Alpine CDA-9887, CDA-9886 or CDA-9884???

[birdwatcher 10+ year member]

I have a VW Beetle that can only take a single din head unit. I am torn between the Alpine CDA-9887 vs. the 9886/9884 with the Imprint processor. This is what I know:

CDA-9887 seems to have the built in features of the 9886+Imprint but is the IPOD functionality just as good/easy? Are the built in features as good?

CDA-9884 seems like the best financial choice but it is only 2 volt vs. 4 and doesn't have the biolite display. Does that make a huge difference if I am getting the Imprint processor anyway which is 4 volts?

What would you guys suggest?

Click to read more...

 

[Alpine4life89 10+ year member]

The 9887 is a sick unit. It makes my music sound so good. Before with my cheap pioneer i wasn't satisfied. But when i got my 9887 i couldn't be happier. The quality of burned cd's is great and the 4 volt pre out is worth it definitely. Just get the 9887 and you will love it.

Plus imo, it is very easy to control.

As far as ipod control goes, i like it so far. The 9887 is definitely better.

 

[RowJoe 10+ year member]

9887's sub pre-out is only 2v. Still, the 9887 is a very decent HU. Never listen to the other guy who posted. He's one of the forum's biggest d-bags. =)

 

[Jer510 10+ year member]

9884 is good. only has 2v preamps with 3 outputs

 

[Ferendon 10+ year member]

9884 is a good unit if you want something inexpensive, easy to use, and you're not planning a monster system.

9886 steps up to 4v pre-out, color-change backlighting, and biolight.

9887 is honestly a redundant step, as it doesn't really offer anything that's worth the extra $100.

Pioneer + ASR = better sound than any other deck, if you insist on using compressed audio.

 

[ls2poweredgoat 5,000+ posts]

Unless you plan on running active, the 9887 isn't worth the extra $100 over the 9886

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

9887 is honestly a redundant step, as it doesn't really offer anything that's worth the extra $100.

you couldn't be more wrong. the 9887 has all the features of the 9886 AND the imprint kit in one unit. the only thing it does not have the ability to do is the auto-tuning which requires the mic and software.

 

[Alpine4life89 10+ year member]

9887's sub pre-out is only 2v. Still, the 9887 is a very decent HU. Never listen to the other guy who posted. He's one of the forum's biggest d-bags. =)

fail. It has 4 volt pre outs.

The 9887 is far superior to the 9886.

 

[eharri3 10+ year member]

Ummm yeah I don't really know what the others were even talkin about. Ive had the two lower end head units. The 9884 and 9886 are basically the same except I believe the 9884 is 2 volts and the 9886 is 4, but both at the same 10000 ohm or something like that. The 9886 also has a fancier display. Other than that, both include a lousy 2 band eq (aka bass and treble boost) and loudness with no other real built in processing. The 9887 is 4 volts with built in time alignment and 5 band parametric/7 band graphic EQ as well as active capability. It's really the only new Alpine with built in SQ features. All this is before we even start talking about imprint. To me it's the only HU in the line worth buying and the only one worth the price premium over the next one below it. If you don't need that get a 9884. The 9886 isn't worth extra over the 9884. But if you like tunability get a 9887, you can decide for yourself whether what's built in is enough before you go spending extra money for IMPRINT. With the others if you want good processing IMPRINT is pretty much a must.

Im not sure what some other people here are basing their statements on but I've had 4 Alpines in a little over 5 years including 2 out of the 3 you asked about.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

according to alpine's website, the 9887's preouts are all 4 volt. also, the 9887 has a 24 bit DAC. i believe it's the first alpine since the dva-9965 to offer that.

 

[Alpine4life89 10+ year member]

according to alpine's website, the 9887's preouts are all 4 volt. also, the 9887 has a 24 bit DAC. i believe it's the first alpine since the dva-9965 to offer that.

yeah, and it makes your ipod or burned cd's sound basically identical to real cd's. Not kidding.

The 4 volt preouts and 24 bit DAC are the main reasons i bought mine.

 

[RowJoe 10+ year member]

Ah, I had to read up on this. Apparently you have to put the sub level on the HU to +15 to get the full voltage. Makes sense. I've read many posts where people said this particular HU's sub pre-out seemed weak, but I guess that's due to the way Alpine designed it.

 

[gearhound17 10+ year member]

My CDA-9863's sub output is weak that way too.

My deck is at least 15 years old. I recently messed with my settings on it to get some louder bass and once I turned off the separate sub control it came alive.

Much louder.

 

[champaned_out 10+ year member]

for someone like me that isnt planning to go active... would the 9887 still benefit a huge amount over the 9886?

basically just looking for a hu to power a set of 6.5 coaxial up front and make it sound decent while doing so.. im also running a single sub... nothing fancy

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

the 9887 still has 2 way crossovers for front, rear, and sub. you don't need to use the 3 way for highs, mids, and lows. that would be for active. the 2 way will benefit you. with it set properly, you'll be able to get better all around sound at higher volumes. you can tailor the outputs or the amp inside the unit specifically to the speakers you've got in the vehicle. also, from a previous thread that i didn't quote, a 24 bit DAC will not enhance an ipod or any compressed music. if it does, you'd more than likely never notice it. it's made for cd's carring wav files that were never compressed, like cd's that you'd purchase. i know we've all got a bunch of those...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif