Hey people

I have heard alot of people saying good things about Alpine and alot of people saying bad things about Alpine......

I just wanna know what you guys think about Alpine ??

Is it worth the money you pay ??

Thanks alot

From my experience alpine's headunits are great, I own a alpine 9815. To be honust the build quality of some other brands seemed superior but the features that the alpines come with is a huge advantage (time alignment, equalisers. crossovers etc)

there speakers/amps are once again good quality but not as stand outish as their headunits and there are other better brands out there for similarish or better prices in each of the categories.

thats all my opinion though i'm sure there will be others to agree/disagree

I personally find alpine pricing very competitive now unlike in the past. They have a reputation to uphold so your always going to get quality. I find the build quality on the headunits and amps to be very good and they do use good components and fairly advanced ciruitry. I do think it is worth the money but also look at other brands, especially when it come to speakers which are more of a personal choice. there is much better available than alpine around if your willing to spend the money. Although I am a self confessed techno - geek (thankfully I don't look like one) I have come to the conclusion that its not the brand or how much it cost you or how great the specs and build quality or all the cool features it has, but how you mix and match components to attain a balance which satisfies your needs. But back to your question, although i'm not an alpine fanboy I have bought lots of alpine stuff in the past and would buy alpine again. hope it helps

Wow that sum's up my Question good.... thanks alot Sl33per :)

But i would still like to hear more people's view's on Alpine :)

Also wat would be a decent system to put into a Magna TF or TH ??

thanks

i find alpine to be very good bang for buck. i own a v12 amp which i am extremely happ with, a alpine deck, which looks wicked and plays perfectly, 6" splits (DDDrive) which pound well and are exceptionally clear. all in all i am very happy with the product. but of course there is better, but for someone on a budget, but wants good shit, this is the stuff to get.

P.S. i dont have a alpine sub. not taht theyre shit, but that i dont prefer them (JL is better :) ) but if you do get an alpine sub, get a Type R not a type S

Trav

Yeah my friend at school had a Type S 12" sub and well to be honest it sounded alright......but when i heard a 12" Type R.....that was wayyy better :)

Tiphareth: Which model of JL sub do you have ?

thanks

JL W3 discontinued edition. 12". mate it pounds. i wouldnt try anything else.

i want a second :D

As far as the audiophile goes, when it comes to Alpine products there are two main factors that are important to consider when choosing Alpine; build quality and sound quality.

Now as far as build quality goes, Alpine are excellent and are one of the most reliable brands available today.

Sound quality though is where a lot of audiophiles tend to forget about Alpine. Whilst it is true that Alpine decks sound great, their amplifiers, speakers and subwoofer are shunned by many an audiophile.

For my personal opinion, Alpine decks are only beaten by brands like Nakamichi, McIntosh and Becker but there are hundreds of specially dedicated companies that make better speakers, subs and amplifiers.

That is why most systems we design start with Alpine source units and feature all matter of other equipment to make the system sound as good as possible for the specific budget. :)

Fhrx you seem to know alot about car audio :) ...i seen some of your other posts on Fast Fours....here a question for ya......What brands would you recomend for a person on a budget :?:

thanks

I actually have a rather old skool Alpine head unit, I think it's the last of the ones with the cassette deck since its got CD Shuttle controls and 4V pre-outs x 3 (yippie!). Also running an Alpine 6 disc changer.

It is secondhand, but I havn't had any problems and is doing way better then my last head unit in both sound quality and radio reception. It's also got a neat signal strength meter, hehe :)

I say Alpine products are great, esp. their V12 amps, but they have been a tad expensive then most other brands.

Fhrx you seem to know alot about car audio :) ...i seen some of your other posts on Fast Fours....here a question for ya......What brands would you recomend for a person on a budget :?:

thanks
Yeah i know im not Fhrx, but i'll here's my opinion:

This is from my own experience, I do not recommend Sony's mainstream sound gear.

I do recommend for a budget user to buy JVC head units, they're not as flashy as other brands but I have found them of great quality and features for what its worth, and none of installs i've done have broken down yet.

Funny you should mention JVC head units.. I have a JVC SH9105. I looked around a fair bit before I bought it and honestly, for $1000 it had all the features of headunits costing $1500 from brands like Pioneer.

i'd only touch an alphine head unit... but apart from that the quality of the components / amps and subs are crap compared to other things in the same price bracket

Alot of people are saying JVC headunits are good for people on a budget, but i wasnt sure if they were telling the truth or not....

I had a jvc-sx995 for a few months before this current alpine and it did the job nicely can't really knock it. Obviously the alpine is better but it's also worth double the jvc. Over time I've developed the attitude with car audio to do it properly the first time (within reason) or you end up upgrading the weakest components constantly.

