alpine CDA-117

[MrSoundz]

I'd never use anything other than alpine- best cd players in my opinion. I've owned high end mcintosh, eclipse, pioneer, clarion, kenwood, and old school sony's, and just prefer the sound of an Alpine unit- it's really a personal perference in my opinion. I agree the 117 has alot more features than the 9887 but it is Alpine's replacement for it. I just wish they would have keep features that the older unit had -bass engine pro, V-drive, Media expander, 6 glowing green radio station buttons! I just like the new ipod features on the newer decks, or I'd just use one of my old Alpine's.

I have the Alpine CDA 117 in my 4-Runner and 300zx and let me tell you it is the best sounding Alpine to come out in 10 years. I have used Alpine since 1988 from cassette players through cd players, etc. The key to it's great sound is the 24 burr brown processor throughout the whole unit. That means the burr brown processor is used on the cd player, satellite radio, FM/AM tuner and the USB (IPOD). The signal to noise ratio on the IPOD itself is 105 db. It does not have bass or treble controls however it has the 6 band parametric equalizer or 7 band graphic equalizer built in, it has time alignment, media expander and low pass and high pass crossovers built in. On the IPOD controls it has the percentage search and now the alphabet search which allows you to scroll from A through Z on your IPOD in a matter of seconds. This unit is a vast improvement over the 9886 and will match the 9887. It does not have everyexact feature of the 9887 but has 90% of them but all the improvements and is very user friendly.

The CDA 117 will put Alpine back on the map. I just swtiched over from using the CDA 9886 and I am very pleased to say the least. Sound wise the CDA 117 sounds exactly like the Pioneer PRS-800 DEH which also uses Burr Brown processing. The CDA 117 is an SQ head unit.

[MrSoundz]

I'd never use anything other than alpine- best cd players in my opinion. I've owned high end mcintosh, eclipse, pioneer, clarion, kenwood, and old school sony's, and just prefer the sound of an Alpine unit- it's really a personal perference in my opinion. I agree the 117 has alot more features than the 9887 but it is Alpine's replacement for it. I just wish they would have keep features that the older unit had -bass engine pro, V-drive, Media expander, 6 glowing green radio station buttons! I just like the new ipod features on the newer decks, or I'd just use one of my old Alpine's.

They bought back time alignment and Media Expander for the CDA-117 and it makes a world of difference.

[MrSoundz]

alpine in general isnt user friendly lol

Don't knock the CDA 117 until you try it. I use it everyday and I am extrememly impressed.

[micahmye]

Don't knock the CDA 117 until you try it. I use it everyday and I am extrememly impressed.

knowing james he probably has already tried it, he is no noob, more like a master.

[qu1cks1lver56]

All Alpines are pretty user friendly to me.

[topshelf33]

I just purchased this deck about 2 weeks ago and i love it. Its a greak looking head unit and has the performance to back it up. 4 volt rca's upgraded from last years 2 volt. Uses usb 2.0 and will charge your ipod without the adapter needed for last years model. SQ is great, just what you would expect. i am running it to a rockford t400-2 amp powering 2 12" kenwood kfc-ws12 shallow mounts which are pretty good for now. Ill try and get a couple pics or a video up soon, but it is definitely worth the money. Hit me up with any questions you have.

[JZeFF]

I currently have a cda 9886, and after seeing this post... i may be upgrading my head-unit this summer, haha.

Get the 117, you wont be disappointed... I love my alpine, i just hate how slow it is with ipod use.... Trying to find songs is a total bitch.

BUT, the new 117 seems like it has completely fixed that.

But at the same time i miss my pioneer, that thing had tons more settings than my 9886... and it was about 2 years older...

[AI James]

i dont personally have one, but a local buddy does...

alpine = have customers buy up all the features that every other company includes with thier units for less.

as far as it sounding better JVC has been using that same technology in decks that are cheaper for a long time lol

[sphinxbccp]

i have the 9886, it fits my needs, never had a problem using it. I work a store that sells alpine, we recently recieved the 117 and this thing is badass, 5 band parametric eq, 7 band graphic eq, 4 volt preouts, a way easier search for ipod (if your listening to a song an press back it goes where you last were, not all the way to the beginning), time alignment, it has everything youd need. the ONLY thing i didnt like was that the ipod plug uses the usb on the back, with my 9886 i have a dedicated ipod cord, a usb cord and a AInet port to expand, so i dont have to choose usb or ipod, i have both. well thats just my .02

[MrSoundz]

Yeah the 117 is a monster. You should still be able to use the older cord in the back of the unit as it still has the connection for it. The sound quality of th IPOD is a big upgrade using the USB cord.