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4
out of 5
Unit is great with an iPod. Install had one hitch.
Written By
Eric W., Durham, NC on Sunday, January 21, 2007
I installed the Apline CDA-9856 in my Subaru Outback 2003. I was impressed with the detail of the installation instructions that Crutchfield provided, but there was one gotcha when I pulled my factory unit. My unit was a 6-CD changer/receiver as a double-DIN in-dash unit tied to a nine-speaker system (4 tweeters, 4 door mounted speakers, and one subwoofer in the back cargo area). I was provided with a Subaru wiring harness that matched up with the primary harness on the unit, but there was a second, black 6-pin plug with two wires coming out that was not documented anywhere. A call to Crutchfield confirmed at my unit was a Panasonic and not the McIntosh upgrade unit and the best guess was that these two wires went to the subwoofer. It was not clear whether these wires were line or speaker level because I was unable to locate a secondary amp anywhere in the car. I attempted fashion a wire to plug into the Alpine unit's RCA subwoofer out and crimp onto these additional wires. I was not, however, able to get the subwoofer to work.
Otherwise the unit works great. I ran the ipod connector (KCE-422i) to the glove compartment to plug into my 3rd gen iPod. With 8,000+ songs and over 40 playlists, I was concerned how difficult it would be to navigate the unit. While the Alpine controls are not as intuitive as the native iPod controls, they work surprisingly well. I will, however, need to start shortening the names of my playlists since these don't scroll as I dial through them. Scrolling on the artist/album/song info works nicely as the songs play. Based on the reviews I've read, Alpine has one of the better iPod interfaces.
6 out of 7 people found this helpful
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5
out of 5
amazing value
Written By
will, Dallas, TX on Wednesday, January 17, 2007
This is the first Alpine that I have ever purchased, and it will be the only brand that I buy from now on. The 9856 is the third after-market deck that Ive put into my current vehicle, and the only one in the $200 or less price range. It also sounds better than the other two decks, hands down. I was blown away by the sound quality that this deck produces, I finally feel like Im getting my moneys worth out of my boston acoustic pros. Ive noticed that some other reviews have complained about a lack of an eq. The fact of the matter is that you simply do not need it with this deck; just minor adjustments to the bass and treble, and this deck sounds better than ANY pioneer deck that Ive ever owned (with incredibly complex eqs). Other people have mentioned the display as being "boring," and not being able to view the artist and time and whatever else at the same time; I find the display to be refreshing. It is not distracting (very important when driving) and not gaudy looking on the dash. A common trend in the reviews for this product is a general disdain for the ipod navigation system: this is a valid complaint. The navigation for the ipod system is extremely counter-intuitive. More than anything it takes practice and patience. The only problem that I have had with this deck is that the face release button in the top left corner (which is neccesary in order to change discs) no longer works consistently. It has to be pressed in just the right way and is nearly impossible to open when needed, so I mostly use my ipod instead. This is the first deck that I installed myself, and with the crutchfield directions it was a breeze, just a couple of hours.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful
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5
out of 5
As to be expected
Written By
Frank, Houston, TX on Thursday, January 11, 2007
Great install. Soldered up the harness and left the remote lead for later. Have yet to try out the XM but so far the ipod hookup has been running two days straight and offers such clear music it makes FM sound like AM...Navigation through the menus required me to have the manual handy a few times but it pays to just play through the menus to find all the different setting. I have read concerns about eq's on this unit. In my opinion set it flat and let it work. Boosting the bass or treble all the way is not a natural sounding system. If one of these is lacking its not this head unit....BUY IT you will not be disapointed.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful
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3
out of 5
Alpine CDA-9856
Written By
Jeff D, Paoli, PA on Wednesday, January 10, 2007
This unit is very good for the price and for what it does - allow you to control an iPod through the receiver. I deducted one star from my rating because the interface is not very friendly. It definitely takes a lot of practice to use it correctly and even now, almost a year later, I still occassionally mess up searches in my iPod.
The worst part however, is that to scroll through songs or artists, you have to spin the wheel on the head unit which then cycles through each and every entry (I've got over 3000 songs on my iPod). And unlike the iPod, it does not sense you are trying to speed through the songs so it doesn't skip any. As a result (and why I took away another star), it can take a couple minutes to find a particular song which is extremely annoying. And that's not to mention you're generally not paying close attention to the road while scrolling through songs so it's also dangerous
3 out of 3 people found this helpful
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4
out of 5
Great Unit; Mediocre Menu System
Written By
Eric, CA on Friday, January 05, 2007
The Good: Easy install, all connections perfect, all functions operational. The iPod interface is great and with the receiver's flexible equalization I was able to fine-tune the sound quite pleasingly. I can queue up a song off the iPod and start it up fast, and when I shut down the car and return later it will go back to that song seamlessly. The iPod happily resides in the glove box.
The Bad: The Alpine control system must have been designed by an IRS accountant. Way too many controls needed for each function. Very confusing to adjust the system options. Instead of just displaying the artist, album and track name on one screen, it scrolls them, one after another, slowly and slightly annoyingly.
The Ugly: As is typical, the default install has the unit sticking out from the dashboard bezel half an inch, with the obligatory generic trim ring. Clean, but it screams Please Steal this Aftermarket Head Unit. I'm maybe gonna try recessing it this weekend and filling in the standard aftermarket-head-unit gap around the face with some black foam weatherstripping or some such.
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