# An Open letter to Alpine and its crap IMPRINT Software



## Remmy (Mar 22, 2011)

Dear Alpine,

You sold me on a CDA-117 headunit. I dont have the patience, nor the full understanding to tune by ear. So you sold me on an IMPRINT module and the kit thats sold separately. 

I have a sweet setup. I am using Eclipse 3-way components in all the doors in my car powered by a pretty decent Boston 4 channel amp... I would really like to hear this stuff really shine but...

After attempting every trick, secret, and voodoo to no avail, I still cant get further than an "Port Open Error". Ive used two different win7 computers running every compatibility mode imaginable... if it had Mac mode, I would have tried that too. I have scoured the internet for an entire week as well to make sure Im not fully retarded as to why I couldnt get past the Open Port Error.

Your tech support is very friendly and prompt albeit useless when it comes to IMPRINT and its crap software. I was told to try and find an actual winXP machine. It's *2011*. I havent owned or know anyone thats had XP since 2007! 

You supposedly put a ton of money into this set up and a long time worth of research but lets face it, the Imprint software is easily the most half-assed software Ive ever had the displeasure of working with. I'd estimate you hired a 13 year old for $100 and a coke to make the software. 

UPDATE YOUR EFFING SOFTWARE AND MAKE IT USER FRIENDLY

Anger bashing and eye gouging rage aside, if you are an Alpine rep or one of the kick ass members on this board and have an idea, please let me know.


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## laalves (Sep 17, 2008)

Have you plugged all cables before you open the software? That error happens if you don't plug the microphone BEFORE you open it. The software does not work standalone, just when BOTH the PC and microphone are plugged to the PXA.


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## Remmy (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestion friend. But Ive done it all... every combo you can think of from rebooting computer, cycling ignition reconnecting... everything. The only thing I can think of is the cord being bad but ive never ever ever had or seen or even heard of a usb cable being crap straight out the box. I dont have a spare either.


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## FAUEE (Jul 22, 2010)

Think of it this way, you've got a heck of a lot better chances of finding a windows XP machine to use than something running PALM to tune a RF 360 

That said, we have 2 windows XP machines still, though only 1 is currently operational. The other one had no power cord.


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## laalves (Sep 17, 2008)

Well, you may also have a bad PXA. Other than that, try running the software in Windows XP compatibility mode and in administrator mode. Further, you may try the newer driver. You can download it from http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Send it all back and start over with a Bit One....save yourself from all the unnecessary stress and frustration


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## monkeyboy (Jun 12, 2007)

I'd try a new USB cable. I can't tell you why, but my Bit One only likes the cable that came with it.

It's rare, but I have gotten bad USB cables.


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## VWTIm (Apr 10, 2010)

XP since 2007? HA, Our IT dept bought a BUNCH of XP licenses to get us thru the Vista crap era. I've got a couple XP machines.

Sorry about the trouble tho, interesting to know that it's not working well with Win7.


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

The imprint is junk, Alpine is a far cry from what it used to be when it comes to head units. Back in 2001 and earlier it was good stuff. Ten years later and what do we see? The same old look, head units with fewer features then 10 years ago, and ridiculous prices compared to the rest of the market. The last head good unit that was worth the time imo was the CDA9835. Hell a Sony CDX-GT650ui does more for half the price!!!

If you can afford to I would take out that imprint and put in a bit one or similar piece. You will be a lot happier. I know of one high end store that did a full imprint/focal install that used the imprint. In the end the car sounded terrible for the amount of work and the type of gear in the car. They ended up using a kicker zxsum 8 and the sound was unbelievable.


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## laalves (Sep 17, 2008)

I guess that boils down to opinions and particular setups. I have the setup you see in my sig and that beats hands down other Pios and Clarions I've had and/or heard, for example. The current Imprint crop has Audyssey DSP technology (albeit the standard version, no XT or XT32) which is possibly the best available for consumer use.

There is a big, big issue, though, and that is market tastes. Most car audio people don't enjoy flat frequency responses, they want a largely inflated bass response. It's from the bass people that that I read and hear the most complaints about Imprint/Audyssey. Home hifi people (I consider myself as one) spend great efforts and money in getting just the opposite: flat responses, and that was Alpine's aim with Imprint.

