i have the alpine 9857 with the new ipod interface. i was pissed about the preout voltage to start with, but the ipod cable is great. i had previously used kenwoods interface, and seen the old alpine interface too, and even tested the harmon/kardon drive+play.
the new ipod cable is just as fast as the ipod, far better than the other interfaces. it is a shame that they sacrificed the features from the older 9855 just to allow for the new ipod cable though. the 9855's sound shaping and preouts + the 9857's ipod capabilities would have yielded a perfect HU in my opinion. the 9857 is indeed a good HU though, and it fits my needs very well. the biolite is a great feature too.
i have this HU heading up a decent system, and am pleased with it so far. unless you are an extreme audiophile, i think the alpine would be great for you. definately the best ipod interface though.
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