Alpine Head Unit Questions... (newbie)

[jameisonstyle 10+ year member]

So I recently got an amp, sub, and speakers installed in my car. Ended up getting a great deal for phoenix gold rsd's all the way around components in teh front and coaxils in the back, alpine amp, and jl sub for 880 total. im debating on upgrading my head unit and have been recommended to get some type of alpine deck.

what kind of alpine deck should i get? My requirements are ipod ready, easy to use, and no more then $250.. some of the specs on these things don't make sense to me and don't seem reasonable or things i would use. I just want it to play every format I have on my ipod. Which is wma, and mp3. im not sure what they mean by mp3/wma playback and then they say ipod ready.. does that mean that mp3/wma playback on cd's, and then ANYTHING on an ipod? or what.. cuz the standard ipod ready alpine deck says mp3 and ipod ready.. but does that mean it won't play my wma formats that are on my ipod? i want it to be easy to use and at a reasonable price WITH installation, im not sure how much they usually charge for installation.

thanks for your help!

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[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

9883

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Umt33p47Ht4/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=500CDA9883&search=Alpine+VENDORID500&SearchDisplay=Alpine

 

[crow 10+ year member]

The ipod is what reads and converts the file format so there will be no problem playing any file the ipod supports through the head unit.

If you are burning files to cd to play on the head unit, the head unit will only read mp3s.

 

[jameisonstyle 10+ year member]

Thanks alot.. I was wondering if there was a big difference in sound quality when getting a new head unit.. I notice when I put in my burnt cd's there is a subtle staticy noise in the background unless i turn it up to drown out that noise.. does the new head unit cancel out that sound if i play it through my ipod?