Is there a Pioneer HU that rivals Alpine's cda-9887 in features and price?

**bigpapa** · August 10th, 2011 11:14 PM

Any tips mga ser? I'm tempted to sell my whole (old school) system so I could buy an HU with a time alignment feature. I've read that the 9887 is pretty good but doesn't have a built-in aux input. Does Pioneer have an HU with TA minus the heavy price tag? I read somewhere kasi na it costs twice than the 9887. Any suggestions mga ser?

**jhnkvn** · August 13th, 2011 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by bigpapa

Any tips mga ser? I'm tempted to sell my whole (old school) system so I could buy an HU with a time alignment feature. I've read that the 9887 is pretty good but doesn't have a built-in aux input. Does Pioneer have an HU with TA minus the heavy price tag? I read somewhere kasi na it costs twice than the 9887. Any suggestions mga ser?

Where the 9887 stands, there is no competing Pioneer products that can compete with the price. Pioneer head units are more "mainstream" na kasi. And their products with T/A and other features we audiophiles crave are expensive (e.g. P90, P99RS, P80, etc.)

I'm not sure why you need the built-in aux input, but just buy the optional auxillary cable. Teka, bigyan kita link.

This one: Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

Alternatives include Eclipse CD7200 but these are more expensive na. Easily pushing for 30 grand.

**userfriendly** · August 13th, 2011 08:29 PM

The closest Pioneer HU will be the P80. Its a very good HU. Comparable features. However, I think (not sure) it has been phased out already. Dont know if you can still find a brand new one. You should be able to find used units.

**bigpapa** · August 13th, 2011 08:58 PM

Originally Posted by jhnkvn

Where the 9887 stands, there is no competing Pioneer products that can compete with the price. Pioneer head units are more "mainstream" na kasi. And their products with T/A and other features we audiophiles crave are expensive (e.g. P90, P99RS, P80, etc.)

I'm not sure why you need the built-in aux input, but just buy the optional auxillary cable. Teka, bigyan kita link.

This one: Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

Alternatives include Eclipse CD7200 but these are more expensive na. Easily pushing for 30 grand.

Thank you jhnkvn. I just want the aux input for my nextbase portable dvd player (I use it to keep the kids QUIET!) hehe. Anyway, I read somewhere that it's gonna make a big difference, specially for a guy like me who's been listening in typical STEREO for ages. I never really thought about it (TA) until I switched from sedans to an AUV/MPV (pamilyado). I realized this when I installed our Innova's first sound system which came from my previous car. While driving (and playing music), I thought another car from behind was also cranking his system til I realized that the BASS was coming from the back of the 3rd row seat. I know you've got some pretty impressive stuff, I'd like to hear your honest opinion. Is the sensation(hehe) of having TA worth it? Bebenta ko kasi lahat just to try it. Back to zero

**jhnkvn** · August 14th, 2011 03:17 PM

If you're really into sound quality, time alignment is definitely worth it. The thing with cars is that they're inefficient. Slap the speakers on and you get alot of interference like windshield reflections, etc. Back in the old days before time alignment was the norm, you see people doing custom doors mods and kickpanel installations just to position their speakers optimally to get good sound from one optimal seat (driver's seat). With time alignment, you can simply slap the midbass into the stock door location, measure the distance, and call it a day. Nowadays, very very few cars can win competitions without them.

The best sensation of time alignment would probably be instrument separation. With it, you can tell that "this speaker is behind this speaker", "the cello is at the far right", etc. Listening to conventional music like Lady Gaga, you might not feel it's worth it. But once you start listening to acoustic recordings and/or audiophile recordings, it's simply magic.

There are also amplifiers nowadays that have built-in time alignment in them. Example of this is the Mosconi FSA (Front Stage Adjuster).. some amplifiers have built-in DSP (Digital Signal Processing) in them like Zapco's DC Reference which is kinda like a processor and amplifier rolled into one (you can adjust slopes, crossovers, t/a, etc.)

Integrating bass with the midbass is one of the hardest things to do in tuning ;) It personally took me more than a month to get it right. But once you do, it's sweet! Di na ako babalik sa bass-at-back sensation

**bigpapa** · August 14th, 2011 04:02 PM

Wow! I'm definitely going to sell my stuff! I bought my trunk mounted EQ to bring out the instruments that I never knew was there in the first place. Lately I find myself listening to classical music, which came from my son's educational DVD (Mozart and friends).hehe. It's like I listen more to the system now than that of the music. Thanks again jhnkvn. Time to look for potential buyers!