Alpine iLX-W650 - Customer Ratings & Reviews

Recommended

Installation was simple and fast, with the exception of the parking brake wire. You can't do any customization without that connection, including dimming. I wish there was infinite dimming for the back light, but it's not overpowering. My antenna appears to be connected properly, but am unable to tune in any stations.

Pros - Great sound, fit and function, especially for $300.

Cons - Parking brake wire safety feature, no infinite back light dimming

By Anonymous on March 13, 2019 Verified purchase

Overall Great Product!

The Radio screen display is lit up nicely with big easy to read buttons and easy to jump to different pre-programmed stations. I also have steering wheel control that works great also. Only thing missing is it doesn't have HD or RDS or whatever you call it to show the Artist name and song. When you play your own music, it does show this information. Apple Car Play is excellent! Now I can see my maps on the screen instead of looking at my phone. A must for the future of no looking at your phone while driving! The back-up camera works well too.

Typical Alpine Elegance at a discount price

Fast start-up, steering wheel controls work fine, camera works well. The auto dimmer has enough variability for my taste. Did not do the parking bypass but found only the advanced sound settings need parking brake. Screen beautiful, excellent response, good sound. Thought I would be annoyed by parking brake for settings but really they are set once and forget. Would rather live than watch videos while I drive.

Great design

Radio works and looks great! It also is half the size of a regular double din in the back which leaves tons of room for extra wires.

Works Great!

It pretty much works wonderfully with my Samsung note 8. It takes almost no time to actually hook up. I do wish it would start up faster, but no other complaint.

By Anonymous on June 22, 2019 Verified purchase

Decent entry level stereo

If you are looking for a budget entry level Android Auto/Carplay stereo or want something that has a shallow mounting depth, this is a decent unit. It was easy to install and has good sound quality, but it has a one huge con. In comparison to my Sony XAV-AX100, the display is absolutely terrible! All the colors just look washed out and there doesn't seem to be any kind of settings to adjust the image quality.

By H Burris on March 19, 2020 Verified purchase

I like it very much!

I just installed this in my 1999 Ford Crown Victoria LX. It fits very easily into place with only minor modification to the dash cavity. All I needed to do was remove the plastic ridges at the top and bottom with a rotary sanding tool. I also trimmed any excess length off the back of the dash install kit. It's a super easy fit.

After being frustrated by finding a defroster duct running through my dash, blocking any chance at easy double din head unit installation, I found the iLX-W650! It sounds fantastic and its super shallow body seems like it was made with my specific space limitations in mind!

Also, the price is quite competitive. Sonic even gave me the installation parts free for my car. Not sure about yours but I'd call them and ask! They're super helpful.

Good price

Good price for a quality alpine stereo, the touch screens work well.

By ramiro on June 6, 2020 Verified purchase

Nice stereo and sounds good

I was really surprised by this stereo. I bought it with the kata-450 that attaches to the back of it but it sounded good without it. The only issue I've got is alpines usual stuff where you have to have it connected to parking brake switch to get to settings and all. Other than that. It looks and sounds good.

By Jason on April 20, 2020 Verified purchase

Awesome

I use both apple and android phones with this unit. Both work great and the interface is super easy to use.

By Anonymous on September 7, 2019 Verified purchase

It’s a no from me dawg

Quite disappointing. The first thing that’s annoying about this head unit is that there is no knob for volume, it’s all a touch screen. It’s really more of a hassle than you’d think when you want to adjust the volume while driving. The Bluetooth connectivity will not remember the main device and chooses which one it connects to randomly(sometimes multiple ones for music and another for the phone) or not at all depends on how it’s feeling when powered up. Read a lot of good reviews about this head unit but trust me your better off not getting this one. It’s just a lower-end unit with a bit higher price tag.

Great product

Its a great unit especially for the price it really exceeded my expectations. The only thing is if parking brake wire is not hooked up alot of the functions wouldnt work. But after wiring everything up as it should be everything works and is great no problems from it...

Love it!

Recently installed this unit in my 01 Silverado mainly to have a screen while adding a backup camera. Im amazed at how well this unit performs for its price. The touchscreen is extremely fast and responsive. Sound quality is a bit funky right out of the box but there is a ton of sound adjustments in the “advanced eq” settings which i had a difficult time setting up, as I am not an audio expert by any means. However, after about 30 minutes of playing with the eq I got it to sound nice. Android auto works well and hasn't had any bugs that I've ran into yet. I haven't tried any other units in this price range but id imagine it would be difficult to find a better one!

Not Bad!

First off I like this product. You definitely get what you pay for and then some. I almost exclusively bought this unit for Apple Carplay function. And it does that semi reliably. When I first got it it was almost never. So I did a software update and that improved it but didn't completely fix it. So I have to plug and unplug replug the lightning cable on a regular basis but not always. I plan on getting a new cable and trying that, but the two or three that I have did the same thing. When it works it's awesome though. Love the capacitive touch screen. It doesn't show finger prints terribly bad. The radio reception is great, although I don't use it a lot. But it doesn't show station tags and songs that I have figured out. Kind of weird to not have that. I would recommend this unit to anyone. I'm knocking it down due to the connection to Carplay issues but overall for three bills this is a great buy.

By Jeramy on May 6, 2020 Verified purchase

Car Stereo

Bought this for a 2010 Suburban. I am installing this with a video camera, 2 amps and a powered subwoofer. A subwoofer and 2 component speakers along with 2-2way speakers. First time to ever install new car stereo equipment. Haven't actually used the Alpine Unit just yet. A couple more days and I will have finished the install. It seems to be of good quality. Shipping was fast and everything arrived intact and in a timely manner.

