Entered CNET Catalog: 04/04/2007
SKU: 793276711366
Manufacturer: Alpine Electronics, Inc.
Manufacturer description
More media, more control. If one helping isn't enough, you can get seconds, thirds, why stop there, when there's so much media available today. The CDA-9885 offers media playback for CD's iPod, Bluetooth, Satellite Radio, HD Radio, and other portable players. The CDA-9885 specially comes with an attractive Biolite display, so you get a wider viewing angle and better visibility in all lighting conditions. Get more control from your head unit, and hook up more media to your system. The remote control is included.Product summary
The good: The HD Radio-compatible Alpine CDA-9885 features a stylish faceplate, a great music navigation interface, and rich audio output.
The bad: Its clunky external HD module is a pain to install, and it adds an extra $200 to the stereo's price tag, making it a pricey package.
The bottom line: The Alpine CDA-9885 combines attractive styling and an easy-to-use music search interface with a host of expandability options, including HD Radio capability. However, those upgrading to HD Radio will have to deal with a clunky module and a hefty price tag.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/30/2007
The trickle of HD Radio-capable aftermarket car stereos is starting to turn into a stream. Following the launch of Sony's CDX-GT520, Alpine brings us the CDA-9885, a single-DIN in-dash CD player with the ability to act as an HD Radio tuner.
Like the Sony HD stereos we've seen to date, the CDA-9885 requires the addition of a large, unwieldy external module to pick up digital broadcasts, which makes it a challenge to install cleanly behind a small car's dashboard (we know from bitter experience, as our test car is a Chevy Aveo).
Other than its headline feature, the stylish CDA-9885 provides drivers with a range of disc playback options, a delightful digital-audio navigation interface, and a good selection of expandability in the form of Bluetooth hands-free calling, and compatibility with iPods and satellite radio tuners.
Design and features
Alpine makes some of the most attractive car stereos on the market (see the iDA-X001), and the CDA-9885 is no exception. Its colorful bank of backlit buttons on the right side of the volume dial can be set to either red or blue, depending on your mood or the car's interior.
For other buttons, such as the six presets and the navigation buttons to the left of the dial, a muted red backlighting gives the system a uniform color scheme and makes it easy to use at night. With the choice of four background visual (BGV) animations, the system's green-on-black monochrome LCD screen can be as busy as your tastes desire. Personally, we preferred to turn the graphics off to get a clearer view of the screen's text information for HD Radio programming and disc-based digital-audio tracks.
In contrast to some stereos with a similar amount of screen real estate, the CDA-9885's display shows a relatively large number of text characters, making it easy to navigate radio stations and audio libraries at a glance. For HD Radio stations, the display shows artist and song information (where available) and other details on station frequency, time, and date, which can be cycled through by pressing the Title button to the right of the display.
With an MP3/ WMA/AAC disc inserted in the single slot behind the stereo's mechanical drop-down faceplate, the display can be set to show information for artist and track names, or folder and file names. For text tags that are longer than the allocated 15 characters, the display can be set to scroll information automatically, which is a useful feature.
The CDA-9885's principal attraction is the intuitiveness of its controls for navigating its various supported sources. With HD Radio set as the source, drivers can skip from one HD station to another by simply pressing the forward-skip buttons. It takes about two to three seconds for the system to lock on to the digital signal, after which you can search through the available text tags or search for multicast content (other HD channels broadcast over the same FM frequency), by using the forward-search buttons. Navigation of files and folders on compressed digital-audio discs (such as MP3 and WMA) is even easier to use.
Using the search buttons (denoted by a magnifying glass), users can navigate folders and files on a disc in one of two ways: pressing the buttons once brings up the root menu structure for folders and files, which can be selected and searched though by name, using a combination of the enter button and the rotary dial; and for those who know the order of tracks on a disc, a quick search function enables you to skip straight to a desired track. For those less interested in search, there are also a number of shuffle playback options for folders, tracks, and discs (for attached changers).
Like the HD Radio-enabled Sony CDX-GT520 and XAV-W1, the CDA-9885 must be connected to a bulky, separately sold external module in order to get HD Radio reception. In contrast to the neat layout of the faceplate, we found this necessity an inelegant solution, especially during installation. We were unable to fit the HD module (which measures 7 13/16 inches wide by 1 3/8 inches tall by 7 7/8 inches deep) in the dash behind our stereo and found that we had to either stick it in the glove box--thereby taking up most of the space in the latter--or attach it to the underside of the cowl, which is not an attractive proposition.
Performance
As we have (predictably) found in the past, HD radio sounds a lot better than regular FM signal radio, and the output of the CDA-9885 is no exception. Drivers are given a good sense of the contrast between regular FM and HD while waiting the few seconds for the digital signal to kick in, at which point the faint fuzzy static interference associated with even the clearest of FM signals disappears, giving the audio a crisp, unimpeded quality.
For our test of the audio output and the CDA-9885's EQ settings, we explored the full breadth of the local HD Radio spectrum, finding everything from PM Dawn to Telemann. In addition to the standard EQ settings (bass, treble, loud), the system has an option for setting the bandwidth of the bass output (narrow to wide over four increments); Defeat (which disables all other signal processing); and a separate bass-level control for a standalone subwoofer.
In sum
With its $200 HD Radio tuner and a base price of about $250, the Alpine CDA-9885 is by no means a cheap option for bringing HD Radio on the road. If you have room to hide the enormous external module, however, it is a stylish and easy-to-use device with a great sound and one of the most intuitive audio navigation interfaces we've seen in this class.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5out of 5 user reviews
Good deck but not Alpine worthy.
