Is Alpine 9886 Worth It?

[Excelsius 10+ year member]

I'm trying to get an HU for my 07 civic. Alpine 9886 costs around $240 in ebay. Is it a great HU in terms of sound quality? Would I be able to buy something much better from another brand at that price (like Kenwood KDC-MP735U)?

USB input is important, so whatever I get, but have a front or rear USB input availability.

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[Excelsius 10+ year member]

There is also the Eclipse CD3200 ($280)and Clarion DXZ585USB ($220). So I don't know what to choose.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?showAll=Y&g=300&i=099CD3200&tp=5684

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-BmHr28uGdJ2/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?c=3&g=300&I=020D585USB&s=0&cc=01

 

[916Kev 10+ year member]

I would recommend the 9887 but the 9886 is also very good.

 

[Excelsius 10+ year member]

I would recommend the 9887 but the 9886 is also very good.

9887 doesn't have a usb input. It is very important for me, that's why I'm better off with 9886. I would go with the Alpine, except that I read great reviews about the Kenwood. It has many more functions than the Alpine (like the EQs), inluding a color screen, a nice display, etc. Alpine looks like from the last century. If the sound quality is almost the same, then I might as well go with kenwood because the acoustics in the car aren't good enough to discern between two very good sounding stereos. What do you think? Isn't the kenwood a better choice?

 

[Bass911 10+ year member]

You need to stick with Kenwood for the USB. I'll never get it through to most people, but more features do not equal better sound. Kenwood is good stuff, they know what they're doing when they make you a pretty display. For example, A Dual with a 7 band Eq will not sound better than Eclispe with only Bass and Treble control. Alpine is better IMO, but for your needs get the Kenwood. Get the Excelon Series. It's about what you think. So what, I've read some great Sony Hu reviews and still would never run one!

 

[lvjeffro 10+ year member]

ida-x100 alpine, best deck out for USB and ipod...At al-eds.com they will price match and ABT.com has them for 282.00 al-eds sold me mine for 279.99...Great deck...

 

[Excelsius 10+ year member]

What about the Pioneer 800BT? I may get that one.

And you're right - I don't care much about EQs. Ideally, EQs should be completely bypassed. On my PC, I use ASIO to completely bypass any EQs that came with windows.

 

[tsenfw 10+ year member]

Went from a kenwood x791 to an alpine 9887

The kenwood had TONS of options, really fast and easy usb navigation, just lacked ability to go active.

There was a definitely a noticeable sound quality increase moving the 9887.

 

[Super Pickle 10+ year member]

Went from a kenwood x791 to an alpine 9887
The kenwood had TONS of options, really fast and easy usb navigation, just lacked ability to go active.

There was a definitely a noticeable sound quality increase moving the 9887.

Did you like that kenwood though? im thinking of getting one for a second car.

Sorry thread jack lol

The one and only thing that steers me away from Alpine is how every single friggin upgrade from USB ports to XM radio is a hundred bucks either way you go. With some headunits like clarion and kenwood and stuff most of the come with USB and the XM/Sirius upgrades are generally cheaper.

 

[Excelsius 10+ year member]

I just called three different installers. All of them said that the Pioneer 8000BT is just as good as Alpine. The only thing people complain about it are the radio presets - you have to access them through the menu instead of direct buttons. Well, I don't care about that at all.

One of the dealers even said that Eclipse is better than the rest, but you can't even notice any differences in SQ unless you have a very expensive component/amp system.

Another dealer said that he likes how Clarions sound above the rest (not that it's a better SQ, but he liked how it sounded). I guess in the end, it DOESN'T MATTER! It comes down to functionality, style, and maybe cell phone support.

I read many threads where people compare sound by swapping different systems. Have you ever heard of double-blind experiments? What about the 5-second rule. Add to that personal taste, and all those opinions are pretty much useless. At this point, I'm probably going to go with the pioneer.

 

[lvjeffro 10+ year member]

pioneer was my second choice, I wanted the 7000bt but it was too plain for me...Went with the alpine 9886, but knob broke in a week, so i took it back and got the 100...Its all prefrence when you are talking about high end Hu's, prefrence and options...

 

[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

Installing my Kenwood Excleon x-492 today and I am going from an 880 Pioneer PRS. Some people think I am crazy, but I like simple decks and I am really not into eqing everything. So I believe I will be happier with this deck.

Will let you know how I like it.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

I have a 9885 in each of my cars, the predecessor to the 9886, and I like them. I went with the 9885 over the 9886 because the 9885 actually worked better with the IPOD cable than the 9886 did in the beginning. Oh, another reason I went with the 9885 in each car was that it was $50 cheaper per head unit and I am cheap.

 

[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

Installing my Kenwood Excleon x-492 today and I am going from an 880 Pioneer PRS. Some people think I am crazy, but I like simple decks and I am really not into eqing everything. So I believe I will be happier with this deck.
Will let you know how I like it.

Just quoting my earlier post from the other day as I installed my deck.

So here is what I think thus far.

So far it seems very basic, compared to my 880, which duh! I like the simplicity of it and it looks better overall the the Pioneer 880 as it matches my interior better and is uber easy to use. I have only had about 3 hours of play on it and have yet to try my hand with the iPod playing through it, so will do so later on and come back here to let you know how it works. Seems like the buttons are a little harder to control and the remote is nice, but have to point it right at the deck, which I didn't have to do so with my 880. Sound quailty is very good, it still has 4 volt pre outs, which is always nice, but not needed. I just like the option myself.

Things I like-simple, nice looking deck, easy to use, sound quailty is as good as my PRS was. (I do have a better componet set though)Very cheap as they can be had for as low as 110 from certain sites, has front Aux and iPod direct connect, which means as long as you have USB cord, plug and play it through deck, BT ready, Sat ready, HD ready and 3 pre-outs.

Things I don't like-Can be a bit bright at night, remote don't seem to pick up right away, knobs are a little hard to get used to(maybe its because they are new?) umm thats about it really.

Nice deck at great price. I recommend it for certain and remember I am coming from an 880 PRS Premier.

 

[khanhfat 10+ year member]

NO NO.. buy the 9887 instead...