Which deck ??? I thought I knew.....

....I was going to get an Alpine CDA-9887. It had been recommended to me as a very high SQ deck, for a reasonable price. And in fact, I found it for $319......

But I always read as many reviews as I can possibly find, on whatever new electronic item I intend to buy, and in this case, I'm glad I did.

It seems that the CDA-9887 will not even allow the user to {are you ready for this ?} adjust the treble or bass > without additional "Sound Imprint Technology" software ! Oh..... and that's going to be about $200 ! Suddenly that $319 deck is $519.
Oh, and an iPod adapter is another $40.....
Bluetooth adapter.... however much more !

Come on Alpine.... Just tell me it's a $600 deck, and comes with "everything I want".....

I also read that the controls are not very intuitive.
Then I found that the face has to be lowered every time I put in a new CD....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So now, let me back track here;

*I'm looking for a nice SQ deck, with simple adjustments for treble, mid, bass, and sub-bass.

*A built in 3 way X-over might be particularly helpful to me.

*High power "from the deck" means zero, as I should be recieving my RF '25 to life' amp next week.

*I think I'd prefer a deck which will take in a CD, through a slot in the face plate, rather than having to lower the face for every disc change.

*iPod ready, without having to buy an adapter is a plus, as is Bluetooth.

I'm looking to spend $200 to $300... maybe a little more if it meets all of my demands well.

Other than the stuff I've mentioned, I don't need / want a bunch of bells and whistles. Just a nice looking, great sounding deck.

Any suggestions ?

Much thanks,
Fish

 

Hey guys.....

Pedro, actually that does help. As far as the flip down face, I guess that just the new wave. Some things are not worth fighting for I guess.

Anyway, you asked

Well, pretty much just that, and sound really nice..... and be in the $200 to $300 price range.
You said you have an older Pioneer, that you really like. Do they still make a deck "like that" ? ....maybe the replacement for that deck ? I really like the idea of that 16 band EQ,

Hey Forum.B, like I had said, I'm sure that's a "super" deck..... but now, what did that deck + the Imprint technology stuff cost you ?
Either way, that deck is sounding more complicated to both setup, and to use, than I think I want to mess with. If this were going to be a show system, that would be one thing, but I just want a "nice" sounding, old school CD player.

Fish

 

Hey Forum.Border......

just for the heck of it, I dropped by the local Best Buy today. They didn't have the CDA-9887.... but they did have the CDA-9886 (also with imprint technology) in stock for $299, and damn ! What a sweet looking deck !

So I told the guy that I had read.....
well, before we go any farther, let me copy and paste part of a review for the 9887 that I found on Amazon;

.....so I tell the sales guy about this, and he looks at me kind of funny, hits the volume knob once, and says here's bass... hits it again, here's treble, and just spins the knob for adjustment.
So what's this whole thing about the Mult EQ ? ....and what's the real scoop about bass and treble adjustment, should I get a CDA-9887 (or even the 9886) before I buy.... or find somebody with, a KTX-100EQ kit ?

Anyway, after I talked with the sales guy (a very sharp young guy, who sounded kind of stoked about my 'mail ordered' RF 25 to life amp.... and about the whole Imprint Technology system)
I went out and talked with the install guys to see if they had a > KTX-100EQ kit < and well {come on, this is Best Buy} of course they didn't.

But the bottom line is, I sure like the looks, and reviews (barring the stuff I still don't completely follow) of the CDA-9887, and even the 9886.

BTW, what differences (besides price) are their between the CDA-9886 and 9887 ???

Peace,
Fish

PS, Hey Pedro, nothing is final..... Those Pioneers looked really nice too, plus they also get really good reviews !