Great deal if you intend to hook up your IPod. You don't have to buy a seperate adapter box like with the 9855, all you have to buy is the KCE-422i cable to connect to the IPod. Controls and charges the IPod well, with searches of artist, album, playlists, song and has a mix feature. A buddy has a 9855 with adapter for the Ipod, the 9856 searching and communication times are shorter. The only problem is the button layout. The 2 main buttons used with the Ipod are the little Mode button below the dial and the square labeled button to the left of the dial. Takes time to get used to it. Wish there was a way to change button colors like there is with other Alpine sets. Nice crisp sound. Have to buy an adapter to integrate steering wheel controls.
A full speed iPod connection with a separate AUX allows me to run virtually anything through this deck very inexpensively compared to alternatives, making this the best value I could find as a result. The sound quality is good, not great, due largely to the difficulty of using the deck's equalization controls. They are flat confusing - push, spin, select, skip... I will need the manual in the car for a few weeks to get it right. I would not try to adjust anything but the source and the volume while driving. These controls are not intuitive, especially trying to surf through the iPod, though I am sure it will become familiar with time. I hope. Again, very versitile deck that accomodates any source really well without expensive and bulky adaptors or cables.
This is an excellent radio for the buyer on a budget that is looking for a lot of great features from a brand name. The Ipod Interface is amazing in response time. The only downfall I wasn't impressed doesn't bother most shoppes is that the pre-out voltage is only 2volt. But other than that excellent.
What an upgrade... I found the headunit very easy to install with the MAD harness, the sound quality compared to stock i knew would be an improvement but wow what a great improvement....the accessability of the EQ on the deck is somewhat confusing at first u need to push quite a few buttons but it gets easier after a while...this deck has amazing features at a low price i am very happy...
I have had several cd plauyers from Sony, Panasonic, Clarion, JVC and pioneer, but this Alpine has the best clarity out there for the money. It is like night and day going from my panasonic cd player that i was in love with to this alpine.
I upgrade my deck from a pioneer 3700 to this fantastic alpine,the sound quality is better than my old unit,plus a lot of features including the ipod ist very fast this unit reading the songs and only needs a cable (for about $30) instead others brands that needs a adapter and are slow reading the info from the ipod,the down is the preout only 2v, but i fixed it puting a EQ clarion that gives a pre 7V out, and the sond is fantastic. i love Alpine.
Very good value. Good choice for head unit, has all the features one would want/need for future expansion and applications. PLays MP3s, wma, cd. SOund quality is very good, albeit packed with some kiddie features (bass extension, bass bandwidth). Unit is quite heavy and solid, good construction. Alpine is not the best but perhaps one of the best values, good consistant products and quality. Would buy again, would buy a Nakamichi if I could afford it :)
Complete 10 on my scale. Its the best ive seen out for a headunit. I went from pioneer, eclipse, sony, ive tried everything and never seen anything better than this now. its a 10x better headunit and will blow your mind. The 3 preamp outputs let me hook up my 1200 watt kicker Mono Amp tht powers my two 12 inch Solo Kicker subs. amazing sound and quality with the headunit installed. huge difference then othr headunits. i also have 1 preamp output hookd up to a 4 channel alpine amp kickn my 6 1/2 inch Alpine Type R speakers tht have amazing quality also. the headunit lets me play mp3s which allows me to hold over 80 songs on one cd with 10x better quality of sound then a regular burnt cd only holding 15 to 20 songs. and the headunit also features my ipod, mp3s, Wma's, playback, just everything ud want. Looks amazing in the car too. ive got a 96' Chevy Tahoe on a 12 inch super lift with 42 inch super swamper tires. with the system its impossible not to be seen. get this headunit and u will b amazed and very glad u purchased it. i bought from my local best buy and they installed all headunits for free. headunit there was 199 tho but very well worth it. hit it up if needed. aim - UgaDawgs6262. holla ballas
WHAT A CHANGE! I used to have a Pioneer DEH-6700MP that died after a month. And i now own this Alpine CDA-9856. All i have to say is TOP SOUNDQUALITY. Way better than the Pioneer. I can turn my stock speakers all the way up without any distortion, but i installed Alpine speakers after trying the stocks. And the speakers are definitely better than stock, nice crisp sound. The features are great, easy to find, easy to control subwoofers, only turning the subwoofers on and off takes 3 clicks. But that's not a problem. This Head Unit works awesome with my iPod Video, just a cheap cable, and enjoy! Works real fast when scrolling through the artist list. Conclusion: Buy this Head Unit, it is cheap too, and you can't get this soundquality from any other brand at this price.
This is my first head unit ever.. Installed it today all by myself and WOW .. Very easy to install and it looks so cool at night the way the blue buttens light up. I would recommend this unit.. Its very good . Im going to hook up my subs tomorrow and see how well the subwoofer options work.
wow! great sound way better than pioneer or kenwood in my opinion. added alpine 5.25's and 6x9's and 2 12's type s subs with MTX amp's (2 omh) refuses to distort! clear as a bell with bass thats heavy as hell!!!! concert level insanity in my car!
Have used Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer and Sony,non of the brands come close to this h/unit. Crisp sound with tight bass when hook with my mono amp and 2 channel Soundstream. To back it up, 4 component sets of Soundstream makes the unit a top brand in town. Though BBE enclosure is new to Alpine, boosting the bass to the next level is what you'll get from this h/unit. The power I/C works well but not with high end external power amps.
