Alpine CDA-9857 -- Good, Bad, Ugly?

[sundownz Pro Seller]

I can't seem to find a single head unit that is not offensively terrible looking, Alpine is one of the closest things I've got. I may be facing the problem of going to an aftermarket HU in my current car as, pending further investigation, my factory HU may have been damaged during a disaster which caused the end of the line for my Rockford 3Sixty.2 unit.

Anyway... to the point... I had an Alpine 9815 in my old car for years, it's still in that car and it still works fine. So Alpine has points from me as it is. I am wondering if their quality is still up to par and how this unit sounds? I liked the 9815 quite a bit, so if this unit is better then I'm all for it.

I don't care about features... in fact I'd love to have less since I am getting my 3Sixty.2 fixed at this time and will use it with factory or aftermarket HUs.

I looked at Nakamichi as well since they are so basic... but they are a little pricey and I don't know much about them. So I wouldn't mind some feedback on those and suggestions on what model to look at.

After my experience with the 3Sixty.2 breaking with no warranty -- ah, the joys of doing a customer demo where they JAM the volume knob all the way around a few times -- I'm buying this unit authorized, so keep that in mind with pricing //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Thanks guys, I appreciate any help.

Click to read more...

 

[cyantist 10+ year member]

I swear by Alpine HUs too, but personally I wouldn't touch that 9857.. But it might be just what you're looking for if you're looking for something simple.. Older Alpine decks are the way to go.. Check out the 9831 for something simple.. Keep in mind that the new Alpine decks don't have motorized faces if that's something you care about.. Go have a look at one at a shop and see if you like it.. I also don't recommend the 9855/53 either because of the glidetouch.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[j3bus2k3 5,000+ posts]

I played with the 9857 earlier at Sound Advice and I wasnt too impressed. Navigation wasnt easy and just didnt seem to user friendly, IMO. Of course, I sat with it for 5 minutes and I'm used to my 9811. ygpm too //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[sundownz Pro Seller]

Hmmm... I don't want to get used as I have a very bad out-of-warranty taste in my mouth right now. I suppose I'll have to go take a look at that Alpine unit in person to see how it is.

Seems like it's almost impossible to find a head unit without a 512 color display or some sort of crazy crap going on... I hate that stuff.

 

[Towncar 10+ year member]

Its a decent cdplayer, they sell pretty frequently at the shop.

 

[Towncar 10+ year member]

I llike the glidetouch //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Yea those are nice.

 

[jklfd 10+ year member]

the 06 Alpine decks FTL in terms of SQ and functionability.

get the 9835 or 55