Team-BHP's first Alpine 117

sathee46 · 4th April 2010, 17:16

After a lot of thought with SQ as my priority, I decided that the HU in my car the JVC AVX800 needs to be replaced. My search began for a new HU and keeping in mind the rest of the equipment which I already have the new HU should compliment the rest.

The choices I had were the Eclipse 7200MkII, the Alpine 9887 and the Pioneer p80rs.

My requirements were SQ, Ipod connectivity, USB. I do listen to Audio CD's but my main source of music was my IPod and sometimes my USB, so out of all the sources I wanted excellent support for the ipod

The Eclipse 7200 is indeed an awesome HU, but it was not available anywhere. The HU has everything an audiophile needs, But i'm not an audiophile yet and i think my equipment did not deserve such an HU. I needed an additional Ipod adapter to work with it, and having listened to the the adapter combo on a friend's ride i was not so impressed on the Ipod performance part

The 9887 which is also known for it's SQ abilities was my choice for the HU until the last moment, reason being available easily and I had a Alpine Ipod cable lying with a friend. The 9887 was known for it's ease of use with the Ipod and that attracted me a lot to it. Further research showed that the Ipod DAC is not bypassed in the 9887 and it had no USB as well.

The P80Rs, I have no personal experience with this HU. But based on reviews and advice from friends i was having a look at this one too. This one did not have USB, IPOD, it was just a good SQ unit which I felt is not for me, I needed some creature comforts in my choice of HU

And then came the Alpine CDA 117, rumored to be 9886/9887 replacement. Well, it wasn't available here initially but I still gave it a look and the HU impressed me a lot and it offered all my requirements from an HU.

Pros:
Out-of-the-box Ipod support.
An excellent User interface especially for the ipod controls
24 Bit Burr Brown DAC
105db SNR for both CD and USB
Ipod DAC bypass (Digital Ipod connection)
4v Preout, which is just adequate
Option of adding an imprint processor
Time alignment

Cons:
No Low-pass filter, but can be done with the PXA-H100 later or use the amp for it
No 3-way active, again can be done with the PXA-H100
Cannot use the Ipod and USB simultaneously (Both use the same USB port)
No Alpine Steering remote, unlike the JVC & Pioneer

Here are a Few pictures

pranava999 · 4th April 2010, 17:24

Congrats Sathee on the upgrade. Sure looks a stunner. Waiting for a review.

donarun · 4th April 2010, 17:56

Congratulations, great HU there. I was looking to buy one of these and you beat me to it

. Please post a detailed review and the price.

shreyasma · 4th April 2010, 18:51

Excellent! congrats!

Can you please share the price?

greenhorn · 4th April 2010, 19:25

do try it out with some huge USB drives/hard disks. doesnt seem to like them/banking functionality is not quite smooth yet

Piyush_Vroom · 4th April 2010, 20:58

Yeah... Its surely a 9887/9886 Upgrade as Sound tuning features/ Specifications remain the same.. Great Choice...

FeelTheBass · 4th April 2010, 22:49

Congrats!! Sathee!! this HU does look good in features. Nice buy i must say!!

Waiting for a review buddy!!

Mi10 · 5th April 2010, 12:08

Congrats Satish, seems like a truly wonderful HU. Let us know how it performs.

Mind sharing the cost of the HU ?

abhibh · 5th April 2010, 12:35

Congrats on the HU. I was under the impression that this UNIT didn't had Burr Brown DAC.

Also i have heard some horror stories regarding USB / iPod scrolling pretty much slow and it takes a lot of time to BANK the songs.

SPARKled · 5th April 2010, 13:33

Congrats!! Good choice. I think this is going to be most value for money HU soon with TA, USB and the works without blowing a huge hole in the pocket.

sathee46 · 5th April 2010, 13:48

Thanks Guys, the price is ~17k the unit is from SGP.

@greenhorn - I'm using a 8gb pendrive at the moment and no problems yet. I quite like the banking function, it's smooth for 8gb contents(<1000 Songs). The songs can be navigated folder wise too once you select the folder option in the banking menu.

