Kenwood vs Alpine HU

[liljojo4711 10+ year member]

kenwood kdc-x792 or alpine cda-9887. features are almost the same. i think the kenwood is bluetooth ready and has a memory card slot. i have always thought that alpine head units were the best but the kenwood is about $100 cheaper and specs look almost identical. anyone used either of these? any thoughts?

Click to read more...

 

[blazeplacid 10+ year member]

My thought is for you to go to the store and mess with both.

I myself have never liked Alpine. Just dont. Some people love them.

I like Pioneer and Kenwood

Specs on paper dont mean to much in real world situation

 

[JRock10 10+ year member]

for me, excelon offers much more bang for the buck. sounds great, too. I'm not an alpine fan at all, and haven't been for many years. at one point, I was all about alpine, then i actually got to mess with some excelon stuff and fell in love with it.

 

[GAM3OVR 5,000+ posts]

My thought is for you to go to the store and mess with both.
I myself have never liked Alpine. Just dont. Some people love them.

I like Pioneer and Kenwood

Specs on paper dont mean to much in real world situation

IMO

PIONEER AND ALPINE TAKES FIRST PLACE

All the kenwoods I've ever owned/installed have been known to run hot, and lack some features in sq that other decks have.

 

[qkassidyw 10+ year member]

IMO Alpine is the premier head unit manufacturer. The sound quality from the Alpines is unmatched by any other manufacturer. iPod control is 10x better than the Kenwoods and the Kenwoods are so confusing to use (even to an experienced installer).

They both come with their own version of the time alignment software and if you are planning on using this feature then I would seriously research it and see if you want it. If you AREN'T going to use it then I would go with the CDA-9886.

The reason the Alpine's have such better sound quality is because they are all Imprint Technology ready (the 9887 coming with the necessary hardware/software in the box). To be able to support the Imprint technology, all of the head units had an upgrade in their microprocessors resulting in better SQ.

To me, there is nothing really special about Kenwoods, the 5V pre outs are nice but Alpine's 4V will sound better. Both are bluetooth ready, the Alpine has a USB cable and iPod cable...who really needs a memory card slot with those two options? And, the Alpine comes with the Ipod cable whereas you have to buy it from Kenwood.

$.02

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

^ true go with alpine kenwood single din units ****

 

[Super Pickle 10+ year member]

IMO Alpine is the premier head unit manufacturer. The sound quality from the Alpines is unmatched by any other manufacturer. iPod control is 10x better than the Kenwoods and the Kenwoods are so confusing to use (even to an experienced installer).
They both come with their own version of the time alignment software and if you are planning on using this feature then I would seriously research it and see if you want it. If you AREN'T going to use it then I would go with the CDA-9886.

The reason the Alpine's have such better sound quality is because they are all Imprint Technology ready (the 9887 coming with the necessary hardware/software in the box). To be able to support the Imprint technology, all of the head units had an upgrade in their microprocessors resulting in better SQ.

To me, there is nothing really special about Kenwoods, the 5V pre outs are nice but Alpine's 4V will sound better. Both are bluetooth ready, the Alpine has a USB cable and iPod cable...who really needs a memory card slot with those two options? And, the Alpine comes with the Ipod cable whereas you have to buy it from Kenwood.

$.02

which alpines come with a USB cable and port built in?

I was looking at them and i know the 9887 doesnt have it but i dont see where it says any other ones do except the 100x or whatever its called.

 

[blazinb2000 10+ year member]

I have always loved alpine head units. I have owned 2 over a 4 year period with zero problems with either of them. I owned a cda-9830 and now a cda-9853. My next head unit will be an alpine also.

 

[mepratt1234@cha 10+ year member]

I would go with the Alpine. The memory card slot is pretty much useless if you have an iPod.

 

[qkassidyw 10+ year member]

which alpines come with a USB cable and port built in?
I was looking at them and i know the 9887 doesnt have it but i dont see where it says any other ones do except the 100x or whatever its called.

The CDA-9886 has a USB input and iPod connector, same as the IDA series but the IDA series allows you to control ipod through USB whereas the 9886 does not. I guess I assumed the 9887 had USB too but it does not without the adapter. SO if you are not using the Imprint Time Alignment stuff then go with the 9886 for the USB (flash drives/cheap MP3 Players) and AWESOME iPod control.

I would go with the Alpine. The memory card slot is pretty much useless if you have an iPod.

^^^AGREED!

 

[shellfish 10+ year member]

i dunno I've owned two kenwoods and never had any problems with ether of them.

then again I've never heard this great alpine sq everyone talks about.