I just spent like 5 Grand on Alpine stuff and a cutom fiberglass trunk... was Alpine the ways to go... I got the type-x components, subs, and the new V-12 amps... I wanna wait till the IVA-D310 comes out to intall the in-dash... did i make the right choice or is there another better brand?

 

Theres TONs of better brands, just need to do your research and not let a salesman tell you whats best.

 

U should be very pleased with it. Maybe not $5g's worth, but it should be nice.

 

I just wanna be able to control everything from my dash... wat do u guys really think about Alpine?

 

Its a decent mainstream brand at best.

 

shouldnt you be asking us this before you bought everything

 

I'll tell you something- I run an alpine headunit. Love it. Great SQ. I had the type X comps- not very impressive, to me at least. I am waiting on a set of elemental designs 6500 to replace them. They have rediculous reviews and *should* be better than the type X.(they are based on a CDT design) The type X has a sick crossover though. Still, your system is very good. It is better than what pearl96 Max says. It is more than just a decent mainstream brand (as a Whole) I say this because many people think that the have the do all-end all equipment because they have fosgate subs with some pioneer speakers with a sony explode HU with a Doctor Crankenstien amp <---anybody remember this crap?)LOL No offense to those who run this equipment- if it floats your boat thats alla that matters. Anyway, I think what pearl 96 is trying to say is that there are many internet based brands that have superior quaility at a lower cost do to the low marketing costs. They dont have to pay any blue shirts to sell their product, so the money saved goes into the product. Headunits though? Alpine all the way. BTW- get your time alignment set up and you will really be in for a treat. Also sign up on caraudioforum.com-lots of useful stuff on there.

 

Its ok Don, I got this one.....(its 4:30 am and Im bored)...

First of all FormerAccord...what are you basing this judgement about Alpines head units on. Unless you tell me that youve had other comparable decks from better brands, your statements are useless, they are only opinions. Second of all, very surprising that you buy elemental designs, a pretty decent non-mainstream brand, and still love Alpine.

Say what you will, but Ive grown to hate Alpine. I used to run a 9815 head unit, yes it was good and I liked it when I had it, but my Eclipse CD8053 that I have now will own it, and I paid the same amount for it as I did the 9815. This year, Alpine has sacrificed quality yet again, and lowered the voltage on their preouts, which goes along with lowering the price of their products to sell more to Best Buy customers. The Type X isnt your average Best Buy install, but Don has a very valid point. They are just another mainstream brand, and anyone who argues against that is retarded, plain and simple.

No, Don was not talking about internet brands, he was talking about brands you find at custom shops instead of giant retail stores, brands like Eclipse, Diamond Audio, Alumapro, Arc Audio, Rainbow, and Focal. All brands Don (pearl96max) carries. So FormerAccord, sorry to burst your bubble, Alpine might be awesome compared to what your friends over at caraudioforum.com have in their cars, but for any car audio enthusiast, Alpine hardly offers anything worth buying anymore. Especially their head units.

Now, if you are talking online brands with low marketing costs, even those can be better than Alpine in many regards. Brands like elemental designs, resonant engineering, stereo integrity, adire audio, ascendant audio. But if you have the budget to buy type x stuff, then it seems weird to me that you would consider those brands.

PWNED, Have a nice day.

-Kevin

P.S. my roommate saw me typing this giant reply, and told me to tell you your a homo and that your definitely wrong because Pyle owns Alpine

 

lets keep this friendly. nobody understand until they try the best. its that simple. ive come a long ways away from 10" pioneer subs to a 15" monster sub. i run cdt components... better than the mainstream brands but im sure some rainbows/focals, etc will own them. however, i do not say cdt is the best brand. i just say cdt is a solid brand. does alpine give a crap about the consumer and upgrading the products, or do they care about all profit margins? putting 2v preouts in all but one h/u this year is downright PATHETIC. i hate to compare but my roomates 2 12" type r subs get owned my by 15 from a friendly non mainsteam company. thus alpine= medicore in the scheme of things but for the average consumer they are great products.

