 0

thanks for the info, yes id say both are about the same, ive decided to go with the alpine, if anything just for the simplicity of its appearance and how it blends with the dash, ive had a deck with screensaves and i think its time to try something new, they are both awesome decks, i played around with both decks today for like 30 mins each......the pioneer was much easier to work with i must say, thank god that i can use the computer to tune the alpine........and its getting super hard to find the 8600 as its discontinued!

but one big thing that got me was the shuffle operation of the pioneer, when you fwd to the next song it goes to the next song in the playlist rather than shuffling..........like i mentioned before i'll be using shuffle all the time and thats a big issue for me

im going in to order the deck tomorrow morning, thanks for everyones help!

 
Rep Power: 0

if u push up on the remote or the deck's control with the pioneer it will shuffle the songs. but yes pushing forward will give u the next song.

 
Rep Power: 334

i just bought the DEH-P860MP. Its virtually the same as the 8600 but all the Premier series Pioneer headunits drop a 0 at the end.

The main difference i beleive is that the Premier series offers higher pre-volt out. I beleive mines is 6.5 volt? I played with the headunit in person and its absolutely beautiful!!!

Hopefully i dont break it hacking it up to relocate the faceplate to the ceiling!