Car Stereo?

[Bigcube]

I'm looking change the stereo in my jeep.  I want a good am/fm/cd player that will be "plug and play" so to speak if I decide to get sat. radio later. I'm thinking of alpine CDA-9856. Any one have any info on this model? I'll also need 4 good 6.5" speakers for the doors. Any sugestions? I'm not getting fancy with amps and subs, just want a good sounding stereo that could upgrade later. Thanks! 

[6469mopar]

Give   CRUTCHFIELD A CALL   1800-555-9430   OR   crutchfield.com   

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[Crazy68Dart]

Alpine is pretty nice stuff.  I really look at the specs when I buy a stereo, i.e. S/N ratio, RMS power, etc.  I would bet Alpine is up there.  The Kenwood specs usually look pretty good too.  As far as speakers, Infinitiy.  If you are not getting an amp, get the Reference series.  The Kappa series work better with more power.

[Crazy68Dart]

Jim,

Here is the entry level Excelon series.  It has better overal specs than the Apline, plus comes with 2 free 6.5 speakers.  Get two more and you will be set to jet.  Look it over and see if it has the features you need/want.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Yb9PLi2Iw3k/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113KDCX590
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Yb9PLi2Iw3k/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&tab=review&i=113KDCX590#Tab

[Bigcube]

Good info Andy, I'm so out of the loop... back in the 80's I had a few Alpine stereo's so that's where I started my search.  I'm going to look into this a little further. 

[jamesdart]

i never really got into systems, but always liked to upgrade from stok stuff. on my dart i built some custom kick panels and put in a set of 6.5" alpine components. with a 300w JL amp. it sounds so freaking good. so clear. i know the stuff is not palced in the optimum location, but  before that i had a set of jl 6x9s in the rear deck with a single 4x10 in the dash. it sounded like ass compared to the 6.5"s alone. the amp is also pushing the 6x9's but im going to have to swap them out for something better now they handle the power fine, but they dont even come close to the clarity and bass of the components. i wouldnt rule out an amp. they are not jus tfor kids with big wings and bass that rattles the entire car. a decent amp will give much higher quality sound than just running fro mthe head unit reguardless of the amount of power its pushing.

[xmattxxx]

 Ive had problems with alpine,poor warranty support,electronic touch volume controls that stick...AND crank to max volume!Personally Kenwood,Pioneer,Sony and a few others are nice too.In the 80s alpine was the best for sure though.

[BullT]

alpine still makes pretty good stuff...panasonic actually makes some of the best head units...i would suggest staying away from sony if you want something that will last...as far as speakers go enless you are particularly picky about your music pretty much any speaker out there sounds better than stock...i have infinity kappas which are pretty much the clearest speakers you can get for a decent price and i love them but i am pretty picky...if you treat the speakers right they should all last but if you really like to crank it think about getting something higher end...if you are going for clarity get some nce speakers but if you want some bass get some components or throw in a subwoofer

[Bigcube]

Thanks again for all the advice. The only brand I'll stay away from is Pioneer.  I put their changer in my truck and it died after about 3 years of occasional use... with 12 cd's in it it might add.  I got them out but the machine would never work again when I got done with it 

I'm still doing some research.. seems to be some pretty good deals going through Ebag

[BullT]

hey if you want some really good info check out www.caraudioforum.com ...those guys really helped me out learning about audio stuff and helping me build a setup that worked well

good luck!

[SRT440DUSTER]

i buy all my audio stuff off of ebay.....the mark up on audio stuff is huge but you can really find the deals on ebay.....just watch to make sure its a brand new unit......alot of them will say brand new in the box and then further down the page it will say refurbished...the question is what kind music do you listen to and how much do you want to spend...

[BrianT]

i buy all my audio stuff off of ebay.....the mark up on audio stuff is huge but you can really find the deals on ebay.....just watch to make sure its a brand new unit......alot of them will say brand new in the box and then further down the page it will say refurbished...the question is what kind music do you listen to and how much do you want to spend...

  I recently bought an Alpine CDA-9857 off of ebay for my work vehicle.  It's a little pricey, but has a built in Ipod interface.  I can hide my Ipod in the glove box and control all of it's functions from the head unit.  I currently have over 8000 songs on my Ipod, that translates to roughly 500 cds!!

[Bigcube]

I've got an offer in on one(CDA-9856)  but he's waiting to respond.  Since then I found another with a buy it now price I liked but don't want to get stuck with 2  I don't have an I-pod but have been thinking about getting one.  My Daughter has a dell DJ so it should work with that... I'm sure she'd dig it.

[BrianT]

I would check on the Dell working with the Alpine.  It is set up to work with the Ipod, but just like their computers, Apple doesn't play well with others!  As I understand it, Apple uses a different compression file than Windows based MP3s, and the two are not interchangable.  I am sure someone who knows more will chime in.
Also, the 9857 wasn't that much more, and the display looks worlds apart.  Just my opinion, both are good units I'm sure.

[demon340v]

I have a Kenwood EZ500, I love it, for right now i don't have it doing 2 much for me for the simple fact i have yet to get my Infinity speakers yet, hopefully this week i get them!

Ne wyas it's a kick ass head unit, set up for Sirus Radio, can get HD radio, set the frequency response in mhz to the speakers operting range. and this is the part i love 2 PRE AMP OUTS!!

So you can have an amp hooked up and use the other as a hook up for a sub only line, which si what i will do with some Infinity kappa subs.

and keep in mind this is in my 71 Demon hey who said a kick ass soudn system was for new cars

[Bigcube]

Well as long as all my purchase show up I'll be rockin! 

I am a little intriged with Ipods... I resurected a bunch of mp3's from a buddies dead hard drive.. a couple of hundred, about 4 gig's worth  I'd like to put them on an Ipod and play them in the car.... any one got any sugestions fpr the best deal on a 20-30 gig ipod  I'm sitting here jammin to Rob Halford live

[Jamakin]

if it has the aux input on the back you can probably buy a cable that will give you a standard 1/8 stereo jack.  then you could run any mp3 player you wanted.  The plus with the ipod control is that the head units can control the ipod if you used another device you would have to change settings on the player.  Kinda like using the old fashin tape adapters to run a cd player.  Regaurdless you will have to buy the cable for your head unit which will probably be 20 - 30 dollars

[Bigcube]

Well it's in, sounds awesome too  santa4 I went with the alpine deck, Infinity Kappas in the back and Alpine Component's in the front.  The mids and high's are awesome... but I think I might need a sub now 

[jamesdart]

haha. its addicting. like anything else. i want to do something with my truck, but i know it will snowball. th ecomponents were  a good choice.

[Bigcube]

A friend of a guy from work did the install, killer job, no holes cut.  He put the tweeters in the factory dash speaker grates and the rest of the 6.5's are in the doors under the factory grates in the door panels  He hid the crossovers in the doors too.

There's a spot under the back seat for an amp and a little cubby hole oposite the spare tire that might hold a sub   

[DART VADER]

Don't look at me. I have an original 8-track player in my Satellite convertible. And I have another one ready for the Dart. Old school rocks!