Should I go Alpine?

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

Is this your personal opinion or do you have some factual info to back that up?
Personaly, I have owned nothing but Alpine and have never had a problem with one. My personal opinion is that they are the best hands down and I wouldnt own anything else.

Go Alpine, you wont be dissapointed.

Without saying what is the "best," if Alpine is all you have owned, isn't it hard to say that they are the best, "hands down?"

 

[Dozy_production 10+ year member]

I think more than half the people on this forum say that Alpine has gone downhill last year by what others have said and not by experience and about half of it is because of the glide touch that, imo, made it look really ugly. 2005 alpine decks are fine, because look, you can get them at alright prices, cheaper than the eclipse and higher end kenwood anniversary deck that everyone has been raving about. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif

 

[docutech 10+ year member]

Without saying what is the "best," if Alpine is all you have owned, isn't it hard to say that they are the best, "hands down?"

I have only owned Alpine because of everything else that I saw or heard. That is why I think they are the "best" That is my personal opinion.

And mabe I should re-phrase my question. Just what about Alpine is cooked and fried?

I am just curious...

 

[6spdcoupe 5,000+ posts]

. 2005 alpine decks are fine, because look, you can get them at alright prices, cheaper than the eclipse and higher end kenwood anniversary deck that everyone has been raving about. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif

Cheaper than the Eclipse? With less to offer...

Bang for the buck,

Eclipse > Alpine '05

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

Without saying what is the "best," if Alpine is all you have owned, isn't it hard to say that they are the best, "hands down?"

i have owned eclipse, alpines, and pioneers. i still think alpine is the way to go. every year i have managed to get a alpine and eclipse, last year was my last pioneer. alpine all the way.

 

[Ctminime 10+ year member]

Alpine is cooked and fried....They have left the building and are done with mfg high quality HU's

All i know is that i have had 2 kenwoods die on me and one alpine went away and that isnt cuz it was a bad deck... it was so good sombody decided they wanted it for free!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

kenwood is cooked and fried....They have left the building and

and they never started mfg high quality HU's have a nice day!

and in all fairness i can say this cuz i have never had a good experience with kenwood... i loved my eclipse, i have hated every pioneer i have owned and my alpine in my opinion reigned supreme, ecplise is a good second 2004 models '05s are ugly as crap.....

....it all depends on what people like unfourtunatly... who knows maybe there is sombody out there that thinks PYLE and PYRAMID decks are the best... but i dont know what to tell ya *cough*go alpine*cough*

 

[SKyleS 10+ year member]

Cheaper than the Eclipse? With less to offer...
Bang for the buck,

Eclipse > Alpine '05

Solution: Don't get an '05 Alpine deck. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[6spdcoupe 5,000+ posts]

Solution: Don't get an '05 Alpine deck. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

Dont worry I wont, dropped Alpine along time ago. My customers also no longer even mention it.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

Dont worry I wont, dropped Alpine along time ago. My customers also no longer even mention it.

every eclipse dealer except one dropped them for alpine.

edit- in my area that is.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

All i know is that i have had 2 kenwoods die on me and one alpine went away and that isnt cuz it was a bad deck... it was so good sombody decided they wanted it for free!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif
kenwood is cooked and fried....They have left the building and

and they never started mfg high quality HU's//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif have a nice day!

and in all fairness i can say this cuz i have never had a good experience with kenwood... i loved my eclipse, i have hated every pioneer i have owned and my alpine in my opinion reigned supreme, ecplise is a good second 2004 models '05s are ugly as crap.....

