Ok, I'm set on getting an Alpine HU, and its between 2 decks that have V drive, and 1 that doesnt. Should I get one that has the V-Drive? Crutchfield (not where I'm buying it) says that it needs a wiring kit ... why?

Is there any reason to get the one without V Drive?


The 3 in question are the 9815($??), 9831($290) and 9833 ($323)
So far finding the 9815 for less than $350 has been impossible.

Edit: Is the 7893 any good? For $269... but no mp3 function...


Modified by cvclover at 7:10 PM 7/12/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok, I'm set on getting an Alpine HU, and its between 2 decks that have V drive, and 1 that doesnt. Should I get one that has the V-Drive? Crutchfield (not where I'm buying it) says that it needs a wiring kit ... why?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Do you plan on using the internal amp on the headunit, or will you be running external amps instead? If you aren't going to use the internal amp, there is no reason to get V-drive.

The reason you need a wiring kit is the V-drive amp needs more power than what can be provided through the vehicle wiring harness. I have the Alpine CDA-9815, and while I plan to install an external amp soon, for the time being I'm getting by just fine on the headunit's internal amp pushing component speakers in my doors. This is the best integrated amplifier I have ever heard on a headunit, and I'm sure if I hadn't wired it directly to the battery it wouldn't be sounding nearly as good.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there any reason to get the one without V Drive?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sure, if you have no plans to use the internal amp, there is no reason to get a V-drive deck.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The 3 in question are the 9815($??), 9831($290) and 9833 ($323)
So far finding the 9815 for less than $350 has been impossible.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Try eBay.

I bought mine back before the 2004 models came out. I bought it when the price was high. I ended up buying a used one with the XM-tuner module for $450. I've never been happier with a headunit.


Modified by 99IntegraGS at 8:50 PM 7/12/2004

 

I would consider the models that have the V-Drive amp. Not only do you get more built-in power, but V-Drive models have Bass Engine Pro which gives you much more adjustablity (5 band eq, fine crossover control) than the models without V-Drive. Unfortunately, Alpine does not offer a unit that has Bass Engine Pro without the V-Drive amp.

I have the 9811 (now replaced by the 9831) and am thinking of upgrading to a V-Drive unit just to have Bass Engine Pro; I am running external amps so the V-Drive amp is of no benefit to me. FYI, the 9815 has been replaced by the 9835 with a flashy biolite display. As far as using an amp wiring kit with a V-Drive headunit, you don't need one IF you turn off the internal V-Drive amp and are using external amps.

 

Are you guys talking about an external amp just for the deck, or an amp that can be shared with the sub AND the deck?

I guess that just leaves me with the 9815, 9833 and 7893... anything bad about those three decks? I dont think the 9815 is in the running anymore, even though I like it the best, since I cant find it online for cheap, and I dont feel like buying it on Ebay...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are you guys talking about an external amp just for the deck, or an amp that can be shared with the sub AND the deck?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It doesn't matter. What we are trying to say is that the Alpine units in question allow you to turn off the internal amp if you opt to use external amps. If you do this, an amp wiring kit would not be necessary. However, if you use the internal amp in any way, then you would need the wiring kit.

 

Oh the wiring kit would just connect the deck directly to the battery?

Would this thing suck enough juice that the battery would die if I had it on with the car off for like 30 minutes? Are there any more powerful batteries out there?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are you guys talking about an external amp just for the deck, or an amp that can be shared with the sub AND the deck?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The V-Drive internal amp is not enough to drive a subwoofer. IF you're going to have a sub, you'll at least need an external amp for the sub. You could then power your mids and highs with the headunit, or add another external for the mids and highs and turn off the internal V-Drive amp.

If you opt to do the latter (use 2 or more amps), then there is no reason for the V-Drive or the amp wiring kit for the headunit. If the headunit is only providing a signal for the external amps, wiring it directly to the vehicle harness would be sufficient, there would be no reason to power the headunit directly off the battery (which is what Alpine suggest and why Crutchfield recommends an amp wiring kit).

 

You dont need the wireing kit ,even if you use the internel amp, just run a fused 10ga wire from batt. to deck and hook up to yellow wire on HU, you just made your own wireing kit 94

 

So the V Drive internal amp is powerful enough to power the front and rear speakers? Save the hassle of the second amp?

What about the battery life problem? Would it kill the battery fast if the car was off?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So the V Drive internal amp is powerful enough to power the front and rear speakers? Save the hassle of the second amp?

What about the battery life problem? Would it kill the battery fast if the car was off?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes the vdrive amp can power all 4 speakers but if you have a big sub and sub amp you will probably want something better powering the speakers. The internal vdrive amp won't drain the battery as fast as an amp.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cvclover &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So the V Drive internal amp is powerful enough to power the front and rear speakers? Save the hassle of the second amp? YES

What about the battery life problem? Would it kill the battery fast if the car was off?</TD></TR></TABLE> Faster then the oem HU, but no faster then any off board amp with a 25 amp fuse. 94