Active crossover control

[Flex68 10+ year member]

Hey, all.

Been trying to plan a build to upgrade my stock '08 Ram 1500 quad-cab, and reading bunches of ratings, reviews, and comparisons of head units. I am leaning towards an Alpine unit, and was reading how poorly the CDA-117 compares to the discontinued CDA-9887, with it's 3 active crossovers.

How many current units offer active crossover control? (Especially interested in any by Pioneer, Clarion, or comparable units to the Alpine CDA-9887)

Thanks!

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[Flex68 10+ year member]

Since I did not receive any responses to the above post/question, I may have failed to include enough info:

I have been looking for a couple of weeks to determine which head unit to use to replace the factory REFS single CD unit in the ’08 Dodge Ram 1500 quadcab I recently bought. Had a mid-90’s model Pioneer in the old ext. cab pickup I sold, so I looked at Pioneer units first. Had some hopes for several Premier’s, but finally chose to discount them for one reason or another.

The Kenwood KDC-Xxxx units were ones that I also discounted, mainly for bad ratings and reviews regarding poor radio reception. (I am not very interested in Sirius, XM, or HD, and still tune in local stations frequently)

So I have been reviewing the offerings from Clarion and Alpine in the under $350 range. I am currently debating among the Alpine CDA-9887 and the CDA-117, and the Clarion CZ501. I like the CDA-9887 (used, at around $200) for the crossovers and EQ, but am just not sure I want to go with such a ‘dated’ unit…

I plan to run a single JL Audio 12W3V3-2 sub in a sealed enclosure under the rear passenger seat, along with a Kicker KS693 set of 6x9’s in the front doors, all driven by a Kicker ZX700.5 amp.

I am more interested in SQ than SPL for this truck (my daily driver), and will be using mainly CD’s and an iPod for my source, along with local FM stations. Based on this, I would appreciate hearing which of the above 3 HU’s would you might suggest as my best choice, and why? Or suggestions for others that may provide decent crossover control that I haven't considered.

Many thanks!

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I live in a rural location and I sell a lot of the Kenwood KDC-148 head unit. This is the opposite end of Kenwood's single DIN lines compared to the Kenwood X995, and the radio reception is excellent on AM and FM. I never have to add reception boosters or replace antennas, and this is on vehicles that are sometimes 15-20 years old.

I've got some experience with the current Clarion units, and none of them offer active crossovers. You would need to add a processor to the CZ501. You can still find new Alpine CDA-9887s and if I wasn't in love with my 7998 I would probably be using a 9887. You can add Imprint to that for the MultEQ equalizer expansion.

If I haven't changed your mind on Kenwood then go with a new Alpine CDA-9887. I really think you'd be happy with either choice.

 

[Flex68 10+ year member]

I had checked out the KDC-X595, -X695, and -X895, but stopped there. Glad you mentioned the X-995, since it's FM responsiveness is notably better at 9.3dBf (the KDC-148, on the other hand, is comparable to the others I had reviewed, at 11.3dBf). My early checking shows consistent comments about the glare issue making the -X995's display hard to read, the complaints about lack of preset buttons and having the presets buried deep in the Menu Tree, and a "tinny" sound reproduction. Not good things, but no HU is perfect!

Glad you know of a few new CDA-9887's around! Maybe I can stumble across one someday soon...

Thanks!