alpine 9855 + 701, or clarion 9255...

[thefunkybunch 10+ year member]

just trying to figure out which way would be better. the alpine setup would be about 40 bucks cheaper and definitely offer better flexibility with EQ, (not to mention free up some space behind my radio which is seriously cramped)

but the clarion is highly regarded as an excellent SQ deck, and that is my main concern. could care less about mp3. just looking for great sound. any opinions?

at the moment i have the 9855 running 3way, and no rear speakers. it sounds good, but is just missing something, though i can't exactly put my finger on what it is. perhaps adding the processor would take care of it, or maybe i just need to scrap the alpine all together. looking for a warm, clean sound. i rarely ever crank it up, but occasionally the moment strikes.

i have boston z6 with a boston gt22 on the mids and a gt20 on the tweets currently through the boston z passive crossovers, and another gt22 on a pair of g2 10's sealed.

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I assume you've tweaked the hell out of the 9835 in an effort to get what you're not hearing out? You can't simply add the H701 to the deck, you need the outboard controller...

Have you considered a P9 setup?

 

[thefunkybunch 10+ year member]

the controller isn't a big deal, i know i'd need that. i won't consider a p9 setup because we carry both alpine and clarion at work... employee accomodation is my friend //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif by the way it is a 9855, not a 9835, and yess i've tweaked the hell out of it. it just sounds like i'm missing something... not quite right.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

even better, 9835 with h701

but since you got a 9855 get an h701 and you'll be tune happy.

 

[ismelllikepoop 10+ year member]

so you work at a shop that sells both these products and you are asking ppl in the forum what to buy?

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Alpine...superior combination.

NG

 

[thefunkybunch 10+ year member]

just curious if anyone had any experience with either. i'll probably go with the 9255, but curiosity makes me wonder how well the alpine would do with the 701

 

[DARKHART 10+ year member]

Haven't had any experience with the Alpine and I'm sure that it's a very nice combo, but I do know that the Clarion has non-clipping outputs at full volume......//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

the controller isn't a big deal, i know i'd need that. i won't consider a p9 setup because we carry both alpine and clarion at work... employee accomodation is my friend //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif by the way it is a 9855, not a 9835, and yess i've tweaked the hell out of it. it just sounds like i'm missing something... not quite right.

Is it NOT warm enough of a sound?? Because that is what I noticed about Alpine decks that I've heard and tried.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Beat. To. Death

All in all, Alpine H701 > DRZ9255

Even if you find the 9255 to have a slightly better inherent "sound quality", the increased flexibility of the H701 will have a far greater impact on the sound of your stereo.

Only reason not to go with the H701 out of the comparison is if you want an all-in-one CD player. And even then I'd consider Eclipse's offerings along with the 9255.

 

[thefunkybunch 10+ year member]

that's about the best way i can describe it, and i have heard other people say the same thing about alpines after reading a bit. my eclipse 8061 was great, but it was a few years old and i try to keep stuff in my car we actually carry at work, and unfortunately eclipse isn't one of them. i love the old eclipses, and would consider one of the newer ones however i am not at all a fan of their aesthetics; way too flashy for me. the 9855 is pushing it, but i keep the display off because it bugs me so it's pretty plain. the clarion looks perfect, but i can't seem to find anything about what color the illumination is on them. my dash lights are purple and red (VW) and i'd like it to look as stock as possible. i really like the way the nak's look, but i haven't had good experiences with either of the nak's i've had... sounded awesome, but skipped like a MOFO, both the 40z and the 45z, so i'll stay away from that route again.

anyone have any issues with the clarion before i go drop 600 bucks? the only downside i can see to it is that it (like all clarions) is menu driven. i like pushing the volume nob in to get to sub volume, with the clarion you have to go into the right menu and yada yada yada, but i can live with that.

 

[thefunkybunch 10+ year member]

played with the 701 and don't really like the way that it works, not to mention that the 9855 doesn't have an optical out, so it would still be processed by the cheesy dac, then converted back to digital, processed, and then back to analog again before hitting my amps, and since i have no intentions whatsoever of running 5.1 again it seems that a lot of the features on the 701 are geared towards that.

was reading the 9255 manual on teamclarion.com and was looking over things... i am having second thoughts about it. nowhere in the manual does it tell youhow to get to time alignment, just the tables for setting it up. also, it appears that in standard mode (front high, front low, rear, and sub) of which the rears will not be used, the lowest crossover point on the front low is 250hz, and the highest crossover point on the subs is 80hz (not that i go above that anyways) but it seems to leave a pretty big hole. was i just reading it wrong, or does it really limit you like that?

was thinking of keeping the 9855 and just going with an audiocontrol dqxs and the DDC. even though it still leaves me with alpines cheesy 1bit DAC it should 'theoretically' give me enough flexibility/crossovers to make it sound the way i am looking for, not to mention give me a much improved pre-out voltage to keep my amp gains at a minimum.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

played with the 701 and don't really like the way that it works, not to mention that the 9855 doesn't have an optical out, so it would still be processed by the cheesy dac, then converted back to digital, processed, and then back to analog again before hitting my amps, and since i have no intentions whatsoever of running 5.1 again it seems that a lot of the features on the 701 are geared towards that.

I agree man. Converting a signal back and forth from digital to analog to digital....etc. doesn't exactly keep a very pure signal. I've also noticed that the 701 seems to be MORE for 5.1 than anything else....contrary to popular opinion.

was thinking of keeping the 9855 and just going with an audiocontrol dqxs and the DDC. even though it still leaves me with alpines cheesy 1bit DAC it should 'theoretically' give me enough flexibility/crossovers to make it sound the way i am looking for, not to mention give me a much improved pre-out voltage to keep my amp gains at a minimum.

This setup would atleast give you that WARMER sound you're looking for.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif