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Gentlemen, I am going to upgrade my HU in the near future and am on the fence between an Alpine CDA-9833 vs. Pioneer DEH-P80MP. They both seem to have similar features and power.
Accordingly, what is your take on reliability, quality, and ease of use?
For door speakers, from the many posts I've read, it seems that either Focal or Infiniti Perfect 5.1. Based on the cost factor, the Infiniti is looking pretty good. Again, what is your take?
Both of those HU are nice in their own right. They each have little different features. I'm an Alpine guy myself as most people here will tell you. I've never had that much luck with the few Pioneer HU I've owned in the past. That's not to say things haven't changed but most people here will recommend the Alpine one to you as will I.
I bring it up all the time because it happens to ring true with this car, that you need to have TC - (Time Correction) to properly tune an S2000. And as far as I can tell the Pioneer doesn't offer that feature... but I might have missed it in the specs.
As for speakers, you'll be very happy with the Infinities... however I would give some thought to getting an amp to properly power them.
You def. need an amp for the speakers....and its the 6.1s not 5.1s.
As far as headunits go...I dont like pioneer because they are overy digitized. Everything is done though and +/- menu, and everything takes 15 button presses to do simple things. Alpines are greatly designed (the best IMHO)...in ease of use.
i've had 2 pioneer HU and didn't like either, one had a hard time playing cd's and the other had a cd get stuck in the HU. i had a alpine one in my last car, it was great but as it gold older it slowly had a harder time to play cd's.
i myself, am going for another alpine headunit for it's ease of use as mentioned above. but this time i am going to get a higher end model. hopefully it will be a world of a difference!
I had both the alpine 9835 and the Pioneer 860 MP.
The pioneer I have does have time correction, I dont know about the 80mp.
I initially got the Alpine, but for some reason I did not like it. Great head unit, dont get me wrong, but something was missing. I dont know, I am kind of partial to pioneer as I have only used them in the past, so this time I wanted to try something different. Overall they are both great headunits, with time comes normal wear and tear, so eventually both will break. Go for what ever you like best, dont go by someone else's recommendation.
As for speakers, whats your budget, Infiniti's are great, if you want to spend more money you can go with Focals.
I find my pioneer to be pretty easy to use. Once its set up you dont have to do much, just change the stations and adjust the volume.
I have a pioneer head unit that has treated me very well for the past 4 years, but the reputation of Alpine as well as the personal testimonies on this board and others means I'll be picking up an Alpine whenever I decide to upgrade. The only advantages I can see to Pioneer are:
1) Possibly a slightly lower price of entry on the very low end decks.
2) Pioneer's higher resolution display units can be had for less $$$ than Alpine (Alpine seems to include the better display for a smaller percentage of their line).
3) Alpine is really popular on this board, and if you want something different (not to say Pioneer is really an obscure brand) they may have a head-unit in your price-range that looks better to you than the corresponding Alpine.
Like I said, if it were me I would purchase the Alpine, hands down, especially if the Pioneers lack the Time Correction, but ultimately it comes down to which deck has the features and to a large part aesthetics you want, since quality will probably be fine with either brand.
alpine!! go with the 9855 the 9833 wont be around much longer (model year end) TC is sweet and its all about the glide bar and bio lite!!! no fading of the screen thats huge!! specially when its bright and sunny with the top down
I've got both.
the alpine in the s and the pioneer in the van. Pioneer makes alot of garbage, but the higher end stuff (premier) is pretty darn good. Alpine just doesn't bother with lower end stuff, it'd hurt thier rep.
The better pioneers come with time correction and soon they will be releasing a new ipod controller. From the HU, same as alpine, maybe better.
My only complaint about the alpine is the noticeably weaker sub out. Nothing gain adjustments cannot fix. My only complaint about the pioneer is my experiences with terrible longevity. They have all broken sooner than expected.
It's a matter of taste, and budget. I wouldn't mess with pioneer speakers or amps at this point. That said i love my hu in the van, and the hu in the s.
I have an Alpine and I think its a good unit. Ive had it for about 3 years with no real issues. I personally think the Alpines are more substantial feeling in their controls than the Pioneer. Although I have not personally owned any Pioneer car audio, friends that have had issues with reliability. Lastly, I'm a fan of simplicity, less flashy things, which is another reason I went with Alpine.
02-13-2005, 11:12 AM
Alpine vs Pioneer