 

Thanks Kevin, you saved me Alot of typing.

FormerAccordman...Im not saying Alpine is exactly 'bad', but its declining each year to the point now which it really is nothing more than a mainstream brand found in all the "big" stores...

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

I get your point... But you can't buy the type-x at larger stores, not even special order... Please don't tell me you feel the same about the Alpine F1 stuff!!! What ever happened to "you get what you pay for?" I payed around 3g's for the stuff and 2 for intallation and custom box

 

I think refers to "are these speakers for 19.99 from Pep Boys any good?"

 

Nobody is saying what you have is 'bad' you just asked for opinions and that what your receiving.


As far as F1 Status, yes I feel the same about them, just on a different level. I dont feel its a mainstream brand, but a Very well overpriced product. To the sum of around $2K for a HU with similiar features of a 8 series Eclipse which comes in at around a 1/4 of the price. Alpine still has yet to upstep their preouts and for a company that swears by their products being great, they cant extend the warranties past a year??

 

yes go i agree with Don, Rich and the others you know why? Cuz i also have an all alpine system and yes for the money i couldve done better.
The reason i went with alpine is because of their brand. i was tired of all the other crap out there that was junk. i hear alpine is a very good name so i went with them. i mean for the price hell yea i couldve done better, but it was what i wanted and i am somewhat happy with it.[ still need some tuning] but i have not realized over the couple of months i threw a well thousand dollars into this dam audio thing. i mean to you guys a gran may not be alot but im 17 and my family is poor [come on i live in jamaica queens]. i got a job just to do the system

neways im selling everything because i found a buyer and i want crystal clear quality which ive heard from other brands. i mean i spent 200 dollars alone on coaxials and there crap. i mean come on 40rms? i wasnt thinking, and yes i guess i have a very convincing dealer lol

200 dollars for a 200 watt amp, well 350 at 2 ohms, and 300 for a box and sub that only handles 300 rms. its funny cuz its like im buying watts for a dollar each

btw you guys have no idea what im saving up for!

 

i hope its something good... i did try to tell you to stay away from alpine.

 

I say dont worry about what others think- if your vehicles system is worth $5k to you and you are content, more power to you....Type x stuff is supposedly pretty nice.

Personally I wouldn't have gone with an all Alpine system and done some research- live and learn....From sitting in the back seat- to me Alpine, as the likes of JL , attempt to sell 'status' with their equipment and weight behind their name (poor performance/price ratio)

 

i wouldnt say alpine is bad but you could get better for the money.

 

I totally agree. I have run Alpine stuff for many years, and to me it seems that they peeked a while back.

I just bought an Eclipse CD8454 to take the place of my CDA-7998. Right away I was able to tell that the Eclipse HU blew my 7998 away in SQ. I think the Alpine was easier to use (this may be due to me just being used to them), and the controls are a little faster than the Eclipse (like turning the volume up/down, or adjusting the sub). To me though, these things are no problem because the SQ that this HU provides more than makes up for those issues. So the bottom line is that the HU from Eclipse that cost around $550 dollars blew the $800 dollar Alpine HU away.

Now, I recently bought an Alpine MRV-M501 amplifier. It is a 500 watt amp. Alpine is coming out with their new stuff so the price dropped from $499 to $299. I think that for this amount of money I got a good deal. A good amp for a good price, had it still been $499 I would have looked elsewhere.

 

yes sir- I totally agree. I am a little apset about this as too. I am very happy with my 7995 head unit. But I may see an eclipse in my dash when and if the alpine goes.

 

Listen, I never claimed to be a know it all, only trying to help. So I have had other decks, Sony, kenwood, pioneer. My alpine has been the best...PERIOD That's all I am saying. It is true, Now that BB carries Alpine, its status has gone down. I am looking at Ed because everybody graduates in Car audio and LEARNS. You dont need to be arrogant about it. And I never said the caraudioforum was THE place to be. I only suggested him to check it out to learn a few basics. shoot me why dont you. Sheesh

 

play nice now kevin

anyhow, only alpine product i have are some coax's i got in the back for rear fill. IMO they're a decent mainstream company. i know some people swear by their stuff, i guess it comes down to a personal preference thing as well.

