I have the CDA-9886 HU which is awesome so I wanted to add HD radio, Setting up the AI net is complicated, there are 3 switches on the bottom of the HU which need to be configured and only the HU manual mentions them, not the HD tuner manual. My TUA-550HD tuner has the same problem as a previous reviewer, 25% of the time it will display radio frequency but no sound. So I have to turn off the car and restart it. I have a few AM/FM stations 45 miles from where I live and it picks them up. For the price compared to the competitors this tuner is junk. I maintain radio's for a living, do professional car audio installs, and am an active HAM. Wait until Alpine releases a newer model.
May 18, 2009
It works, usually
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Review written by bdander from Washington, DC
It generally works as you would expect. Sometimes however, when I turn on the head-unit, the radio is completely silent, and sometimes it is not recognized at all, the standard tuner is the only option available on the head unit. To get it to work, I usually need to stop the car, and turn it off. That seems to reset everything. Just turning the radio itself off and turning it back on does not fix it. Only turning off the car entirely (and thus shutting off power to the unit). This somewhat of an annoyance, it usually works. Only 10 percent of the time do I have this problem, and restarting the car always fixes it. The most annoying thing is to discover it is not working when you are on the freeway, you are kind of stuck, unless you pull off the freeway so you can restart your car. Also the unit seems needlessly large, I don't know why these Alpine add-ons are always so large. It takes up half the space under my set. Low score on design. Sonic Electronix was very helpful in the placing of my order.
January 25, 2009
alpine hd tuner
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Review written by BJ from Spring, TX
Don't buy. When it works it sounds great, but randomly on vehicle startup the tuner shows a station is tuned in, but no sound. The Alpine head unit works on IPOD and CD. Must turn off vehicle to clear fault, turning off radio does not clear fault. have tried 2 units and both do the same thing. Alpine has no clue as to the problem let alone the fix!
*****
NOTE: We believe this to be an installation error. The unit was not purchased from us, but if it was, we would provide technical assistance for installing it correctly.
In-dash AM/FM Digital media receiver player with Remote • 2.2" Full color TFT Display • 50W x 4 chan. Max • 18W x 4 chan. RMS • Tuner with 12FM/6AM presets • Optional Imprint sound shaping • 3 Sets of 2V preamp outputs • Satellite, iPod, Bluetooth ready
I recently replaced my head unit in my 2005 Chvey Equinox with equipment purchased from Sonic. I found the whole process to bee quite smooth and their prices were the best on the internet. Communication was great and the installation was even smoother. I highly recommend Sonic FAR above competitors.
