Hi, I just got my new Alpine head unit installed & I'm having trouble with several things. I'm not too happy with it. The model is the CDA-117E
I have emailed Alpine these same questions, but thought I'd post it on a forum to see what you's reckon?
Firstly, the Remote that came with it doesn't seem to work at all. Its got the new battery's that came with it, doesn't work. I changed the battery's, doesnt work. Whats the trick?
Next, what is the go with the Random play when on USB?? It doesn't work! It works fine on CD but not on USB. Ive gone through the instructions & it says random will work with USB, just like random on any cd player. But it doesn't work. Mix Song or Mix All, does nothing. It still plays songs in numerical order, when either pressed next track or when it plays the next song, no random, just numeric. Is there is a trick to make it work? Because its very annoying, that's the only reason I bought this thing, to play music from a USB & have all my fav songs just on random, I don't want to listen to them in order & so it wont play the same song twice in a long time. I got sick of changing Cd's.
& how on earth do I change between the factory preset graphic equalizers? You know, Rock, Pop, Jazz, ect. Seems impossible. I can get to the manual graphic equalizer & now have set it to how I like it, But there should be factory preset sounds somewhere. Even the cheapest head units have that. & this doesn't?
& Do you know what IMPRINT is? & how is it fitted to the head unit? I was under the impression that this head unit is Alpines flagship head unit. Shouldnt this already have everything on it?? Not have to go out & buy extra things to make it work? Not happy!
& I was also told this had Bluetooth. it says on the box. But now find out it doesn't? & have to buy something else to make it work? WTF!!? Very Miss leading!
My MAIN concern is random not working on USB. If it continues to not work, I'll be devastated. Like I said, its the only reason I got it installed. All up including install cost $1000. Waste of money Im starting to think.....
Thank you for your enquiry. I have answered your questions with the text in Bold.
I just got my new Alpine head unit installed & I\'m having trouble with several things. I\'m not happy with it. The model is the CDA-117E
Firstly, the Remote that came with it doesn\'t seem to work at all. Its got the new battery\'s that came with it, doesn\'t work. I changed the battery\'s, doesnt work. Whats the trick? I am unsure why an IR remote will not work out of the box. There is a simple test to determine if the remote is transmitting a signal by using the inbuilt camera in a mobile phone. You set your phone to camera mode and point the remote at the camera, when you press a remote button, the IR LED will glow white. If this LED doesn't light up, your remote control is faulty, which is an extremely rare issue. Head back to your dealer for a replacement.
If it does glow, the issue maybe you are not directly pointing the remote at the remote sensor at a suitable angle, or at the time the head unit was bathed in sunlight which hinders IR remote signals. I will also need to know if your CDA-117E is installed into a vehicle that has a steering wheel control interface as well.
Next, what is the go with the Random play when on USB?? It doesn\'t work! Ive gone through the instructions & it says random will work with USB, just like random on any cd player. But it doesn\'t work. Mix Song or Mix All, does nothing. It still plays songs in numerical order, when either pressed next track or when it plays the next song, no random, just numeric. Please tell me there is a trick to make it work. Its very very annoying because that\'s the only reason I bought this thing, to play music from a USB & have all my fav songs just on random, I do not want to listen to them in order & so it wont play the same song twice in a long time. I got sick of changing Cd\'s. I tested a USB drive with 271 tracks on it to verify your claims. The Mix Song only randomly selects from the current Folder or Album and Mix All does indeed play from various folders or albums. The track numbers still will appear numerically regardless of the playback order you see displayed on the screen. This is due to the indexing structure of the Drive and the way the head unit displays track numbers. The track number versus the location in the directory doesn't directly correspond, so I wouldn't worry about this.
The pattern of song playback in Mix All mode, you will notice is not entirely 'Random' and across the whole USB drive. This playback pattern even goes back to CD changers 15 years ago and when MP3 CD playback was introduced where the song order is not what is expected. CD changers and mechanisms would wear out prematurely when Mix All was used because the drive was working harder, not to suggest a Digital playback device like the CDA-117E will 'wear out,' but it works in a similar way.
For Example: If you have a USB drive with say 500 files separated into 25 folders of 20 tracks. The Mix function would start playing back random files from the first 3 or 4 folders. Once the track lists are starting to be exhausted, it will start introducing tracks from the 5th sequential folder and then the 6th. There is no official explanation as to why this is, but I would suggest it is due to the fact we are dealing with a CD player in a car, not a computer and it just simply doesn't have the ability to do it, or it may be something to do with the banking function where it can only access certain parts of drive at one time. At the end of the day it still does perform a random function.