That's why Alpine released the PXE-H660 after the H650. The H660 recommends that the user reduces the sub level/gain before the setup, so that it may be "upped" afterwards. This is ridiculous, since it defeats the whole purpose. Not only that, Alpine is unfortunately dropping Audyssey with the upcoming PXA-H800 so that the user is able to change the results of the auto-setup which I don't think Audyssey would let them do. That's a shame for flat people like me.

My current setup is fully Audyssey, all amplifier gains fully down to 4V sensitivity (I have 8 150W amp channels available), 2 channels bridged to a twin driver (Focal 13WS) parallel wired sub and all other channels going into all other speakers. The sub as at "0" in the HU. And for me, that is perfect, no bass boost. I have had car audio people listening to my setup who look at me in disbelief at how crappy my sound is and I have had home hifi people congratulating me on how good my sound is. Taste, taste, taste.

So: if you label yourself as a audiophile/hifi kind of guy, go Imprint/Audyssey. If you're a car audio bass junkie, absolutely forget about the current crop of Imprint/Audyssey.

The next-gen PXA-H800 has a new Imprint version that was developed by Alpine, and will let you fully tinker with the results of the auto-setup, so let's see how it goes.


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## Remmy (Mar 22, 2011)

laalves said:


> I guess that boils down to opinions and particular setups. I have the setup you see in my sig and that beats hands down other Pios and Clarions I've had and/or heard, for example. The current Imprint crop has Audyssey DSP technology (albeit the standard version, no XT or XT32) which is possibly the best available for consumer use.
> 
> There is a big, big issue, though, and that is market tastes. Most car audio people don't enjoy flat frequency responses, they want a largely inflated bass response. It's from the bass people that that I read and hear the most complaints about Imprint/Audyssey. Home hifi people (I consider myself as one) spend great efforts and money in getting just the opposite: flat responses, and that was Alpine's aim with Imprint.
> 
> ...



I do consider myself somewhat hi-fi. My fav decks used to be Eclipse until they pulled out the market. No, Im not a bass head but I do enjoy a little kick. If any constellation I run two 8" subs as to me they sound great and I only use them to make up for the lack the doors cant do. I might upgrade to a single 10 in the future. I dont however have the cash to throw at a set of Mores or a good set of DLS's though.

Maybe I should have gone with the Pioneer P99rs? I decided against it since I figured throwing money at car audio isnt always the answer.


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## ttocs388 (Jun 25, 2010)

I loved the ease of use of the imprint, but I did have an old xp laptop to use with it.


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## JohnSmallberries (Aug 8, 2005)

Are you running Windows 7 32bit or 64 bit?

Have you thought about using vmware player with a windows xp OS running inside that? You can run Windows XP and connect your USB port to that VM and have everything work that way probably. Or use microsoft's virtual pc.

Where can you get a vm image for running in one of these? 

from microsoft of course!

Download details: Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image (use the XPSP3-IE8.EXE image would be my suggestion)

it expires, sure but it is free! if you use vmware player you'll have to convert from the MS image format, but I like vmware better. (and player is free too).


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## JohnSmallberries (Aug 8, 2005)

If you have Windows 7 Ultimate or Windows 7 Professional you have the option of installing "Windows XP Mode" which is a windows xp vm that runs inside your OS instead of "compatibility mode" which doesn't work the same.


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

Bought authorized? If so, send it back or let the dealer set it up? If not, suck it up and make it work? You should have done the research to known it had problem with Windows7 OS. Sorry can empathize with you here...


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## laalves (Sep 17, 2008)

Just a note: from my own actual experience, Imprint 2.10 works perfectly with Windows 7 Ultimate 32, Vista 32 Ultimate and XP Pro 32. It even works with W7 Ultimate under Parallels in Mac OS X. These are the OSs I have used it in the last 3 years.


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## flexdmc (Aug 14, 2009)

azngotskills said:


> Bought authorized? If so, send it back or let the dealer set it up?


Exactly my thoughts


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## JohnSmallberries (Aug 8, 2005)

laalves said:


> Just a note: from my own actual experience, Imprint 2.10 works perfectly with Windows 7 Ultimate 32, Vista 32 Ultimate and XP Pro 32. It even works with W7 Ultimate under Parallels in Mac OS X. These are the OSs I have used it in the last 3 years.


Where can you get updated versions of the Imprint client? I can't find it on Alpine-USA.com's support site and google wasn't much help. I'm about to install a PXE-H660 and it comes with 2.2.9...



azngotskills said:


> Bought authorized? If so, send it back or let the dealer set it up? If not, suck it up and make it work? You should have done the research to known it had problem with Windows7 OS. Sorry can empathize with you here...


I posted an easy way to make older versions of software work with Windows 7. You can also use the same idea to make it work with a MAC as well if you use VMware Fusion or another similar OSX product to run Windows. Just have to convert the MS provided images I linked to the correct format for your virtualization software. This works for any legacy tool btw, not just imprint.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Remmy said:


> Dear Alpine,
> 
> You sold me on a CDA-117 headunit. I dont have the patience, nor the full understanding to tune by ear. So you sold me on an IMPRINT module and the kit thats sold separately.
> 
> ...


Interesting first post.. 

So, basically what you are saying is you are both to lazy and passive to tune your own system in a way that YOU like it... 

SO, you cave and allow a computer generated algorithm to tune your car through some cheap ass microphone that couldn't HOPE to emulate YOUR ears.. 

And you aren't happy and it's somehow crap

Go figure..


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## St. Dark (Mar 19, 2008)

Dammnit, Aaron! Posted while I was still reading!

Basically, what it seems you are saying is you lack the ability to tune yourself. So you obtained a spoonfeed processor. And are also apparently lacking in the ability to run the software. So you trash the software, saying it is no good; when in reality you wouldn't know as you haven't been able to get it going. 
So you say you considered getting a Pioneer...but didn't (apparently because you remembered you would still need to get it tuned).

A softer approach would probably have gotten you a little less flack. The issue seems to be an IT one, so I think your frustration has you directing it in the wrong direction. 

Take it back to your dealer, and see if they will work out a reasonable price for tuning it. Or if they have an XP laptop that they'll let you use there at the shop for a few bucks (one would think they set them up themselves from time to time, although depending on what else is on the lappy and what else they use it for they may not want to rent it out). 
Or of course, as you asked, maybe someone near you has a laptop and will work with you to tune it. It does do a decent job, especially for the price it sells for. Can you get better? Yes. But your back to doing it manually or getting someone to do that for you.


laalves - I hear what you're saying. Do know that even the 'H650 told you to set gains prior to MultEQ, and then readjust after. And don't be sad about the 'H800 letting you under the hood after the fact- you can STILL leave it alone. Although with the 650/660 units, I have had to go in and adjust gross time correction around half the time just a tad. So it's not inherently bad that you can make post MultEQ adjustments. It's all in who's doing them and what they are going for. Plus sometimes giving someone a mostly "correct" preset but that still caters to their tastes, and another one that is more technically accurate, is a good way to slowly wean them from the teat of too much bass and sibilant treble. In theory, the 'H800 would be your cake and eating it, too.


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

Remmy said:


> If any constellation I run two 8" subs


If any constellation
constellation


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Interesting first post..
> 
> So, basically what you are saying is you are both to lazy and passive to tune your own system in a way that YOU like it...
> 
> ...


Um, no.

He bought a product based on what it advertised and isn't happy because he can't get it to work.

Simple as that.


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## St. Dark (Mar 19, 2008)

brianhj said:


> Um, no.
> 
> He bought a product based on what it advertised and isn't happy because he can't get it to work.
> 
> Simple as that.



Actually:



Remmy said:


> Dear Alpine,
> 
> I dont have the patience, nor the full understanding to tune by ear.



And, based on the advertising:


Alpine said:


> It uses a USB connection to a PC, and dedicated software and microphone to allow *your dealer* to quickly achieve acoustic calibration that would normally take a tuning professional many hours or even days to do.


Ideally, whoever sold him the tuning package should have gone through with him if he was capable of actually utilizing it, including advising him of potential computer hardware issues. Assuming there was any face-to-face contact there. But to be mad at Alpine because he is having computer compatibility issues with something aimed at the dealer-use level...like I said: he's frustrated. I get that. I'd be bummed, too. But I think the frustration is leaking out onto parties not necessarily deserving of it.


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

Umm it says in the manual it only works with windows XP. And you're mad it isn't working right while using windows 7? God I hate customers.


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## laalves (Sep 17, 2008)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Interesting first post..
> SO, you cave and allow a computer generated algorithm to tune your car through some cheap ass microphone that couldn't HOPE to emulate YOUR ears..


Computer's are unable to generate algorithms, they run programs, written by humans, based on algorithms developed by humans.

The microphone in the KTX-H100 kit is not, by any means a cheap a** microphone. On the contrary, if you measure it, you'll notice it is actually very flat and linear. It is actually an extremely good calibrated microphone that compares well against other professional microphones in 200US$ range. Even the housing shape is carefully designed.

Please note I have no affiliation with Alpine, Audyssey or any dealer or any other sort of car or home audio company professional. I'm just a consumer like yourself.


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## laalves (Sep 17, 2008)

St. Dark said:


> Dammnit, Aaron! Posted while I was still reading!
> laalves - I hear what you're saying. Do know that even the 'H650 told you to set gains prior to MultEQ, and then readjust after. And don't be sad about the 'H800 letting you under the hood after the fact- you can STILL leave it alone. Although with the 650/660 units, I have had to go in and adjust gross time correction around half the time just a tad. So it's not inherently bad that you can make post MultEQ adjustments. It's all in who's doing them and what they are going for. Plus sometimes giving someone a mostly "correct" preset but that still caters to their tastes, and another one that is more technically accurate, is a good way to slowly wean them from the teat of too much bass and sibilant treble. In theory, the 'H800 would be your cake and eating it, too.


I know the H650 very well, I've had one for about two years in one of my cars. The H660 has a different setup procedure that specifically asks to dial down the sub level and after the automated run, dial it up again. This, effectively negates the purpose of the Audyssey concept.

I too, don't think it's a bad thing to be able to change the result of the auto-setup of any processor, on the contrary. What I meant is that the Audyssey DSP technology is way more than an equalizer, be it of the fixed or variable frequency interval type, which is to say, that if it is changed afterwards with traditional methods (time alignment, equalization, etc), the whole idea of the Audyssey DSP is lost.

At home, I have a TAGMcLaren processor with which I use Room EQ Wizard by John Mulcahy. This is a wonderful combination that has an auto procedure that allows to save a lot of time on a first approach using traditional methods. The automated setup allows for a very high level of customization and the resulting response may also be adjusted in any way you like. After all the changes are done to own's liking, the filters are downloaded to the processor and voilá, all done.

However, this highly sophisticated software is not as sophisticated or complex as the proprietary Audyssey DSP, particularly the newer XT and XT32 versions.

I'm happy with both methods I have available (Audyssey and Room EQ Wizard), but if the objective is a flat response, Audyssey beats all methods I've seen.

As I read someone else in this forum, for my taste it's a pity the H800 doesn't come with XT32, allowing for a bunch of target curves, including some with bass boosts.


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

Angrywhopper said:


> Umm it says in the manual it only works with windows XP. And you're mad it isn't working right while using windows 7? God I hate customers.


I hate retailers with this attitude. 

It's 2011. Alpine/Audyssey/Whoever needs to update their software. I've used it, it is crap. I'm not talking about the algorithms and under the hood stuff... but in all other aspects it crap. From the user interface to the cryptic error messages.

Also, as a computer programmer, I know IT WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH. They just don't bother.


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

brianhj said:


> I hate retailers with this attitude.
> 
> It's 2011. Alpine/Audyssey/Whoever needs to update their software. I've used it, it is crap. I'm not talking about the algorithms and under the hood stuff... but in all other aspects it crap. From the user interface to the cryptic error messages.
> 
> Also, as a computer programmer, I know IT WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH. They just don't bother.


It doesn't matter what year it is. The Imprint manual clearly states you need a Windows XP machine. If you don't have an XP computer, you buy something else. What my point is when a customer is complaining about something that isin't Alpines fault. THEY TOLD YOU WHAT OS YOU NEED BEFORE PURCHASING.


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

It is laziness on Alpine's part.


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## St. Dark (Mar 19, 2008)

Granted. I was annoyed that the PXA-H900 had a serial connection, versus USB. :shrug: Didn't stop me from owning one. Just made sure I had a compatible adapter.

And - there is at least an equal portion of laziness on the part of the OP.


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## JohnSmallberries (Aug 8, 2005)

Angrywhopper said:


> It doesn't matter what year it is. The Imprint manual clearly states you need a Windows XP machine. If you don't have an XP computer, you buy something else. What my point is when a customer is complaining about something that isin't Alpines fault. THEY TOLD YOU WHAT OS YOU NEED BEFORE PURCHASING.


