What happened to Alpine?

[anonymous-user]

Looking to upgrade the sound system in the Monaro which is errr...not brilliant.

I have always loved music and back in the late 80's Blaupunkt or Alpine with Infinity speakers was the way to go. Kenwood, if you were feeling a bit skint. Now I have no idea what to buy as it's less about quality and more about how many flashing chav lights you can get.

I would like a sensibly priced, QUALITY after-market overhaul of my current system with iPod control and navigation built in by somebody who knows their onions. I'm based in Bedford/Cambridge, can anyone help recommend somebody?

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 1st April 18:04

[8vFTW]

For me Alpine has always been heavily over priced average gear. It's all about the brand really with them. If you want real quality, I'd recommend Rainbow, for the speakers at least.

You are probably best off nipping into your local indy car audio place. Explain what you want to achieve and what your budget is, and they'll show you whats on offer. Quality doesn't come cheap though.

[JREwing]

I always feel that Alpine make good head units but I do hate all the lights etc.
I have an Alpine HU which I like a lot.

I wouldn't really bother with Alpine for other parts of the system though.

[10 Pence Short]

They make quite a bit of OEM kit.

In fact, the OEM Alpine CD player in my Accord was the only thing that failed on it in 130,000 miles (and it only cost 100 notes to fix at their facility).

[g3org3y]

Agreed re the garish flashing light appearance of modern headunits.

The closest to OEM appearance I could find for the BMW was either Becker or Nakamichi.

[Craikeybaby]

Alpine are still around and making good kit, although, as mentioned above, they mainly do OEM stuff these days. Their aftermarket stuff is still good though.

[GC8]

I may be a little out of date here, but if I fit Alpine then I was eight frosted green buttons and little else.

[Baryonyx]

Alpine kit is still around and still very good. I had an iDA-X313 in my MR2 Turbo/Impreza. Great stereo. But the whole aftermarket audio industry has shrank considerably in recent years, and is nowhere near as visible as it was.

[the_ferret82]

hi wormas,

as you know i have done a few audio installs in to our cars including my own and i can say getting speskers to fit in the OEM holes with out butching pods or making your own to get aftermarket ones to fit is a fker.

as for the head unit im looking at going a an alipne myself shortly and replacing the computer i put in the dash a few years a go (just want something more simple)

[anonymous-user]

the_ferret82 said:

hi wormas,

as you know i have done a few audio installs in to our cars including my own and i can say getting speskers to fit in the OEM holes with out butching pods or making your own to get aftermarket ones to fit is a fker.

as for the head unit im looking at going a an alipne myself shortly and replacing the computer i put in the dash a few years a go (just want something more simple)

Hi Nick, yes - doing a bit of research. It used to be easy as it was a specialized profession. Now it's all about bling and cheap crap. Any ideas?

[Leins]

g3org3y said:

Agreed re the garish flashing light appearance of modern headunits.

The closest to OEM appearance I could find for the BMW was either Becker or Nakamichi.

I read somewhere that Nakamichi were actually OEM in some later E30s & E34s over in the US, which is why I put one in the Alpina. And got a '90s Becker GrandPrix for the M5 recently, but the damn thing is green not orange backlit. Haven't worked out if there's a way to switch the colour yet but I fear there isn't so might be back on eBay to find another Becker/Nakamichi/Blaupunkt soon

Put an Alpine in my Saab in the mid-90s and loved it, although there were a lot of buttons! I wouldn't be enough of an expert in sound quality to give a useful appraisal but it was certainly better than anything I've ever got as standard in any car

[LukeSi]

My car has got an Alpine Head unit in it from circa 2005. Top piece of kit. Pretty high end one I think.

[vtgts300kw]

Pioneer?

[SuperchargedVR6]

8vFTW said:

For me Alpine has always been heavily over priced average gear. It's all about the brand really with them. If you want real quality, I'd recommend Rainbow, for the speakers at least.

9835R? F1 Status? Hardly average. Just as with your Rainbows, Alpine also make low end stuff to fill a certain market. You need to spend 4 figures to get Rainbows worth shouting about.

[deltashad]

I have an Alpine head unit in one of our cars, it's my favourite out of all of them.

It looks a little too 'shell suit' but has full ipod control and easy to use. Feels like a quality product.

[8vFTW]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

9835R? F1 Status? Hardly average. Just as with your Rainbows, Alpine also make low end stuff to fill a certain market. You need to spend 4 figures to get Rainbows worth shouting about.

I've had ok experiences with their speakers and amps, but not the head units. Had a couple from new, both developed faults within warranty. Having to send them back is a real pain, and when I got them back, they still weren't fixed.

In fact when it comes to HU's, I've had almost all of the usual names, but the only one that never failed was a Pioneer.

[the_ferret82]

wormus said:

the_ferret82 said:

hi wormas,

as you know i have done a few audio installs in to our cars including my own and i can say getting speskers to fit in the OEM holes with out butching pods or making your own to get aftermarket ones to fit is a fker.

as for the head unit im looking at going a an alipne myself shortly and replacing the computer i put in the dash a few years a go (just want something more simple)

Hi Nick, yes - doing a bit of research. It used to be easy as it was a specialized profession. Now it's all about bling and cheap crap. Any ideas?

there is some nice clarion, alpine and JVC high end double din units out there. i find if you go away from the cheap end of the market the bling dispersers and you get a decent unit but the price jumps for example http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/advanced-navi-s...

io also have the view if you getting a new radio now it must have DAB. but these units are not easy to find.