Well, this just got here. I love getting stuff from UPS. It always feels like a little bit like Christmas.

Anyway, since I just got it, it's not in yet. But looked over the manual, whew, lots of stuff going on. It supposedly has an audio feature where you can call out what song you want. I'll have to see how well that actually works.

And if you're wondering why the hell I'm posting this, I had asked some questions in the thread titled "Why Alpine?" and I said I'd give a review. So, I'll just keep updating this thread with my thoughts. Sonixelectronics.com also included a harness so it should be a straight forward install.

Quick question: is solder that important for the wire connections? I usually just interconnect the wires real good, and then tape them up with electrical tape. But I'm thinking of soldering this time, but is it that beneficial for sound quality? Thanks.

I'll update when I get the darn thing in.

I don't know how often this happens, but I think anytime someone puts something new into their car, they should give a small write up, it helps others who maybe looking at the same products.

 

At the least you should use a crimp. Just twisting them together always runs the risk of one of them pulling free. Also, there isn't a lot of room back there, so your wires are going to be put under some stress during the install.

I'd recommend soldering them. Everyone has their own opinion on these things, but it doesn't take that long and it makes a very solid connection. Also, the harness will be smaller then if you crimped all of the connections.

 

Well, I got it installed today. If anyone here is thinking about changing out the stock head unit, do it yourself. It's such a simple install with a wiring harness.

Anyway, the stereo is MUCH better, even with the stock speakers. I would suggest to anyone who is thinking about just changing the speakers and not the head unit, to change the head unit first and try the system that way. It's a huge difference.

The only negative is that the face does watch out very easily in sunlight. It's a bit disappointing to see how bad it washes out, but I don't spend that much time looking at the face anyway while I'm driving. But you'll definitely want to setup the unit in the shade.

I didn't play with it too much, but it was equally good with a CD or tuner. I'm sure most nice head units are like this, but the EQ settings are different for each source so that's a nice feature, IMO.

Now I just need to upgrade the stock speakers, get some SPODs, and contemplate the needs for an amp.

 

Hey eric

I popped this HU in the S last fall with some infinity 6.5's and a Sirius option. I'm giddy with it. I agree with the washout in the sunlight that's a bugger to be sure, but really happy overall. Try leaving the face in the default spot and see if it's better. I find if it's flat, you see a bit more.

 

I had the face in all the positions you can put it in, and from where the sun was hitting, it was watched out in any angle. I'm not that concerned. Once I get the settings set, I don't really mess with them. And I don't need to read what is playing, I can hear it!!

Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to buy for the front stage. I'm not going to go nuts, just want good sound with the top down. Which I probably won't need to worry about for another couple of months. But with this head, it's already MUCH better with the stock speakers.

 

I stole the kenwood KDC-?682 out of my truck last night. It is a diesel and at $2.89 a gallon and 17mpg when I am nice, it has not moved in 2 weeks.

The difference in sound in the car is incredible. I could actually listen to the music below distortion level. I listened to a Podcast coming to work this morning and actually understood every word. I get the feeling that the Honda radio puts out about 4 watts RMS and about 4.000001 peak. What a joke.

I am going to be getting the Modifry IR adapter as I discovered that volume control is easy enough on the iPod but still not as good as what's on the dash.

I am also looking at front speakers as the new stereo shows how cheap they are. I don't think I am going to mess with s-pods.

Congrats on the new sound. Amazing how simple it was to fix this problem.