 

Dont take offense to Kevin, thats just how he is He gets his point out, but a lil sarcasm always accompanies it.

 

Thanx Guys.... I just hope the judges give me points for this!!!

 

its all subjective. To me I still think my Usd waveguides were the best setup i ever had (traded the damn things with the 8 inch mid for a freaking xtant 4180 and set of mb quarts comps..>Lets just say i got raped<. Maybe not in others eyes but what i expected was nowhere near what those speakers could deliver. Ive spent well over what you named and believe me it will all come down to what makes you happy. Dont go name chasing or anythng else. Take your source material into the stores make them play it as lowd as you will in your car and then demo what you like in your car. If the shop is worth their salt theyll be wiling to do that for a sale.

and i didnt like the type xs when we demod them locally ;p

 

lol relax its the net. hes soft anyway... i think you should go to grad school then in car audio and move away from EDuh-jlaine.

 

It was 4:42 am when i decided to write that novel I wrote above, yes theres some sarcasm in it about caraudioforum etc, my bad if it was taken offensively cuz i wasnt serious. Im used to messin around on all the forums I go on, plus I deal with retards all day at cc. At least you agree that Alpine hit their peak and is on the decline, thats what gets to me about Alpine cuz I used to be a big fan of em.

And yes im soft.

Can we be friends

-kevin

 

Alpine is mainstream? i thought Alpine was like JL and Eclipse? wouldnt eclipse be mainstream as well? and pioneer?

 

pioneer on the higher end models is decent. You look at the design quality of the BIG NAMES in comparison to ten years ago. DUe to new companies stepping in and moving to making things avaialble through walmart and marketing to "NON HARDCORE" Competittors and people with less stringent demands you end up with

ROCKFORD FOSGATE @ BEST BUY with a 1500BD that puts out 500 watts RMS when in the past their 200x2Transannas could push almost anything.

Or ORION walking away from monster amps and going to cheaper design..

HIFONIXS used to make the most obnoxious items ever, Linear Power, etc...Sorry..got on a tangent.

JL is good buy your paying for the name. There are comparable lesser known companys that will outperform and just WALK away from their woofers and amps. THey make quality products but not worth the premium (And I used to run 610 w6s, 3 10 w6s at one point, 3 12w6's, and finally 4 12w6's). IM a big fan but the EXTRA that they try to work you over with :no:

ECLIPSE=Some of the best on the market, i dont care what anyone says. Even their lower models are BOMB. I still remember how sad i was when my first eclipse radio was recalled...5301 sigh...95-96 was a sad year...thats when i got my first hit of orion hcca power lol.

 

werd, alpine still kicks assss

 

right...when it's actually working for ya eh?

 

while were still on the alpine subject, i currently have a alpine cda 9833 and alpine type r components up front and type r coax...will i have a completely different experience if i went with a high end eclipse headunit or equivalent and rainbow/diamond speakers? or would the difference be negligable (sp?)

 

i say go for it... along with the avalanche.

 

Yes Kevin. We can be friends. LOL No offense taken.

 

Whats wrong with Ed?

 

nothing. who knows. ive been watching ED unfold for years. i feel like there is so much potential but something always messes up or isnt as good as it seems. i do feel their products are more reliable than before. i mean i had so much hope about the 0v2 series i almost got one, but thankfully i did not. i feel like everyday someone posts about how the 0v2's lack low end in sealed boxes. the new 9kv2 was great for the "preorder" price though.

 

I'm STILL waiting for my 6500's comps that I ordered in December. I't's really getting old. Everytime I call they tell me 2 weeks-2 weeks. ARGH!

 

All depends on Your ears, but speaking generally, yes it would be a substantial difference.

 

see what i mean...