Alpine CDA-9835 Car CD / MP3 Player
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback
- Anti-Theft Protection: Detachable Face Panel
- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: CD Changer XM Ready
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The 9835 is a great unit, but I miss my 9815
Pros
Power, sound, good display and menu system, customizability.
Cons
Tuner performance, display options could have been more numerous, slow tuner preset refresh.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This is a nice car deck with great sound, but after the novelty of the display wears off I find myself thinking I was happier with the 9815.
The CDA-9835 is the third Alpine deck that has been in my car. The first was a 9811 (reviewed elsewhere), followed by a 9815. I really liked the 9811 – it was easy to use, sounded good and looked great, but I upgraded because it only had an eight-character display, and did not have an auto-dimmer feature, making it too bright for night driving. I got a demo 9815 to replace it and immediately noticed an improvement in sound, especially at higher volumes (the V-drive internal amp really makes a difference). The improved display was also welcome. However, after reading great things about the 9835 (successor to the 9815), I caught the upgrade bug again. The Biolite display, multi-colour illumination, and modern features compelled me to buy a used one off eBay.
If you're reading this review, you are probably aware of the features and specifications of the 9835, so I'll concentrate on some of the more notable improvements (and downgrades) of this model compared to the 9815 for those of you that might be considering a second-hand purchase (since this piece is a 2004 model).
Sound Quality
First off, the 9835 sounds slightly better than the 9815, at least when the five-band EQ of each unit is left flat. I had to reduce the highs in the 9815 before it sounded right, since it was a little harsh otherwise. In contrast, the 9835 sounded great without any tweaking whatsoever. But even after adjustment, I'm inclined to believe the 9815 doesn't quite match the 9835, despite having identical power ratings. The 9835 has an external DC-DC converter and possibly other enhancements that make the difference. However, there are a few issues with the 9835 that make me wish I had kept the 9815.
Tuner Performance
The 9815 had a better tuner. The 9835 is not terrible, but it suffers from "picket fencing" where the 9815 was clear. Now, I hope I don't get comments that ask why I'm listening to the radio when I could be listening to my own CD collection, etc… Sometimes I just like to listen to the radio for certain jazz programs, etc. (I have noticed, in some quarters, harsh rebuttals against reviews that contained any criticisms of the 9835. Apparently some people are so in love with the product that they can't bear any criticism of it. Perhaps it is because car stereos attract a slightly younger, more passionate crowd? Anyway… )
MP3 Navigation
The 9835 takes slightly longer to recognize MP3 discs, and sometimes doesn't pick up where it left off after the car is restarted. It can also lose its place if the FF or REW buttons are pressed for too long. I don't know if this is an issue across the line or just a quirk of my unit. The 9815 and 9811 were flawless in this regard.
Display
At first glance, the Biolite display is better than previous models. Thanks to its high resolution the text is more legible and scrolls very smoothly. My beef is with the way it is implemented. Alpine seems to have an aversion to giving you options for displaying the time of day: you either get huge characters to the exclusion of almost everything else, or no time display at all. The one mode that allows simultaneous time of day and track information gives the elapsed time very small characters that are hard to read at a glance (and my eyes are fine). With such a large screen they could have done a better job at utilizing the available area.
Another problem is you can't change the time display from 24-hour (military style). At first I didn't mind as it was a bit of a novelty, but the novelty soon wears off. Some might say "what's the big deal, just subtract twelve," but this is bothersome when you have to do it all the time, and especially if you are mentally fatigued after a long work week. Household clocks are twelve-hour for a reason: they are easier to read and decipher at a glance.
These are areas where i-Personalize could have helped. i-Personalize is a feature that lets you enter parameters such as speaker delay and EQ on Alpine's site and download onto a CD that can be read by the 9835. This can be convenient if you want to quickly try out different settings (which can be time-consuming to enter manually), or if you want to reload your standard settings if the unit lost power (if the car's battery was disconnected, for example). You can enter custom text for the display for entertainment purposes, but it would have been more useful to offer customizable display parameters beyond the few offered. An opportunity wasted.
One other problem is the station name delay when you surf through the presets. I like to glance at the station when I'm hitting the preset buttons, but the display doesn't catch up for about three seconds. The 9815 was almost instantaneous.
Menu
The menu system is more intuitive than previous models, making it easier and quicker to set up the unit, everything from EQ to button colour. Of course, there are so many options available you will need to keep the manual handy for a while, but at least the system is logically laid out. The 9815 menu system was a little harder to use.
Look & Feel
The colour scheme is blander than previous models, being black with dark grey buttons (besides the four illuminated buttons to the left of the volume knob). The older models had more illuminated buttons (blue for the 9815 and green for the 9811/9813), making for a more colourful deck. Depending on your taste this can be either a positive or a negative. The 9835 has the ability to customize the colour of the four large buttons (from a palette of 512) makes it easier to match the illumination of your car, but the rest of the buttons' reverse-illumination can only be set to green or orange.
The preset buttons are another sore spot with me, literally. The 9815 had smooth, raised buttons that were easy to find and operate by feel. The 9835's buttons are flush with the face plate, with raised sharp ridges at the base so you can find them. Yes, it works, but they feel a little cheap and don't have the more tactile feel of the 9815 or 9811. A small ergonomic issue, but like the display limitations described above, one that grates a little.
Conclusions
Overall the 9835 is a good deck, one that is in high demand since it is the last of the Alpine V-Drive units, offers iPod connectivity, and has lots of EQ and tweaking options compared to Alpine's latest models. But as good as it is, they missed an opportunity to make a good display even better, and they took a small step backward in tuner sensitivity and button ergonomics.
If you're reading this review, you are probably aware of the features and specifications of the 9835, so I'll concentrate on some of the more notable improvements (and downgrades) of this model compared to the 9815 for those of you that might be considering a second-hand purchase (since this piece is a 2004 model).
Sound Quality
First off, the 9835 sounds slightly better than the 9815, at least when the five-band EQ of each unit is left flat. I had to reduce the highs in the 9815 before it sounded right, since it was a little harsh otherwise. In contrast, the 9835 sounded great without any tweaking whatsoever. But even after adjustment, I'm inclined to believe the 9815 doesn't quite match the 9835, despite having identical power ratings. The 9835 has an external DC-DC converter and possibly other enhancements that make the difference. However, there are a few issues with the 9835 that make me wish I had kept the 9815.
Tuner Performance
The 9815 had a better tuner. The 9835 is not terrible, but it suffers from "picket fencing" where the 9815 was clear. Now, I hope I don't get comments that ask why I'm listening to the radio when I could be listening to my own CD collection, etc… Sometimes I just like to listen to the radio for certain jazz programs, etc. (I have noticed, in some quarters, harsh rebuttals against reviews that contained any criticisms of the 9835. Apparently some people are so in love with the product that they can't bear any criticism of it. Perhaps it is because car stereos attract a slightly younger, more passionate crowd? Anyway… )
MP3 Navigation
The 9835 takes slightly longer to recognize MP3 discs, and sometimes doesn't pick up where it left off after the car is restarted. It can also lose its place if the FF or REW buttons are pressed for too long. I don't know if this is an issue across the line or just a quirk of my unit. The 9815 and 9811 were flawless in this regard.
Display
At first glance, the Biolite display is better than previous models. Thanks to its high resolution the text is more legible and scrolls very smoothly. My beef is with the way it is implemented. Alpine seems to have an aversion to giving you options for displaying the time of day: you either get huge characters to the exclusion of almost everything else, or no time display at all. The one mode that allows simultaneous time of day and track information gives the elapsed time very small characters that are hard to read at a glance (and my eyes are fine). With such a large screen they could have done a better job at utilizing the available area.
Another problem is you can't change the time display from 24-hour (military style). At first I didn't mind as it was a bit of a novelty, but the novelty soon wears off. Some might say "what's the big deal, just subtract twelve," but this is bothersome when you have to do it all the time, and especially if you are mentally fatigued after a long work week. Household clocks are twelve-hour for a reason: they are easier to read and decipher at a glance.
These are areas where i-Personalize could have helped. i-Personalize is a feature that lets you enter parameters such as speaker delay and EQ on Alpine's site and download onto a CD that can be read by the 9835. This can be convenient if you want to quickly try out different settings (which can be time-consuming to enter manually), or if you want to reload your standard settings if the unit lost power (if the car's battery was disconnected, for example). You can enter custom text for the display for entertainment purposes, but it would have been more useful to offer customizable display parameters beyond the few offered. An opportunity wasted.
One other problem is the station name delay when you surf through the presets. I like to glance at the station when I'm hitting the preset buttons, but the display doesn't catch up for about three seconds. The 9815 was almost instantaneous.
Menu
The menu system is more intuitive than previous models, making it easier and quicker to set up the unit, everything from EQ to button colour. Of course, there are so many options available you will need to keep the manual handy for a while, but at least the system is logically laid out. The 9815 menu system was a little harder to use.
Look & Feel
The colour scheme is blander than previous models, being black with dark grey buttons (besides the four illuminated buttons to the left of the volume knob). The older models had more illuminated buttons (blue for the 9815 and green for the 9811/9813), making for a more colourful deck. Depending on your taste this can be either a positive or a negative. The 9835 has the ability to customize the colour of the four large buttons (from a palette of 512) makes it easier to match the illumination of your car, but the rest of the buttons' reverse-illumination can only be set to green or orange.
The preset buttons are another sore spot with me, literally. The 9815 had smooth, raised buttons that were easy to find and operate by feel. The 9835's buttons are flush with the face plate, with raised sharp ridges at the base so you can find them. Yes, it works, but they feel a little cheap and don't have the more tactile feel of the 9815 or 9811. A small ergonomic issue, but like the display limitations described above, one that grates a little.
Conclusions
Overall the 9835 is a good deck, one that is in high demand since it is the last of the Alpine V-Drive units, offers iPod connectivity, and has lots of EQ and tweaking options compared to Alpine's latest models. But as good as it is, they missed an opportunity to make a good display even better, and they took a small step backward in tuner sensitivity and button ergonomics.
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