....it all depends on what people like unfourtunatly... who knows maybe there is sombody out there that thinks PYLE and PYRAMID decks are the best... but i dont know what to tell ya *cough*go alpine*cough*

Ever since the discontinuation of the D-Mask+ faceplate mechanism (excepting their having strangely brought it back on the '05 KDC-X689 for some reason unbeknownst to me...) Kenwood has been making high-quality head units. I'm an admitted Kenwood fanboi to a degree but having said that they are making nice decks again. It's been several years since I had a non-eXcelon unit so maybe that's the difference for me....but nonetheless a blanket statement that all their gear is bottom-shelf equipment is a subjective opinion at best and flatly wrong at worst. I started with a Coustic RX504 some years ago. Burned it up and got a Blaupunkt SQR49 Boston. Three of those in a row fried themselves with the original Blau code protection feature short-circuited. After that I bought a cheapie Kenwood dual-shaft tape deck that to this day hasn't give out (the guy I sold it to still has and uses it currently in his '85 Monte Carlo SS)

The only Kenwood deck that has given me any real trouble was a KRC-302 tape deck that I spilled a half-full 12oz Sprite into. The cassette part never worked right again (had it fixed 3 times under warranty and it never lasted)

My KDC-X569 started giving me a TOC Error with any and all CDs before it went out of warranty - sent it back to Crutchfield and it hasn't had any issues since. Other than those two - one my fault and the other not Kenwoods have been reliable as a rock for me. I bought the new 25th Anniversary deck and so far I freggin love it!

Sorry - I have to disagree with a statement that they don't make quality HUs at all. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Have a nice day!

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

I have only owned Alpine because of everything else that I saw or heard. That is why I think they are the "best" That is my personal opinion.
And mabe I should re-phrase my question. Just what about Alpine is cooked and fried?

I am just curious...

Maybe when some people say Alpine isn't what they used to be, they are referring to:

The completely gutless pre outs that many alpines had for at least 2 years. The 7897 was the biggest culprit.

Maybe they are talking about how the first runs of this year's 9855 seem to be complete junk(tons of complaints about them).

Maybe many people just don't think they sound as good as they used to.

You have only owned alpine because of what you have seen or heard. Have you actually used an eclipse or a clarion, etc?

Some people love Alpine as some love Pioneer, Eclipse. I have owned alpine, pioneer, kenwood, clarion and 4 eclipses. The Eclipses were my favorites(and best sounding decks) until I got my 8250. Best sound is what matters to me. I know people who will buy decks(or perceive them as being better) if they like the looks of them better or if they have more features than another deck. More features doesn't mean "better," imo. People buy decks for different reasons.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Maybe when some people say Alpine isn't what they used to be, they are referring to:
The completely gutless pre outs that many alpines had for at least 2 years. The 7897 was the biggest culprit.

Maybe they are talking about how the first runs of this year's 9855 seem to be complete junk(tons of complaints about them).

Maybe many people just don't think they sound as good as they used to.

You have only owned alpine because of what you have seen or heard. Have you actually used an eclipse or a clarion, etc?

Some people love Alpine as some love Pioneer, Eclipse. I have owned alpine, pioneer, kenwood, clarion and 4 eclipses. The Eclipses were my favorites(and best sounding decks) until I got my 8250. Best sound is what matters to me. I know people who will buy decks(or perceive them as being better) if they like the looks of them better or if they have more features than another deck. More features doesn't mean "better," imo. People buy decks for different reasons.

Was the 8250 one of the Denon-built decks rebadged as RF?

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

Some people love Alpine as some love Pioneer, Eclipse. I have owned alpine, pioneer, kenwood, clarion and 4 eclipses. The Eclipses were my favorites(and best sounding decks) until I got my 8250. Best sound is what matters to me. I know people who will buy decks(or perceive them as being better) if they like the looks of them better or if they have more features than another deck. More features doesn't mean "better," imo. People buy decks for different reasons.

i have owned over a dozen eclipses, 4 alpines, and 2 pioneers. wont ever go pioneer again. wont go with eclipse until they step it up, and for right now, alpine, i think, is the way to go. but then again, havent been exposed to some of the other recent high end decks that clarion, nak, etc. has to offer.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

Was the 8250 one of the Denon-built decks rebadged as RF?

i dont know how much truth it holds, but i heard a rumor that eclipse was making some of the new RF decks (specifically the flip out monitor combo). but that was just a rumor, i dont know how true that was.

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

Was the 8250 one of the Denon-built decks rebadged as RF?

Yes