- Ergonomic controls, clean display - Good tuner - 3 sets of 4 volt preouts for complete external amplification - Time Correction (speaker delay) - Adjustable bass crossover if you use a sub

- No auto dimming feature (should have it at this price point)

I originally wanted just a basic CD receiver to replace the stock tape unit in my Probe GT, and first got the Pioneer 3500. The Pioneer sounded great but the face had so much glare as to make it unreadable even on cloudy days (the dash is angled so that the head unit points up slightly, catching any and all light). There were also usability issues, with the tiny hard buttons and hard to use CD | >| feature, so back went the 3500. After doing a little more research I decided a unit that played MP3s might be useful... this time I went with the Alpine 9811. The 9811 is far more ergonomic than the Pioneer was, and the display is far more legible and useful. MP3 navigation is easy and fast. The unit looks great in my car's green trimmed black dash. The only problem is this particular model lacks the automatic display dimming when the headlights are in use (the Pioneer also lacked this). At night in the city it's OK, but on dark country roads the display is intollerably bright. However, you can shut off the display using the Blackout feature (but leaving the control buttons on, which is fine by me), which by the way Alpine also claims increases the sound quality by freeing up some power for the internal amp. Another option is to use the tilt angle feature to get the light out of your eyes. Funny how the model below this one, the 9807, has the dimmer feature (as do the models above, starting with the 9813), however the 9807s silver face did not match my cars' interior. As for the sound, it is noticibly better and clearer than the Ford "Premium Sound" system. This option in the Probe GT fitted a separate amplifier with the stock head unit, but one of obviously low power (which I bypassed using an aftermarket wiring harness designed for this purpose, so the speakers are getting the Alpine's amplification). The only downside to doing this is that the stock subwoofer is no longer able to function, as it was tied to the stock amp. I'm running the Alpine with aftermarket Kenwood 6" 3-way coaxials in the front, and JBL 5x7" 2-ways for the rear. With the 9811 teamed with these speakers, the sound is worlds better than the abismal stock system with its "dual cone" speakers + sub. Ford should be ashamed to have called it "Premium Sound," but that's another story. If I can transfer the Alpine to my next car I may get additional outboard amplification. The 9811 allows you to turn off the internal amplifier, a nice feature to keep the sound as "clean" as possible before sending it to an external amp. One other feature I like is Time Correction, which takes into account the fact that the driver is not positioned equidistant from each speaker. By applying a small delay to the closest speakers, it can sound as if you are exactly in the middle. This has a noticable effect, and I would recommend the 9811 over the cheaper 9807 for this feature alone.

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Pioneer 3500

Track selection speed is lightning quick! Swing face for different angles. Digital time Correction. MX restores lost compression....(Kind of like a fancy name for loudness function)

Nothing yet except the fact that there is no midrange control, but I knew that going in and now you do too. ( Could not afford to go up to 9813 for built in EQ. )

Fun little Toy. I just spent my first few hours with it and it got better by the minute. It has a lot of variables within so you can tweak the sound. Only thing I miss already is that there is no midrange adjustment setting. Getting clarion 7 band eq so that'll help. Really moves through track selections on Mp3 or WMA quick. The fastest by far!!!! Face has 4 positions that can be selected with it's swing face feature.

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Sony in dash MD Player.....night and day difference..the Alpine is sooo much better.