Alpine CDA-9853 Car CD / MP3 Player

After buying my new car I decided that a new head unit was required. My last two H/U's were Sony and I could see no reason to change this trend. I opted for the Sony CDX-F5550 with iPod connector.
The Sony units that I've owned are extremely user friendly, but when I put my new stereo into my new Civic (which is known to have poor speakers) the sound was that bad that it was painful (literally). I had to have the volume at a near minimum to prevent aural bleeding.
After two weeks of pain I decided to sell the Sony and buy the Alpine after reading some good reviews (most stating that the glide bar takes some getting used to).
The difference in sound quality is just stunning, it really is impossible to compare.
On the other hand, trying to sift through the Alpine manual on how to do something simple like tune in a radio station is like walking in corn starch. I can't recall my memmory being tested like this since I was in school. Multiple button combinations are required for even the simplist of tasks.
The glide bar is different, but certainly not awkward, although as many people will report it does take some getting used to. After the initial break in period, I found it a joy to use.
All in all this unit has brilliant sound and some other really good features, but is let down by ease of use.
I'd have no problems recommending this to any of my friends.