Alpine losing build quality other brands?

A few years back I purchased a CDA-7892 alpine deck. I used this deck until this year when I purchased a cda-9855 due to the amp-link, xm radio, cros-overs ect. I like the features and design of the deck but I have had nothing but problems with it since I purchased the deck about 4 months ago. The first thing that happened was the face would not flip down so the tilt-feature would not work and it would not eject cd's. I then returned the deck and it was exchanged for a new one. Then about 3 or 4 weeks ago the whole face-plate started to black-out and when it blacked out some of the button would not work and I would have to touch it 3 or 4 times. Now when I turn my system way up the deck compleatly powers down and restarts. It only does this now and then but is is a serious pain in the ass. Has anybody else run into these problems with this deck or any other newer alpine decks. What is a good replacement for the cda-9855 with another manufacturer for around the the price tag $500 - $600.

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Alpine cda-9855
Alpine Mrd-m1000
1 farad digital Rockford cap
2 Treo SSi 12's
Large centerport box

I havn't had the reliabilty problems, but I am disappointed with the sound and most of my customers don't like the "glide touch" I switched to a Kenwood Exelon XXV-010 in our store demo car. It has a 24 bit Burr Brown DAC. I think it sounds better then the Alpine and is easier to use.

Has anyone ever tired searching for a song with the glide touch on those w/the ipod. What a pain. You have to scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll. I have to say i don't mind the lower end alpines this year. But the higher ends i don't even like to sell.

I basicaly lost love in there decks about when the 9815 came out, after that they have been sticking in features and cutting on sound production quality.  Im an eclipse man now (just headunits).

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

Go with a Eclipse, I love my 5425.

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well- Ill have to tell ya - we are a $100k plus a yr dealer and there was some issues with the motorized faceplates .. It was a Vendor problem.. since has been corrected -

Othere wise ... these things are pretty dependable .. as far as the Glide Touch .. There have been numerous complaints - So . Alpine Will be completely changing this next year ..

Some Good things in store for them.. 

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Soundz Plus, Inc
Complete Custom Car Audio
Warrenville, IL

Yeah, glidetouch blows monkey... Sry but I f'ing hate that thing, I have trouble even recommending the stupid thing, ever. I just absolutely can't stand them. I'll take an Eclipse HU anyday. As for 500-600 range, 8445 is pretty nice.

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1998 Monte Carlo w/
Eclipse CD8454
2xRockford 5.25" Power 2-way T152C
2xRockford 6"x9" Punch 3-way FRC4369
1xMemphis 16-MCH1300 5-channel
2xKicker 12" L5 Solobaric-2 Ohm

I have an alpine iva d310 and I have to say that I love this unit I have tried clarion products as well as pioneer and for sound quality I have to say from my own opinion Alpine has the up and up on this.

even when i had my cva-1006 never had a problem with the unit all my equipment now is alpine and to be honest unless something that has sound clarity like alpine does is the only way I will switch

jcassonjr, I lost total respect for them since they Alpine has been manufactured in the USA. THe Japanese quality they had has not been matched and it shows.

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA

i know yall dont like JVC but i fell in love with the 3" tv , dvd , mp3 , cdr . sorry dont know the model number but we sell them for $650.

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yeah i think I know what you mean ... i chose an Alpine CDA9807 over that JVC ... I think its EXAD something - the black one right? anyway i just thought if I put a DVD player in my car i will spend too much money in the future - headrest TV's, Playstation etc... so I decided to install a very good sound-only system.

Although no personal experience with them. Most of our high end systems have been built with Eclipse head units. They have very good quality sound and are very reliable.

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Question for Jeff @ Velocity. What Alpine products were manufactured in the USA?

tcss]Q wrote:

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estion for Jeff @ Velocity. What Alpine products were manufactured in the USA?

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Alpine Electronics Manufacturing of America, Inc., headquartered in Greenwood, Indiana, specializes in the manufacturing of car audio and mobile electronics for OEM markets.

