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Alpine UTE-73BT Review (Head Unit)

Doodski

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4 x 25 watts @4R is enough for rocking out in the car but more is much better. 4 x 60 watts @4R is enough to blast the occupants and 4 x 120 watts @4R is lotsa power. For a hundred dollar head unit it offers muchO but power output is not a major feature.
 

ROOSKIE

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4 x 25 watts @4R is enough for rocking out in the car but more is much better. 4 x 60 watts @4R is enough to blast the occupants and 4 x 120 watts @4R is lotsa power. For a hundred dollar head unit it offers muchO but power output is not a major feature.
Fyi 4x120watts will play 6.9db SPL louder than 4×25 watts. If all speakers are equally loud then 4×120 can drive a peak SPL in car of about 123db give or take a few DB based on auto size. (90db sensitive drivers and 1meter distance)
This is loud enough to overcome even windows down at highway speeds(55-60mph)
I use about this much power in my stereo. 200watts per side to the 3way front stage (no rears) and 300 to sub which is between the front driver/passenger where the console/armrest used to be.
 

Doodski

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I use about this much power in my stereo. 200watts per side to the 3way front stage (no rears) and 300 to sub which is between the front driver/passenger where the console/armrest used to be
That's gobs of power for what appears to be a 2 seater and maybe even a rear engine cockpit. Convertible too? :D
 

xykreinov

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Oh wow..... @amirm , I think you might've opened a pandora's box on this one. Never saw a headunit review coming!!
You could double/tripple your testing load by including car audio equipment...and you'd bring in a WHOLE new audience for those reviews. You up for that? :D
He's been up for it! His first head unit reviews are decently old now: Sony MEX-XB120BT and Dual AM505BT
Can modern autos take DIN head units now? I thought that automakers condemned autos to all having integrated-into-all-the-junk-on-the-center/dash head units only?
Believe it or not, lots of the modern "hurr durr giant iPad dash" cars just use double DIN radios with a touch screen. The cars that have proprietary, non-DIN radios are uncommon/new enough to not kill the DIN radio aftermarket.
On a semi-related note, I'm sad there aren't more "infotainment" systems like what Lexus does.
lexuslc500.jpg

Reviewers say it sucks all the time cause they aren't user interface savvy. The average person values an overly intuitive, grandma-friendly design over an efficient one. A trackpad/joystick with haptic feedback makes a lot more sense than a touchscreen. You don't have to take your eyes off the road as much with the trackpad as you would leaning in to tap colorful fake buttons like an ape with a touch screen.
But, still, there's nothing like the elegant simplicity of a dash without a giant screen. I want this in my SUV some day. Panasonic CQ-VX5500D:
panavx.jpg

panavxatnight.jpg

The amber of the Panasonic even matches the rest of my interior lighting perfectly. Though, it wouldn't just be for aesthetics- with my SUV's factory radio, cassette adapters only work with the left speakers. Plus, the volume sometimes goes up when I twist the volume knob down! :facepalm: I have to use the steering wheel's volume buttons if I want to keep my ears alive. Passengers are fresh out of luck, for better or worse. :D This Panasonic would give me a proper AUX input and volume knob without looking like the plastic toy with a jillion LED strips slapped on that is every other aftermarket radio these days.
I'd send it in to ASR. Would be curious to see how it stacks up against the premium Sony head unit Amir reviewed a few years back.
 
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Serg

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Just eyeballing the spectra it looks suspiciously as if the entire mess is dominated by intermodulation distortion produced from the residual AC on the power supply. This device is just not intended for anything other than a pure battery to power it. Which for $100 isn't unreasonable. It would not surprise me to see the performance improve significantly when fed clean power.

I’m pretty sure it should filter out nasty alternator noise when in a car environment. Wouldn’t that be roughly the equivalent of some AC mains/power supply noise? Back in my car audio days, the sound of some less expensive systems sounded far better with the engine off. Sometimes, expensive ones too…
 

jcebedo11

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The Signal to Noise Ratio of Car equipment practically irrelevant when you are driving. The road noise will drown out any signal to noise shortcomings of car audio equipment!
 

Sky Way

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Hi guys, I feel bad about the poor results on this Head unit that I sent for testing and reviewing :(.
I want to thank Amir for taking the time doing such a great job reviewing audio equipment and keeping all the community up to date with the results, I think he is one of the few trustable sources over the web when reviewing all kinds of audio equipment.
Going back to the Head unit, now I think its trash, I was not expecting to see overwhelming results for the price of it, but at least some decent ones, I was planning on pairing the head unit with Infinity component speakers model 6530CX at the front and Infinity model 6532IX at rear of a 2,012 Kia Forte, now I don´t know what to do if buying a higher model Alpine or going for another brand.
I remember back in the days listening to Alpine model 7288 cassette player and model 7918 cd (manufactured in Japan) that was pure Sound Quality to my ears.
What do you guys recommend for Sound Quality these days that I can use with my Infinity speakers?.
 

