question about higher alpine models

[Aaron]

im looking at buying a head unit for my car and i was wondering if anyone knew it there was a major difference in sound quality between the higher model alpine units and the lower model alpine units?

i know they have different options like text cd and satelite radio ready....but i need to know if there is a big sound quality difference

[Aaron]

so in other words...the sound quality is the same...alright, now i want some opinions from you guys...

whats better sound quality wise, pioneer deh-6600 or alpine 9825 ?

[93accord2dr]

I personally think Alpine. but get a CDA-9831 instead.

[ckyskater733]

the 9825 is not a high end model. i say go with the pioneer.

[Aaron]

i know the 9825 isnt high end but the two players are in the same price range

[JDMcb7]

Alpine all day long. If you want a good unit that is relatively inexpensive at this point, look on ebay for the old Panasonic ghost face cd players. They all havd 5v pre-outs (aux in???) sub control, and a slew of other features. Panasonics new shit sucks

[Aaron]

im not really looking to buy old shiz...my mom wants to get me something new for chirstmas, shes difficult when it comes to this stuff...

so youd go with alpine over pioneer?

[PRIMOCB7]

Alpine gets my vote

[Aaron]

choosing a stereo is too hard of a decision to make...

[93accord2dr]

no it's not. Get an alpine CDA-9831 on ebay for less than $300.

[pwrusr]

look for features man, stuff like built in EQ's for when you hook up some amps and subwoofers. as far as sound quality goes you're not going to hear a big difference with that alpine and alpines costing a bit more unless you get a alpine with "V-Drive" which put out 26watts RMS and 60 watts peak per channel. also the alpines that have vdrive built in normally have LOTS of VERY NICE EQ's, crossovers and even time correction.

but between those two I'd go alpine since it has 4 vold preamp outputs. where the sony only has 2 volt outs. higher the voltage the cleaner the output will be when you connect it to a amp.

*edit* Alpine gets my vote as well

[Aaron]

alright guys thanks

[Pasamonster]

I also suggest the alpine. Pwrusr hit the nail on the head with the 4V pre amps. the more voltage the pre amps the more cleaner the sound is and the more control you have with gain (smaller increments, wider range)

also the alpine has noise to sound ratio at 105 db
which means it can produce ssound at 105 db before begining to distort.

another thing you wanna look at is the impendence of the RCA pre amps along with the voltage. anywhere below 100 s good

[pwrusr]

Originally posted by Pasamonster
also the alpine has noise to sound ratio at 105 db
which means it can produce ssound at 105 db before begining to distort.

What you are talking about is "Signal to Noise Ratio". A measure of how well the CD player silences background noise. Higher ratings, in decibels (dB), indicate less noise.

[Aaron]

yea, i think im going with the alpine 9830...thanks for all your help