Taken from the Alpine website: https://iweb.alpine-usa.com:7777/pls/isap_ap1/jps_run.benefits

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA

tcss, the Alpine name has been in high regards in my books ( I still run the F1 Status system in my show vehicle) , but the entry level and mid level products are not what they use to be like in the early 90's. I was a heavy Alpine fanatic in the day with the 3545 2 Channel amp and the Class A amplifier 3558 coupled with the 7909 CD HU.
R&D is now split between the USA, Europe and Japan for it's own distinctive countires & it shows in the end product. IMO, I would sooner get an Eclipse or Pioneer for an entry level HU as opposed to an Alpine, but then again Alpine's high end stuff is still to be matched !!

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA

I agree with everything you said except one thing, I was pretty sure that Alpine only made OEM stuff in Indiana and that's what your link said. All the good after market stuff you mentioned was made in Japan. Remember the 3520 mono amp? Speaker Works used 6 of them in the Buick Grand National show car. This is regarded as the first SQ car.God I'm OLD!

That makes 3 of us then. I sold my 3558 for $500.00, why oh why would I have done such a thing after winning such a nice amp..... I agree that Alpine of today is nothing but a distant shadow of the company they used to be. Funny thing happens when you start to lose marketshare, price points fall lower than a ho's underwear and build quality follows pricepoints. You get what you pay for. Now that Eclipse is being man handled by the big box store, it is only a matter of time before this once proud line, built on the backs of the hard working indipendent dealers like myself, will too find itself being sold at a cheap price and built even crappier in the future.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

Dave also chimes in. It really is too bad, that in this day of internet sales and eBay, the products of the once fine and proud Alpine, and now Eclipse, will all eventually fail to shine. The 7909 was, perhaps next to the Nakmichi TD1200, the best quality sounding head unit probably ever. Where are both of those companies now? In the dumper, and sadly, in the quest for profit margin, rather than selling a bunch of good stuff with narrower margin, Eclipse is following them. This is part of the reason I have so much trouble buying things new off the internet. Used, OK, but never new.

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It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Besides the pure profit motive and the brand destruction caused by big-box and Internet retailers (comments above that I agree with completely) there are also a couple of other pressures happening here.  First, there is less demand these days for high-end sound quality.  The average consumer wants video screens and MP3 and wouldn't know "good sound" if it hit them in the face.  Plus there is a shrinking gap between the quality of low-end and high-end units.  Cheap gear sounds pretty darn good these days, and the difference gained by double the price is getting harder and harder to detect.  I think it is really sad to watch great companies go down the Aiwa rat hole, but watch for new stuff coming out of Japan from DMC and out of Korea from LG and Samsung and out of Taiwan from companies like Shang-Ling for the next wave of high-end car audio.  The next three to five years should be interesting.

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Technology, technoloy, technology...... Thats what its all about

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i have had lots of returns on alpines motorized face headunits...the new ones....

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Where theres is a wire there's a way.

My views on the Alpine HU's is from personal experience from customer's that come to me because their HU's don't work properly, the CD's don't eject or the buttons  on the face stop working & they're pissed because they just spent $ 500 on a CD player 3 months prior and they'll have to bring it in for warranty. I just don't remember this happening back in the day when I had my 7903 or 7909 ( this is an exception of course ) & also when the 7821 came out it was a good entry level deck with dual preouts and it never gave me any problems ( it was in my winter beater too ). The fact is, Alpine has lost it's touch since the early days and it doesn't matter how many cars Steve pumps out to display Alpine's wares, they are still not what they use to be.

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA

I have an MSRP $500 Alpine CDA-9833 and the freakin little "///Alpine" sticker is peeling off!

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"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview

I WAS A HARDCORE ALPINE FAN FOR YEARS....but i knew the end was near when they came out with a line of amps made in Mexico.... god they were garbage....of course, as an authorized Alpine warranty depot, i made lots of money fixing them !!

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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979

Some more bad news for Chris Yato fans who are Alpine guys. Chris got tired of the long hours and left Alpine almost two years ago. From the Mini on it's been all Steve Brown. Still the best installer in the business. Remember the 7146?

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There is no such thing as free installation!

The 9855 is meant for people who are used to the alpine style of head unir and functions. If its someone who never owned an alpine before i would tell them to get an Eclipse deck.

Alas, talked to Alpine person 15 minutes ago. Glide touch will go away next year. Nav ( 872 ) just got another 30 day delay on release date. So much for the FAX that promised it in Sept. GEEEESH...

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There is no such thing as free installation!