I talked my friend into getting the Alpine CDA-9856 about 2 months ago and he got it, but he went to best buy and exchanged it for a Pioneer DEH-P5800MP today. I got pissed but what are your guys opinions on these two decks, or not evan that just your opinions on their head units in general???
Those two decks are very similar so he must have had a very specific reason for exchanging it. I've always been a fan of Pioneer and I run the 5800 myself, so I'm certainly not going to question his decision, they're both good decks though. The Pioneer does have a better EQ, higher preamp voltage (granted by .2V) 4 more watts RMS to the speakers and slightly better FM reception, but I'd say it's all about preference really. I certainly prefer the look of Pioneer to Alpine, but I know plenty of people who feel the exact opposite way.
I have the 9857, and I think the IPOd features with the speed wire is better then what pioneer offers, and I think it is better then the pioneers, until maybe the 6000series and up