Alpine CDA-9886

[blong4life]

Hello Guys,

Looking at an Alpine CDA-9886, anybody here have one and what are your reviews of the unit?

Thanks,
Brandon

[GetLikeMe]

I got one im selling like new with ipod cable. PM me if interested. BTW this was in my girls car she loved it but im getting her a TV>

[Jh8909]

GetLikeMe has one.

Edit: too late

[AQHDC3]

I like mine overall.

[blong4life]

Won't be buying for about a month my truck has some motor problems just trying to get some sort of figures lined up, hence the ask for reviews.

[PJK485]

Yea i have that radio. it's a piece of crap...just kidding. I like it alot. Its sounds great, user friendly and easy on the eyes too.

[surreal]

I got a pioneer 510 over the 9886. I had a 410 before this though so Im biased, and bumping the knob going straight into bass level was somewhat aggrivating.

[Mynameismcgyver]

I had one for about 2 weeks. Ended up ditching it because mainly the 2v pre out compared to my 5 yr old 9827 that has a 4v. I also had a problem with the unit automatically killing my higher freq as I went up near 22 and 24 on the volume. I called Alpine and they said it was a feature built in that prevents damage to the speakers. The output was FAR less then where I normally run it when it started to cut the highs....I had to get rid of the unit. Im scared to get any of the newer headunits and I won't use anything other then Alpine. *****....Because I liked the 9884 and 86

[Supergumby5000]

I had one for about 2 weeks. Ended up ditching it because mainly the 2v pre out compared to my 5 yr old 9827 that has a 4v. I also had a problem with the unit automatically killing my higher freq as I went up near 22 and 24 on the volume. I called Alpine and they said it was a feature built in that prevents damage to the speakers. The output was FAR less then where I normally run it when it started to cut the highs....I had to get rid of the unit. Im scared to get any of the newer headunits and I won't use anything other then Alpine. *****....Because I liked the 9884 and 86

that is completely 100% totally user error right there. If you had your amps tuned properly, this would have not been the case. If you werent using amps and the speakers were ran off of the headunit, you are expecting too much.


the 9886 is a great entry level headunit. Dont expect much in terms of advanced tuning features, unless you plan to use an external EQ or something along those lines. Good, reliable units, and are pretty easy to use.

[Mynameismcgyver]

that is completely 100% totally user error right there. If you had your amps tuned properly, this would have not been the case. If you werent using amps and the speakers were ran off of the headunit, you are expecting too much.


the 9886 is a great entry level headunit. Dont expect much in terms of advanced tuning features, unless you plan to use an external EQ or something along those lines. Good, reliable units, and are pretty easy to use.

Negative. I have an Alpine Mrd digital amp. Even after extensive time messing with the settings, (in which I had lower the gain to like .2 or something along those lines) and time speaking the reps, it still only reached 80% of what I had before using the 9827.
I know my way around this stuff so appreciate your input.

[scoob8000]

I've got a 9884 now. The only thing I like about it is the ipod controls. The 9886 is basically the same deck but with a nicer screen, it still lacks a HPF crossover, hi volt preouts, and decent LPF controls. You need to go with the 9887 for a decent deck in that lineup, but even after dropping $300 your still using the ipod's DAC instead of the one built into the H/U.

I'm going the same route as Surreal, trading my Alpine for the Pioneer 510/5100.

[PJK485]

Which 9886 are you guys using cuz mine has 4V preouts and a high pass crossover.

[Mynameismcgyver]

Typos. I was using the 84 not the 86. The 86 does have 4v pre.

[Jagershot]

I just sold my 9886 on eBay. The sound adjustments are extremely lacking and it was the worst sounding head unit I've ever had. I'm back to stock while I wait for the Kenwood KDC-X994.

I will say that the menus were nice and the display was very readable. I just can't believe that a $399 retail headunit has only a 2 band parametric equalizer.

[eharri3]

It's not a great head unit, just a few nice doo-dads to make it a nice step up from the base level ones. The new CDA 117 is a better bet. Alpine's first departure in a while from the 'let them pay for IMPRINT if they want more' business model.