CDA-9855 vs DVA-9861 + PXE-H650

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

I need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks, so I hope you guys can help me out. Sorry for the length of this post, but it's kinda complicated.

I have a 2004 VW .:R32. I was contemplating getting a CDA-9855 but then had to hold off a couple of weeks. By the time I got around to the shop they were out of CDA-9855s, and new info on the 2006 Alpine gear has trickled in. My original hope was a "reversion" to the 9853 (i.e. a 9855 without GlideTouch plus their "full-speed" iPod interface, which I would buy in a heartbeat if they sold it). but needless to say I haven't been happy with the 2006 lineup. I asked the guy I deal with about what are we supposed to do if we want decent EQ and time correction but don't want to spend $1600? He decided it was time to get his Alpine rep on the phone and ask that very question.

According to him what the Alpine rep said was that I should wait for the PXE-H650, and use that with a DVA-9861. The rep told my guy that the H650 would be their best processor ever and cost about $250 (or half the price of the PXA-H701). But they don't have a price yet for it officially, and the official release date is August 2006. (End of July is what my guy was told.)

Now I look on their website, and the PXE-H650 is a processor for using your stock head unit. Looks like it takes line-level in and does auto-eq and such. The installer moves a microphone around the cabin (much like you do with your home theater) and the time correction gets set up. There is *NOTHING* on there to indicate how it could be controlled from another Alpine deck.

Given this news I decided to see if I could still find a CDA-9855. My sales guy (who has been extremely helpful) didn't like the idea of eBay, so he said to call around to Best Buy and see if they have any. I found a Best Buy with one and picked it up that night to give me 30 days to make a decision. What it comes down to is:

The DVA-9861 + PXE-H650 might give me better sound quality, if my guy's Alpine contact wasn't full of BS (which I'm not sure of, since their website paints the unit in a totally different light). It's processing may be better than the CDA-9855, and it can play DVD-A (although only a 2-channel downmix, which kind of *****). It has the full speed iPod interface. However, the display is a crappy retro segmented-LCD opposed to the full-dot display of the CDA-9855. The combination is about $330 more than the CDA-9855.

The CDA-9855 is a known quantity. A lot of guys like it. I have played with the GlideTouch and I think I can live with it. The display is very nice. It doesn't play DVD-A, and can't do as much processing as an outboard processor, but it does a good job. It can talk to my iPod, although the interface is slow.

So that's what it comes down to? Should I go with the CDA-9855 I have sitting at home or wait and see what this processor can do? (I suppose if this processor is really the **** then it can take the speaker-outs from my CDA-9855.)

(PS, thanks to this forum and the recommendation of a guy called GoMobile on the VWVortex I am tempted by the Pioneer DEH-P980BT. I would love Bluetooth in the car, and the Alpine BT module seems like teh **** - external button to end and make calls? But I may just go with a Parrot kit since the Treo is kind particular about what it will talk to.)

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[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

well first off what it your actual setup. IMO if you go active then it is very beneficial to get external processing because you can control way more than with a normal HU such as the 9855.

Also why the pxe-650? why don't you get the ever so popular H701? you can buy the 9860 along with the h701 and i believe the 9860 can control the processor through that HU.

But again please name your setup and we can probably help you further.

I'm in san jose //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. we're pretty close.

 

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

well first off what it your actual setup. IMO if you go active then it is very beneficial to get external processing because you can control way more than with a normal HU such as the 9855.
Also why the pxe-650? why don't you get the ever so popular H701? you can buy the 9860 along with the h701 and i believe the 9860 can control the processor through that HU.

But again please name your setup and we can probably help you further.

I'm in san jose //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. we're pretty close.

Well, I don't really have a setup yet. But here's what the current thinking is:

Diamond S600s up front, maybe S400s in the back (rear fill yet to be totally determined - it was suggested pick rears that cost around 50% of what the fronts cost). JL 10W3v2 in the back. Amps yet to be determined, probably JL or Alpine.

As for why not the H701 - cost. The 9860 + the H701 is more than a thousand dollars, and that's more than I'd really like to spend at this point, and it won't play DVD-A. (One of the pluses of that other setup would be DVD-A, although the reason I love DVD-A at home is the 5.1 audio.)

I know that external processing is good, but with the fairly minor setup I've described I doubt the 9855 wouldn't be able to get the job done.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

yea i guess i'd go with the 9855 with your setup. doesn't look like you'll be using the processor to its fullest. but if you are around enough, you'll find out that many of us don't run rear fill....just something to think about.

 

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

yea i guess i'd go with the 9855 with your setup. doesn't look like you'll be using the processor to its fullest. but if you are around enough, you'll find out that many of us don't run rear fill....just something to think about.

By not using it to the fullest do you mean not doing 5.1 or not having a good enough setup to warrant that much EQ?

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

yea as far eq'ing goes. i mean its a passive setup. not as much tuning involved as an active setup. but for some people maybe its the worth the extra cash to have the extra flexbility. i say the 6 band peq on the 9855 should be sufficient to run that setup.

 

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

yea as far eq'ing goes. i mean its a passive setup. not as much tuning involved as an active setup. but for some people maybe its the worth the extra cash to have the extra flexbility. i say the 6 band peq on the 9855 should be sufficient to run that setup.

I guess I'm a noob, but can you explain what you mean by passive and active?

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

here you go jackie, i just wrote this today. http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146726

 

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

here you go jackie, i just wrote this today. http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146726

Well, I figured out what you meant, but the 9855 does have active crossovers, unless I'm not clear on what you mean by active.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

yes the 9855 does have active crossovers.

 

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

yes the 9855 does have active crossovers.

So I will be running an active setup, then. But I still think I'm going with the 9855. I do appreciate the input though.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

okay as far as running an active setup then you probably need to go buy some DIY speakers rather components because the DIY route is the way to go when going active.

 

[JakiChan 10+ year member]

okay as far as running an active setup then you probably need to go buy some DIY speakers rather components because the DIY route is the way to go when going active.

Well, I guess it will be active *and* passive the. The Diamonds have a passive crossover for the components, but the deck also has an active crossover for the sub.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

yea so on your HU all you have to do is high pass the fronts for your components and then set the crossover on your HU for the sub, so yea you are active and passive //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. good luck and let me know on your setup. the passive crossovers will only High pass teh tweets and low pass the mids.