Like what title says, I'm looking for a good cd deck that work with my ipod photo.

Anyone have any specific recommendations on brand/model/installation shops?

Thanks in advance.

 

Just about any Alpine head unit $200+ comes iPod ready. I think it's a $30 cable to plug in your iPod and control it from the head unit.

I like the Alpine head units that have the internal digital crossovers for the ability to bi-wire the doors and apply crossover and time correction to the tweeters and woofers. However, there are two problems with that:

1) That feature is now only available on the most expensive DVD models.

2) I doubt whether most shops will want to or know how to bi wire the doors, especially if you don't buy new speakers from them (the stock speakers sound really good configured that way).

 

check out the alpine 9857.. on ebay with a cable its $290 shipped!

 

This is the same unit I have in my S and it sounds great.

 

i also have a 9857 i bought from crutchfield with the ipod connector when they had their special including the connector. very easy/straightforward install and i routed the ipod cable to the middle console.

 

Mine is in the hidden compartment

Oops I guess everyone knows where it is now.

 

If you are willing to go used, you can get a CD/MP3 player that has the digital crossover & time alignment. The drawback is that you need the more expensive Alpine KCA-420i ($100 new, $75 used) to hook up your iPod instead of just a cable. All of these units are nearly identical:

CDA-9833
CDA-9835
CDA-9853
CDA-9855

The ones with a 3 at the end have LCD displays, the ones with 5 at the end have the super bright (biolite?) displays. The latter come with an external DC-DC voltage converter which you will have to find space for.

The 983x series are older and use the knob to search the library. The 985x series have a "slider strip" along the bottom of the unit.

I have a CDA-9833 in my S2000, it's great.

 

I would recommend against the "glide touch" strip thingie... I've heard that it is kind of annoying and difficult to use, especially with the gear shift right in front of the head unit.

 

i also have the alpine 9857 with the ipod connection
the install was easy just buy a harness so you dont have to cut up the stock harness. i took me an hour to install and i was taking my sweet time.

 

^^^^seen it its cool