unOfficial 2008 alpine iDA-X--- series HU thread

[Steveopevo 10+ year member]

I saw these at CES. I specifically went to the Alpine booth for these units. The difference between the 100 and 200 isn't that big feature wise but the screens are completely different so the 100 would be better.
I was still disappointed that Alpine makes you hook up another unit to get EQ. It means the signal gets processed twice. This was confirmed by the rep at the booth. Also the pre-amp out is still on 2V. He made a big deal that 2V was fine. When I asked why the 9887 has 4V he said it was just to appease the audio heads and it didn't make any difference. When I mentioned all the EQ features of the 9887 he said their market research showed people only play with bass and treble. That may be on low end models but not on the high end.

I was pretty disappointed in the few changes from last year to this year. The main feature is pushing the large click wheel selects the track. Wow. A whole year just for that.

As much of a let down as these are there's still nothing to complete with them with ease of use with an iPod and these use a Burr Brown instead of the iPod internal DAC which is nice.

I called alpine the other day about their EQ's and they fed me the same crap about most people only wanting bass and treble and I wanted to slap him through the phone. and if they don't think that 4 volt preouts are better than 2 volt then they are smoking crack. kenwood is using bit wolfson dac's in their excelons now and from what I understand they are better than burr brown. don't know if it makes any real difference though.

 

[Dak446 10+ year member]

umm ok i got a question. how does the xm work in this? can it handle it well or no? also, what do you have to do to set it up. my brother is getting rid of his shitty dual hu and he has the xm box that i could get form him, will it work with the x100 or no?

anyone?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[buggsson 10+ year member]

To get the best use of this HU i highly recommend:
A 5.5 gen or higher iPOD wired via USB

&

the bluetooth module.

Why would one want to use the USB connection??? Only the "fast speed?" cable connection will let you play the highest qualtiy music files, through the iPod DAC that is.

 

[JrVtecAccord 10+ year member]

Why would one want to use the USB connection??? Only the "fast speed?" cable connection will let you play the highest qualtiy music files, through the iPod DAC that is.

From my knowledge, the "fast speed" cable is for older iPods that can't be accessed via USB.

With the USB cable and 5.5 gen iPod or newer you can view album art and videos from the iPod.

 

[buggsson 10+ year member]

From my knowledge, the "fast speed" cable is for older iPods that can't be accessed via USB.
With the USB cable and 5.5 gen iPod or newer you can view album art and videos from the iPod.

The cable is the Full speed cable, not the "Fast speed" cable KCE-422i. To be able to play uncompressed, or lossless music files from an iPod, this is the cable needed.

 

[Maz1]

The cable is the Full speed cable, not the "Fast speed" cable KCE-422i. To be able to play uncompressed, or lossless music files from an iPod, this is the cable needed.

The full speed cable, the KCE-422i, according to Alpine is to allow for more compatibility with older model iPods.

I am having a problem with the X100 and 4 different iPods giving me the "USB Device Error". I have tried 2 2G Nanos, 1 1st Gen iPhone 8GB and my 160GB classic. The first time I used my classic using the USB cable I had no problems, once I arrived at my destination I just turned off my car and when I returned is when I first got the error. After that I tried it with the other devices.

I called Alpines tech support numerous times and was advised to do a hard reset on my iPod, no change. Reset the HU with the iPod attached, again no change. They then asked me to ensure that the usb cable is the one provided by Alpine. When I told them I am certain that it is the correct cable because I was in the shop when the HU was being installed, he told me I'll have to have my HU sent to them to check the unit. That is unacceptable that I will be without a HU for some weeks while they fix their mistake.

Could someone please give me some advise about what I can do to fix this on my own?

Because even though Alpine has a 30 money back guarantee, according to the tech support guy, my dealer refuses to honor it saying he bought it from a distributer and is unable to return it himself. I've done a lot of business with this guy over the years and have alway had good results.

TIA

 

[shadowfactory 10+ year member]

The cable is the Full speed cable, not the "Fast speed" cable KCE-422i. To be able to play uncompressed, or lossless music files from an iPod, this is the cable needed.

I was under the impression that's what the USB cable was for with the newest iPods...

I can play lossless from my iPod touch just fine with it.

 

[shadowfactory 10+ year member]

Why would one want to use the USB connection??? Only the "fast speed?" cable connection will let you play the highest qualtiy music files, through the iPod DAC that is.

Yeah so it goes through the iPod DAC then the DAC in the deck? How is getting converted twice higher quality?

 

[buggsson 10+ year member]

Yeah so it goes through the iPod DAC then the DAC in the deck? How is getting converted twice higher quality?

I've no idea how that works, but I would guess you do not use the HUs DACs because the signal from the iPod allready is analog. The higher quality, is what I meant with that with the full speed connection you can play uncompressed and lossless files from you iPod.

I've been in contact with the swedish distributor for Alpine, a reputably very knowledgable guy. He told me that if I want to play uncompressed or lossless files, that is not supported by the iDA-X100 unit itself, I have to use the full speed connection. With the USB cable, you are only able to play the formats supported by the iDA-X100, and there is no support for uncompressed or lossless in the HU itself. I've just gone back and had a look in the manual for the USB connection, it's just mp3, WMA and AAC support.

 

[shadowfactory 10+ year member]

I've been in contact with the swedish distributor for Alpine, a reputably very knowledgable guy. He told me that if I want to play uncompressed or lossless files, that is not supported by the iDA-X100 unit itself, I have to use the full speed connection. With the USB cable, you are only able to play the formats supported by the iDA-X100, and there is no support for uncompressed or lossless in the HU itself. I've just gone back and had a look in the manual for the USB connection, it's just mp3, WMA and AAC support.

While that is true if you are using a USB flash drive or hard drive with the USB cable, it is not if you are using an iPod with it. It will still play all lossless formats (via the iPod) without needing the full speed cable.

 

[JrVtecAccord 10+ year member]

While that is true if you are using a USB flash drive or hard drive with the USB cable, it is not if you are using an iPod with it. It will still play all lossless formats (via the iPod) without needing the full speed cable.

X2

 

[buggsson 10+ year member]

While that is true if you are using a USB flash drive or hard drive with the USB cable, it is not if you are using an iPod with it. It will still play all lossless formats (via the iPod) without needing the full speed cable.

This is not in line with the information I have recieved up til now. However, as you are so persistent, I'll call them again. I have recieved information that you will not be able, in any way do to lossless or uncompressed from any Alpine deck from a USB HD-drive. I'll be back when recieved new info.

 

[JrVtecAccord 10+ year member]

This is not in line with the information I have recieved up til now. However, as you are so persistent, I'll call them again. I have recieved information that you will not be able, in any way do to lossless or uncompressed from any Alpine deck from a USB HD-drive. I'll be back when recieved new info.

We understand the HU is not compatible with uncompressed media from a USB mass drive.

But, you can play uncompressed or lossless media from a iPod connected via USB.

 

[shadowfactory 10+ year member]

This is not in line with the information I have recieved up til now. However, as you are so persistent, I'll call them againI have recieved information that you will not be able, in any way do to lossless or uncompressed from any Alpine deck from a USB HD-drive.

Yes this is exactly what I said thanks for misreading it.

"It will still play all lossless formats (via the iPod) without needing the full speed cable. "

Not once did I ever say it would play lossless from a HD. In fact I said the opposite.

 

[Lawnie]

So I've just finished installing the new head unit, but I can't get any audio to come out when I connect my first gen-iPod Touch. The HU recognizes it and displays the song name, album, etc., but no sound comes through the speakers.

I can get the radio to work, however. What gives?