Opinions On Alpine Products?

[InfiniteSleep]

Going to replace all 4 speakers in my Bonneville soon and I don't want anything too expensive, just one step higher than factory. I went to Best Buy and looked at some Pioneers and Kenwood, and the tech guys flat out denied me when I asked if they were any good. They said go with Alpine all the way. I was planning on going with the Alpine Type-S 6.5" Component System with the 1" tweeter and the Alpine Type-S three-way 6x9" speakers. What are your opinions? I have been looking for brands that are higher quality, but off the markets too so any input would be great!

[YoungBonne12]

Every alpine product I've ever owned was top notch. I dont know about the components, but my friend has type s 6x9's in his truck and they are as clear as I've ever heard, the only downside to them is the bass, but that may have been because they were in doors. You can't go wrong with alpine, especially for the money

[Zeik75]

My personal opinion is that alpine is over priced and liwer quality now days than about 10-15 years ago. My parents have alpines in their truck' but my bottom level polk audios blow them out of the water for clarity. A little less bass, but i also have the speakers tuned to cut out the lows because i have a sub to fill that space. Also my polks were i think about 2/3 the price of kenwoodsmand alpines that were comparable. I would suggest going to sonic electronix and look at some speakers there and their reviews, then search online for deals. One of my friends did that and got 3way components from precision power that were priced 450ish for 180 online.

Hope this helps a bit in your decisions.

[InfiniteSleep]

Thanks guys, it does help. Im not looking for a ton of bass, just some. Ill be getting subs soon for the majority of the bass. Is sonicelectronix a trustworthy site to buy from? Ive never purchased audio online so who are trustworthy distributors?

[ga93sle]

Everything is lower quality than it was 10 years ago, unfortunately, IMO. I've had a few sets of Pioneer speakers and I've always been satisfied. Were they the best in the world? No, but they played music and sounded pretty good. I really like Kenwood products, and Alpine is probably pretty decent, too.

[Zeik75]

The only online site i have bought from was sonic electronix and everything went over great. Good shipping speeds and well packaged. For the price savings I can't justify buying local unless i get a really good deal. and since you plan on getting subs i would look for speakers with good mids and highs and not worry about how low they go or that crap. That's how i built my system and anyone who has heard it says it's one of the best systems they have heard.

[Bugsi]

Relying on Best Buy salespeople to tell you that Pioneer and Kenwood don't make quality products is not a terribly scientific approach to judging speakers. You're not very likely to encounter an audio engineer among Best Buy salespeople. If you have completely functional ears, you can simply audition speakers yourself. Granted, the store displays won't reproduce the acoustic environment of your car, but you can still compare a set of Pioneer speakers against a set of Kenwoods against a set of Alpines, and tell if one set has dramatically better or worse bass or treble response. Pioneer and Kenwood make perfectly acceptable products at many price points, as does Alpine and other brands like Infinity and Polk and other brands like Boston Acoustics, Eclipse, MB Quart, and others. Just listen to some and buy what you like at a price you can afford. Buying online is often the best way to get the best price. SonicElectronix is good, so is Amazon. Audio companies release new speaker models every year or so, so there really is no solid rule like "Kenwood sucks but Alpine doesn't." You may find a low-end offering from any brand that pretty much sucks, but frankly even the lowest end aftermarket speakers from name-brand companies are typically better than OEM stock speakers. So my advice is just go out and audition some speakers. Pick something you like at a decent price.

[ga93sle]

Relying on Best Buy salespeople to tell you that Pioneer and Kenwood don't make quality products is not a terribly scientific approach to judging speakers. You're not very likely to encounter an audio engineer among Best Buy salespeople. If you have completely functional ears, you can simply audition speakers yourself. Granted, the store displays won't reproduce the acoustic environment of your car, but you can still compare a set of Pioneer speakers against a set of Kenwoods against a set of Alpines, and tell if one set has dramatically better or worse bass or treble response. Pioneer and Kenwood make perfectly acceptable products at many price points, as does Alpine and other brands like Infinity and Polk and other brands like Boston Acoustics, Eclipse, MB Quart, and others. Just listen to some and buy what you like at a price you can afford. Buying online is often the best way to get the best price. SonicElectronix is good, so is Amazon. Audio companies release new speaker models every year or so, so there really is no solid rule like "Kenwood sucks but Alpine doesn't." You may find a low-end offering from any brand that pretty much sucks, but frankly even the lowest end aftermarket speakers from name-brand companies are typically better than OEM stock speakers. So my advice is just go out and audition some speakers. Pick something you like at a decent price.

Exactly what I was trying to say, you just said it better lol.

[nos4blood70]

Go audition them. It's all about your ears. My personal favorites are Pioneer and Polk. Although I've been Pioneer more recently since I've had reliability issues with every one of my Polk speakers at some point. Pioneers are indestructible.

[SSEiMan01]

Pioneers are indestructible.

My car is proof of that!

[Zeik75]

Maybe the polks just don't like you carl.

[yourgrandma]

Definately try to get out an listen to a few different brands. Installation quality makes a big difference in how then end up sounding, as well.

[Bugsi]

Installation quality makes a big difference in how then end up sounding, as well.

I'll vouch for that as well. Installation quality can make all the difference between great and lackluster sound.

The last car audio speakers I bought were for our Odyssey minivan, and it can only take shallow-depth speakers. I auditioned many and ultimately chose a set of Polks that others had had good success with in the Odyssey. They sounded very good.

I'll also give a nod to Pioneer. In a former career I was a repair technician for a Pioneer master service center, and tI'll vouch that they make generally very good quality products. I'm currently using a Pioneer head unit in my Bonneville.

[nos4blood70]

Maybe the polks just don't like you carl.

Maybe. I like how Polks sound better. But they are both more expensive and apparently delicate. Even when I'm feeding 40 Watts RMS to a speaker designed to take 100. It's not like I'm clipping or anything either.

And yes, I second install quality. Who cares how good the nuances of your speakers sound like when the rattling of all your panels and resonance is louder than your sound system.

[yourgrandma]

Maybe the polks just don't like you carl.

Maybe. I kinda like how Polks sound better. But they are both more expensive and apparently delicate. Even when I'm feeding 40 Watts RMS to a speaker designed to take 100. It's not like I'm clipping or anything either.

And yes, I second install quality. Who cares how good the nuances of your speakers sound like when the rattling of all your panels and resonance is louder than your sound system.

Its not just rattling and such, a good install involves aiming the drivers to give better imagining as well.

[Zeik75]

Install and aiming is very important also. It can relate to dj setups at clubs and such also. The way dj's do it is by putting their low end audio on the ground usually since those frequencies generally go through objects better, where as they mount the mids and highs on stands or up on the wall. This is because higher frequencies are stopped much easier by objects, by mounting them up the sound is carried much farther throughout the club before it drops off.

It is the same in a car. Your tweeters act like the highs and the woofers act like subs. If your tweeters are poorly aomed the sound will go right past you, and if your woofers aren't solidly mounted they will move the car doors and other trim instead of just moving air and making sound.

Hope this makes sense and helps you do a quality install.