Installed Alpine head unit

stanmckinney · Jun 16, 2006

After waiting and waiting for Ford to come up with a way to input my ipod into my Shaker 500, I decided to buy a new head unit. My Alpine 9857 has controls for the ipod, will accept a satellite tuner (either service) and sounds great. It cost me a little over $500 to get it installed including the Sirius tuner and the ipod cable. I thought about buying a aux cable but it was going to cost $150 or more installed and I still had to use the ipod controls. I could have used the Alpine 9856 and had the same controls for about $150 less but the display on the 9857 is much better.
The unit sounds so much better than the Shaker 500 it is not funny. And the ipod is awesome through the unit with controls at my fingertips on the dash.

cowtown · Jun 16, 2006

Sounds good. Did you replace any of the stock amps/speakers in your shaker setup?

Those that are interested Peripheral has finally built and shipped an Ipod adapter that works with our cars through the factory controls and uses the display to show song titles and the rest.

Check it here...

http://peripheralelectronics.com/web/GEN2OEM.asp

stanmckinney · Jun 17, 2006

So far I haven't touched the speakers. There's an Alpine head unit for just over $200 that will control ipods. And the ipod cable is only $29. It works great. Makes all the other ways to connect ipods outdated in my opinion.
The sound system sounds much better with the new head unit, even with the factory speakers. I only have a 1 cd player but with easy access to my ipod which will hold 5,000 songs and satellite radio, I don't think I will miss the changer. If I do, I can add an Alpine 6 disc changer for $299. The head unit and the changer all play mps and wave files. I've very pleased with the change.

shooterm1 · Jun 17, 2006

stanmckinney said:
After waiting and waiting for Ford to come up with a way to input my ipod into my Shaker 500, I decided to buy a new head unit. My Alpine 9857 has controls for the ipod, will accept a satellite tuner (either service) and sounds great. It cost me a little over $500 to get it installed including the Sirius tuner and the ipod cable. I thought about buying a aux cable but it was going to cost $150 or more installed and I still had to use the ipod controls. I could have used the Alpine 9856 and had the same controls for about $150 less but the display on the 9857 is much better.
The unit sounds so much better than the Shaker 500 it is not funny. And the ipod is awesome through the unit with controls at my fingertips on the dash.

In looking around for your Alpine 9857, what other options did you find are available out there?

Any 'wiz-bang, gotta-have, high-tech goodies' coming on the market now?

Infinity · Jun 18, 2006

Do you have any turn-on/off popping noises, or did the shop install the proper power regulation on the remote lead? If there IS a problem, I can help you fix it for about $4.

stanmckinney · Jun 19, 2006

No popping noises. The Alpine 9856 will also do it. The 9857 just has a better display but costs quite a bit more. There's another Alpine that costs less that also has the controls. Kenwood and all the others also make them. But for me Alpine was the best. The adapter is also the cheapest at $29.99. It's actually free with the 9857 if you buy before June 30. Check Crutchfield.com They have them all.
I went on a long trip Sunday for Father's day and had a blast listening to the ipod. It works great.

By_Tor · Jun 20, 2006

Love my alpine 9856. I opted for the cheaper model and used the money towards a 60G video ipod. Full ipod control from the deck... album, artists, playlists, mix.

Infinity · Jun 21, 2006

Hey By Tor, let's see those 4500's in the doors. Any modfs to fit, or direct drop in?

By_Tor · Jun 21, 2006

Infinity said:
Hey By Tor, let's see those 4500's in the doors. Any modfs to fit, or direct drop in?

Install wasn't too bad. The 4500 aren't too much bigger than stock, but the sound was a big improvement. Here's what I had to do...

Heat gun to gain about 1/2" of clearance.
Different hole pattern, so I added some 3M 2x tape in addition to the screws.
Dremel tweaks to the stock grill to fit speaker.
Foam baffle on the MTX speaker pushed the cover out about an 1/8" from stock, and exposed the 3m tape when looking from the side so I covered it with black electrical tape (no one has ever noticed)

RodStang · Jun 22, 2006

I put 9857 in my wife's Corolla just before we drove across country. I never realized how by stock stereos are until I put it in. Now I want to get her a new car so I can steal it from her.

Infinity · Jun 22, 2006

By_Tor said:
Install wasn't too bad. The 4500 aren't too much bigger than stock, but the sound was a big improvement. Here's what I had to do...

Heat gun to gain about 1/2" of clearance.

Different hole pattern, so I added some 3M 2x tape in addition to the screws.

Dremel tweaks to the stock grill to fit speaker.

Foam baffle on the MTX speaker pushed the cover out about an 1/8" from stock, and exposed the 3m tape when looking from the side so I covered it with black electrical tape (no one has ever noticed)

So, you had to use the heat gun to create enough side-to-side space for the magnet? Did the depth work fine? I'm making a database, that's why I am asking a ****load of questions about this one.

By_Tor · Jun 22, 2006

Infinity said:
So, you had to use the heat gun to create enough side-to-side space for the magnet? Did the depth work fine? I'm making a database, that's why I am asking a ****load of questions about this one.

Side-to-side was good. I only had to use the heat gun on the center part where the stock sub bolts to the panel.

Infinity · Jun 22, 2006

Ahhh, the little nub. That's what I neede to know. Thanks.

stanmckinney · Jun 23, 2006

RodStang, I assume you mean how "bad" stock sounds? Your post says "by." If so, I agree that the 9857 sounds much, much better even with stock speakers.

RodStang · Jun 25, 2006

stanmckinney said:
RodStang, I assume you mean how "bad" stock sounds? Your post says "by." If so, I agree that the 9857 sounds much, much better even with stock speakers.

Yes, "bad". Stock Sucks.

Installed Alpine head unit

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