# Alpine CDE-HD149BT vs. Pioneer DEH-X9600BHS vs. Kenwood Excelon KDC-X998



## pnw_wildcat (Jul 24, 2013)

First post from a long time lurker...

I sold/installed high-end car audio from '96-'01. Used to live and breathe the stuff, now I'm a bit out of the loop. I recently purchased an '09 Ford Flex (No Sync/Sony/NAV) and need to upgrade the sound. I have an old Alpine CDA-9855 but I'm looking to upgrade. Originally, I was set on using a JBL MS-8 or something similar. Now, I think I'd like to start at the top with a new head unit.

I'm looking at the three models I listed in the title. I'm also interested in anything else that was released the the past year or two that has similar features. I have two old MTX Thunder 4300X amps and a single JL 10W1 I can integrate. I'm planning on replacing the fronts with 6.5" components (Focal, JL, etc.) and will leave the rear doors stock. Here is what is important to me:


High-end D/A converter (24 bit minimum)

6 Channel high voltage preouts

Satellite radio capable

HD radio capable

Better than basic EQ

Active crossover control

Time alignment

AUX input/Android smartphone integration would be a nice bonus

Does anyone have any experience with, thoughts, praise, complaints about the decks I listed? I know that my current Alpine covers most of the bases I need, but it's getting up there in years and I never really was a fan of the "glide touch" faceplate. I'm really hoping to utilize time alignment of some type due to the large cabin of my car. Does the built-in time alignment work well on these decks? If not, am I pretty much forced to use an aftermarket processor to gain TA that's worth a damn? Does any of the modern aftermarket auto-EQ stuff work small miracles?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone out there has installed an aftermarket head unit in a Flex I'd appreciate your insight. I'm particularly curious about the dash modifications needed to install the kit and the potential use of any adapters so I don't lose the backup sensor beeping.

Historically, I've ran Alpine head units in my vehicles but I was a big fan of the old Pioneer Premier decks. Older Excelon decks were hit and miss. Hoping this new model is on the good side again.

Thanks!


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

None of the ones you mentioned have a good DSP for active pass, 
If you want to save some money the alpine cde hd148bt does the same thing as the 149, except smaller display and different fonts.


The kenwood does have a xover for the tweeters and higher frwquencies but someone explained it is not really an active crossover.

Some The JVC's have a nice DA converter and could offer similar sound or better co mpared the 3 you ar looking at. 

You may want to look at the pio deh 80prs with the DSP built in and 16 band EQ for the active pass if you don't want to get a separate DSP or amp with bulilt in DSP

The clarion cz702 also offers active pass with 5 band PEQ, and a HPF for the sub, something none offers, for some reason the clarion is not too popular here despite the bargain price for it


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

This is one possible solution to the situation at hand.
Alpine - Bluetooth - CDA-137BTi


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## pnw_wildcat (Jul 24, 2013)

The 80PRS is a damn nice deck, but no SAT/HD radio so it's a no go. Never been a fan of Clarion/JVC so I'd like to shy away.

I'm intrigued by the Alpine CDA-137BTi, but it appears to be nearly impossible to score.

Any thoughts as to going with either one of the three decks I listed or an Audison bit Ten? I've looked into a number of different processors but the price of the bit Ten is more my speed.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Well lucky for Diyma that I just happen to have an Alpine CDA- 137BTi nib. . .


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## pnw_wildcat (Jul 24, 2013)

Funny timing...I sent you a PM before you replied. 

I did find one store in London that is still shipping this unit.


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## pnw_wildcat (Jul 24, 2013)

Oops...got a bit ahead of myself and realized that this unit doesn't offer SAT/HD radio. Not going to work for me. Thanks for the suggestion though!


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

The alpine 149bt has a 9 band adjustable frequency and q parametric EQ and t/a. Very basic crossover. The bluetooth and SiriusXM work very well. Plus ipod and aux inputs. I love mine. For the basics anyways. Only deck I imagine is better is the 80prs. Minus the SiriusXM. But you could still add an external and plug it in via aux in.


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

The alpine wins out of the 3 mentioned, I wish it had an extra USB port like the kenwood, the kenwood has more crossover points and different slopes to select, it has a tweeter shelving filter, I thought it was the same as an active crossover, kenwood still calls it a DSP. 

The pioneer 9600BHS HP is not independent for front and rear channels, unlike the kenwood and the alpine 
I am also curious about hearing from people owning and using these kenwoods but I think it may be still very new to know about it or see reviews

Pages 20 and 21 has all the kenwoods DSP and xover points. 

http://manual.kenwood.com/files/IM381_Ref_K_en_00.pdf


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

I would go with the Alpine, my buddy has one and that made my choice. I read a review that it finished last in SQ when all others were set to flat but that's why there is the EQ. I am curious to which chips they use compared to the CDA-117. I know my 117 sounds good so hopefully the 149 will sound similar. They are going in different cars so I cannot cross compare. I have always been a fan of Alpine so when I had the money that's what I bought and I would like to keep it that way.


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

It seems that Alpine finally gave in, by no longer making us buy special cables for ipods/phones, RCA's connectors adapters, and a few other things that basically forced people to buy.

Now they are competitive except the audio features are not as flexible like in the older units.
We still need to buy the remote for the unit, something included with all other manufacturers.


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## JPOSEY (Nov 9, 2011)

I've ran Alpine decks for 10+ years and have always loved them. I still run one in one vehicle. Last years JVC models...one single din and one double din have everything you are asking. I own the double din (KW-r900bt) and have used it in one of my vehicles and prefer the ergonomics over the Alpines. Alpine's bluetooth is better and they have a flexible parametric eq.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Do you own a smart phone? I know that there are satellite radio apps that offer the ability to stream the sat broadcast. With that, you would actually have several options to get the sat feed to an aftermarket head unit. The same can be said for many HD radio broadcasts with apps like iHeartRadio, etc. 

Why bring this up? Because the Pioneer DEH-80PRS is the only single DIN head unit in the price range of those that you listed with the processing capabilities you seem to be looking for. The DEH-80PRS has two USB ports, an aux input and a L/R RCA input for transport of said app audio. 

If the DEH-80PRS is not an option because you don't have a smart phone, or insist on using a head unit with Sat and HD built in, I would go with an Alpine. The CDE-HD148BT and CDE-HD149BT would be good choices. The 149 offering the nice face and screen. What you give up with the Alpines is the 16 band L/R graphic EQ as well as the "active" crossovers offered in the Pioneer.


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

Streaming the satellite feed uses close to 2.5gb per hour of use. If you have unlimited data then it's no issue.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

nineball76 said:


> Streaming the satellite feed uses close to 2.5gb per hour of use. If you have unlimited data then it's no issue.


I guess it is good to be grandfathered into an unlimited plan. If that is the case, $50-$100 buys you a dedicated XM/Sirius receiver for the car. A bit unsightly, I will admit. But depending on your priorities, it could be worth it for the additional tuning the DEH-80PRS provides. 

Or just grab the head unit that has the features you want (other then tuning capability) and purchase a dedicated DSP.


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## eturk (Apr 18, 2014)

I've been wrestling with deciding on these three decks for a while. 
One of the challenges I run into is Android BT support. Proper BT support & SQ are important to me. Still not a clear purchase yet.

Software geek stuff:

The DEH-80PRS is an older deck. Shipped in early 2012 (?) with AVRCP 1.0
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/Manuals/Car/DEH-80PRS_OperationManual020712.pdf
(page 47)

Pioneer did an "optional" BT firmware update in Jan 2013, but no mention of version. I've read it made some iPhone BT worse. Apple noted up to Sept 2013 that 80PRS still needed an update to fully support iOS6 (iOS7 out now).
Some car stereos require a firmware update for AVRCP 1.4 Bluetooth compatibility 
(AVRCP 1.4)

Pioneer support won't reply back with the version in the update and said "there are no further updates planned". 

Point: 80PRS is a typical hardware mfg item that won't get any more updates. It doesn't display any track data from Android. I've got unlimited data and use Google music hi quality mostly (320kbs, supposedly even for my own older tracks ripped at lower rate years ago). Not going to get any BT control features out of the 80PRS (which what I hear).

Also, it seems Pandora will no work as expects from Android. 
(Buying a tiny screen iPhone isn't an options. Thanks fanboys. I appreciation your Apple zeal. LOL)

It's a continual problem with hardware companies that they abandon firmware updates after a year since there's no money it in. 

Can someone with an 80PRS verify the Android control support? Also if Pandora works correctly?

Any corrections to the data here greatly appreciated!

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PS: Kenwood support finally gave in and reported X998 is up to AVCRP 1.3. (1.4 ads proper volume control link so deck and player don't move volume in separate directions.) Seems Kenwood isn't committed to keeping their BT specs up to date even on new decks. I've read pause on the Kenwood isn't easy. Need to hold down a button to get it to fire, but not reliable. (Can someone verify)

Data on AVRCP levels. v1.3 a minimum to show track info. v1.4 gives track browsing. Important so we don't need to fiddle with the phone while driving. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_profile#Audio.2FVideo_Remote_Control_Profile_.28AVRCP.29


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## Night_Ripper21 (May 15, 2014)

Recently had the Alpine CDE-HD149BT installed. Does anyone have a clue how to skip songs while having an Ipod connected? :cwm23:
I have the older version of this deck in my other car but this one is extreamly annoying. There is every other setting available on the head unit to shuffle or repeat songs but not one to simply skip to the next track. The only way I can do so is to go back to the listing of artists and select another track. 

PLEASE HELP


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

Hold the volume knob in till your settings come up. You're in ipod mode meaning you control it with the ipod. Change the setting to hu or app mode. Something.like that


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## 2010hummerguy (Oct 7, 2009)

Pandora works flawlessly via Bluetooth on my Windows phone with the 80PRS and sounds great. If BT becomes a big issue, you can connect the phone to the 80PRS via aux cable. Not sure which firmware my truck's 80PRS had as it was purchased in August of 2013 but the one in my Jeep is definitely a first run.

Not sure why people are recommending the Alpine HUs, none have active crossovers with any bandpass that I am aware of. Alpine wants you to buy an H800 for that


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

The pioneer doesn't have satellite radio either. Thats the number 1 reason I chose the 149bt


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

I went with the CDE HD148BT, same thing as the 149, just 3 lines of text instead of 4 and flip down face plate to load the CD with the 149.

I really wanted 2 USB ports, the SD card is a bonus with the 80PRS. I just could not force myself to pay the extra $90.00 based on my best pricing and availability. 

Even though no band pass, tweeter HP and separate EQ per ch with the Alpine, the crossovers are pretty good offering 6,12,18,24 db slopes for HP and LP
Most decent sub amps and 5 ch amps offer a band pass for the Sub's. 

If I spent a lot of time with a 3 band PEQ, a 16 Band regular EQ would be a lot for me although the auto EQ and TA setting would be a starting point with the 80prs.


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## eturk (Apr 18, 2014)

Architect7 said:


> Pandora works flawlessly via Bluetooth on my Windows phone with the 80PRS and sounds great. If BT becomes a big issue, you can connect the phone to the 80PRS via aux cable. Not sure which firmware my truck's 80PRS had as it was purchased in August of 2013 but the one in my Jeep is definitely a first run.
> 
> Not sure why people are recommending the Alpine HUs, none have active crossovers with any bandpass that I am aware of. Alpine wants you to buy an H800 for that


The resolution on Pandora mobile is max 64 kbps. Some decks internally sense a highly compressed source and plump it up. Maybe 80PRS does, so it doesn't sound terrible compared to a CD of the same track?

How about standard BT music players? Do you see the track info and track status? 

(version capabilities for BT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...io.2FVideo_Remote_Control_Profile_.28AVRCP.29)


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## ZMan2k2 (Mar 11, 2014)

I have the Alpine CDEHD149BT, and I find the crossovers decent compared to older Alpines that I owned which only allowed a HPF crossover. This one allows LFP, HPF and adjustable slopes for each, so you can dial in the midbass that you lose with door mounted speakers. And the 9 band parametric EQ is great. It allows you to choose the frequency, adjust it, boost it up or down with a Q factor of 3 to 5, and smooth out the sound to your liking. I'm still playing with mine, listen to it for a few days, tweak, listen for a few days, tweak, etc. It's fantastic. Sure it won't allow active crossovers for really indepth installs, but for the basic DIYer, it's a great starting point. Eventually, for me, I'll go with a JBL MS8, and run the tweeters off the MS8 and the woofers , and subs off amps. But that's a ways down the road, I have to save up for that, and that'll be a while. In the meantime, the Alpine will do me just fine.


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