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Just talked to the Alpine dealer in Germany where I had ordered the CDA-7893R and the KCE-865B adapter. Looks like he finally got the head unit, so I ought to get my hands on it in mid-August (damn business trip!).
I'll let you guys know what the definitive verdict will be.
The U.S. models do not have the connection for the Adapter that lets you keep the dash controls. Plus, the models have different features. For all practical purposes the 7893R I bought is more or less the equivalent of the 7894 in the U.S.
My two cents worth: Keep it Simple Simple.
I really wanted to get the KCE-865B hard wired dash control solution and even bought one from England over the Internet. The purchase worked fine. It wouldn't work with the stock CDA-7876 I bought last summer. (I probably could have gotten it to work by opening the radio and wiring the adapter to the board.) So, shaner generously bought my adapter for his video unit and I used a PAC unit.
A year and some later I laugh at myself. The PAC unit works fine, offers individual owners to choose different programming options and gives no trouble.
Life is hard enough. There's no need to make this KCE 865B adapter issue an issue.
Okay, here it goes. This is what I got from the dealer:
and
Installation was a bit tricky, as my installer couldn't figure out where the plug that is part of the dashboard adapter was supposed to hook into the radio ("Are you sure there isn't another adapter for the adapter?"). Turns out that unlike the 7893R, the US models have some kind of fan built into their casings (or so he said) and that was where they hid the connection. After I insisted that these two parts were all you needed, he finally found it (he also called Alpine, but they were of no help whatsoever).
Anyway, a couple of things he mentioned: First, the unit is somewhat smaller than the stock head unit, so he added a bit of foam/rubber lining to avoid any ugly gaps (I like this guy. Takes a lot of pride in his work. If anyone in Chicago needs any audio-related work done, check out Sounds Deluxe and ask for Jim). Second, since the Alpine uses a higher voltage than most other stereo systems in order to power 60W, make sure you connect the unit directly to the battery (and use an appropriate wire); apparently a lot of places that do after-market installs use the internal cabling that already exist from the original unit -- and as a result those wires tend to melt. This is what the connection looks like:
Note the extra red cable leading to the battery and the fuse attached to it.
Anyway, this is what the end result looks like:
The radio cover still closes, by the way.
There's been some discussion about whether you can use a European system in the US. The short answer is "YES!". The long answer is "YES, but..." FM is no issue. I get all stations on all frequencies. AM is a bit trickier. The scanning steps differ from the US in that the radio skips back or forward by 9mHz instead of 10 mHz. To which I say, big deal. My news channel (780 mHz) now comes in at 783 mHz and sounds just as good. The spectrum ranges from 530 mHz to 1600 mHz or thereabouts. Potentially the reception might not be so good for some stations, but we are talking AM here, people, so who really gives a flying fig?
On the plus side, I can now tune into 666 mHz. And there really is a station there.
As far as the dash controls are concerned, they are working just beautifully. The only difference I have seen so far is that the mode selector seems to switch only between the radio and the disc and does not seem to cycle between the different radio bands anymore (did I mention that I also have access to a whole lot of nothing on longwave frequencies?). Not sure if this is inherent in the controller's function or if the installer just did not pay attention and/or programmed the unit incorrectly. I need to call him tomorrow and ask him.
Anyway. Was all the trouble worth it? I give it a qualified yes. Sound has definitely improved and I got to keep the dashboard controls without having to screw around with any infra-red sensors or extra cabeling (no delays, either, when using the dashboard). In terms of price, the 7893R is equivalent to the US model 7894, and I got it a little bit cheaper than what I would have paid over here. Getting a refund of the VAT just was the icing on the cake. All in all I like it. And probably would do it again.
US alpines too require attaching the wire directly to the battery good installers do this even though its more work. The foam surround fills in those gaps and gives you a nice seamless design.
You're one of the very few people in the US to have this type of setup!
One other thing he did was that he bolted the radio directly to the car instead of using the sleeve that came with the radio. Not sure exactly why he did that (I was too excited to listen ), but I am sure he had his reason...
I just wish the 7893R had the blue lights. The choices right now (it's not really clear from the pictures) are green and orange. I went for orange since that color at least is part of the dashboard already.
By the way -- thanks, Lucid, for all the advice along the way.
I am planning an Alpine install and I like your ability to use the Alpine dash control adapter. I could really care less about the AM tuning offset. I am looking at the 7894 as well. The questions I have are:
If you get the EU radio, do you lose XM capability ?
What is DAB ? Is this an EU satellite broadcast ? I see some of the EU Alpines have this.
Do you have any kind of warranty that would get honored in the US ?
I have seen the 7894 as low as $299.95 at smilephotovideo (ad in Car and Driver). Is the 7893 in that price range ?