SMc

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Hi guys, I feel bad about the poor results on this Head unit that I sent for testing and reviewing :(.
I want to thank Amir for taking the time doing such a great job reviewing audio equipment and keeping all the community up to date with the results, I think he is one of the few trustable sources over the web when reviewing all kinds of audio equipment.
Going back to the Head unit, now I think its trash, I was not expecting to see overwhelming results for the price of it, but at least some decent ones, I was planning on pairing the head unit with Infinity component speakers model 6530CX at the front and Infinity model 6532IX at rear of a 2,012 Kia Forte, now I don´t know what to do if buying a higher model Alpine or going for another brand.
I remember back in the days listening to Alpine model 7288 cassette player and model 7918 cd (manufactured in Japan) that was pure Sound Quality to my ears.
What do you guys recommend for Sound Quality these days that I can use with my Infinity speakers?.
Just buy an amp. There's no need to throw away the purchase price to replace a head unit whose analog output is sufficiently good for the noise of a car interior.

The better-performing Sony unit referred to in the review cost 15X as much as this.
 

Wes

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No tests of the tuner section? Seems like a complete test of this unit would also measure it's tuners.

FYI you can get a very nice 12 volt gel cell - like a motorcycle battery - for very little money. It would power this unit for hours. Seems to me if you are going to test auto stereos it might be worth spending the $25 on a 9 AH battery => https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K8V2Y8W/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_1ZZXJHCKCEGAD2QW77SM

I second that emotion. To what extent do you think ripple affected the performance of the unit?

and BTW that Sony RSX-G9 which you tested is at least an order of magnitude more expensive...
 

Francis Vaughan

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I’m pretty sure it should filter out nasty alternator noise when in a car environment. Wouldn’t that be roughly the equivalent of some AC mains/power supply noise?
In a modern car, especially with a 6 pole alternator the ripple is quite a bit less than AC mains due to the phase overlap and at a much higher frequency. But indeed, if the amp leaks this much 60Hz, it isn't going to cut out the alternator ripple in its entirety either. But it may do a much better job having smoothing that is more deigned for use at alternator frequencies. It may be that when delivering rated full power the available smoothing is basically overwhelmed and can't cope with 60Hz ripple, whereas it might manage 500Hz with much better margin. Hard to know. The entire thing will have been value engineered down to the last cent, and the smallest filter caps that would work chosen.
 

Grooved

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Don't know if this unit has this feature, but if there is one thing that gave me a big smile by replacing the car receiver in one of my cars, it's definitely the optimization for your driving spot.
I had 20 years ago a VDO Dayton (Philips) with CD, Aux,... but more important with a mic to place anywhere you want to calibrate the sound for that spot and it was really great.
Last year, I put in my oldest car a Kenwood unit (about $100 I think) that can read FLAC up to 24/192 (not that you will take the best of it, but at least no conversion needed), and even if it doesn't have the same calibration with the mic, you can enter the kind of car, the speakers configuration, the speakers sizes for tweeters/front woofers/rear woofers,... and then you can enable optimization for the driving spot or the passager spot.
It delays the audio from each speakers to make all sources received at the same time on that spot, and... :D
Just a bit of EQ with that and you don't want to stop driving.
It supposed to deliver up to 4x50W, I don't think it's the case but I never needed to push it too much.
 

Sky Way

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In a modern car, especially with a 6 pole alternator the ripple is quite a bit less than AC mains due to the phase overlap and at a much higher frequency. But indeed, if the amp leaks this much 60Hz, it isn't going to cut out the alternator ripple in its entirety either. But it may do a much better job having smoothing that is more deigned for use at alternator frequencies. It may be that when delivering rated full power the available smoothing is basically overwhelmed and can't cope with 60Hz ripple, whereas it might manage 500Hz with much better margin. Hard to know. The entire thing will have been value engineered down to the last cent, and the smallest filter caps that would work chosen.

What capacitor value in Microfarads will be right to add in order to filter out alternator frequencies?
 

Sky Way

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Just buy an amp. There's no need to throw away the purchase price to replace a head unit whose analog output is sufficiently good for the noise of a car interior.

The better-performing Sony unit referred to in the review cost 15X as much as this.

Any recommendations for a decent class AB amp with good Sound Quality?
 

Francis Vaughan

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What capacitor value in Microfarads will be right to add in order to filter out alternator frequencies?
The alternator frequencies are already being properly filtered. The higher the frequency the easier it is (up to a point.) The problem we see in the measurements is that it is possible that the head unit is underdone for use on a bench supply. Not clear it is, but it is a possibility. This makes no difference when used in a car.
 

SMc

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Any recommendations for a decent class AB amp with good Sound Quality?
No, for me there's no reason to pass on the benefits of class D for auto sound, especially in my noisy old Volvo. I have an Alpine Power Pack spec'ed at 45 watts per channel. You might benefit from higher quality in your quieter car. The inexpensive Alpine four-channel amps seem differentiated by feature rather than power.
 

Wes

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Focal makes a decent car amp - I have it in my old sports car; pretty sure it is Class D.

You want separate tweeters and mid-range with decent crossovers. Focal has at least 4 price levels, starting at 'good' and then up up up in price. MB Quart is another high quality brand.

Be careful to locate tweeters at the base of the A pillar or similar straight shot to your ears. I have seen people put them inside racquet balls so they can jam it in that corner. This is now std. practice for most car makers, as is DSP. There used to be a DSP unit for the aftermarket but it appears to be defunct.
 
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