And in last place, ...it's the CDA-D852!
Written: May 12 '02
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Pros: Great sound processing(BBE), pretty display, a FEW cool features
Cons: Expensive, lacks important features such as an HPF
The Bottom Line: Pioneer has Alpine beaten in the market for 1.5 DIN CD players. Simple as that.
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| dhuting92's Full Review: Alpine Car Stereo CDA-D853 Camcorder |
IMPORTANT: This opinion is actually for the Alpine CDA-D852, not the newer CDA-D853. The D852 is pretty much the exact same deck, but with 45x4 peak instead of 40x4. It's just the older version. Epinions is yet to add the CDA-D852.
Please, if you are mad because you wanted to read a review of the CDA-D853, don't just leave a not helpful! The features explained about the CDA-D852 are the exact same that are on the 853, except for the diference stated previously. This took me a long time to write so please just take a little bit of your time and check it out!
Now that we got that cleared up, let's get going...
To start things off let me just tell you my situation. I have an older model lumina (92) with the GM-sized 1.5 DIN opening, as do most GM/Chrysler products. When I purchased my car back in August of 2000, I immediately replaced the factory tape radio. I bought a Pioneer DEH-P47DH, the step down from Pioneer's DEH-P77DH. It was the only custom fit deck that I had seen around except for the junky brands like Jenson.
The DEH-P47DH deck was 45x4 and when I installed it I was pretty amazed by how much more bass I had and how much better the high's were. I didnt really pay attention to all of the features until I added subs and an amp. It was then when this deck really began to stand out. It had features such as a high pass filter which would block all the bass from going to my speakers, to prevent distortion at higher volume levels. I could also control the level of bass to the subs through the deck, and turn them on or off(you'd be suprised, but you can't do that on many others, including the CDA-D852.) Note: also when I bought this deck I added Alpine 4x6 & 6x9's, and I was very happy with their performance.
But enough about the Pioneer. The point is, it was a very good deck especially when I was running subs. A few months after I bought it I saw the Alpine CDA-D852 down at the car stereo store. Just from looking at it I could tell it was a high quality deck. Or so I thought. So I bought it. I assumed that since it was an Alpine, it was the best. I assumed this because I was very satisfied with their speakers.
I admit, the CDA-D852 does have exceptional sound processing. By that I mean things like beats that are in the background and songs that have a lot of detail can sound a bit better with this deck. Alpine advertises that it is the same kind of sound processing used in professional recording studios. I somewhat believe it.
The sound processing is one of the FEW good things, or should I say better things about this deck when compared to the Pioneer. One more plus about this CD player is the display. The dancing EQ is really cool looking. The color can be switched from green to amber. It looks cool at night. Another cool feature: when you turn on your headlights, the CD player automatically dims. It has a remote too, which really helps.
But the thing is none of those features mean anything when you are trying to put together a high end sound system which includes subwoofers.
This Alpine is 40x4 peak. I thought that because it was a "top-of-the-line" Alpine. I thought it would either sound the same or maybe even have more bass. What I mean is I thought the RMS would be higher than the Pioneer. It wasn't. Not by a long shot. The CDA-D852 has no balls when it comes too bass. None. Come to think of it, my factory cassette radio probably hit harder.
I suppose this wouldn't matter, however, if you are running subs and only need your speakers for highs, right?
Wrong. Turn the volume up too loud, even with the bass turned all the way down(-7), and all you hear is a REALLY high pitched mess. Music is not very defined at higher volumes, unlike my old Pioneer deck. Oh and remember this: the only way to turn the bass to your speakers down is to turn BASS down. Doing this will also turn the volume of your subs down. Turn BASS up, and not only will you turn the bass of your subs up but you'll also turn up the bass going to your speakers, making them distort at higher volumes. That means you can't turn your subs up loud without having your speakers distort. This makes the music sound like crap. The lack of any sort of High Pass Filter makes this deck not worth the high price nor practical for anyone planning on running subs. You also can't turn off the subs through the deck.
One more somewhat cool feature is the non-fading preout: with this feature you can concentrate some of the power of the deck to an amp, making subs hit harder. It's a nice feature, but still does not bring it up to the level of quality and features that Pioneer has.
I have never had a CD skip, no matter how big the bump. The build quality is excellent; better than Pioneer. It is a durable unit that should last a long time, a trademark of all Alpine products.
All in all, it's not a bad CD player. But for the price, it's by far not the best in the 1.5 din market.
Pioneer definately has them beat in this category. (Check my epinion on the Pioneer DEH-P47DH or DEH-P77DH.) Alpine sells this unit for about $400. I believe they sold it for $490 when it was new. $490 is just unreasonable. I bought this for $270 off ebay. You can probably pick one up for anywhere between $250 - $350. For about $150-190, you can get the Pioneers DEH-P47DH. For a little more than that (around $230 or so) you can get the step-up DEH-P77DH. That unit includes a remote and 2 more preouts, making 3 altogether (front, rear, and subs) The CDA-D852 has 2 preouts.
So to wrap things up: If you are looking for a CD player that will give you that custom fit for your GM vehicle, steer clear of Alpine this time. Pioneer has them beat. It's that simple. Not that Alpine is a bad brand; they make excellent speakers, subwoofers, amps, navigation systems, alarms, etc. Regular sized Alpine CD players may not be as bad, but look out - this one's a lemon.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 380
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Epinions.com ID:
dhuting92
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Location: san francisco, ca
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
http://www.dhuting.com
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