Home > Consumer Reviews > Alpine CD-R/-RW/MP3/AAC/WMA Receiver, CDA-9886

I just installed a CDA-9886 in my car. I have always used Alpine products and loved them and this one is the best I have had so far. It plays everything, MP3, WMA, ZUNE, IPOD, AUX and best of all USB. I connected my 3rd Gen Ipod nano and it worked just fine. I have heard people have switched back to 9885 because 9886 does not turn off the ipod when you switch the car off. It may be fixed in the future but this is no issue for me. 9885 does not have USB capability and this is important as far as I am concerned. USB flash drives have no power concerns, lots of storage for cheap and so convenient. Why would you want to leave your ipod connected to the deck anyways? Thieves would break into your car for less than that. Anyways, if you need a nice looking HU that plays all types of media and offers some of the best features available today( bluetooth, voice dial..) I really recommend this unit.

I have been using Alpine for years and was looking forward to another upgrade to this unit. Initially I was fairly happy about the results until the next morning. I was searching a song on the ipod and got a "error 01", this has never stopped. Alpine blames ipod and ipod blames Alpine. I can use my ipod with everything else, including my Alpine in my truck with no issues(truck has CDA-9883). Upon further digging, I have since found numerous others with the exact same issue on the CDA-9886. So, if you're planning on this being exclusive to your ipod, be prepared to send it back a few times before getting one that works. FYI

The Alpine CDA-9886 is just about everything I expected. I installed in my Toyota Corolla 2005 with Panasonic 6 ½" front speakers & 6"x 9" rear speakers. I use an iPod Nano 4GB 1st gen. version 1.3 & USB San Disk cruzer micro 4GB.
After the settings its sound great, the display is easy to read. The controls are very easy to use. The iPod & USB controls are fast and easy to use. Don't purchase the Full Speed Connection Cable (KCE-22i), you could found this cable inside the unit box :( Now I have two KCE-22i :(

I purchased this head unit to replace my failing Clarion head unit that I've had for roughly 5 years. I am glad I picked this one. This thing is AWESOME. It was an easy install and it came with a wiring harness. I like the display. There are 4 screen savers you can pick, but that's not really my style. The display is bright and clear. I have a 80 GB Classic Ipod and it works great. I was impressed with the search function and the head unit's ability to pick through all of my songs. This head unit is worth its price.

I purchased this deck because of other positive reviews elsewhere on iPod functionality and speed. I tried all of the Pioneer/Premier decks and they refused to work with my 4th-generation 30G iPod Photo, whereas all Alpines worked fine with it. So, Alpine it is. I can navigate playlists, artists, whatever, and the performance is great. It also looks better than the drab monotone blue on the Pioneer decks. It's still too new to get a sense of the sound quality, but I find it hard to believe it would be an issue considering I was upgrading the factory deck on our 1999 Subaru Outback Wagon.