white fish

I just bought/installed a Alpine CDA-9835
I have factory doors 4" and tweets 1" (Audi)
and 5 1/4 pioneers in the read deck
250/1 running a 10w3 in custom fiberglass box in trunk


I had a JVC KD-SH99 deck running before
and it sounded good nice crisp highs and tons of bass

now my systemsounds like $hit no matter waht I do I cand get rid of the mid harshness (I almost sound like AM radio)
bass in unpredictable some song are ok but others you cant even hear it

I know I dont have the greatests system but man the alpine was a step backwards

Tom.F.1

iTrader: (1)

I looked up your manual online, I suggest you read it.

It looks like the9835 was the 2004 predesesor to my unit the 9855, so has much the same functions.

Make sure you re-set as soon as you power up for the first time. Just like the manual says.

First, there are 2 switches on the bottom of the unit., one is for setting it for external processor, and if thats on, it would sound really bad, the second is for setting it for 2 or 3 way crossover mode. And again, if it's wrong, it would sould really bad. You didn't say how you're set up, i'll assume your running front/rear off deck power and the car has a built in crossover for the tweets?

second, you need to set crossovers and time alignment to match your system. I would suggest using the alpine i-personalize online configurator, downloading, burning onto cd, and uploading it to your deck.

Otherwise, get yourself a pot of coffee and a pack of smokes, bring your manual and magnifying glass and go through the procedure for setting crossover points and slopes for each of front, rear and sub.
(Hope you have the correct outputs hooked up where they should be.)
Then you need to set time alignment for all six speakers.
Get another coffee and more smokes, recharge your battery.
Then there are EQ settings and sub settings.

Once it's set up right, that alpine should blow away your JVC for SQ.

On the other hand, if you bought it used, and it's got a problem, that could be a whole different story.

white fish

time corection is set correctly and that sound great
FL 2ms
FR .9ms
RL 1.2ms
RR .9ms


I have th crossover set
sub 61hz set to 0db
fronts set to 125 at -1db
rears 160hz at -2db

should be about right?


the eq is set something like this

about 60hz spike with a width of 1 then drops right down just after 100 untill it spikes at about 12k hz and there is still too much mids for my likeing

I have noticed the it sound better with media expander turned off

I know the one switch is set to 2 way
but Im not sure about the other
I will check

Tom.F.1

iTrader: (1)

I think you should try the rears at 100, but try and see.
What are subs set at? 80?

white fish

the sub is set to 61hz

what do you think about running it flat and letting the crossover on the JL 250/1 do the work?


what range in vocals? I feel Im getting too much vocals

Tom.F.1

iTrader: (1)

I'd say no, the way you're set, you have nothing between 61 &125, and little between 125 & 160.
So, you'd be missing low mid-bass.

Vocals have a wide range, 400 to 3-4k Hz?

I like to try all settings possible, listen to what works and what doesn't.
Theory is, the better your speakers are, the less eq you'll need.

Alpines MX is a freq sensitive, glorified version of what they used to call loudness. Just extra processing. The kids like it.

Good Luck!

white fish

thanks man

I got get new component for my doors

6talldog

First, I would assume that everything is configured properly. Personally, I would not bother with the Media Expander. IMO, having it on always seems to degrade the sound, at least to my ears. Alpines have a distinct tonal quality. It is hard to describe, but they have never had a warm sound, at least in the last 5 years or so. They have a more dry, forward midrange than some other brands. You could try different midranges and essentially experiment until you find one that compliments the deck. I would suggest starting with something like a Vifa midrange. Also, try an active crossover as you can experiment with underlapped filters and tweak the output levels to produce the smooth sound you are looking for. Equalization will rarely compensate for less than optimal crossover configurations.

I currently have two Alpine decks sitting on the shelf but don't use them. One is a new CDA-7873 and the other is a new CDA-9857. Both have BBE processors. I sold my other Alpine deck that did not have BBE. I found that the BBE processor helps the Alpines achieve a much smoother and warmer sound. I see they have abandoned BBE yet again for their new 2007 lineup. That is a mistake IMO, but the royalties probably cut into their profit margin too much.

white fish

Im getting it to where I like it slowly

it doesnt have BBE it has Bass Engine® Pro and it has 26watts RMS (mostly the reason I bought it)

it not 100% to my likeing but Im going to get used to it

like I said above after I get new components in the doors it will be great

other then the reception (but I think thats a car issue)