# comparison: alpine 9833, eclipse cd5000, pioneer 7800



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

within just a couple months, i had all 3 headunits in my dash. here's my reviews.

pioneer 7800mp-looked good in my dash while turned off or in blackout mode (didn't care for the display that called attention to itself). however, the display had a plethora of different color combinations to make it visible in any light and to match with the interior dashlights.
setup was easy. however, i didn't like the jog control. i always had a tendancy af fatfingering it. and i didn't like having to go in and hunt my preset radiostations through the list. just too hazardous while driving. signal from the 4v preouts were strong. features were plentiful but crossovers weren't quite up to snuff even though they are worlds better than a lot of the stuff out. the 16-band graphic eq might appeal to most, but bending a curve will only do so much no matter how many preset bands you have. i wasn't impressed with it. timealignment was decent but cheezy at the same time. definately could have been laid out a little different. the sound was somewhat tinny no matter what. i've never had a pioneer that didn't sound tinny though. overall, it's a great deck for someone who cares more about looks than sound. while it sounded good, it just wasn't in the same league as the eclipse or alpine.

eclipse cd5000-fairly classy looking deck when installed, but didn't care for the chrome knobs. just looked cheap. the knobs were touchy too. you could literally almost sneeze on them and change tracks or volume. i'm a little twitchy in nature and this was more frustrating than me fatfingering issues with the pioneer. display was dull and hard to read. it was impossible to read with the sun shining in the truck. to see what time it was in the daytime, i usually had to look at my watch.
the crossovers on this deck weren't to my liking at all. you couldn't control each individually. just had one number between the two that you set together and then adjust the slope. the 8v signal was strong, but didn't feel much stronger than the pioneer or the alpine. however, the depth of the sound beat the snot out of the pioneer and alpine both. i was told and it also said on the box that the cd5000 can do 3-way active with an 11-band peq, but nowhere in the manual did it say it would do this. this is the ONLY reason i bought it in the first place. i would have kept the pioneer if i would have known what i know now. time alignment was a joke and i'll leave it at that. the manual was vague and didn't explain enough in depth. i'm sure i didn't come close to tuning this deck to its potential, but i've felt eclipse was a fishy company with horrible tech support for many years. their products might sound good, but the headunits have too many hiccup issues. no wonder very few sq competitors use eclipse headunits. they just aren't worth what you pay for them. the parametric eq was easy to use. sad thing is the peq was the only thing the cd5000 had going for it.

alpine 9833-i originally bought this unit back in march of 05 and sold it to dejo in march of 06. not liking the pioneer or eclipse very much, i traded him the pioneer straight up for it. financial, i took a hit but after wasting several hundred bucks on 2 upper end headunits i realized i should have kept the alpine in the first place. time alignment and bass focus is good. easy to work with once you get used to it. the display looks good imo and easy to read. menus are easy to work with. i know some people don't like the menu layout on alpines, but for me i prefer it. the 3-way active crossover is very flexible. the 5-band peq is just enough to get the rough spots worked out in most cases. sound is a little bit chinkey, but i can deal with that. looks like the alpine will be in my dash til it craps out.

flame away. my opinions are just that...OPINIONS.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Let's not leave out the iPersonalize from Alpine! having a backup CD of all your settings is VERAH handy!

I really like my 9855, my only quibble is the lackluster line output levels... Very lackluster. And the fact that the buttons to the right of the volume control rattle when going down the road (mine is angled back just a tad naturally) Unlike most people I have no issues with the glide touch either, in fact I kinda like it.


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## innsanes (Feb 8, 2007)

Had an eclipse and dint care for it, went back to my alpine 9833 then on to the alpine 7998 and dont think i will ever change HU again.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

I just hated how on alpines for that 5 band or other settings you had to hold a button down for a few sec to get to the setting, then you had to scroll through and if you went to far on accident there was like no back - youd have to cycle through everything again - it was just frustrating. But otherwise, the Alpine HU's I've owned were great! And I agree, Pioneers are decent, but just not as good as an Alpine or Eclipse.

-aaron


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## MidnightCE (Mar 5, 2007)

Can you elaborate more on the pioneer tinniness? When I was deciding which head unit was going to go in my 'good stereo stuff' car I went back and forth with my Alpine 9855 and Pioneer P7800MP in A/B tests with a variety of music, and for the life of me, I couldn't hear one iota of difference. this is with EQ off, and using the xover on the amplifier. No time alignment. (ARC 2100CXL driving Focal Utopia 165w)

(I set the test up with an a/b rca switch, and adjusted the Pioneer's SLA setting so it had equal output at the same gain setting on the amp as the Alpine.)


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

every pioneer unit i've ever heard had a unique sound to it that sets them apart from everything else. they just have that lack of warmth and brightness that equates to "tinny".