Dude, calm down. 

Have you looked at the box for one of these units? The only way to KNOW you need Windows XP is to buy the thing and read the manual (or do online research which you'd think the dealer would hopefully also be aware of, and bother to tell the buyer. But a lot of dealers aren't very computer savvy so maybe they didn't understand.).

For example, check out Crutchfield's postings for the H660 or the H100
Alpine PXE-H660 IMPRINT™ sound processor — get top performance from a full audio system while retaining your factory stereo at Crutchfield.com

Alpine PXA-H100 IMPRINT™ Audio Processor Tunes your Alpine receiver to your vehicle's acoustics - Hands-on Research at Crutchfield.com

No mention of computer system requirements / OS versions anywhere. I didn't read every review but i didn't find one that mentions it either.

What's with the hostility in this thread? Geez.

There's a workaround anyhow so you dont have to find a laptop with Windows XP on it.

To put the comment that Alpine is lazy into context..

Date of general availability for XP
*December 31, 2001*

Retail software end of sales for XP
*June 30, 2008*

End of sales for PCs with preinstalled Windows XP
*October 22, 2010 *

Microsoft doesn't sell XP anymore and hasn't for almost *THREE *years. Yes you could still buy a dell with XP on it because there were so many issues with Vista and corporations didn't adopt that OS version.

Windows Vista general availability
*January 30, 2007* (Over* 4* years ago!)

Windows 7 general availability
*October 22, 2009* (A year and a half this has been out)

You can hate on the OP as much as you like for complaining about being too lazy to tune but the argument that he should have known about the XP requirement really is a non starter.. Alpine didn't do a good job with marking the boxes or making the system requirements well known. (edit: I clearly read the OP saying that Alpine support told him about the XP stuff AFTER he had the unit and couldn't get the software working correctly. Yeah okay maybe he didn't see that in the manual but that doesn't mean he's at fault, the product was purchased and installed by that point.)

I can only assume thats because they were thinking the dealers would be the ones doing the laptop tuning?


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

laalves said:


> Computer's are unable to generate algorithms, they run programs, written by humans, based on algorithms developed by humans.
> 
> The microphone in the KTX-H100 kit is not, by any means a cheap a** microphone. On the contrary, if you measure it, you'll notice it is actually very flat and linear. It is actually an extremely good calibrated microphone that compares well against other professional microphones in 200US$ range. Even the housing shape is carefully designed.
> 
> Please note I have no affiliation with Alpine, Audyssey or any dealer or any other sort of car or home audio company professional. I'm just a consumer like yourself.


If you would like to split hairs, that's fine, doesn't matter... The art of tuning is lost with Imprint/MS-8 type things.. 

Give the computer a shot right, it's got to know what you like..


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

JohnSmallberries said:


> Dude, calm down.
> 
> Have you looked at the box for one of these units? The only way to KNOW you need Windows XP is to buy the thing and read the manual (or do online research which you'd think the dealer would hopefully also be aware of, and bother to tell the buyer. But a lot of dealers aren't very computer savvy so maybe they didn't understand.).
> 
> ...


I never meant to come off as hostile. The reason I got a lil ticked off was that the OP knew that imprint software works only with XP and he's complaining to Alpine that it didn't work with windows 7.


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

JohnSmallberries said:


> Dude, calm down.
> 
> Have you looked at the box for one of these units? The only way to KNOW you need Windows XP is to buy the thing and read the manual (or do online research which you'd think the dealer would hopefully also be aware of, and bother to tell the buyer. But a lot of dealers aren't very computer savvy so maybe they didn't understand.).
> 
> ...


What he said. x10


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## CraigMBA (Nov 19, 2010)

Angrywhopper said:


> God I hate customers.


Yeah, me too. I'm curious what the OP's dealer has to say about this, but I suspect he didn't buy it from a dealer.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

I run Windows XP.


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## djcantr (Mar 1, 2011)

The other day I ordered one of the PXA-H100s from a local dealer along with the mic kit. I didn't realize before that it was only compatible with XP. I have one laptop with Vista and another with Windows Home Premium 7 64 bit. Am I going to be able to get this thing working with either of these two laptops?


