What do you guys think of ALPINE products i reckon theyre pretty good but other people seem to think different, i always hear people talking about rockford fosgate but i have heard the differenceand alpine sounds better , do people think rockford fosgate is better cause alpine is underrated or is there something else.

Well.. I still think audio products come down to personal opinion, especialy among those renowned for their quality like RF and Alpine...

If you wanna hear for yourself come to the NSW SPL challenge happening early next year.. my car is fitted out with all RF speakers and amps.. (powered by alpine HU though..)

IMHO

Alpine make awesome processors and their top end headunits are very nice.

Speakers and subs Im not a big fan of. Their older amps are very nice too.
As with all brands they have their cheap end and their good end. Alpine gear is generally very well built though.

But to get the best sound you need to mix n match to a certain extent. So dont limit yourself to one brand just so you can say you have a full Alpine car.

Peace

Tim

Hey tim aren't you supposed to change your Caasq competitor to winner :P

Matthius

I'm a fan of Alpine speakers subs and amps!

But dont like their H/U's...

I love their head-units, but everything else is more like a skip on. Though I did hear Type X subwoofers went pretty good.

We always get asked similar questions and my reply is that I'm not a big fan. I also explain if given the opportunity.

I'll start with the speaker issue first.
Now Alpinemake some fantastic decks. Its speakers and subs are very well designed and constructed too but I (and a serious % of audiophiles) find Alpinespeakers sound a little weak and artificial sounding. Now bare in mind this has nothing to do with actual sound quality; this is all about having your speakers sounding as close to the real instrument / voice as possible. Alpinespeakers just don't seem to possess the natural sounding hard hitting attack that many people desire from their system.

Moving along to the amplifiers.
Again Alpineamplifiers are very well designed and constructed but they tend to lack serious power. Also, their THD levels, damping factors, slew rates etc are not overly impressive when compared to many other amps within the same price range. For example take a look at the power output of Alpines titanic 1000 watt amp when driven at 4ohms with 12 volts...

Brands.
Now some brands I would recommend adding to your audition list (do still include Alpine too) for your budget (some you'll need to raise the budget for if possible) include:

Speakers & subs:
Treo
Oz Audio
Digital Designs
Boston
Phoenix Gold
Diamond
DynAudio
Hertz
Focal
Crossfire
Morel
Vibe
Phass
Eton
Rainbow
Lotus

Amplifiers:
Audison
Phoenix Gold
Diamond
Boston
Crossfire
Treo
ARC Audio
Zapco
Tru-Tech
Milbert
Digital Designs

Cables:
Stinger
Streetwires
QED
Phoenix Gold
Tsunami
Scosche EFX

Let your ears do the decision making.
Remember the key is too listen to as many products as you can and let your own ears decide for you. There is no special scientific formula behind the choice. Just go with what you like the sound of. Please don't just take my word for it. My opinion is only one of many. Other audiophiles such as Tim, Phil and the like may well have totally different tastes. Check the products out yourself and see if you remain with the afore mentioned ones or you settle on something else. :D

Is that list FHRX entirely based on sound quality?

i just saw this thread and was wanting to know the exact same thing about alpine.

there HU's look bloody awesome and i was thinking whats a really good model i should go for? there website doesnt have any prices, so i was wondering if anyone knows.

id rather go the alpine then a pioneer HU or *dare i say* kenwood.

i dont know if hifisupermarket or JBHIFI sell these as they had so many i couldnt keep track, can anyone in VIC confirm if they do?

cheers

I love my all Alpine car ! :rant:

JB HiFi don't stock Alpine, nor do Hifi-Supermarket. You gotta go to Garys Crappy Car Audio or a more professional car audio store to get the good stuff.

thanks guys, ive been on ebay and they got some good shizzle there, so i might get one from there, the savings are to big to be ignored

I'd probably avoid ebay if i were you.

i know what you mean but there plenty of reputable dealers, im not a pro but im not a novice either so i wouldnt go buying a 1K HU off a seller whos only sold 4 things.......trust me there are a few nice bargains on there

Oh I know I just don't trust the whole ebay system. Too much crap happens on it for me to trust anyone, even if they have a 100% positive feedback..what's stopping them from starting to rip someone off?

its a complecated matter, but IMHO if someone has 98-100% feedback depending on how many items they've sold there oright, never buy from someone who has less then 90% feedback

Is that list FHRX entirely based on sound quality?

Both SQ and SPL.

For example Treo and DD currently hold over twenty different world records...

Listen to Marty and Tim the guys know what they are saying....
Mix and match is the only way to go, coz one manufacturer might make good decks but have crap spkrs(alpine..IMHO), and some will make sweet amps or speakers only...

for eg
I did have all alpine gear, at one stage. Now Im running a older 03 series, Alpine flagship deck, a mid spec Phoenix Gold amp and my speakers fronts by Focal and rears Eclipse. Soon I will be adding another amp and a sub, and Ill prob be using different brands again, I'm liking Xtant for my sub and Audison or TruTech for the new amp.

But as Marty says, only your ears can say if its good to you or not. So audition as much as possible, never know you might love the sound of a all Alpine setup.

Luke

I have an Alpine CDA9833 HU in the Tarago (Family Car) with stock speakers (soon to be replaced). We've been very happy with the sound and build quality of the Alpine HU (especially given it's still running stock speakers!

Having said that, I've gone for a Pioneer DEH-P1Y HU for the Magna (soon to be installed).

Will be good to compare as we are planning to put in the same speaker setup in both cars.

P.S. (not planning Alpine or Pioneer speakers)