Looking for a new HU, CDA-9887 vs 880prs?

[imhungnurnot 9]

I currently have a CDA-9855, but the CD player is starting to skip rather easily. I want to know what would be some good HUs. I'd like it to have HPFs and a LPF with adjustable slopes,2 way and 3 way xovers, graphic eq and/or parametric eq, time correction, full speed ipod/iphone capability.

I think the 9887 is nice but does anyone have experience with them as well as "imprint"? Thanks

[hondakilla98 29]

If your going to be using an iPod or iPhone the alpine is the way to go.

[Adrian_D 520]

As far as processing goes, the main advantage of the 9887 is the ability to high-pass the front channel as low as you want. Good for running a full-range + midbass in the front. The 880 on the other hand has separate L/R Eq which can come in handy. Both have independent L/R xovers.

For full control over the Ipod with the 9887 you need a pretty cheap cable. Not sure what the 880 needs for ipod control.

[imhungnurnot 9]

Alright, well it looks like I will go with the alpine. Has anyone ever used Alpines "Imprint" software/mic with their HU's? Does it make a big difference in sound quaility?

[wutang512 3]

Alright, well it looks like I will go with the alpine. Has anyone ever used Alpines "Imprint" software/mic with their HU's? Does it make a big difference in sound quaility?

i was told on here it was just a marketing scam to basically make you believe you'll get better sound by using "their software".

You can just tune the deck the same way as the software would. I guess it just takes a longer time.

[Adrian_D 520]

And by setting the unit with the imprint, I believe you have no further access to setup anything. So either do it blindly with the imprint or do it yourself, which has more chances of success.

[///M5 2,833]

I've heard of people getting better results with Imprint than on their own, but those people weren't capable of doing it on their own. My own experience was that it was terrible.

[Thumpper 266]

if you listen to mostly MP3 the Alpine would do fine....

but if you listen to alot of store bought CD's the PRS has 24 bitt burr brown D/A's....much more detailed

[///M5 2,833]

if you listen to mostly MP3 the Alpine would do fine....

but if you listen to alot of store bought CD's the PRS has 24 bitt burr brown D/A's....much more detailed

For the great majority of users of an in car setup the D/A difference will be non-existent. The real question is will you benefit from independent L/R eq? Your mounting locations will help determine the answer to that question.

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

I am no expert, but will give my thoughts on the Imprint.

I am using the 9886 with the H100 prossesor. I only used the imprint once and DID NOT use its settings, but did enjoy the RTA response gragh.

The pros: gives you a RTA response gragh to look at so you can see what "YOUR" settings and equipment are doing.

Definetly cleaned up the signal enough you could raise your gains if you are to lazy to tune it yourself.

Cons: PITA to get absolute silence in the test enviroment.

No personalized taste to the sound and you can't adjust once ON.

Takes away ALL the good adjustment features on the HU when "imprint" is ON.

Honestly the settings the imprint gave me were NO BETTER than a pre set EQ setting.

I only spent 30 bucks on the actual imprint so NO loss since I enjoy checking the RTA gragh. I will be running it again hear soon on my new set up to see what the RTA gragh say this time.

[imhungnurnot 9]

if you listen to mostly MP3 the Alpine would do fine....

but if you listen to alot of store bought CD's the PRS has 24 bitt burr brown D/A's....much more detailed

For the great majority of users of an in car setup the D/A difference will be non-existent. The real question is will you benefit from independent L/R eq? Your mounting locations will help determine the answer to that question.

Well I have (4) 4x6's. One pair mounted in the dash and the other pair in the "b pillars" (not sure if that is the correct terminology) but they are in a single cab chevy truck. So the rear pair is right by the listeners head. Would I benefit from L/R eq? However, I'm considering doing one 6.5'' component set in the kicks.

Also, if I'm not going to use the imprint, I might as well stick with my cda-9855 because it can do everything I want other than the controllable ipod/iphone option. I'll just have to be more careful not to scratch my cd's. W

Edited June 14, 2010 by Im Hung N ur Not

[///M5 2,833]

If you can live with the glide touch there is no reason to change.

You also cannot use either the Bass Engine Pro or Imprint with your 4x6's anyways. A single set of mids and tweeters on the other hand will GREATLY improve what you have for sound.

[imhungnurnot 9]

If you can live with the glide touch there is no reason to change.

You also cannot use either the Bass Engine Pro or Imprint with your 4x6's anyways. A single set of mids and tweeters on the other hand will GREATLY improve what you have for sound.

Its not too bad. Scrolling sucks lol, but i'll live.

Why couldn't i used those features with the 4x6's? I forgot to mention I have the plate type 4x6's in the rear. So they are really 4 inch midrange drivers with a tweeter off axis. But the fronts are regular oval, coaxial 4x6s

[Thumpper 266]

if you listen to mostly MP3 the Alpine would do fine....

but if you listen to alot of store bought CD's the PRS has 24 bitt burr brown D/A's....much more detailed

For the great majority of users of an in car setup the D/A difference will be non-existent. The real question is will you benefit from independent L/R eq? Your mounting locations will help determine the answer to that question.

it all depends on the quality of the components and power....

with a decent setup the sound difference is noticable on the first note

as far as the L/R eq........it's more of a pain in the arse than anything to most users

[///M5 2,833]

Amusingly the 9887 also has Burr Brown btw.

My point still stands though, compare a modern D/A with the Burr Brown while you are driving down the road and you won't notice. I never said they won't sound different, but once setup the "better" won't be that obvious.

With crappy mounting locations L/R eq can be a HUGE benefit. WAY more than a good D/A compared to a great one.

[Nirvalica 0]

I don't like how Alpine makes you buy all of their accessories to make use of nearly all of the features on their headunits, especially when the price is as high as it is.

I've never used the imprint system, but my onkyo home theater receiver has the audyssey system which I think is very similar. I do like how it detects speaker distances and levels to compensate for poor placement. But the audyssey distance and level settings are adjustable, so it seems more flexible then the imprint system. Didn't really notice a difference in the EQ. Personally, I would go with pioneer just because everything you need comes built in (bluetooth, ipod control, aux input, usb).

[Notorious on mobile 0]

I think the 9887 has the imprint "inside", so you don't need to buy it separately.

The prs needs some accessories to run Ipod or usb disk.

I need the cd ub 100 (or something like that!) to have a usb input. It's 150 euros(180 $) at my local audio shop, and 42$ on ebay !

[wutang512 3]

I got a question can anybody explain to what time alignment does and how does it effect the sound of your music?

Also how would you go about doing time alignment manually with the 9887?

[Juice0723 0]

I have the 880PRS and I like it very much. Don't want to spend extra money on the Imprint for a Alpine deck. You could get a cheap cable for Ipod on the 880PRS. I went with the more expensive adaptor though so I could charge my Ipod as well. That was like around $130 Canadian. Still cheaper then the Alpine stuff.