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## langlowe (Oct 11, 2010)

Shame on any manufacture to require windows XP for the software they provide. 

This far along in the game they should have already rewritten it for at least vista.


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## SoulFly (Mar 15, 2011)

I can understand the complaint, but the solution is simple. Download the stupid XP OS off of one of thousands of torrents ...you don't need to pirate the key, just use as 30 day trial. There are plenty of sites to get the plain ol OEM copy and use as trial as that's legal or get illegal key, whichever, its a freaking dead OS anyway.
Now download a Virtual Machine software like Virtuabox and install.

it may not be the preferred way by some, but reality here is getting what you need to get done, cause complaining to Alpine won't do it. However in their defense, 66% of all computer users still use XP.
tomshardware.com/news/Windows-XP-Windows-7-Windows-Vista-OS-Market-Share-xp,11412.html


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## Dmanj (Jan 2, 2011)

i have this same problem with mine, and i am using windows XP SP2, tried multiple usb cables aswell


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## Irishdrunk (Feb 22, 2011)

It is very sad that they just don't update it, or port it, or something. It's bad enough they make us by an add on processor to get the same features that were coming built in 6 or 7 years ago, but to just let the software sit on the shelf and continue to suck blows my mind.

Don't even get me started on not being allowed to tweak the measurement results either...


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## JohnSmallberries (Aug 8, 2005)

djcantr said:


> The other day I ordered one of the PXA-H100s from a local dealer along with the mic kit. I didn't realize before that it was only compatible with XP. I have one laptop with Vista and another with Windows Home Premium 7 64 bit. Am I going to be able to get this thing working with either of these two laptops?


Okay here's a quick stab at answering an important question...
I need to run Windows XP stuff from my Windows 7 box! What can I do?


There are a couple of options. They are all Virtual Machines that you run within your existing copy of windows or a Mac with OSX that is intel based. 

(I'm not going to get into details of the OSX solution but you can use the links I post to get the OS free and run it using VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop.)


Windows 7 using "Windows XP mode"
Virtual PC using Microsoft XP time trial image
Other Virtualization software using Microsoft XP time trial or full XP install

Windows 7 using "Windows XP mode"
Go here and download Windows XP mode for your Windows 7 system.
Download Windows XP Mode
You have to download a couple packages to make this work but you can connect your USB device to the Windows XP mode 
Boot up the image, pop your software into your laptop cdrom and you should be able to connect it to the cd drive via the shared drive links in My Computer in the XP box. You'll probably have to copy the contents of the CD to a local folder to get it to install (you'll probably get an error about installs over RDP being disallowed if you dont.)
When you are ready to try connecting to your imprint processor:
Follow the instructions here to connect the USB device to the XP image How to Connect USB Devices to a Virtual PC Virtual Machine which should allow you to use the alpine software.

Virtual PC using Microsoft XP time trial image
Download Virtual PC (free tool from microsoft) Windows Virtual PC: Home Page
Then download one of these expiring images that Microsoft gives away free for compatibility testing. This link may change in a few months from this post date. Microsoft frequently makes these available though.
Download details: Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image
Use the XPSP3-IE8.EXE image would be my suggestion...
Boot up the image, pop your software into your laptop cdrom and you should be able to connect it to the cd drive via the shared drive links in My Computer in the XP box. You'll probably have to copy the contents of the CD to a local folder to get it to install (you'll probably get an error about installs over RDP being disallowed if you dont.)
When you are ready to try connecting to your imprint processor:
Follow the instructions here to connect the USB device to the XP image How to Connect USB Devices to a Virtual PC Virtual Machine which should allow you to use the alpine software.

Other Virtualization software using Microsoft XP time trial or full XP install
Download Virtual Box or download VMware Player or VMware Workstation (not free) and then you'll need VMware Converter to migrate from the Virtual PC image to VMware's format.

Use the XPSP3-IE8.EXE image would be my suggestion...
Just like the options above you'll have to install the imprint software inside your guest and then connect the VM to your USB connection so that it can talk to the processor when you run the imprint software.

These options are not Apline software specific. In theory any software that requires USB or Serial connections from an XP system to run software should work like this. Keep in mind that not all virtualization software is the same, VMware Workstation and Virtual Box are the best options, VMware player is a close second place, Virtual PC from microsoft is the most basic and the most likely to run into compatibility issues. VMware Workstation isn't free but you can get a 60 day free trial. the other options are free.