By Jack on April 5, 2020 Verified purchase

Amazing

This alpine has been one of the best I have put in my truck

By Jonathon on December 18, 2019 Verified purchase

awesome radio

ILX-w650 is a great overall unit,
PROs
super shallow chassis, great sound quality, smooth user interface with no added nonsense. touch screen is almost identical to an ipad.

cons, single rear usb, must use APPLE lighting cable to work with carplay can NOT be a non apple product, can not turn off the crossovers.

other then those cons, i love the unit. the SQ is so good that ALL the con's can be over looked!!!!

By Anonymous on July 29, 2019 Verified purchase

Great product!

This radio exceeds my expectations. I was ecstatic to find an Alpine source unit with a fair pricetag. When you pair this unit with the Alpine KTA-450 you create a high quality sound at an excellent price. Even with the power pack mounted on the back, the space the combo takes up in the dash is far less than the average aftermarket head unit. I would have gave this product 5 stars but I felt like a couple things are missing. It would have been nice to have HD radio and an aux input in the back to incorporate my stock dash options but needless to say I am still extremely happy with my choice.

Great Radio

Fits perfectly in a 1999 Sonoma. Great audio fidelity and volume. Great value. UI is responsive and intuitive, CarPlay and Android Auto work like a charm. Bluetooth connectivity is also good. Kit included everything to get working with the AM/FM radio aswel

By Matthew on October 25, 2020 Verified purchase

Great radio

Good quality item for the price especially having apple play and adriod auto

Excellent upgrade

Put the Alpine unit into my '11 Frontier. Everything works well, the unit was easy to install due to shallow form factor. AA works great, without any lag, which I was worried with my Pixel3. The gesture controls do work, except when you are in Android Auto, which is inconsistent, but I used Axxess steering wheel module and that does the trick. Overall very happy with new stereo, not need to upgrade speaker and maybe a sub?

By Anonymous on September 12, 2019 Verified purchase

Almost Perfect

Does not allow the 2 finger swipe with Apple CarPlay. Not a deal killer.

By George on October 30, 2020 Verified purchase

Lots of features!

This unit has lots of features like x-overs, eq, and time alignment among others. I put this unit in my NSX so space is at a premium and with it being a media-only player it's perfect. No CDs to take up space. I have all of my music on a thumb drive. The screen is very responsive and fast.
There's not much customization as far as the colors or backgrounds on the screen so if you want that look elsewhere.

By aron on May 25, 2020 Verified purchase

Great Alpine Unit

This Alpine interface is very easy to use, big icons, enjoyed the Apple Car Play, Siri, microphone very accurate I didn’t have to repeat. Sound is awesome, I also added the Alpine KTA 450 and attached it to the back of the head unit and have 100 w per channel. Also added the Alpine Powered Subwoofer PWE-S8. Added the Sirius XM tuner with 3 months free to try it out, sounds great. Added an Alpine Back up Camera. The only thing I wish I could do is to change the background screen, maybe Alpine will have a firmware upgrade soon. Also, I would like to have more Apps like Netflix, Weather, Google or mirror the iPhone would be a nice feature. The price is fair. Recommend this product from Sonic Electronix's best prices and fast delivery.

By DENIS on May 11, 2020 Verified purchase

Great Touch Screen

The size makes it very simple to install. Takes about 10 seconds to start up when you start your car. Bypassing the parking brake sensor was a bit of a pain. If you connect to a ground, it will work until you turn the car off then back on. I ended up wiring a switch to a ground, and putting the parking brake wire on the switch. Whenever i start my truck i flip the switch off and then back on, and it works with no issues. I always like volume knobs but the volume buttons work decently fast

Pros: great touch screen, apple carplay works flawlessly, small design, tons of equalizer and crossover features, good price

Cons: 10 second startup, parking brake wire is a bit of a pain, cant customize the home screen, no volume knob

Not bad, but not great

I had this a short time before I returned it.

The colors are bright and crisp and the touch responsiveness is fantastic. However for being compatible with both Android and Apple, I was sorely disappointed.

I had a Pixel 3XL at the time and getting it to connect and not freeze up on my Android Auto was hit and miss. Some days it would work flawlessly and others not so much. The average connection would take usually 2-4min and usually kick in AFTER I had started driving. This is the main reason I returned the ILX-W650.

The bluetooth connection was fantastic. It would sync almost immediately after I turned on my Frontier. This is what I would usually end up using to stream music as again the Android Auto connection was terrible.

Plenty of settings to tune your music just perfect.

By Wayne on December 28, 2020 Verified purchase

Perfect for 300zx

This works great in the 91 300zx! It's so shallow that fitment is pretty easy.

By Pete on October 1, 2020 Verified purchase

Great radio

This radio is great. It’s small, fits in any car and has some great features. Easy to use and installation was easy. Love it!

By Esteven on June 19, 2020 Verified purchase

Love it!!

Works flawlessly with my iPhone 11 Pro.

By robert on May 3, 2020 Verified purchase

Excellent recomendation

Bought this radio based on recommendation from sales advisor, glad I did! I wanted Android Auto, hands free bluetooth and ability for Sirius in future. This radio had all that! Excellent price, looks great in car. Only issue i had on installation is connecting to parking brake, tech support helped with that and ask works great now. Kept factory speakers and still sounds amazing. Great unit!

By chris on April 6, 2020 Verified purchase

Great Value

This head unit has it all for a very affordable price. Love all the features. Keep in mind that this unit is not remote ready. