Alpine IDA-X001

[tsunami]

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=300&i=500IDAX001&tp=5684


anyone have one of these or have an opinion on it? i think the price is fair now that its 270$ the only thing i don't like is its not a double din but i can deal just think its time to upgrade and i missed out on the pioneer double din i wanted cause personal $$ s*** came up.


thanks for your help guys/gals/

 

[tsunami]

(bump) anything?

 

[ecniemann]

This may show my age, but personally I do not like it. When I saw it in Crutchfield, it did not make sense to me. CD's still sound much better than mp3's. Mp3's are great for portable "walkman" type activities, but for home or car, they do not cut-it, unless ripped at a high bit-rate. CD's I have downloaded always have this odd, high pitched, distorted squeal associated with it. I do have a few that are good though, so probably depends on the software/bit-rate used.

Anyways, getting my personal biases out of the way, I just do not understand the need, when most people that have an I-pod can just connect it to a standard CD player via provided inputs and use that in addition to regular CD's. Or rip and burn a bunch of mp3's onto a CD-R and play it in a compatible player. My Alpine can do both of these scenarios. What do you like about this player compared to what I have suggested?

 

[tsunami]

i used apple lossless ripping for my ipod so it sounds as good as a cd to me the compression is so small my ears can't tell. and if i have the ipod then i have no need for cd's so why bother with a cd player? and all the reading i have done on it every one seems to like the ipod-alpine interface. as far as what i like about this compared to a cd player with an ipod interface i dunno but like i said why do i need a cd player now?

 

[ecniemann]

Yeah, I've heard the interface is good as well. So I guess if you are just looking for an easier way to navigate your stored music software while driving, this will do the trick. Probably go to an old fashioned brick and mortar store and play with it to see if you like it. Best Buy has been carrying Alpine for awhile now.

Apple lossless files are probably very near CD quality. I doubt I would be able to tell the difference either.

 

[chuyler1]

It's an interesting unit, but the price seems off base.

You can get a base level head unit from a number of manufacturers that comes with built-in iPod controller for $129...and that includes a CD/MP3 player in addition to the iPod control. So why would I spend exactly twice that price for a snazzy knob and interface? Most of the time you just set a playlist and forget it while you drive. If Alpine drops the price to $100-150 I might consider it but until then its a pipe dream.

 

[tsunami]

i do like the 2.2" color display it has as well as alpine sound and some of those other interfaces from what i understand are slooooow and suck. i have a kenwood deck on order for my GF and when it gets here i will see what i think of that its 100$ less and has a usb ipod port on the front.