im after a good alpine HU that has bluetooth and ipod compatability

any advise?

Ive just bought a CDE-103EBT Alpine head unit and its awsome, everything I wanted and more. Check it out or the CDE-104EBT. You wont go wrong.

They come with Bluetooth, the mic for the handsfree, the ipod cable, every HPF, LPF and setting you really need for getting the best sound out of any system. Not only that, the Alpine HU's now can get a KTP-445 unit which is a 45w RMS upgrade to your standard channel speakers.... well worth it than trying to wire up an amp to run.

I have had an Alpine head unit for a couple years now and swear by it, the Ipod interface is amazing and fast as hell. I'm not too sure of the new range or its features I'm just piping in cos I feel the need to defend Alpine from the naysayers and I've had one too many beers.

But a free tip is to try and find one with the Bluetooth included, when I was looking at it the Bluetooth attachment was a hefty slug to the wallet. But comparable to other brands and IMO had better features than the Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood equivalent.

It's not the advertised features that set Alpine apart its the user-friendly and asthetically pleasing design that made the sale for me. Not to mention the quality of the build as well as the warranty. All in all: Alpine FTW

I have had an Alpine head unit for a couple years now and swear by it, the Ipod interface is amazing and fast as hell. I'm not too sure of the new range or its features I'm just piping in cos I feel the need to defend Alpine from the naysayers and I've had one too many beers.

But a free tip is to try and find one with the Bluetooth included, when I was looking at it the Bluetooth attachment was a hefty slug to the wallet. But comparable to other brands and IMO had better features than the Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood equivalent.

It's not the advertised features that set Alpine apart its the user-friendly and asthetically pleasing design that made the sale for me. Not to mention the quality of the build as well as the warranty. All in all: Alpine FTW

2nd that all the way, over the years ive had 5-6 Alpine decks, 3 clarions, 1 pioneer, 2 JVC and one Nakamichi.
For SQ cant go past Naka, the JVC died in 3 mths, 1 Clarion was awesome but it was a top level SQ deck worth $1k+

I'm a huge fan of Alpine for their decks and amps, wouldnt touch their speakers(imo dont sound any good for the $$) and the subs Ive had of theirs impressed me(dont do much for a lot of ppl).

I'm about to get a new deck myself for the GTV and itll def be alpine....
But as stated, go out and play with/listen to as many decks as you can, youll find something you love.

does sound vary much between decks? i never listen to cd anymore as i finally discovered the ipod.

flame me if needed lol

You should be more worried about what your options are to manipulate the sound.

We have an Alpine unit that is 2 years old, mid range with Ipod control. Control is slow compared to Pioneer with enternal Ipod adapter, button have faded but still works. Not overly impressive, bit like the rest of the range.

Yeah it all comes down to personal preference I reckon, we all have our brands we love and hate.
I personally do think there can be a lot of difference in sound between units, others disagree.

Just one thing about choosing the right head deck, as MP3's Lose top end and Bass (especially though an Ipod), look for a Good Sound Retriever/enhancer and try it out, some are good some are weak.

IIRC Some deck have the Ipod play the file, and some the head deck does the work, the latter is definately Better.

ALPINE:
Hmmm... for Alpine, u'd be hard pressed to find a single din deck that has built in bluetooth, but they do come with kits, at a price, your best bet from alpine are their Ipod compatible mechless units. If your going double din then diff story, i think they produce a bluetooth connect one, though on second thought maybe not, again still from the Mechless range.

ECLIPSE (this is my other suggestion)
Eclipse to a fantastic single din unit with top notch audio especially if you have your entire system running of amps (keep this in mind it is important with this unit) and it has bluetooth connect and is still button run, so usability is great, also has a variety of LED colors. CD7200 MKII (http://www.eclipse-web.com.au/Site/Product/Product.aspx?ProductID=06d95a22-4b50-102b-b5be-3e5906103f0c&CategoryID=03edb1d6-406c-102b-b5be-3e5906103f0c)

Clarion
There is also this clarion double din unit, it's alright, usabillity it has in spades and is bluetooth compatible CX6094 (http://www.clarion.com/au/en/products/2009/audio/source_unit/2din/CX609A/au-en-product-pf_1172419833140.html) thats if you want a double din

@ Hitman, CDE103EBT, CDE104EBT both have single DIN and Built in Bluetooth. They also have every bit of sound manipulation you could ever want, Hz range on Bass and Treble, Hz Strength, HPF etc etc.

If you are also considering Alpine only, you can get a thing called KTP-445 for Alpine only which increeases HU output on the amp side of things to 45w RMS per channel on all the newer Alpine models. I have on onroute from America which I recieve tomorrow. It basically saves you running an amp when you arent after a competition type setup and just want some decent sounds.

Another benefit too with Alpine only, is they use the same button and dial knobs on any head unit in their range... so even if you spend $300 on a unit, it has the same buttons as a $1000 double DIN unit. Basically means the life of the units will be much longer than their rivals.

But once again, its a taste thing. I swear by my alpine HU's, others swear against em..

Links for your Perusal:

103EBTi http://www.alpine.com.au/products/product.asp?modelID=419
104EBTi http://www.alpine.com.au/products/product.asp?modelID=418

Interesting to see what the S/N ratio is on the KTP-445....

Interesting to see what the S/N ratio is on the KTP-445....

Not sure, I'm interested in one myself. From what I've read it is similiar in design to the PDX range.
Reviews ive read love it too.

if its going in new falcooon... what about the alpine pro hub? keeps the stock head unit but runs alpine set up

He cannot use a Double Din due to its going into his SC'ed XR8 Falcon (going by his user profile)

correct, its replacing a pioneer hu i currently have

sorry dude.. didnt realise he had already done a single din conversion... thought it was still stock.. as if it was stock the alpine pro hub is a great unit to keep car lookin stock while producing all the goodies of a top of the range HU including ipod and bluetooth

I get my KTP-445 today.

Ill report on it in the next couple of days in a new thread on the performance gain both quality and loudness.

sorry dude.. didnt realise he had already done a single din conversion... thought it was still stock.. as if it was stock the alpine pro hub is a great unit to keep car lookin stock while producing all the goodies of a top of the range HU including ipod and bluetooth

if i had premium sound with the color screen id go for the pro hub for sure!

ASL/or FTG can help you out there :woot:

yeah for a sly $1000