Originally posted by ESC:
Honkey...which older Alpine models do you recommend? Just thinking of a simple CD deck, don't need all the fancy features.
If you are going for a bare bones HU but still might one day try to expand you have some options in the Alpine lineup.
If you would like to go brand new, the CDM-7874 is a fairly inexpensive HU that still looks quite nice and still has two preouts in case you ever decide to put in amplifiers. This would be the bare bones CD player to get this year (if you want Alpine)
You are looking older though so here are you best options,
The models from two years ago really weren't that great. Alpinr was climbing onto the fugly bandwagon that year and some HUs were problematic as it was the first year for thier motorised swivel faceplates
The models from three years ago, like the ones I put in the link for CBM were extremely nice looking HUs (best alpine has ever released so far) and judging from the abuse my brother puts on my old CDA-7838 it is built as tough as they come. I wouldn't go much further back than that as the Volume knob wasn't around the year before that. Unless you don't mind rocker switches (I hate them)
My cousin currently has a 1995 year Alpine HU in his Dodge Spirit. He always plays it too loud and the HU is still pumping out sound as well as it ever did, he has never had a problem. There is no such thing as too old it seems for these HUs.
If you can find a older top of the line model you should consider it. They sounded phenominal and had quite a few useful options (not just gimmicky doodahs) but you had to settle for a rocker switch. This would be a great addition to any car.
This would be the look three years back. Models to look at would be the CDA-7840 and up. That ensures you get 3 pre outs and subwoofer control.
Here is two years ago, like I said... fugly. During these dark ages it was hard to find an Alpine that looked nice, and the year before performed just as well. It also was plagues with extremely small buttons. I got rid of mine after only a year because I found it to be about equal to the CDA-7838 in terms of useful features, and the ergonimoics sucked. The only thing this year had going was more HUs had tripple Pre-outs
Last year (my current HU) went back to better styling and improved ergonomics, and the feature released are very useful to have. These HUs were very expandable too. Most HUs this year were 60x4W hybrids amped so they are great for any system, big or small. This is the lowest CDA form last year. It still has three preouts, but only a 45Wx4 power supply (not the hybrid amp) The display can be shut off.
If you can find a higher model from last year with the hybrid amp for a good price I would go with it. The difference between this year and last years models are almost non-existant, although more of this years models will play MP3 encoded CDs.
In a nutshell:
CDA-784_ models would probably be the best choice for you as thay would be very cheap now, and will be the most reliable HUs. If you do want to build up a system later try to get a model from last year if you can get a good price.