& how on earth do I change between the factory preset graphic equalizers? You know, Rock, Pop, Jazz, ect. Seems impossible. I can get to the manual graphic equalizer, & have set it to how I like it, But there should be factory preset sounds somewhere. Even the cheapest head units have that. & this doesn\'t? The factory preset EQ setting you see on page 28 of the owner's manual is for the optional PXA-H100 Sound Processor for $299 plus installation (ref page 26). This is a sensational product which opens up the full capability of the CDA-117E and allows you to control a multitude of different sound parameters. It also has the ability to set an IMPRINT Calibration where the device measures the in-vehicle cabin acoustics and applies several corrections to improve the sound quality like no other head unit on the market.
Can you please explain to me what IMPRINT is? & how is it fitted to the head unit? I was under the impression that this head unit is Alpines flagship head unit. Shouldnt this already have everything on it?? Not have to go out & buy extra things to make it work? Not happy! IMPRINT is based on a software program that is used heavily in the home theatre market and the best way to explain it is to visit the webpage we have on it here. You are correct in saying this is Alpine's current flagship head unit and it is extremely well priced for what it does out of the box. In my 13 years in the industry, it has to be one of my favorite head units; I even have one installed in my car along with the PXA-H100 IMPRINT Processor. I am impressed by how easy it is to use, how it sounds and by far the best iPod music functionality I have ever seen. We did used to have a head unit with IMPRINT inbuilt, but it need an interface that needed to be purchased separately anyway and it wasn't economical to have it in the range anyway, mainly due to the fact not everyone utilized its function.
In regards to having 'everything in it' this will drive the price of the unit up to level where it might not be competitive in the marketplace. If it had IMPRINT Inbuilt and a Bluetooth Module included it would drive the price towards $1000. These options are not included for the people who deem them unnecessary so they are not paying for things they don't need. You will find most brands take this tact when you look at their higher end CD head units.
& I was also told this had Bluetooth. it says on the box. But now find out it doesn\'t? & have to buy something else to make it work? WTF!!? Very Miss leading! What you see on the box is a 'Bluetooth Ready' symbol. This simply means it is ready to connect a Bluetooth interface such as the KCE-250BT.
My MAIN concern is random not working on USB. If it continues to not work, I\'ll be devastated. Like I said, its the only reason I got it installed. All up including install cost $1000. Waste of money Im starting to think.....
I hope this answers your questions and be rest assured you have a quality product with many other satisfied owners.
Regards,
Marcel Van der Horst Product Application Department (P.A.D) Alpine Electronics of Australia Pty. Limited}
I also bought the CDA-117E and the PDX-5 and the PXA-H100. Now I have install the CDA-117E with the PDX-5 along with 4 mids & tweeds and a 10" dual voice coil subwoofer with a sealed box. I have not installed the PXA-H100 yet. My first question is how much difference does the PXA-H100 make? because my system already sounds just about perfect. Also I need to know how I can have sound from my external DVD player and sound from my iphone/ipod and have the PXA-H100 hooked up at the same time? Now I have installed a DVD player in my other DIN slot and in order to get the audio into the CDA-117E I had to use the cable that goes from the AI-NET connector to the RCA audio out of my DVD unit. The iphone/ipod is hooked up to the USB port. But now I can not hook up my PXA-H100. What should I do? Please remember I need three things to work 1 external source DVD sound, 2 Iphone/ipod sound, 3 PXA-H100 Imprint audio processor. Please tell me how I can make this work even if it might me a unorthodox way of doing it.
Your first question is how much difference does the PXA-H100 make?
After you have completed the IMPRINT Sound Manager calibration with the microphone & laptop. When the MultEQ is turned on It makes a HUGE difference. It sounds completely different. Now heres the disappointing bit. But IMHO, not in a good way. I think it makes it sound like crap. I was very disappointed with it. WAY too Tinny & you gain ALLOT of clarity, but that drowns out allot of other sounds. Sounds terrible.
When I bought it I was told, you loose a little bit of Bass after the calibration with the MultEQ on, I said thats ok, mine has HEAPS of bass & have it turned down to 10 & its still heaps. He was wrong, you don't loose a little bit of bass. You loose ALL Your Bass!! Even on full it hasnt got any bit of the bass it had before when it was turned down. I don't know what they were thinking when they made that thing! Its NOT a Cinema! Its a Car Stereo!! & I don't understand how people can think that it sounds better!? I can understand how it would sound better on Home Cinema, or with classical music. But normal modern music? No, not good at all.
