Hey guys, im looking at new stereo head units for my truck. Im not very good at this kinda stuff so im gonna ask you stereo guru type people. Ive always had a soft spot for Alpine stereos, however, is there anything of better quality out there for the same price? At this time i do not intend on hooking up any kind of sub woofer or amplifier to my truck, but that may be done down the road.

Here is a CD head unit im currently looking at for my truck. Id like you guys to tell me the goods and bads about this unit as well as if there is anything better or more fully featured as this, i do NOT want to lack on quality!!

Again, if you guys know of another head unit thats better quality and/or more fully featured than this , feel free to link me to it, but remember, i do NOT want to lack in sound or unit quality.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...model=CDA-9887

 

With a new deck should come new speakers. Sound quality will be much better. Check out Rockford Fosgate.

 

ok, it has kenwood speakers now....but i do plan on upgrading and you say check out rockford fosgate speakers correct?

 

I'm running a set of their punch series and they're quite a bit better than the fac's!! Might be a bit better than that if I upgraded the speaker wires, but that looked like too big a hassle. Besides, it probably would've tripped a million codes anyway!!!

 

for us 3rd gen guys do they have to put in a filler plate around the rest?

 

Thats a nice choice, you would be very happy with the 9887
Good solid unit that play just about everything.

 

I have an older Alpine...can't remember the model #. It's at least 5-6 years old now. Absolutely the nicest head unit I've ever owned/used. I don't think it has ever skipped. I work in dusty conditions and dust has never been a problem. In fact, I've never had a problem. When I traded my last truck in, I pulled my Alpine head unit and speakers out before the trade and had the head unit in the new one the next day. Sadly, I still haven't put the speakers in and it's been about 1.5 yrs since I bought my current Ram. Someday when I have to replace this unit, which doesn't look like it will be anytime soon, I'll buy another Alpine. Hopefully, I'll have installed my Alpine speakers by that time too.

 

CumminsRedneck, my buddy has that head unit in his truck, it's a really nice unit and works awesome i think you'd be happy with it

 

awesome this is the kinda replys i was hoping to hear!!!!!

 

Eclipse makes a pretty good HU.

 

Ive had this head unit for the last 12 months, quality Alpine product.

 

I second the Eclipse HU's ...They put Alpine to shame, especially on the higher end models... I have both

 

IMO, Eclipse is the best. I also like Clarions a lot (esp if you listen to the radio, as they tend to have really sensitive receivers that can pull in weak stations.)

You do know that Kenwood and Alpine are essentially the same, right?

An eclipse HU with some Polk or MBQuart separates or even coaxials will sound great without the needs for tons of external amps, eqs, crossovers and all that.

jmo-- it's been 10 years easily since I was really into car audio-- probably longer. In fact, it was so long ago there were actually US companies making amps! Anyone remember PPI? HiFonics? US Amps?

Ah, the good old days when amps were amps. Speakers have gotten better, but amps seem to be worse...

Sorry to ramble.

 

Any of the major manufacturers should be fine for head units. Alpine makes a good quality product, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. Eclipse is one of the best out there, but you'll pay premium prices for them.

As far as speakers, well Rockford Fosgate hasn't been good for a long, long time. Decent, yes. No where near where they used to be. Even Infinity has fallen off of the wagon.

Any of the speaker manufacturers are capable of making a very good quality product...as they are also capable of making crap. All I can say, is do your research, and LISTEN to all of the speakers you are interested in.

Also realize, that the sound dynamic will change significantly when you add an external amplifier. Even a decent 25x4 amplifier will sound significantly better than the built in amplifier in the head unit.

 

I agree with you Justin. The set of JL separates that I run has the same designer for the tweeter from MB.

I run a Zapco which has been a really good amp for my set up. Check out their page you'll be impressed.