@abhibh - The DAC is Burr Brown

Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

Yes it could be quirky once you have more than 1 bank (more than 1000 songs) on your pendrive. But for the Ipod navigation it is not bad in anyways. You can do a alphabetical scroll which makes searching a lot easier for me atleast. I will try to post a video of the ipod control later. If speedy search is your priority then you need to buy the 422i full speed cable, but we will miss the DAC bypass that way.

A Complete review after some time. Intial impressions, the HU souds way better than my previous HU. With no tuning done in the HU, the difference in the sound quality is eminent.

abhibh · 5th April 2010, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by sathee46

Yes it could be quirky once you have more than 1 bank (more than 1000 songs) on your pendrive. But for the Ipod navigation it is not bad in anyways. You can do a alphabetical scroll which makes searching a lot easier for me atleast. I will try to post a video of the ipod control later. If speedy search is your priority then you need to buy the 422i full speed cable, but we will miss the DAC bypass that way.

Regarding DAC bypass. Please put some WAV tracks in your iPod and see if HU plays them. If it plays the WAV then it's using iPods DAC. According to UNIT specifications it plays MP3, WMA & AAC.

quadra · 5th April 2010, 15:25

JVC AVX800 is a touch screen interface and this one is not - was it easy to move from a touch screen interface to a button controlled one.. ??
How is this better than JVC AVX800 (in laymans terms) ?

sathee46 · 5th April 2010, 16:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhibh

Regarding DAC bypass. Please put some WAV tracks in your iPod and see if HU plays them. If it plays the WAV then it's using iPods DAC. According to UNIT specifications it plays MP3, WMA & AAC.

I will check on that, but IIRC it plays wav.

The Alpine site says, 'digital transmission'. I dont think alpine could be fooling it's customers with an analog transmission. If it is, then it's very bad marketing. And is it the Job of the DAC to check which format it's working with, I thought it just converts digital signal to analog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadra

JVC AVX800 is a touch screen interface and this one is not - was it easy to move from a touch screen interface to a button controlled one.. ??
How is this better than JVC AVX800 (in laymans terms) ?

SQ wise it's no comparison to the alpine.

Speed-Freak · 5th April 2010, 16:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piyush_Vroom

Yeah... Its surely a 9887/9886 Upgrade as Sound tuning features/ Specifications remain the same.. Great Choice...

Hi Guys,

But the 117 is still not a replacement for the 9887 it lacks on a few counts.

The CDA 117 doesn't have all the processing capabilties of the 9887. You basically need the H100 processor or something.

Check this link.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...placement.html

4th April 2010, 17:16	#1
sathee46 BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 465 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Team-BHP's first Alpine 117 After a lot of thought with SQ as my priority, I decided that the HU in my car the JVC AVX800 needs to be replaced. My search began for a new HU and keeping in mind the rest of the equipment which I already have the new HU should compliment the rest. The choices I had were the Eclipse 7200MkII, the Alpine 9887 and the Pioneer p80rs. My requirements were SQ, Ipod connectivity, USB. I do listen to Audio CD's but my main source of music was my IPod and sometimes my USB, so out of all the sources I wanted excellent support for the ipod The Eclipse 7200 is indeed an awesome HU, but it was not available anywhere. The HU has everything an audiophile needs, But i'm not an audiophile yet and i think my equipment did not deserve such an HU. I needed an additional Ipod adapter to work with it, and having listened to the the adapter combo on a friend's ride i was not so impressed on the Ipod performance part The 9887 which is also known for it's SQ abilities was my choice for the HU until the last moment, reason being available easily and I had a Alpine Ipod cable lying with a friend. The 9887 was known for it's ease of use with the Ipod and that attracted me a lot to it. Further research showed that the Ipod DAC is not bypassed in the 9887 and it had no USB as well. The P80Rs, I have no personal experience with this HU. But based on reviews and advice from friends i was having a look at this one too. This one did not have USB, IPOD, it was just a good SQ unit which I felt is not for me, I needed some creature comforts in my choice of HU And then came the Alpine CDA 117, rumored to be 9886/9887 replacement. Well, it wasn't available here initially but I still gave it a look and the HU impressed me a lot and it offered all my requirements from an HU. Pros: Out-of-the-box Ipod support. An excellent User interface especially for the ipod controls 24 Bit Burr Brown DAC 105db SNR for both CD and USB Ipod DAC bypass (Digital Ipod connection) 4v Preout, which is just adequate Option of adding an imprint processor Time alignment Cons: No Low-pass filter, but can be done with the PXA-H100 later or use the amp for it No 3-way active, again can be done with the PXA-H100 Cannot use the Ipod and USB simultaneously (Both use the same USB port) No Alpine Steering remote, unlike the JVC & Pioneer Here are a Few pictures Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

