pioneer or alpine?

[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

Hey guys, so I was at boomer mccloud, talking to this dude about getting a new system, head unit yadda yadda. I noticed he only carried alpine and a few others, but no pioneer. He then went on about how each time he delt with pioneer, things turned to **** etc.

I said i originally wanted a deh-p7800mp, he suggested some alpine, 9878 is the number i recall but i could be wrong...he said pioneer seems to have an "echo" in their music and that alpine makes top notch and has insane amount of band adjustments etc and have way better sound quality than pioneer

Now usually I don't listen, but this guy is one of the few i have met who seemed to know what he was talking about in all ranges of car audio, what do i believe?

Do you guys think I should go for the pioneer, or the alpine?

I want supreme sound quality, and at least a 4v output on the RCAs too so i get some more volume, but at the same time I don't mind having the flashy colors and wallpapers etc ;]

Click to read more...

 

[zachplaysguitar 10+ year member]

I just installed an Alpine 9887 and am extermely satisfied with the results. The SQ is amazing and there is a lot of room for adjustment. It has 4v preouts.

Plus the bio-lite display is awesome and you can change the color schemes of the buttons to match your factory dash.

The iPod control is fantastic and really quick.

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

I Have owned many many decks of every brand i actually have a like new pioneer premier deh-p780mp same u wanted but premier that i shipped and ups ace ventured that **** got it back from buyer with crack in the face some how?

it is a very good deck though it is not active but cool graphics display, 5v out, alot of the extra stuff

i recommend if u go pioneer the premier 880prs (not as flashy but nice sq deck or the older dehp8600 or dehp860 2yr old model again very adjustable with active eq deck but much nicer dispaly than the 880 almost as flashy as the 7800mp

 

[starkfu 10+ year member]

This isn't even a question.

Alpine IS the defacto bar that is set in the car audio world.

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

hes impartial as u can see

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

This isn't even a question.
Alpine IS the defacto bar that is set in the car audio world.

I don't know about that........

That's a pretty bold statement to make, esp when you consider the newer units. The old ones are a different story.

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

hes on drugs dont mind him

 

[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

Well I guess I don't mind missing out on visuals too much since I do want mostly quality

but the added on COLOR display with wallpaper, movie backgrounds and sooooo many other cool features it had made the pioneer really distinctive

 

[SRim23 5,000+ posts]

if were just talking regular HU ive loved every alpine ive ever owned. ive owned 3 in the last 5 years. ive owned 2 pioneers in that amount of time as well and havent liked them as much as the Alpine's. i honestly cant put my finger on why, i just have.

now i just bought an eclipse avn5435 double din and only after a week is my favorite ive owned with the alpine cda-9855 a close 2nd.

 

[Super Pickle 10+ year member]

see i went with a pioneer because for alpine if u dont have an ipod, just a regular mp3 player, its such a pain in the ass and u gotta buy more **** to get it to work right...with my pioneer i can just plug it in in the back of the flip down face, but i do have to control it from the mp3 player not the deck itself...but it does have great SQ

for me it was between the alpine 9883 or the pioneer 6900UB, and i went with the pio

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

Well I guess I don't mind missing out on visuals too much since I do want mostly qualitybut the added on COLOR display with wallpaper, movie backgrounds and sooooo many other cool features it had made the pioneer really distinctive

Thats exactly why pioneer does that...to appeal to people that most don't have a clue what a good deck is. (not saying you) I prefer a simple display not wasted on all the extra gimmicky b.s. and a deck that has great processing and the works.

thats why i went the way i did.

 

[60_cent 10+ year member]

both are nice but I prefer Alpine over Pioneer

 

[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

Ok, so far then this is giving me some good ideas. From here on then, can we compare the alpines to the pioneers through electronics?

Example, compare the pioneer 7800 and the alpine 9887

I undersatnd that they both have parametric EQ etc, but HOW much better will alpine's be? Is it real noticeable or just a bit better

 

[zachplaysguitar 10+ year member]

I haven't had any experiece with the Pioneer but I can assure you you won't be disappointed with the 9887. It's pretty much the highest quality deck Alpine offers which is saying a lot.

From what I can see on Pio's website, the 7800 only has a 16-band graphic, not a parametric EQ.

The Alpine has a 5 band parametric and a 7 band. The Pioneer has a little more power using the built in amp, but comparable preouts.

If you EQ is really important and you want more options, I would recommend the Alpine, given it has both types of EQ. The Pio does have more bands, however their frequencies are set so it is a trade-off.

I recommend going to a local audio shop and listnening to them both yourself, with the same source and speakers/amplifier to see which you think sounds better. That way you can be sure of your decision.

 

[whitemax 10+ year member]

Saying that Pioneer's have an echo to them would lead to me disregard the advice. I have owned a couple of Pioneers with no such issue. I also have friends with Pioneer units in their vehicles that do not have that issue either.

I have also owned many Alpines, the last being a CDA-9835. I had thought about tryng the CDA-9887, but in the end chose to stick with my current unit. I wished Alpine would have made the display a little bigger with the CDA-9987, close to what my CDA-9835 had. I also never liked the Media Expander function, wished they would have used BBE instead like in their older units. I might still give it a shot as I like to toy around with different setups. I do have to say that of all the units I have owned, Alpines have been among the easiest to use.

I think the advice of trying out the units before you buy them is a good one. That way you can see which one you may like more, and which may be easier to use as well. Many people over look this last thing, but I think it's pretty important. I myself consider ease of use very highly, especially while on the road.

 

[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

It's really difficult to do such a thing though

that alpine and that pioneer are among both of the companies higher models, I have yet to find a store that displayed the 7800, and only a few for that alpine, let alone both, plus i think that this specific pioneer is out of make now, maybe im wrong though

Therefore I don't think I'll be able to find a store, i've been to quite a few and still no luck :/

So far i think i'm leaning toward the alpine though

oh and just to let you all know, I don't care about the amplifier built into the head unit, i will definitely be using an amplifier for everything

now this brings me to another point...

Out of all the HUs ive ever seen, they have 6 outputs at most, 4 for f/r speaker and 2 for sub

my amplifier is a 7 channel, 6 input pairs for 6 speakers and 1 single mono input for a sub

Now, if i'd get that alpine, would it screw up configuration? what i have done is used rca splitters to make the front pair split into 2 front pairs, controlling the type X in my door and type R in the middle. When I use the microphone system thing with the alpine, would this screw up the HU getting a good config?

I can understand if this seems confusing and who wants to read a long post? So i'll gladly clarify if anyone needs me to..

 

[whitemax 10+ year member]

You could get the Alpine from an authorized dealer, such as Crutchfield, and see if you end up liking it. If you don't, they have a return policy that will not cost you any money. Free shipping to you, and back if needed.

Why do you have a center speaker if you do not have the processing and HU that goes along with that?

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

i love my 7800 pioneer. awesome sq, good amount of power. strong pre-outs. just and all around good unit.

 

[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

You could get the Alpine from an authorized dealer, such as Crutchfield, and see if you end up liking it. If you don't, they have a return policy that will not cost you any money. Free shipping to you, and back if needed.


Why do you have a center speaker if you do not have the processing and HU that goes along with that?

i didnt say i had a center speaker, i meant i have a pair of speakers in the center of my car, right behind the two front seats, but they are probably giving me some cancellation problems anyway...def need to relocate em

 

[diamond_sound 10+ year member]

I just bought the Alpine cda 9887. I cant wait to use it.