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I got tired of using the stock headunit in my Legacy and so I got myself one of those fancy Alpine iPod-compatible headunits (CDE-9852, $180) from Crutchfield. Of course, I got the iPod cable too ($30) and the 1.5 DIN pocket for below the radio for a professional-looking installation ($50).

Using a direct connection to the iPod instead of a casette adaptor makes a huge difference both in terms of sound quality and elegance. Also, the Alpine interface is easy to use, even while driving. It took me all of 30 minutes to figure out. I also drilled a hole in the back of the 1.5 DIN pocket so that my iPod is nicely tucked away in there.

Before:



After:



Night shot:



Inside the pocket:

Why didnt you just use the aux jack?

A cable would have been about $6

The aux jack on my radio sucked. Lots of static, worse sound quality than a casette adaptor. I probably would have used it if it worked properly, but it didn't.

Besides, the integration on the Alpine decks is sweet.

Ah I see

Neat

Pretty sweet. Are the blue buttons able to turn green to match the bottom row and everything else? My really old Alpine has a color change feature, it's nice to have all green.

Did you get the 1.5 DIN pocket at a dealer?

AWD_addict wrote:Pretty sweet. Are the blue buttons able to turn green to match the bottom row and everything else? My really old Alpine has a color change feature, it's nice to have all green.

I don't think it does. This is the most basic Alpine headunit that still includes iPod integration -- only one set of preamp outputs, and no dot-matrix display. The blue is bright but doesn't bother me too much.

AWD_addict wrote:Did you get the 1.5 DIN pocket at a dealer?

Yep. It's a special-order item, so I got it the day I ordered my stereo (last Friday), and it came in the day before the stereo came (Thursday for the pocket, Friday for the stereo).

Looks great. I almost got a similar setup.

It's amazing to see all your climate controls with working bulbs, mine need replacing. You've inspired a new weekend project.

Subaru_Nation555 wrote:It's amazing to see all your climate controls with working bulbs, mine need replacing. You've inspired a new weekend project.

Low-mileage cars FTW... The bulbs tend to burn out after a lot more miles than my grandparents drove this thing. I'm certainly proud of my fully-lit-up dashboard.

147k and no burnt out bulbs on the A/C side of things.

Where did you get that supersized door for your Ipod pocket?

Manarius wrote:Where did you get that supersized door for your Ipod pocket?

From farther up:

thefultonhow wrote:

AWD_addict wrote:Did you get the 1.5 DIN pocket at a dealer?

Yep. It's a special-order item, so I got it the day I ordered my stereo (last Friday), and it came in the day before the stereo came (Thursday for the pocket, Friday for the stereo).

wow I installed the exact same setup last week!

Cruchfield is wonderous, except I still haven't gotten around to wiring up the illumination correctly, you try that yet?

corsair wrote:wow I installed the exact same setup last week!

Exact same as in the 9852, the cable, and the pocket? Great minds think alike, I guess.

corsair wrote:Cruchfield is wonderous, except I still haven't gotten around to wiring up the illumination correctly, you try that yet?

Correctly as in having it dim in proportion to the other dashboard lights when you use the dimmer switch? I don't think it has the ability to dim proportionately; you can either have it dim somewhat when the lights are on, or not have it dim at all. It's an option in the setup menu.

I personally don't want to have mine dim (one of the pet peeves I had with my OEM deck is that the clock was too dim to read in direct sunlight witht he lights on), so just having the radio lit up at the same brightness all the time is fine with me.

ok I lied, I have a 1/2 din pocket that is lame, and the the stock 1 din, but I really would like to have the radio dim with the rest of the lights as I tend to drive a lot at night but I haven't even bothered to figure out the clock on this thing yet

The clock took a bit of figuring out -- you have to change to the clock using the Display button on the far right, hold down the Display button for two seconds, use the knob (I think... might have been the up/down keys or the skip-back/forward keys) to change the hour, press the Mode button underneath the knob to change tot he minutes, and change the minutes using the same technique you used for the hour.

It's all in the manual, so I'd suggest you take that out and follow the instructions instead of following mine. It's kind of frustrating because the timeouts are short and so I went to read the next step in the manual, and by the time I'd reoriented myself to the display and pressed the right button, it had timed out and I had to repeat the procedure.

I think I'm going to Xerox that part of the manual and put it in the Subaru manual, because I use the clock all the time and I'm never going to remember how to set it when the battery gets disconnected for servicing or something. That and the settings menu are really the only frustrating parts of the interface for me, because they're not consistent with the iPod or radio interface.

Actually, I lied -- the other frustrating thing is that you have to turn shuffle off before you can select a new artist or playlist in iPod mode. Not a biggie, just a minor niggle.

I just intalled a deck recently with the large pocket too. I however installed the deck at the bottom and the pocket at the top so I could reach the radio with the cupholder out.

That FSCKING cupholder...

Im in the slow process of building a high-density foam insert for the arm rest that'll work as a cupholder

My Infiniti didn't have cupholders. I had to use the armrest. I'm glad we have cupholders of any kind in these cars, even if they are too small and block the radio.

I decided visibility was more important to me than being able to easily access the radio when i have something in the cupholders. I usually use the right cupholder anyway so that I can use the volume control.

thefultonhow wrote:My Infiniti didn't have cupholders. I had to use the armrest. I'm glad we have cupholders of any kind in these cars, even if they are too small and block the radio.

I decided visibility was more important to me than being able to easily access the radio when i have something in the cupholders. I usually use the right cupholder anyway so that I can use the volume control.

#1 The 1.5 din is ugly..its what i have..just looks kinda weird.
#2 JVC kameleon head unit FTW.
#3 The cup holders hold the LARGEST taco bell cups..which do just fine.
#4 If you dont have a shitty deck, Your head unit comes with a remote....cup holder in the way? No problem.

#4

I dont have a shitty deck, but I dont want a cup of liquid over my $400 touchscreen

92whitelegacy wrote:

thefultonhow wrote:#4 If you dont have a shitty deck, Your head unit comes with a remote....cup holder in the way? No problem.

Only way to justify using a remote on something that is less than an armlength away. Remotes FTW!

wow that is a clean install!!!

Not-so-lucky for me my car got broken into and the whole stereo area is hacked to peices.

That sucks. Did you have an aftermarket stereo, or just the OEM one?

One of the only problems with having this stereo is that I'm going to have to remember to take the faceplate with me or hide it in the car (spare tire well organizer FTW) when I park in bad areas.

It's fairly easy to make it look that clean. The hardest parts of the install (i.e. the only parts that required more than a philips head screwdriver) were crimping the wires on the harness and drilling the hole for the iPod cable. If you get one of those two piece harnesses from Best Buy, it's even easier to install. You just have the be willing to shell out the $50 for the 1.5 DIN pocket.

I picked up an Alpine headunit just after Christmas. Extremely happy with it! I got the CDA-9855 I think. Touch-Scroll Bar FTW. That thing works great, though can be a little tough to use on bumpy roads.