Alpine IVE-W535HD Head unit

[MediuM]

Has anyone had any experience with this head unit? If so how do you like it, pro's/con's.

looks like it has everything im looking for but what other accessories will i need to get everything working, such as HD radio, XM sat radio, Steering wheel interface controls.

Click to read more...

 

[nas2344 10+ year member]

yup i just got this head unit and its awesome i love it! Bluetooth works great! Pandora works great i'm using the features with a iPhone 5 64GB and you will need an firmware update which u can get at alpine-usa.com and then u will need the PAC TR7 bypass trigger for the parking brake bypass! HD radio is also great! i definitely recommend it! works amazing with iPhone! i know that the Bluetooth works with android as well but that's all i know so far concerning android compatibility

 

[nas2344 10+ year member]

heres a pic of it installed my toyota matrix 2009

[/img]

 

[MediuM]

heres a pic of it installed my toyota matrix 2009

[/img]

Did you have a factory stereo upgrade and just change out the head unit (JBL) or did you just change out the head unit, new speakers ext...?

 

[nas2344 10+ year member]

i had the basic radio in there, with the six speaker system and i just switched out the head unit. i'm still running stock speakers

 

[West]

I'm running an alpine 9861 it does a **** good job!

The two alpines I have had have both sounded great. The only thing I don't like about alpine is that they want you to buy an h800 to get time alignment and active capability.

 

[nas2344 10+ year member]

i used to have the 9861 too like 7 years ago it was great though i loved all my alpines! it went 9861-CDA-105 to IVE-W535HD

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

[quote name='West']I'm running an alpine 9861 it does a **** good job!

The two alpines I have had have both sounded great. The only thing I don't like about alpine is that they want you to buy an h800 to get time alignment and active capability.[/QUOTE]

@West ; i should have the other ps8 sometime next week in hand to ship

 

[West]

[quote name='mylows10']@West ; i should have the other ps8 sometime next week in hand to ship[/QUOTE]

Fantastic!

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

Old thread I am digging up, but I just want to confirm this is not active....

 

[codeman00]

I just purchased the Alpine IVE-W535HD myself. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot reviews at all on this head unit at all when I purchased it but I hoped that it was going to work out for me. I'll just write up some random good points and bad points I've had with the head unit. I have it hooked up to an Alpine 5 channel 850W amp: 4 speakers in the front, 4 in the rear, and one 10" sub. My last head unit was CDA-117. This head unit is light years beyond that one.

I hope all of the IVE-W535HD owners can swap information and tips in this thread.

Good Stuff

• The head unit is REALLY nice. It has so many functions and capabilities. Actually seeing the crossover points on the screen while listening to the music during setup is so helpful. I just can't believe so many features can now be a part of the head unit itself!
  
• Bluetooth listening and functionality with my iPhone 4S works really well. I like how I can adjust the level of the bluetooth stream independently of the other functions....bluetooth volume was always so low on my other Alpine. Now all levels can be equal.
  
• The screen looks nice and its nice to have custom colors. However, I have always liked the Alpine blue and that is my primary color that I use.
  
• The interface is pretty good for the most part. I'm still making the transition to using touch screen vs buttons. I'm not sure I really like touchscreen better...but its six or one half dozen of the other. Hopefully the touchscreen will grow on me. It's neat...I do know that.
  
• Use the PAC TR7 to bypass the parking brake control lockout. All features are available when using the TR7.
  

Issues / Points for Improvement

• Bluetooth calling works fine except that I get extra noise and distortion when listening to the other person (using my iPhone 4S). Now I will have to say that I got this same distortion using the same phone on my CDA-117....so it might be the phone. I need to try an Android phone with it and see if the same problem exists...but almost everyone I know has iPhones. I can still talk to the person and hear them but its not as clear as my factory GM Silverado bluetooth. I'm not blaming the Alpine yet...but just noting it.
  
• I used the PAC RP5-GM31 adapter which encompasses the SWC, Bluetooth, On Star, etc. Everything works great with this interface except the SWC. The SWC work decent as long as the engine isn't on or the vehicle is at low speeds. The higher the speed, the less the steering wheel controls work. This is not the head units fault! PAC noted that some of the newer head units work a bit different. They are aware of the issue and they have a firmware update for their interface box. I just want to everyone aware of that.
  
• The input selector bar at the top is great but I wish I could rearrange the inputs. Right now, I toggle from XM to Radio and then sometimes use the CD or Bluetooth streaming. Well, both the CD and radio are the first inputs....followed by USB, Pandora, etc which I don't use. So to go to XM, I have to tab through the inputs to the end or go to my favorites. It would be nice if I could arrange the inputs to the ones that I actually use and put them in the order than I want instead of having useless inputs in between that take up space and that I don't use.
  
• I wish I could set a favorites list of all of my XM and FM radio stations...all on one screen so I can easily toggle back and forth between XM and FM channels. My crappy GM head unit made this easy...but its not as easy on the Alpine. I have to select the input through favorites first...then go to the station I want. Unless I'm missing something.
  
• I wish the head unit booted up a bit faster but I do realize its a computer and it has to boot up. If you played the radio last when you clicked off the ignition, the radio does come on during boot up while you wait. That's a nice feature.
  
• It's very odd that the RCA jacks in the back are still in wire/cable form instead of just plugs in the back of the receiver. The cables take up a lot of space but luckily I had enough room. Many of the other Alpine's have plugs built into the unit back....not this one, for some reason...just a huge bundle of cables and a custom connector. And I'm not even using the camera options!
  
• I wish the clock and date were shown larger on the front screen. I tend to glance over to see what time it is...the time is very small in the lower right. That was by design but it would be nice to be able to customize it to be more apparent.
  

Are any of these points of improvement, deal breakers? Not really. One of the issues will be fixed by PAC when I get a new box. The Bluetooth calling audio is next on my list but I can work around it. The other's are wants but not really "must haves."

Hopefully more users will find this thread and we can discuss the features more. Maybe there are work-arounds to some of these things.