Fhrx you seem to know alot about car audio :) ...i seen some of your other posts on Fast Fours....here a question for ya......What brands would you recomend for a person on a budget :?:

Thanks for the kind remarks guys. :)

Without a specific budget it can get kind of tough to design a system. Here is a ballpack idea for you:

System Cost: $500
Source Unit(s): Alpine CDE-7871E / Pioneer DEH-P1550MP / Clarion DB336MP
Rear Speaker(s): Hertz ECX 690 (6x9's)

System Cost: $1000
Source Unit(s): Alpine CDM 7874EB / Pioneer DEH-P3550MP / Clarion DXZ535
Front Speaker(s): Boston FS-60 / Diamond M361 / Hertz HSK 165 / Focal 165A / Rainbow SLX 230.03
Amplifier(s): Alpine MRP-F200
Cable: Stinger / Phoenix Gold / Audison

System Cost: $2000
Source Unit(s): Alpine CDM-7874EB / Pioneer DEH-P5550MP / Clarion DXZ735
Front Speaker(s): Boston FS-60 / Diamond M361 / Hertz HSK 165 / Focal 165A / Rainbow SLX 230.03 / Morel Pulse
Sub(s): JL Audio 12W0-4 / Image Dynamics ID12V.3 / Diamond M312 / Hertx HX 300 / Boston GS1204
Amplifier(s): Audison SRx3
Cable: Stinger / Phoenix Gold / Audison

System Cost: $5000
Source Unit(s): Alpine CDA-7878R / Pioneer DEH-P6550MP / Clarion DXZ835
Front Speaker(s): Kicker RS6 / Boston RC620 / Diamond M661 / Focal Polyglass 165V2 / Hertz HSK 1600 / Rainbow CS 265 P3 / Morel Dotech Mk II
Sub(s): JL Audio 12W3 / Image Dynamics IDQ12D4.V2 / Diamond M312 / Focal 33A / Hertx HX380
Amplifier(s): 2 x ARC Audio 2100XXK / Audison LRx2.250 & Audison LRx1.400 / Zapco 350 & Zapco 500M / Boston GT20 & Boston GT22 / Tru-Tech T-4.65 & Tru-Tech T-2.100
Cable: Stinger / Phoenix Gold / Audison

System Cost: $10000 (SQ system)
Source Unit(s): Nakamichi CD-700 / Alpine CDA-7998 / Pioneer DEH-9450MP / Clarion DXZ935
Processor(s): Precision Power DEQ-230
Front Speaker(s): Boston Pro6.5 / Image Dynamics CXS 64 / Diamond S600 / Focal 165W / Rainbow CS 265 P Vanadium / Morel Hybrid Ovation
Sub(s): JL Audio 12W6V2 / Image Dynamics IDQ12D4.V2 / Boston 12.5LF / Diamond M612 / Focal 33KX / Adire Brahma
Amplifier(s): 2 x ARC Audio 2100XXK / Audison LRx4.300 & Audison LRx1.400 / Zapco 750 & Zapco 1100M / Boston GT24 & Boston GT28 / Tru-Tech T03-4.150 & Tru-Tech T03-2.250
Cable: Streetwires / Audison / QED

System Cost: $10000 (A/V system)
Source Unit(s): Alpine CVA-1006R, Toshiba SD-1300 / Pioneer AVHP6550DVD, Clarion VRX935VD
Processor(s): Precision Power DEQ-230
Front Speaker(s): Boston Pro6.5 Image Dynamics CXS 64 / Diamond S600 / Focal 165V2 / Rainbow CS 265 P Vanadium / Morel Hybrid Ovation
Center Speaker(s): Kicker R4 / Boston FX4
Rear Speaker(s): Hertz ECX-165
Sub(s): JL Audio 12W6V2 / Image Dynamics IDMAX12V.3 / Boston 12.5LF / Diamond M612 / Focal 33KX / Adire Brahma
Amplifier(s): 2 x ARC Audio 2100XXK / Audison LRx4.300 & Audison LRx1.400 / Zapco 750 & Zapco 1100M / Boston GT24 & Boston GT28 / Tru-Tech T03-4.150 & Tru-Tech T03-2.250
Cable: Streetwires / Audison / QED

