Got an Alpine, need input
 

My old CD player was on it's way out, so I went out and got an Alpine 9857... the one with the biolite display. I was going for something that wasn't too far off from stock (green illumination, black faceplace) and this is the closest thing I found. Not bad for $260 on eBay... definately the most expensive radio I've ever owned. The ability to play MP3 CDs and the (slightly-so with stock speakers) improved sound quality was worth it (plus being able to just play CDs at will... a feature I missed dearly when all of the good radio stations were in commerical/crap mode).

I do have a few gripes about this player though. Trying to decide if they are major enough for me to get rid of it and try to find something else... opinions welcome. (Sorry if I come off as whiney, but this is where I stand)

Gripe #1: Dosn't look as stock as I'd like.

What can I say? I think aftermarket radios look too much like an afterthought and they really stick out for me. Maybe it's just shock of the change but the fact that it looks like nothing that was supposed to be there in the first place just bugs me. That, and it seems like the control design was a mere afterthought (source and power on the same button?) Which brings me to #2...

Gripe #2: The power button.

This is nothing specific to Alpine, most of the aftermarket players I have seen do this. WTF is up with holding the power button down to turn off the unit? I miss just being able to jab at my volume knob and turn the thing off. Now everything integrates some other random function into the power button so you need to specifically hold it in to get the desired effect.

Gripe #3: Power off = no clock.

This one just bugs me. Why oh why do I need to have the radio on or a CD playing to see what time it is? I have seen Xplod players that have the "clock on when the radio is off" feature, but again all of the Xplod's I see majorly violate gripe #1. (And what is up with blue displays? >90% of them seem to be blue)

Other then the above 3 things, this unit is absolutely great. But now that I actually have it installed and have gotten into regularly using it... I find it lacking for what I expect out of a HU (yeah, call me simplistic but audio is audio for me).

So, after all of that... should I sell it and go for something else? I have seen mention of stock mp3 players on the forums (esp. a 6-CD changer, which is overkill but cool. A single CD unit capable of MP3 playback would be nice). Then again, I've also seen a lot of posts about broken stock units. What do you guys think?

its just a matter of preference, best bet is to leave it for a couple weeks see if it grows on you. if it doesnt try and find a full din radio like the kenwood DPX301. i think full din look more like stock than anyother radio.

i say keep it.

just turn the volume down and don't turn it off. that is what i do, then again i always have the radio on.

if radio is radio then you way over purchased for a radio.

if you want to get rid of it, I will pm you my address. Alpine rocks ;)

i have my '04 factory radio with cd player,mp3 playback, and casette player it is in excellent condition just sitting in my room, its as factory looking as factory looking can get, ill trade you it plus some cash for your alpine if oyur not happy with it.

I have the 9856 and i love it. It's always connected to my ipod, no need to burn mix cds anymore! I never turn mine off, just turn the volume all the way down. It looks like a lot of other people would love to have your cd player.

Send it to me and get a boom box.

You can have the clock on with the radio off. Turn the radio off, then it the clock button. My 9856 is that way.

Hmm, ok good point about the clock button I'll try that on the way home tonight (couldn't find that in the manual. How odd). Leaving the radio on isn't an option for me... the mill I work in is pretty anal about having the radio off while inside the plant. Forgetful me, I would leave it on if it was muted and get repremanded for it.

I realize I overpurchased, I knew that when I got it. Like I said, I was going for looks more then anything and this is simply the first thing I found that remotely fit the bill (other then another stock radio, hadn't found anything mp3 compatible when I came across this). If it dosn't grow on me soon then I may just have to trade with someone who would enjoy it more than me.

alpines are junk now. they are so expensive considering how stripped they are of the features that made an alpine an alpine.

^^ your junk..i love mine and it wasnt expensive and theres so many features on it

they are junk now, build quality is low, internal eq's are weak or dont exist, preout voltages are weak, processing is weak. i was a huge alpine fan and one of the only brands i bought, but have been greatly disappointed. if you look at an older(2 years+)unit it is night and day.

Well, I gave it a shot last night. Seems like all buttons turn the unit on when pressed... no clock when off. :shrug:

x2 to that, they arent what they used to be. :thumbsdow:

i now run eclipse

well that sucks. guess it wouldn't be much of an upgrade to upgrade. lol. my 9827 works awesome, i love it, but im no car audio freak. lol

eclipse has also began to suffer, especially going to old-stock JVC casings and circuit boards

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