XXV-01D or Cda-9857

rodney

I'm considering the apline cda-9857 or the kenwood xxv-01d as my next headunit. looking for some advice on which to get. my be a stupid question, but anyway:

first off, i know the new alpines only have 2 volt preouts... how big of a difference will that make compard to the kenwoods 5V? Also, are there any other major drawbacks with the alpine? pretty much the only reason im considering it, is b/c i can get it for $90 less than the kenwood, and for the ipod control. my ipod will be the main source of music, and the integration w/ the new alpine unit is by far the best.

i also know that the kenwood kicks the alpine's **** as far as everything else goes, except for w/ the ipod controls. both have nice displays.

the rest of my system consists of db6500 components up front, ex369 6x9s in the rear, and 2 gnx 10s in the trunk, (all are amplified). therefore my final question is, will i notice the difference in sound quality with my speaker set-up?

thanks for any help

audiobliss

I would say the biggest differences between the two (going on what you said in your post...I didn't look either of them up), are the preouts and DACs. Alpine's HU's typically don't have very high-end DACs here recently, wehreas Kenwood has recently started using some nice DACs. Also, the preouts voltages will make a difference. Based on those two things, I would choose the Kenwood.

However, you say that your iPod is going to be your main source. When using the iPod, its DAC will be converting the media, and so the DAC in the HU won't make any difference. Also, I'm not familiar with the Kenwood's interface for controlling iPods, but Alpine's is quite nice. Based on those two things, I would be tempted to overlook the preout voltages and choose the Alpine.

Basically, I guess it's up to you. But, we already knew that. So...did I help any...lol...?

1996blackmax

I think he already has answered his own question...

MacLeod

First off youre not going to hear any difference between the two DACS. You will here a difference between the 2 volt and 5 volt preouts so on that features alone, Ill take the Kenwood.

My Alpine 9855 was the last of the good Alpines and until they start making serious head units again, I wont be buying from them.

audiobliss

MacLeod wrote:

First off youre not going to hear any difference between the two DACS.

Well, that's debatable. :rolleyes: Depends on your system and your ears.

MacLeod wrote:

You will here a difference between the 2 volt and 5 volt preouts so on that features alone, Ill take the Kenwood.

My Alpine 9855 was the last of the good Alpines and until they start making serious head units again, I wont be buying from them.

At least we agree on something.

MacLeod

audiobliss wrote:

Well, that's debatable. :rolleyes: Depends on your system and your ears.

And your imagination.

1996blackmax

Not really Mac......


Either the DAC's sound better or the unit with the better DAC's (multi-bit) also have better components that together with the DAC's produce a sound that is more detailed.

Airplay355

Or since he is going to be using MP3's it won't matter much anyway.

1996blackmax

Agreed....

I mainly listen to regular CD's.

Greg Peters

MacLeod wrote:

First off youre not going to hear any difference between the two DACS. You will here a difference between the 2 volt and 5 volt preouts so on that features alone, Ill take the Kenwood.

My Alpine 9855 was the last of the good Alpines and until they start making serious head units again, I wont be buying from them.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=DVA-9861
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=DVA-9861&lang=en&tab=F
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.


I would consider one from the '06 line up...but it is more pricey than it should be for what you get. The DVA-9861 does have 4v pre-outs (and will play DVD Audio as well).

MacLeod

1996blackmax wrote:

.....or the unit with the better DAC's (multi-bit) also have better components that together with the DAC's produce a sound that is more detailed.

Now THAT I agree with.

Greg - Those Alpines are good units and I wouldnt have a problem having one its just that if I was going to pay $650 for a h/u Id get the Eclipse CD7000 and get time alignment and a better EQ.

1996blackmax

MacLeod wrote:

if I was going to pay $650 for a h/u Id get the Eclipse CD7000 and get time alignment and a better EQ.

I agree with you 100% .

That HU in 3-way mode would be very sweet. It has 5 bands for the highs, five bands for the midrange, and one band for the low range (all parametric). Pretty extensive control I would say . Regular mode is 7 bands.

MacLeod

It just sucks that Alpine saw fit, in their infinite wisdom, to get rid of head units like the 9855 which had all those wonderful things but only cost $450. Or the 9853 which had TA and 7 band EQ but cost $350.

exalted512

check out the new 880 by pioneer...its BAD ****. Period. I think I'm in love.
-Cody

MacLeod

Ive been hearing some grumbling on other forums and from competitors about Pioneers having noise issues. Ive also noticed that Ive only seen 1 or 2 SQ cars running Pioneer. You heard anything about this Cody?

