Alpine CDA 7969 CD Receiver

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $800.00 from BROOKLYNS BEST AUDIO

Year / Model Reviewed:
2000 ALPINE 7969

Summary:
THE 7969 WAS THE DECK TO GET! I INSTALLED IT IN MY 76 CADDY ALONG WITH THE CHS A624 6 DISC CHANGER , SO FAR SO GOOD THE MB QUART 200.03KX'S I FABRRICATED THE PODS ON THE FRONT DOORS WERE MADE FOR THAT DECK.CRYSTAL CLEAR ! SINCE I USE A SLAVE ALTERNATOR AND OPTIMA YELLOWTOP BATTERY FOR THE SYSTEM ALONE, THERE IS NO ENGINE NOISE PERIOD. WAITING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WITH THE SET AT ALMOST HALF THE VOLUME I SPOTTED POLICMAN CROSSING THE STREET IN MY GENERAL DIRECTION. WELL HERE IT COMES MY FIRST TICKET FOR HAVING THE STEREO TOO LOUD. I FUMBELED FOR THE MUTE BUTTON, BUT HIT THE PAUSE BY ACCIDENT, ALL THE GUY WaNTED TO KNOW IS IF THE CAR WAS FOR SALE! WHEWW.... BUT THATS NOT IT I HAD THE CD CHANGER PLAYING AND IMMIDIATLY NOTICED A LOUD WHITE NOISE HISS WHILE IN PAUSE MODE. I PULLED OVER ( LATER ON) AND TRIED A DISC IN THE SET ITSELF. QUIET AS A MOUSE... I WENT DIRECTLY TO WHERE I BOUGHT IT AND WE SWAPPED OUT CHANGERS , SAME THING .HISSSSSSS IN AUSE MODE AFTER ALOT OF PHONE CALLS TO ALPINE THEY INSISTED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SET IT SELF. FINALLY I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A MOD TO DO FOR THAT PARITCULAR PROBLEM. THEY WERE CAGEY ABOUT ANSWERING AND DIRECTING THE QUESTION TO THE PROPER DEPT. AFTER MY PATIENCE RAN OUT AND EXPLAINED I WAS ABOUT TO RETURN THE SET TO WHERE I BOUGHT IT THEY CALLED BACK AND SAID THERE IS A DEPT AND A MOD WE NEED TO DO WE JUST DONT NEED TO DO IT OFTEN. THE SET WAS UNDER WARRANTY SO I SENT IT IN. IT RETURNED 2 WEEKS LATER , NOW YOU CAN BARELY HEAR THE HISS IN PAUSE W/ THE CHANGER PLAYING . I EXPECT THIS CRAP FROM A SET I BOUGHT ON EBAY I TOLD EM , I SINCE SOLD THE CAR AND REMOVED THE SET. HAVENT USED IT AGAIN.

Strengths:
NICE..... CLEAR DISPLAY, EXTREMLY COOL MECHANICS.

Weaknesses:
VIRTUALLY NO CONTROLS WITH THE REMOTE. (my last set was the dex-p1r)da convertor makes it a tight fit even in a 76 caddy eldo dash, if they take it they get the entire set... the pahntom face is cool but i wouldent go to the movies with the car and ny girl and leave it parked . you can see its either a tv or a 7969 by the space between the face and deck when its closed.

Similar Products Used:
alpine 7949, 7965, pioneer dexp1r,

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $1200.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Alpine CDA-7969

Summary:
A great head unit with lot of cool functions. A very expensive HU with the same factory warranty as a cheap $200 HU. Had couple of problem with this HU. The display blanked out forever after the first year of use, and have problem with the mechanical part for the face.

Strengths:
Awsome deck when still working

Weaknesses:
Problem with display and mechanical parts.

Similar Products Used:
Eclipse 5506, Alpine 7965

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Aspen Sound

Year / Model Reviewed:
2002 CDA 7969

Summary:
I could not make this deck sound acceptable until I purchased an Alpine digital sound processor. The EQ is terrible. Who would purchase a $1000 audiophile deck, and then hook it up to a cheezy, analog 5-band EQ? In my car (Audi A4) I needed all of the 31-band digital EQ and time correction (EQ because of the car acoustics; time correction because the tweeters and midrange drivers are so far apart). You cannot use the time correction (or crossover) in the deck without leaving the deck EQ in the loop. There are two things that I find very frustrating about this deck. There is no way to dim all the lights. In fact, if you hook up the light wire (I did not) it dims only the display and lights you want to see (when you turn the headlights on), but leaves the obnoxious lights on always - unless you turn off the deck (even in the blackout mode!). Also, you are not able to see the deck at night unless it is on. Maybe that is why it will turn on no matter what deck button you push. You just have to get your finger in the general location, then fumble around until you find some button on the deck. Light hookups on other decks allow you to dim the lights along with the instrumentation lights, and give you the option of having some lighting while the deck is off. The other frustration is how long it takes to turn the darn thing off. You have to hold the button for 5 seconds (handy while you're driving), then wait another 5 seconds for it to turn off (while the faceplate display says goodbye). It is obvious that it was designed for a car stereo showroom, and not a car. The deck has been trouble-free, and I recommend it only for use with a digital processor. One other note. You cannot use the internal crossover in the blackout mode (which bypasses the EQ and other processors), even though you can in the CDA 7965.

Strengths:
Sound Quality if used as a digital-out deck. Does not skip very often.

Weaknesses:
Sound quality is poor at analog output. Sound processing should not be on their flagship deck. Lighting is not well designed for a car. It takes 10 seconds to turn it off.

Similar Products Used:
Alpine CDA 7965

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This HU is absolutly amazing. :) I've had lots of different HU's throughout the years and this unit destroys them all, the SQ of it is outstanding period!! the features, it's loaded, digital output,6 position time correction, A1net capable and 7 band equalizer plus many more make this HU one of the best, if not the best in it's price range.

Strengths:
Awesome SQ with awesome features, plus it looks awesome at night.

Weaknesses:
Not a one. :)

Similar Products Used:
Alpine, Panasonic, Eclipse, Sony, Kenwood

Price Paid:  $1000.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2001

Summary:
Very good product, but separate filter and ''normal'' receiver is better.

Strengths:
Very good stand alone-unit.

Weaknesses:
Black mode only useable with additional filter.