Alpine CDA-9887: First impressions

[jmanpc]

I just went to a local shop and demoed an Alpine CDA-9887. 'Bout time Alpine got them out. I'm sure some of you are eager to hear about it.

First of all, of course it sounded good. I wouldn't expect anything less from a really expensive Alpine deck.

Perks: Nice, easily readable display, clean looks, not too many buttons, good sound quality, and the SQ features are back. Yay! 3-way xover, time alignment, parametric EQ, low/mid/hi attenuation, and all those other goodies. Thank you, Alpine, for bringing those back. It's about time. I didn't check the iPod connection, but IIRC, it is full speed. I'm not completely sure, but I think the preouts are 4v.

Not so perky: Alpine has managed to make another unit that is a complete pain in the *** to use. I will say it is a hair easier than my 9855, but it still pales in comparison to my Clarion. Why can't they just make a button that does exactly what it says it does? The menu button doesn't even say menu! When I was in the T/A menu, and I wanted to get out, I went "Oh, I should press the ESC." I did, the unit beeped, and nothing happened I had to hold it for a few seconds. Why do I have to hold the escape button? The Xover is confusing as hell to use because the correlation between the buttons and their functions are unmarked.

Oh, and you can't attenuate the low/mid/hi independently for left and right. -10 for that.

Overall: Nice unit, Alpine. Thanks for bringing back the SQ features for us enthusiasts. But please, hire someone who knows how to make a unit easy to use. A kindergartener might could do better. It should neither take an Alpine Tech, or a complete reading of the manual to know how to use the deck.

[Beat_Dominator]

That pretty much sums it up. Alpine really needs to revamp their control style. I guess they're afraid to alienate long-time customers..... but they lose a ton I bet from being so annoying

[mendon99]

It is full speed, and yes, 4v preouts. It also has the Imprint Technology built in, which id really like to try out as well..

yeah I have the 9885 (was just waiting for the 87 to come out) and holding the ESC button to get out of a menu is ridiculous, also some of the ipod controls are really stupid as well..

cant wait to get my hands on one still, though - Its essentially the 9835 redone, with better DACs, and Imprint. The other thing that kinda bothers me about it vs the 9835 is that the PEQ on it is all numbers instead of a picture like the 9835 had. It was much easier to look at with the graphs and such.

[bjayjr5679]

Oh, and you can't attenuate the low/mid/hi independently for left and right. -10 for that.

You can attenuate those for left and right see page 24 of manual at setting the filter type.
Hold down setup and go to audio and set filter type and you can chose from:

L=R : Left and right speakers adjusted equally
or
L/R : Left and right speakers adjusted individually

after selecting L/R you can select low/r low/l , mid/r mid/l , and low/l low/r in the x/over

[bjayjr5679]

just installed mine this past saturday and gave my friend my old CDA-9856. The sound is amazing really cant compare it to anything other than the 9856 and an old CDE-7859 (man i miss that thing). Now with the crossover flat and eq flat and just a cd in the sound was better than when i had to tweak the treble and bass on the 9856. I cant comment on the other features beside the display and the fact that the sound is great and that the full speed connection is the best i have seen and heard (not saying much) but cant wait to install my comps and see what else i can make sound better.


Also i do agree with the op in that it is hard to navigate. The Return button (rtn) is useless and only takes you out of sub menus in the setup and you have to wait for the menu to end or hold down the setup button.

[pandimus]

just installed mine this past saturday and gave my friend my old CDA-9856. The sound is amazing really cant compare it to anything other than the 9856 and an old CDE-7859 (man i miss that thing). Now with the crossover flat and eq flat and just a cd in the sound was better than when i had to tweak the treble and bass on the 9856. I cant comment on the other features beside the display and the fact that the sound is great and that the full speed connection is the best i have seen and heard (not saying much) but cant wait to install my comps and see what else i can make sound better.


Also i do agree with the op in that it is hard to navigate. The Return button (rtn) is useless and only takes you out of sub menus in the setup and you have to wait for the menu to end or hold down the setup button.

How much of the text do you get when displaying the ipod data? I know that the (believe 9881) doesnt display the full title of the song. I dont care if it scrolls it, just want full text.

thnx

[jmanpc]

I mean, to make the xover easier to use, all they would have to do is like put < and > on either side of freq, and |<< and >>| on either side of the slope. Simple things like that would make it a hell of a lot easier to figure out.

You can attenuate those for left and right see page 24 of manual at setting the filter type.
Hold down setup and go to audio and set filter type and you can chose from:

L=R : Left and right speakers adjusted equally
or
L/R : Left and right speakers adjusted individually

after selecting L/R you can select low/r low/l , mid/r mid/l , and low/l low/r in the x/over

Ah. Well there's another example of needing to be an alpine tech or having to read the whole manual to operate it. On my clarion, it's got "SP Gain" and you can just scroll through the L and R Hi, Mid and Low. It wasn't hard to figure out.

[Babs]

Nice write-up.
Anyone heard if they've been able to get their hands on the Imprint tuning kit yet?

[vtuning.net]

I received today my Alpine 9887R.

Very great head unit, the sound is incomparable than my last Alpine X001.

[sdmtnbiker420]

Good review.

Anybody know if this deck has USB capability?

[whitemax]

I think that Alpine's units have gotten a little harder to use over the years. I don't get why they did away with the layout of the screen like the CDA-7998, and the 9835 had. This may have something to do with the screen being smaller. Setting up the different settings was easier that way. That is one of the things that I liked about owning those units. I was thinking about giving this HU a try, but am leaning on just sticking with my current HU.....

[vtuning.net]

Not direct link to USB but you can connect the Alpine USB adapter (150€).

This head unit support Full Speed connexions with IPods but you must buy à cable (20€).

[vtuning.net]

Not direct link to USB but you can connect the Alpine USB adapter (150€).

This head unit support Full Speed connexions with IPods but you must buy à cable (20€).

[sdmtnbiker420]

Not direct link to USB but you can connect the Alpine USB adapter (150€).

What???


150€ is about 200 US Dollars. Is that the right price???

[vtuning.net]

Yes, but the price of this head unit in Europe is about 500€ (600$), in US 300€ (350$).

I think you can find it for a lower price.

(sorry if you don't understand me englis is not my original language).