What's wrong with my Alpine?
Written: Dec 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: CD Sound, ergonomics
Cons: Cheap feeling, single preouts
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| Derwolf's Full Review: Alpine CDM-7834 Car CD Player |
Even as the title may say, I'm not really disappointed in my Alpine 7834, it plays well and has decent features, but I have had better.
The pros about this head unit are the following:
*****
No Skipping - and I mean NO SKIPPING. I have lowering springs on my car and never once have I ever gotten my unit to skip. But this is and has been Alpine's claim to fame. Their shock-resistance technology has been top notch for a long time. I've had multiple Alpine head units (from indash, to pullout to detachable face) and I've been very happy with them.
CD Sound Quality - The CD sound quality is very good. Not great, but very good. The specifications are very good, but the final test is what it sounds like when cranked. Generally noise free through the pre-outs and the built-in amp isn't half bad either. I have several All-Digital disks which I play and I have been happy with the sound quality.
Ergonomics - Whoever designed these things has a number on ergonomics. A driver doesn't have the time (and can't share the attention) on a busy radio interface with tons of buttons like some other lesser head units. The Alpine's interface is simple and straightforward, with multi-function buttons where needed. My only complaint is that you don't have the manual, you forget what D.A.P. and A. ME stand for.
Features - With actually up to 24 station presets, the 7834 has plenty of presets for me. Who needs more? Heck, there aren't 24 stations I like on the radio? It also has Tone Source Memory (I believe that is what it is called) which remembers the sound settings (volume, treble, bass, etc.) which is set for each source (Radio vs CD vs Changer). This is especially useful when your CD source is much quieter than your radio source - you won't get blasted when switching from CD to radio.
Internal Amp - While it's not the best thing in the world to use it, the built-in amplifier is halfway decent. It sports 35 Watts Per Channel Peak (meaning about 17 Watts RMS) or thereabouts. But it'll drive stock speakers just fine.
The CONS are what bites:
*****
Tuner - Alpine has historically had iffy tuners in their head units and the one in the 7834 is no exception. I can tune in stations on my portable radio that I can't on my Alpine and the AM reception is worse. It doesn't do much for noise rejection either. The SuperTuners in the Pioneer units were better.
The Detachable Face - I used to hate in-dash units, and I thought pullouts would be better.. until I bought one. The detachable face is somewhat of a paradox. To small to not take with you (besides the fact that not doing so will defeat the purpose of it being detachable) but too big and annoying to take with you. Putting it in your back pocket is not acceptable.. you'll sit on the thing! Plus, it is so fragile, it looks like it won't survive much more than one fall from about 3 feet. I don't want to carry a man-purse just for this!
Single set of 2V outputs - For audiophiles, this stinks. No fader control to the pre-outs means you'll have to add a preamp or a fader if you are wanting a serious system. The outputs leave a bit to be desired -because they are lower output, I have to really crank my gains up to receive enough signal at my Alpine amp to boost.
All in all a good unit, not the best in the industry and certainly not the best Alpine has to offer, but if you can find one at a bargain price, it's a decent choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Derwolf
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Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 1 member
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