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## Coredump (Dec 23, 2006)

For the Eclipse, I do believe you have to go to Fujitsu Ten's website and do the settings for the active 3 way crossover and eq's and burn the setting to a disc. Then this disc will load the settings on the Eclispe player. Similiar to what the Alpine can do. But the Alpine won't lock you out of the settings and force you to go online. If you have a chance to mess around with the Eclispe again check that out and see if it helps.


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## IceWaLL (May 30, 2005)

no the cd5000 can not do 3 way.

thats why i bought it and was upset when i
found it couldnt


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

IceWaLL said:


> no the cd5000 can not do 3 way.
> 
> thats why i bought it and was upset when i
> found it couldnt


i was in the same boat. it said it did on the box and also said it had an 11band peq in that mode. just seems shady that they print a feature a unit doesn't have. looks like i'm sticking with alpine. i hear they're coming out with a new unit that will be just like the old 9835.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

TEAM SHIMANO/FALCON said:


> i hear they're coming out with a new unit that will be just like the old 9835.


Are you talking about the 9887? I know that ones coming out somewhere Summer '07 according to the Alpine catalog. It's got 24 bit converters, Biolite display, 5 band parametric EQ, 3 way crossover. i just wish it had the motorized face. I'm thinking of picking up a 9855 since it was one of the last motorized face HU they made.


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## JAG (May 6, 2006)

TEAM SHIMANO/FALCON said:


> within just a couple months, i had all 3 headunits in my dash. here's my reviews.
> 
> pioneer 7800mp-looked good in my dash while turned off or in blackout mode (didn't care for the display that called attention to itself). however, the display had a plethora of different color combinations to make it visible in any light and to match with the interior dashlights.
> setup was easy. however, i didn't like the jog control. i always had a tendancy af fatfingering it. and i didn't like having to go in and hunt my preset radiostations through the list. just too hazardous while driving. signal from the 4v preouts were strong. features were plentiful but crossovers weren't quite up to snuff even though they are worlds better than a lot of the stuff out. the 16-band graphic eq might appeal to most, but bending a curve will only do so much no matter how many preset bands you have. i wasn't impressed with it. timealignment was decent but cheezy at the same time. definately could have been laid out a little different. the sound was somewhat tinny no matter what. i've never had a pioneer that didn't sound tinny though. overall, it's a great deck for someone who cares more about looks than sound. while it sounded good, it just wasn't in the same league as the eclipse or alpine.
> ...


I PERFECTLY agree with just about every single thing you said in your post. If it were not for the DRZ head unit , I would really be confused as to how I would be able to get the sound I demand.
And yes ..... Eclipse is pure unadulterated trash !


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## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

GlasSman said:


> Are you talking about the 9887? I know that ones coming out somewhere Summer '07 according to the Alpine catalog. It's got 24 bit converters, Biolite display, 5 band parametric EQ, 3 way crossover. i just wish it had the motorized face. I'm thinking of picking up a 9855 since it was one of the last motorized face HU they made.


yeah alpine has went straight down in recent years. to this day, i hold the 9835 as the best recent cd player they made. I run a 7996 for the optical out to my 701, but if I wasn't running active via the 701, it'd be via the 9835. I had the 9855 for a while too, and i didn't mind the glidetouch feature either. It was also a pretty slick deck.

I was excited over the 9965 until i saw the price tag. it's bs they charge so much for so little.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

if eclipse is unadulteratated trash, why are so many people so fond of them? are they just still stuck in the days of the 8053 and not ever realizing how eclipse has gone to trash? my dad has a cd3414 in his dash only for the mp3 capability but it's ugly as sin. good deck but i wouldn't put it above any other deck in its league.


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## Rbsarve (Aug 26, 2005)

I have no idea how it is over there, but here we have the Eclipse 8445E wich I'd take over the Alpine 9855 or the Pioneer P88 (P880 in the US).
It has defenitly better dynamics (the P88 is severly lacking there) and usable crossovers (why the 1 kHz limit on the P88?) together with a usable parametric eq (why is Alpine's so limited? ) and no bloody glide ****.
Pity it looks like a toy.


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## JAG (May 6, 2006)

TEAM SHIMANO/FALCON said:


> if eclipse is unadulteratated trash, why are so many people so fond of them? are they just still stuck in the days of the 8053 and not ever realizing how eclipse has gone to trash? my dad has a cd3414 in his dash only for the mp3 capability but it's ugly as sin. good deck but i wouldn't put it above any other deck in its league.


I'd say you have nailed it on the head. I do very well remember when Eclipse DID make some great CD players , but it has been a while. I can only remember 3 Eclipse HUs that I would consider owning.


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