I hope this is helpful in solving some issues for folks. It's not a full howto, but it should get your started. If this is useful information I can repost it in another thread.. but I'm not sure where this kind of a post should go.


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

Irishdrunk said:


> It is very sad that they just don't update it, or port it, or something. It's bad enough they make us by an add on processor to get the same features that were coming built in 6 or 7 years ago, but to just let the software sit on the shelf and continue to suck blows my mind.
> 
> Don't even get me started on not being allowed to tweak the measurement results either...


I agree. It's sad how companies release these products then don't continue to support them. But they still love to advertise how great they are! I mean it's had what? One update? and it was a minor update to allow you to choose which head unit you're using. So lame.


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## jhnkvn (Mar 26, 2011)

Good thing I'm eyeing the JBL MS8 rather than the Alpine...


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## emrliquidlife (Jan 19, 2008)

I sympathize to some degree. I had to try and try to get the Impring software to work off of a Windows Vista machine. Eventually I got it to work. I think it was plugging everything in prior to operating the software. 

The results are well worth it.


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## St. Dark (Mar 19, 2008)

Irishdrunk said:


> It is very sad that they just don't update it, or port it, or something. It's bad enough they make us by an add on processor to get the same features that were coming built in 6 or 7 years ago, but to just let the software sit on the shelf and continue to suck blows my mind.
> 
> Don't even get me started on not being allowed to tweak the measurement results either...


Alpine didn't have radios that tuned themselves 6 or 7 years ago. They DID have the manual part, but hardly anybody ever seemed to get the DSP actually set (much less correctly) so they took it out and lowered the price of most of the radios.
The '117 still has BassEngine Pro built in, or for a whopping $150 you get Imprint. No, it doesn't let you tinker under the hood, which I'll confess mildly annoyed me, too...but then again, it's a buck fifty! Get the 'H650-660 if you want some tinkerin', or go with something like a BitOne/360.2/Zapco processor and you can REALLY tinker away!
If you want help getting started, the MS8 fits the bill or wait for the 'H800.


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## djcantr (Mar 1, 2011)

St. Dark said:


> Alpine didn't have radios that tuned themselves 6 or 7 years ago. They DID have the manual part, but hardly anybody ever seemed to get the DSP actually set (much less correctly) so they took it out and lowered the price of most of the radios.
> The '117 still has BassEngine Pro built in, or for a whopping $150 you get Imprint. No, it doesn't let you tinker under the hood, which I'll confess mildly annoyed me, too...but then again, it's a buck fifty! Get the 'H650-660 if you want some tinkerin', or go with something like a BitOne/360.2/Zapco processor and you can REALLY tinker away!
> If you want help getting started, the MS8 fits the bill or wait for the 'H800.


What do you mean it doesn't let you tinker under the hood? It does let you adjust active crossover settings manually as well as some adjustment of the EQ, right?


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## brianhj (Apr 9, 2009)

djcantr said:


> What do you mean it doesn't let you tinker under the hood? It does let you adjust active crossover settings manually as well as some adjustment of the EQ, right?


If you call bass/treble sliders "some adjustment of the EQ", then yeah it does. Otherwise, no.

I THINK turning imprint off and changing crossovers / eq / ta and then turning imprint back on affects how imprint sounds. But i'm not certain.

For the most part, there is no tinkering under the hood with imprint.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

I just wanted to say to anyone with Imprint, make sure you install the USB drivers before installing any software! They are on the CD in a separate folder. There is a driver installer. After I did this, I had no more errors (Error -2 and Error 0014). This is on XP.


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## McIntosh 431 mobile (Aug 5, 2015)

Wow, what heal I must be.. A buddy of mine gave me an Alpine HU that is Imprint ready but it sounds like I won't get the MultiEQ feature. Ever. 
And I just ordered one today out of Italy for $217 USD. 

I have a simple three way system and the only solution I can think of to get the "500 EQ points" is to run a temporary passive Xover between my door speaker and tweeter, and hang the tweeter near the 7" Focal Polyglass in the doors to emulate a full range speaker.
But then I only use two of the three sets of RCA's. 

Then I guess I can put the tweeter back on the dash and do manual time alignment and electronic Xover. 
Or can I (I asked a five year dead thread..)?

Eric


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