1996blackmax

I had heard of that for a little while now. Some had issues with internal grounds or something along those lines causing the noise.

exalted512

yea, they had some problems with the RCAs inputs. a simple ground fixes that problem, but the new 880 is STRAIGHT sq...i know a guy selling his eclipse 8455 for it. The unit is amazing.
-Cody

Greg Peters

MacLeod wrote:

Now THAT I agree with.

Greg - Those Alpines are good units and I wouldnt have a problem having one its just that if I was going to pay $650 for a h/u Id get the Eclipse CD7000 and get time alignment and a better EQ.

Not that the '06 Alpine DVA-9861 isn't a trade off AND too expensive- I agree. I prefer the EQ features, T/A, and Bass Engine Pro that come with the CDA-9855 which are no longer included in the '06 line. It's just that the 9855 will not likely be available new for much longer.

That said, if I had to go with something from Alpine's 2006 line, the 9861 wouldn't be a bad choice. I don't have a cd changer, and I have no desire for one (or in-car Ipod). The idea of copying 4.7 gb worth of music to a DVR-R for in car playback is interesting.

The Eclipse products are top notch, but I prefer the detachable face type of head unit over the less obvious anti-theft measures used by Eclipse. It all boils down to features you have to have, a price point you're willing to tolerate, and, I hate to say it...brand preference.

I have been an Alpine fan for years, and am less than impressed with the company's gadget-driven marketing strategy for Ipod/Satellite Radio integration as of late. Would this make me jump ship for Pioneer / Eclipse / Kenwood? I have owned both Pioneer and Kenwood head units, and would probably take the Eclipse rather than go back to either of those. I just have a thing about leaving temptation in the dash for all to see (based on many broken out windows).

rodney

perhaps a better question would be, is there anything i can do to make up for the 2v preouts on the alpine, such as use HIGH quality RCAs, etc?

audiobliss

Well, you could be a 'line driver', I believe they're called. It will hook up between the HU and the amp, and it will amplify the HU's outputs. However, the main advantage of high-voltage preouts is a strong, clean signal. If you put a 'line driver' on there, it's going to be amplifying the signal from the HU, but also the background noise and such that the HU noise is sending to the amp.

As far as I know, there is no *real* replacement for high-voltage preouts.

MacLeod

AB is right, you can snag a line driver which will bump those things up to 12+ volts. Other than that youre pretty much stuck with them. Its always better to just get the proper gear the first time.

exalted512

and like ab said, linedrivers, while they do increase your voltage, they do distort the signal
-Cody

1996blackmax

exalted512 wrote:

yea, they had some problems with the RCAs inputs. a simple ground fixes that problem, but the new 880 is STRAIGHT sq...i know a guy selling his eclipse 8455 for it. The unit is amazing.
-Cody

I saw some pictures of it from the CES convention a little while back. While it is a nice looking HU, with good tuning options, I would not get rid of my CD8455 for it.

The only non DVD/navigation unit that I would look into at this point is the Eclipse CD7000.

deepinya

cd5000 has 8v pre-outs while the cd7000 has only 5v?

98thumpin

the higher voltage the preout the better , go with the highvoltage stuff to start with.

neomagus00

deepinya - it's possible the 5000 is rated at peak, the 7000 at rms... or maybe they traded off a little voltage to keep the price at their target?

1996blackmax

The CD5000 has 8V preouts while the CD7000 has 5V preouts....


For me 5V's is plenty, especially considering how much more tuning control the CD7000 has. By the way, when Eclipse says X amount of volts, it is X amount of volts for the preouts.

audiobliss

1996blackmax wrote:

By the way, when Eclipse says X amount of volts, it is X amount of volts for the preouts.

What else would it mean?

MacLeod

1996blackmax wrote:

By the way, when Eclipse says X amount of volts, it is X amount of volts for the preouts.

Right, but it could either be RMS or peak. Just like an amp, it doesnt make 50 watts all the time.

exalted512

1996blackmax wrote:

By the way, when Eclipse says X amount of volts, it is X amount of volts for the preouts.

I disagree, but they are pretty up there...but dont think those 8V preouts are 8VRMS preouts.
-Cody

deepinya

you bite your tongue cody!