Customer Reviews
Great Unit. Lives up to Alpine's Reputation 
2008-08-10
This is the fourth Alpine head unit I have purchased; it's also the best. The IMPRINT sound system offfers crisp, clean sound. The amount of features is more than enough for just about anyone. Purchasing the hi-speed ipod connection cable is a must (Alpine KCE-422i). The interface is easy to use and Alpine's new blue display color (it can be changed to red or green) is great, as is the remote control unit. Definitely a great stereo!
wow 
2008-07-30
The cda-9887 is diffidently an audiophile deck; it is one of the best head units I have ever used. the only reasons I have given it a 4 star review are, the I pod control is just ok it will not allow you to return to the play list once you have selected a song without starting over. And the menu requires you to press too many buttons, alpine could have streamlined this. Although once you get the hang of it its no big deal. Also get the imprint it is the reason to buy this deck. If you use a Mac computer you will have to use a pc laptop from a friend (alpine + Mac = no dice) but once you set it up you will be amazed. The improvement is dramatic.
Alpine CDA-9887 Ultimate radio 2008-06-15
This product has amazing value. Sound quality is simply amazing. Sober look but delivers all you expect from this type of receiver.
Great Head Unit with Minor Flaws 2008-06-09
As I've only had this about a week, there are probably numerous things I don't yet know about this head unit. That said, I think there are a few flaws with it. When scrolling through songs using the rotary knob, it just feels natural to click or push the knob to select something. This doesn't work; you have to click the Enter button next to it. Also, I wish it was possible to customize the display more than what comes stock. Anyways, I would completely recommend this product and I would personally purchase it again. I love using the iPod with it; I never liked having 100 CDs in the car. A+ product!
Sound quality is what this headunit is all about 2007-12-17
It's up to you to decide if you want to get the unit calibrated with the imprint kit or not (you can rent the kit -- you will only use it once). If you choose to not use the imprint kit the headunit still gives better options than many others to tune a system without an external dsp. Built in EQ, crossovers and Time Alignment are enough for many.
I personally went with the imprint because I like what multeq does. Sounds smooth and full and just right. Besides, it's something you can't easily achieve yourself even with an external dsp.
And you don't need any treble/bass when you have a 5-band EQ. If you do, then maybe you don't want to tune it yourself which means you either 1) spend less and get a different headunit or 2) spend more and get the imprint.
Pros:
- Great sound quality, preamp output level and SNR.
- MultEQ XT -OR- great choice of tuning possibilities.
- Controls are on the friendly side.
- Easy to read display.
Cons:
- The available bluetooth kit is not so good. Other headunits have built-in bluetooth that works like a charm.
- MultEQ could have been integrated in the headunit itself to save everyone the hassle.
- Faceplate build quality is not the best compared to motorized fixed ones. I guess this is the case with all headunits with removable faceplates anyway. But it does stand out if compared to other removable ones.
Great deck.. Only 1 problem 2007-09-14
Experience the music the way the artist intended. The CDA-9887 is equipped with the amazing capabilities of IMPRINT. IMPRINT improves your in-car listening experience, creating unprecedented sound quality with full musical detail. If you like to tweak the sound, this premium head unit offers time correction, graphic or parametric equalizer and 3-way or 2-way crossover, plus you've got the three pairs of 4-Volt Pre-Outs. It's also ready for all of the latest media formats MP3, WMA and AAC music files. Plus, with Full Speed connection, you have access to iPod's music content with remarkable speed.
Alpine CDA-9887 Buyer Beware 
2007-09-09
I am posting this so other will not spend the time I have. There is a "feature" on the Alpine CDA-9887 that I do not believe Alpine has done a good job communicating. I know I am not the only one confused as I have seen similar questions posted on the internet.
Once you connect and set up the unit there is something glaringly missing. The unit does not display or allow you to change the bass or treble. It skips over those settings. So... I referred to the manual trying to find how you enable the bass and treble controls. After much research I find a footnote that says "When the MultEQ is set to off its level (bass and treble) cannot be adjusted". No problem. There is a MultEQ button on the front display. I press the button and nothing happens. So I consult the manual again to find out how to enable the MultEQ. There is a small section titled "Turning MultEQ on/off". It says to "Press MultEQ to select ON/OFF mode". Then I read also in this section "For details on the set up procedure, consult your authorized Alpine dealer. After consulting the on-line forums, I discover that to set up the MultEQ feature, you need a $250 KTX-100EQ kit which is not available until September. Therefore there is no bass and treble controls unless you buy a $250 kit and set up the MultEQ. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had just done a better job communicating this. However I probably would not have purchased this particular unit.
The work around is to use the built in equalizer but that is not convenient when you are driving down the road. The MultEQ is supposed to be better than sliced bread but you need to shell out some bread to find out. I also agree with the on-line forums that this unit is very cumbersome to configure. The buttons don't make much sense. Other than that it sounds good.