4th April 2010, 17:24	#2
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	Congrats Sathee on the upgrade. Sure looks a stunner. Waiting for a review.
	() Thanks

4th April 2010, 17:56	#3
donarun BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: chennai Posts: 345 Thanked: 31 Times	Congratulations, great HU there. I was looking to buy one of these and you beat me to it . Please post a detailed review and the price.
	() Thanks

4th April 2010, 18:51	#4
shreyasma BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bang! Posts: 652 Thanked: 6 Times	Excellent! congrats! Can you please share the price?
	() Thanks

4th April 2010, 19:25	#5
greenhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,878 Thanked: 4,910 Times View My Garage	do try it out with some huge USB drives/hard disks. doesnt seem to like them/banking functionality is not quite smooth yet
	() Thanks

4th April 2010, 20:58	#6
Piyush_Vroom BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: NewDelhi/Noida Posts: 222 Thanked: 5 Times	Yeah... Its surely a 9887/9886 Upgrade as Sound tuning features/ Specifications remain the same.. Great Choice...
	() Thanks

4th April 2010, 22:49	#7
FeelTheBass BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Palwal Posts: 111 Thanked: 39 Times	Congrats!! Sathee!! this HU does look good in features. Nice buy i must say!! Waiting for a review buddy!!
	() Thanks

5th April 2010, 12:08	#8
Mi10 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,172 Thanked: 3,303 Times View My Garage	Congrats Satish, seems like a truly wonderful HU. Let us know how it performs. Mind sharing the cost of the HU ?
	() Thanks

5th April 2010, 12:35	#9
abhibh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Back in the HOOD near you! Posts: 2,768 Thanked: 39 Times	Congrats on the HU. I was under the impression that this UNIT didn't had Burr Brown DAC. Also i have heard some horror stories regarding USB / iPod scrolling pretty much slow and it takes a lot of time to BANK the songs.
	() Thanks

5th April 2010, 13:33	#10
SPARKled Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 1,110 Thanked: 664 Times	Congrats!! Good choice. I think this is going to be most value for money HU soon with TA, USB and the works without blowing a huge hole in the pocket.
	() Thanks

5th April 2010, 13:48	#11
sathee46 BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 465 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Thanks Guys, the price is ~17k the unit is from SGP. @greenhorn - I'm using a 8gb pendrive at the moment and no problems yet. I quite like the banking function, it's smooth for 8gb contents(<1000 Songs). The songs can be navigated folder wise too once you select the folder option in the banking menu. @abhibh - The DAC is Burr Brown Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. Yes it could be quirky once you have more than 1 bank (more than 1000 songs) on your pendrive. But for the Ipod navigation it is not bad in anyways. You can do a alphabetical scroll which makes searching a lot easier for me atleast. I will try to post a video of the ipod control later. If speedy search is your priority then you need to buy the 422i full speed cable, but we will miss the DAC bypass that way. A Complete review after some time. Intial impressions, the HU souds way better than my previous HU. With no tuning done in the HU, the difference in the sound quality is eminent.
	() Thanks

5th April 2010, 15:25	#13
quadra BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Blore Posts: 553 Thanked: 68 Times	JVC AVX800 is a touch screen interface and this one is not - was it easy to move from a touch screen interface to a button controlled one.. ?? How is this better than JVC AVX800 (in laymans terms) ?
	() Thanks