Alpine CDA-9805

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $130.00 from eBay

Year / Model Reviewed:
 CDA-9805

Strengths:
Great sound quality, Subwoofer output control, good layout

Weaknesses:
Terrible FM reception, CD's constantly skip on the slightest of bumps

Summary:
Well my experience with the 9805 started out pretty well. The cd performace seemed good, sound quality was excellent (as with all alpine units), and i didnt listen much to FM. I liked the button layout and the fact that there is an independant subwoofer control. That was the major selling point for me, as many headunits dont have that kind of control. The display is very easy to read at night, but in the day it is impossible to navigate most of the time. Also, after about a month of having the unit, i decided to try the FM tuner, which i was very disappointed in, so i got a new antenna (a window mounted one this time), and still very poor reception. Hell, my freind's car has a nub of an antenna (most of his antenna is broken off) and gets better reception than i do! Also, i noticed the slightest bumps would make the cd player skip. Being that my car is lowered, that left me in a bad spot. I dont even try to listen to cd's on the highway anymore.

Similar Products Used:
pioneer DEH-P4400 (much better headunit than the 9805)

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from crutchfield

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 alpine - cda-9805

Strengths:
Media expander great sound 4v preouts

Weaknesses:
Dosen't play mp3's Display dosen't dim with dash lights

Summary:
I was looking at cd player for some time to replace the cassette deck and then alpine made the "media expander" aviable for $200. I was amazed on how the factory 6X9 sounded w/ the alpine head unit. It makes great bass along with a clear sound. I had no problems with the FM tuner. No comparsion over factory.

Similar Products Used:
factory

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $140.00 from Hookedontronics (web

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Alpine CDA-9805

Strengths:
- Great sound - Great price - Great FM Reception - Great features (CD and Radio) - Location of buttons are ergonomically friendly. - Artistic color scheme -

Weaknesses:
- Instructions not very friendly (cryptic) - Lack of ability to dim the display illumination when you turn on driving lights.

Summary:
After the factory stereo burned out on my 88 Honda Accord, I immediately scoped out for an after market head unit (Nov 2003). I didn't want to spend too much and I've always admired Alpine's head units. I wasn't impressed with those other units with colorful moving pictures on the LCD screen. I thought it was too wasteful at the expense of sound quality. I've only had my new cd receiver (CDA-9805) for less than a month and I love it to death. Great sound at a great price. The color scheme is excellent and not too over-powering. I used the original factory wiring harness for my installation. I made sure that I can easily remove the head unit and reuse the wiring harness in the event that want to transfer it to a new car (whenever that day comes). I did have some concerns with the instructions but if you're a techie type of person then it shouldn't be a problem. There's no dimmer feature on this cd receiver which other people may have assumed there should be. Even so, the display illumination doesn't distract me from my nightly driving since the location of my cd receiver is low on the dash. For those who find the display illumination very distracting at night, you can blackout the display on this model. It takes a bit of time to get accustomed to the button location and settings so that you adjust the sound quality proficiently without taking your eyes off the road. FM Radio reception is exceptional. I didn't attach my power attenna to my cd receiver since I had an alternate switch on the dash. I'm shopping for new speakers since the sound quality from my cd receiver is suffering from my factory speakers. CDs doesn't automatically eject when you power off the head unit which could be a benefit to protect the CDs but I'm concerned about getting stuck inside.

Similar Products Used:
none

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.17 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $199.00 from Crutchfield

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 Alpine CDA-9805

Strengths:
Good design layout, acceptable CD performance, doesn't have a "flop" face.

Weaknesses:
Horrible FM tuner, lacks dimmer, dumb power antenna control.

Summary:
A good CD/tuner head unit should have better FM performance than a standard (NOT premium) factory head unit. The Alpine CDA-9805 totally fails in this respect. It has worse FM sensitivity and multipath resistance than the Ford factory unit it replaced - in short, Alpine should be embarrassed about this unit's FM performance. This unit also lacks a dimmer, which at its price point, should have been included. The functional consequence is that the display is easily read at night (not overly bright), but is totally washed out during the day. For $200, this display should have had a brighter display that dims when the headlights come on. Last but not least, the power antenna control is poorly executed. A power antenna controlled by this unit extends when the tuner is on, and retracts when the power is off OR when the audio source is CD! This means if you switch back and forth between tuner and CD, you’re putting the power antenna through unnecessary operation cycles (I can tell you from experience that power antennas do wear out). The factory units extend the antenna while the head unit power is on – Alpine should adopt this practice. All in all, the CDA-9805 would be acceptable at a price of $150 – for $200, Alpine needs to do better.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $189.00 from stereo shop

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 CD-9805

Strengths:
3 sets of 4v preouts, much more control of bass and treble than other units in this price range, mute button, seperate sub level control, xm radio ready, cd changer controls, media expander. overall a good mix of options without useless bells and whistles.

Weaknesses:
none really. can't seem to get the dimmer working with factory wiring.

Summary:
high value product for the money. good sound quality with functional layout and good ergonomics. never had problems with alpine name.

Similar Products Used:
sony, pioneer, other alpine