I still have it all plugged in but have the MultEQ OFF. & have set up the normal EQ to how I like it. Sounds nearly perfect.
I just hope the PXA-H100 makes it sound better even with the MultEQ turned off. I'm not sure if it does. I hope it does something. But I dont want to know the answer to that. Because if I have the MultEQ off all the time & its not doing ANYTHING!? Then its was a complete waste of money buying it!?
But with the PXA-H100 you do gain more options in your CDA head unit. So Im going with that excuse why it wasn't a waste of money.
See how you go, do the imprint calibration & see for yourself! Im telling you, you'll be shocked! Then you'll cry....
If you think that it sounds Perfect now, then you are the same as me. I thought it sounded perfect before & couldnt understand how it could possibly sound any better!? When you turn on the MultEQ you maybe able to understand how its possibly suppose to sound better???? But no.... Sounds like crap.
Tell me how you go. Maybe you'll like it, I don't know. i hope Im wrong & there's something crazy wrong with mine.
Good luck!
& Sorry, I don't know the answer to your other questions.
I absolutely agree with Paul. This head unit is simply crap. I am a crazy music fanatic. I wanted to change Pioneer DEH-7150 UB to Alpine CDA 117. I was curious as to Alpine Bass Engine will sound better than Pioneer.
Alpine Bass Engine is waste piece of engineering. The gain is so low that the power amp does not shake the sub. The voice frequency also sounds terrible at high volume. The guys who have designed the base engine should be fired.
The next thing that I hate about is the look and material used. Pioneer 7150 adds so much ambient to the car.
I have moved from Sony to Pioneer to Apline and I have purchased the high end players from all of these brand. So far I like Pioneer DEH-7150. The voice frequency is crystal clear, 7 band EQ works just amazing. Great to listen old songs without any hiss. Everything is just perfect except the BASS.
I am expecting HU pre-amp to pick low frequency bass that can shake the sub just like the home theater.
Pioneer DEH-7150 do have good amount of bass but it is still noisy.
Hey Mate, What was the reason for swapping to the Alpine from the Pioneer DEH-7150 UB? You said,"Everything is just perfect except the BASS" Was that it?
You know, before I recently had this Alpine HU installed in my 2005 Suzuki Swift, for 5 years I only had the OEM flush dash CD player, made by Clarion. With an Alpine High level converter to my apm's. I was always very happy with the sound quality. Very simple Bass & treble, but had the 4 speakers on front fade & just the sub on rear fade so I could fade between the two, reducing the volume of the speakers only which when turning the volume up had more bass with a louder sub.
Anyway, Im a music fanatic too & I was Very happy with the sound quality. To me it was perfect. What annoyed me was that it wasn't Mp3 compatible, had to use CD's all the time. So I looked into getting a HU that was MP3 compatible & USB. So I went for a high end Alpine. Surely its got to sound better than my crappy OEM clarion! I really looked forward to the improvement, even though the OEM sounded perfect to me.
I got it installed & Ohhhhh, Big Disappointment. Just didn't sound good at all. But surely it was just a case of playing with the settings! So I played & played & worked out that there wasn't enough room for adjustment in the equalizer to make it sound how I liked it! I then found what I need to get more adjustment is get the IMPRINT.So surely that would make it sound PERFECT!.... More $$$.
So I get that installed & I think it sounds a little better... Then I actually set up the imprint properly with the microphone, turn it on &..... AHHHHH!!! TURN IT OFF TURN IT OFF! Sounds Terrible!!
Imprint turned on is definitely bad.... But with just it connected I do get more options in the HU menu. So I have a play with equalizer again & get it sounding best how I like it.... I think it sounds pretty good.
But every time I get in the car & turn it on, I can definitely hear it doesn't sound as good as my old Clarion OEM HU.....
What a shame it is.... I tolerate it because it has MP3 & USB.
Idea of swapping HU was to get thunderous and clean bass that one can hear and enjoy the bass for a long drive. Pioneer DEH-7150 UB has everything good about it except the bass which is exuberantly booming but creates headache soon not as good as my home made music system or home theater. I guess bass engine in home theaters are well tuned along with the sub-encloser.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, Pioneer voice frequency is outstanding. I have played Megadeth, Slayer, Carcass, GNR, WhiteSnake - the vocal/guitar sounds so original at any volume level.
