Alpine CDA9887 vs. Pioneer 880PRS

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

^^^the Imprint kit costs like an extra $150 or something like that. Most people complain about the Imprint for the 9887. I guess it makes a difference, but from what I've heard, it's a difference in the negative direction. The Pioneer comes with a mic for auto EQ and auto TA. There are no hidden costs to use all the features.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

^^^the Imprint kit costs like an extra $150 or something like that. Most people complain about the Imprint for the 9887. I guess it makes a difference, but from what I've heard, it's a difference in the negative direction. The Pioneer comes with a mic for auto EQ and auto TA. There are no hidden costs to use all the features.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

Holy f*cking lag...

 

[AlterEgo99 5,000+ posts]

Regards Alpine and Imprint, it is typically negative for those who do not know how to use it correctly. Yes, Alpine has pretty crappy documentation with Imprint but after some trial and error I know how to get the most out of it. And for smoothing out the sound curve and controlling the staging, nothing is better in my opinion. With a SA, you will not be able to set by ear what the Imprint can do. Hands down.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

Regards Alpine and Imprint, it is typically negative for those who do not know how to use it correctly. Yes, Alpine has pretty crappy documentation with Imprint but after some trial and error I know how to get the most out of it. And for smoothing out the sound curve and controlling the staging, nothing is better in my opinion. With a SA, you will not be able to set by ear what the Imprint can do. Hands down.

I beg to differ. With a spectrum analyzer and pink noise playing, you should be able to do just as well, if not better, than the Imprint. I guess it'll depend on the speed of the RTA you're using, but for $150 or whatever it is the Imprint costs, you can get some pretty decent RTA software.