System Cost: $20000 (SQ system)
Source Unit(s): Nakamichi CD-700 / Alpine CDA-7998 / Pioneer DEXP9R / Clarion DXZ935
Processor(s): Precision Power DEQ-230
Front Speaker(s): DynAudio System 360 / Boston Z6 / Focal 165W3 / Rainbow CS 265.28 Platinum (6" splits) / Morel Elate 9
Rear Speaker(s): Kicker R6.2 / Boston ProRC620 / Hertz HSK 165 / Rainbow SLX 265.03 (6" splits)
Sub(s): JL Audio 12W7 / Image Dynamics IDMAX12V.3 / Boston 12.5LF / Diamond TDX 12 / Focal 33WX / Adire Brahma
Amplifier(s): ARC Audio 2500XXK & ARC Audio 4000XXK / JL Audio 300.4 & JL Audio 1000.1 / Audison VRx1.500 & Audison VRx4.300 / Zapco C2K-6.0x & Zapco C2K-9.0xd / Boston GT24 & Boston GT28 / Tru-Tech C-7 & Tru-Tech C7.2
Cable: Streetwires / Audison / QED

System Cost: $20000 (A/V System)
Source Unit(s): Alpine IVA-C800E, Alpine DHA-S680E / Pioneer AVXP7300DVD / Clarion VRX935VD
Processor(s): Hardon Karmon DTS decoder / Rane EQ
Front Speaker(s): DynAudio System 360 / Boston Z6 / Focal 165W3 / Rainbow CS 265.28 Platinum (6" splits) / Morel Elate 9
Center Speaker(s): Kicker R4 / Boston 4.5LF
Rear Speaker(s): Kicker R6.2 / Boston RC620 / Hertz HSK 165 / Rainbow SLX 265.03 Platinum (6" splits)
Sub(s): JL Audio 12W7 / Image Dynamics IDMAX12V.3 / Boston 12.5LF / Diamond TDX 12 / Focal 33WX / Adire Brahma
Amplifier(s): ARC Audio 4150XXK & ARC Audio 4000XXK / Audison VRx6.420 / Zapco C2K-4.0x & Zapco C2K-9.0xd & Zapco C2K-2.0x / Boston GT50 & Boston GT28 / Tru-Tech C-7 & Tru-Tech C7.2
Cable: Streetwires / Audison / QED

There are other system designs on our website too. :)

Wow....thanks alot Fhrx, thats really gonna help me :) If i have other Questions is it ok for me to email or Pm you ?

thanks

i have a pair of Hertz HSK 165 what do they retail for in australia?

Certainly, glad to help where I can if people here are happy to have me on board. :)

Do people on here who have Alpine hu use media expander ( mx ) if they have it? Does it make much difference expecially with mp3's.

media xpander is the devil! it's a great way to stuff up good sounding music with overpronounced treble and over the top bass with nothing inbetween. Some ppl will use it when listening to the radio (which is hardly high quality to start with) but don't bother with cd's or well recorded mp3's your better of using the equaliser if particular ranges are lacking

my opinion only :)

are you serious? u are jokin right???? my mate has alpine w/media expander and its sounds 100% clearer than my pioneer deck. The media expander is the only thing tipping me toward aline deck from the eclipse deck....................

media xpander is the devil! it's a great way to stuff up good sounding music with overpronounced treble and over the top bass with nothing inbetween. Some ppl will use it when listening to the radio (which is hardly high quality to start with) but don't bother with cd's or well recorded mp3's your better of using the equaliser if particular ranges are lacking

my opinion only :)

Media Xpander is good for lower quality cd's, It smooths out the tones. Personally I dont use it unless i'm using MP3's.

I have a full Alpine system in the Magna, if you are in melbourne I can give a demo at the next meet up :)

In terms of value for money I think Alpine is very good, better than the everyday brands (ie Sony/Pioneer/Panasonic/etc) but there are better brands.

nope I'm not joking although I guess if you like artificial sound (quite common for fans of doof doof) than it may be a positive feature. If your absolutely after sq eclipse is one of the better choices by far. In my opinion you shouldn't need to add artificial things into your music via the headunit if you have your speakers, amps and subs set up correctly. I suggest if your serious about car audio that you head over to the caraudioaustralia forums and have a read through the audiophiles section and maybe do a search on mx as well and see the general concensus

well he only ever plays mp3s in his car with his 15" solobaric L7's, so that might explain somethin...

I've never met someone that actually uses the MX controller hey! :D

My bad.. starting an argument and hijacking some1s post. Is the alpine CDA 9807 a good headunit for $569?

Yeh you guys hijacked my topic :( oh well....

Yeh that head unit sounds fairly cheap to me :)

Yeh you guys hijacked my topic :( oh well....

Yeh that head unit sounds fairly cheap to me :)

Sorry dj roy.... it seems good value for money and it wouldnt surprise me if you could pick one up for under $500 ( like im hoping later on ).