Pros: Well equipped. Beautiful styling. Good screen. Plays discs. three 4volt preouts and built in crossovers. Display Blackout feature
Cons: No always visible time display. Clunky ipod search. Very fast volume fade in at start. Not refined overall.
On the upside, at the time when I bought this deck, the Ipod searching was head and shoulders above anything in the 1-din category. However, it wasn't as good as they could've done, I'm sure. I understand that to have the memory feature of the xda-001, there is a big leap in technology, but, when I am searching for music, the titles don't even scroll during the search. Well, if you have an MP3 that has a long filename or maybe is named with the artist in front of the song title, the search ain't gonna do anything for you. Something else I felt Alpine could have put into this deck is a function to move 10 at a time through artists or titles. You have to use the scroll wheel to scroll through titles one at a time, there is no accelerated pace when you quickly move the scroll wheel. I had 40gigs of music to start with and I quickly cut my library down to 1/3 of it's size to make it more accessible.
You must very cleverly use playlists to make your library accessible.
out of 5 user reviews
Very good receiver overall, but with some hidden deficiencies
Pros: Very easy to use, good sound, can expand capabilities as needed (HD, iPod, Bluetooth, Satellite, aux inputs)
Cons: Dimmer control, glare masks display, radio song/artist information, poor reception on some stations, display colors, expensive add-ons
However, it has some deficiencies that keep bugging me. I researched the unit thoroughly before buying, including the owner's manual, but some things you just don't discover until you actually use it.
1) Display Dimmer - the display dimmer has two settings: Auto and Manual. With Auto, the display is bright when your car's headlights are off, and it is dim when your car's headlights are on. With Manual, the display is always dim. This is a problem for me during daylight because I drive with my headlights on, for safety. There is no way with headlights on to have a bright display. The display is difficult to read in daylight when it is dim. I expected the Maunual setting to allow me to adjust the brightness using the car's dashboard lights dimmer, but it doesn't. I haven't tried unplugging the dimmer control cable yet to see whether it defaults to bright.
2) Display Glare - the display has a very shiny, clear cover. In daylight the glare makes it very difficult to see the display. Two potential solutions: get tinted windows, or use one of those clear sheets that protect touchscreen PDA displays- some are glare resistant.
3) FM Radio Artist/Song Information - the owner's manual shows the 9885 is capable of displaying this information for FM stations, but it doesn't in my area. All of my other (non-HD) car radios do. Alpine chose not to support the RDS format used in my area (that's how the Alpine rep explained it anyway)
4) Poor Quality Sound for a Couple of Stations - for some reason, a couple of stations in my area, including my favorite of course, don't come in well with the 9885 (lots of static). They come in great with other car radios, and with the factory radio I replaced. This stumped tech support, whose only suggestion was to install a second ground wire; which I haven't tried yet.
5) Display Colors - I almost didn't buy the 9885 because of the display colors, and they still bother me. The backlit buttons are red, lighted buttons can be set to blue or red, and the biolight display is light green. Red-Blue-Green, or Red-Green just aren't visually appealing and they don't match my car's other dash lights, or fit the interior color. Head units from other brands give you more color options (up to 7600 colors).
With these problems fixed, I would rate it near 10.
6) Expensive Add-Ons: I found that adding HD, iPod, Satellite, or Bluetooth capabilities later will be expensive relative to the price of the base unit, especially when you include installation charges. I like the flexibility, but will probably have to forego the HD upgrade due to cost.
out of 5 user reviews
Great radio, looks very nice, compatible with Itouch
Pros: Great for use with Itouch in your car
Cons: can't control other ipod/itouch functions except music
out of 5 user reviews
Love this unit. However missing some features.
Pros: Quality stereo + sound + looks
Cons: missing features like disabling the bluetooth + more.
1) If you have a Ai-Net Cd changer by alpine and need to hookup an MP3 player, you can not. You have to buy an adaptor (cheaper one is 80 vs the more sophisticated one 150 both available at cruthfield). Most other stereos have this feature built into the stereo like Pioneer.
2) If I have someone in the car and don't want the unit to show phone#'s (pretty much receive calls), i like to be able to disable the bluetooth at a touch of a button, you can not do it with this device. if you clear the device then you have to pair it which takes a lot of steps and is annoying. WHy not just have a disable bluetooth button for times when you have your gf in the car and doon't want to be bothered by your mistress.
3) the remote buttons for volume is so close to source and sometimes i push those which is annoying. I have seen more nicely designed remotes out there.
4) The remote does not work well if you are not pointing straight at the remote ir on the top right of the unit. if you are pointing to the left of the unit, it does not pick up signals or if it does, it's hit and miss. Pioneer remotes worked great as long as you are poining to the unit and also i had an earlier model alpine and the remote was not this picky.
5) Bluetooth is not built into this device by default . YOu have to buy another module which is around $180 before you can make it work.
6) Biolite is not that clear in the sun if you have your glasses on. I recommend not hooking up the light wire to the vehicle light system. that way it's brighter.
Now the main question, would i buy this unit again? NO I would not unless they redesign it and make everything built in like othe stereo manufactures.
Would i buy it if it was cheap like $120.
No i would not.
Now that i have gone through the hassle of hooking up the bluetooth, remote, mp3 hookup + the purchase of all the modules and labor, i have put in close to 500.00 not including the labor.
What would i buy next time?
either a re-designed alpine that has all these features or if they lag behind and keep it modulator like unit, then i go with Pioneer in a hearbeat.
out of 5 user reviews
Has Everything!
Pros: Bluetooth, Satelite Radio, iPod & HD Radio Ready. Aux Port option. Great dispplay. Love the remote
Cons: Aux port on back, buttons a bit small, no color screen.
