Switched out my Kenwood for an Alpine...HUGE difference!!!

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

Did a simple install in my truck. Started out with a Kenwood Kdc-x300. Really tried to like this unit. Distorted at higher volume and just missing a sound I was looking for. Had a Powerbass 2 channel powering some Jbl P660c comps. Thought maybe my amp was weak so I replaced it with a PPI Black Ice 340.2. Still weak sounding. Decided to replace my h/u with a cde-hd148bt.....wow!! Finally, the sound I was looking for. Just want to say no more cheap h/u's for me. Tamed the harshness on my tweets and never realized how important t/a is. Comps are soo much louder and a pleasure to listen to.

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[ygbodybuilder10]

alpine is all i deal with when it comes to headunit

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Did a simple install in my truck. Started out with a Kenwood Kdc-x300. Really tried to like this unit. Distorted at higher volume and just missing a sound I was looking for. Had a Powerbass 2 channel powering some Jbl P660c comps. Thought maybe my amp was weak so I replaced it with a PPI Black Ice 340.2. Still weak sounding. Decided to replace my h/u with a cde-hd148bt.....wow!! Finally, the sound I was looking for. Just want to say no more cheap h/u's for me. Tamed the harshness on my tweets and never realized how important t/a is. Comps are soo much louder and a pleasure to listen to.

Same Alpine headunit I have.

Love it!

Out of curiosity, what is your normal listening volume, and what is your full tilt set to?

 

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

Same Alpine headunit I have.
Love it!

Out of curiosity, what is your normal listening volume, and what is your full tilt set to?

Normal listening volume is between 17-20.....full tilt set to 29 on this unit. But of course, not done tuning. Not sure if me done tuning is possible,lol. I'm always messing with my tuning

 

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

Yea I wouldnt run a cheap kenwood but I do like the kenwood excelon HU. I have an older x891 kenwood that sounds amazing. I have one buddy that have like the cheapest kenwood you can get and it sounds like crap, I keep telling him switch the HU and it will be amazing.

I was actually looking for a unit like yours or similar but they are rare. The kenwood I actually had was an Excelon but it didn't matter much. I think only difference with Excelon and non are the 2 year warranty, and maybe the voltage. I liked the Kenwood for what it was but the difference with this Alpine, i won't go back

 

[TheFiverMan 10+ year member]

Had the same experience. Except i went backwards lol. Went from a nice Alpine to a cheap 90 dollar pioneer from best buy. Huge difference i couldnt believe it. Never again!

 

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

Had the same experience. Except i went backwards lol. Went from a nice Alpine to a cheap 90 dollar pioneer from best buy. Huge difference i couldnt believe it. Never again!

Lol, lesson learned huh? The Kenwood had a 13 band eq but I swear when I was tuning, i couldn't even tell that it was working. Not even going to mention the function where you choose speaker size.....Nothing more than a gimmick.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Normal listening volume is between 17-20.....full tilt set to 29 on this unit. But of course, not done tuning. Not sure if me done tuning is possible,lol. I'm always messing with my tuning

Ok, cool. Thanks!

I set gains with clipping at 25, and full tilt at 24

 

[Umbra]

Lol, lesson learned huh? The Kenwood had a 13 band eq but I swear when I was tuning, i couldn't even tell that it was working. Not even going to mention the function where you choose speaker size.....Nothing more than a gimmick.

The speaker size option is pretty silly, but not entirely useless. IIRC it tweaks the preset EQs a bit depending on what you choose. If you went tweaked the bands on your own it goes with the "user" setting making the speaker selection moot. For anyone who plays with all the settings on the HU it's not very useful, but for someone who just wants to jump in and listen to music on a shiny new HU it has some function