Just that the bass isn't that thunderous which I now thinking to optimize the sub-encloser (JBL 15''/Sony Mono Class-D 300W RMS) force it produce good quality of low freq.
Alpine is a horrible piece of crap. Suggest one not to waste further time and $$$$ on it
Even I have noticed some of the legacy HU sounds brilliant but upgraded ones are not well tuned.
I believe a good sound quality lot depends on how the HU pre-amps are tuned. If the tunings are bad, your power-amp is going to boost frequencies that are sometimes not nice to hear.
I just recently bought the CDA - 177 too. I was not as satisfied as I thought I would be. Seems really hard to get everything to your taste. Anyway, I have one SIMPLE question. I just want to find the damn treble! I read in the Manuel where it should be, but it is still not seeming to pop up! It is on page 38 and says MultEQ needs to be turned on. How Do I turn on MultEQ? Please help.
Logan - Welcome to gloominess of Alpine - for all the desirable technical details that it writes on the website about the player details are all brainless.
I couldn't find MultiEQ visible in my deck as well. I believe, MultiEQ gets enabled with addition of IMPRINT processor. So, get ready to spend more...
Btw, check out Pioneer DEH-7150 UB. It will surely not disappoint you based on what your requirement are...
Logan, JOIN THE CLUB! Your in the exact same position as I was! It didn't sound good to me at all & all I wanted was the graphic equalizer! But nope, it doesnt have one.... Well it does, but you have to spend more $$ to access it. I looked into it & found out you need to buy & install the IMPRINT Module to access the MultiEQ - http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo247/hxr400/alpine-pxah100.jpg
Sounded great from all the research I did! As soon as you have that baby installed you can access the MultiEQ & several more options in the menu, including a 7 band graphic equalizer that you can set to suit your tastes perfectly. I have recently only just got mine set up properly & now Im happy with it finally. But it takes quite a while to set it up because its such fine tuning. Takes a good ear. But the thing is, the reason why this is stupid is because the whole point of the IMPRINT is pointless!! You get it installed but you need to have it turned OFF! Because if you set up the IMPRINT properly with the microphone, then turn it on? You'll be shocked! You loose all your bass, generally sounds like sh#t & you cannot adjust the sound at all..... You can't adjust the sound because it thinks its made it sound as best as it can possibly can sound with in the acoustics of your car.... But really, sounds terrible..... I honestly don't understand what Alpine are thinking with this thing?? Only to make people spend more money to access the graphic equalizer after buying the most expensive flagship Alpine HU..... WTF!?
Yes your rite. Sorry, Ive said the wrong thing. It was the factory preset graphic equalizers (Rock, Pop, Jazz, ect) that I meant to say it doesnt have before installing the IMPRINT.
So LOGAN, the answer to your question is you just need to open the 7 band graphic equalizer to adjust your sound, get more treble.
Press and hold AUDIO button for at least 2 seconds to activate the Sound Setting mode. Turn the Rotary encoder to EQ Mode & press.
Setting EQ mode This setting gives you a choice of 5-band parametric, or 7-band graphic equalizer. Setting item: EQ Mode Setting contents: Parametric EQ (Initial setting) / Graphic EQ PEQ:5-band Parametric EQ GEQ:7-band Graphic EQ
Adjusting the Graphic Equalizer Curve You can modify the equalizer settings to create a response curve more appealing to your personal taste. To adjust the graphic equalizer curve, set the EQ Mode to Graphic EQ.
1 After selecting Graphic EQ from the Sound Field mode, press BAND to select the band to be adjusted.
2 Turn the Rotary encoder to adjust the level. Adjustable output level: â€"6 to +6 dB
3 To adjust another band, repeat steps 1 and 2, and then adjust all bands.
Here's a link to the owners manual: http://www.alpine.com.au/files/OwnersManuals/cda_117e_apvers.pdf
Adjusting EQ curve does not take the sound quality anywhere outstanding. Not sure how much IMPRINT calibration will be making a difference to the sound quality!!
Rajiv, Alpine took a different approach with the CDA-117 their previous head units I heard were forward sounding, this one has a neutral sound, most equalizers let you boost/cut 10 dB or more but this one has only 6 dB so as you say it doesnt do much, I beleive they intended to deliver a more natural unenhanced sound, Pioneer is the one to choose if you want high quality but coloured sound.
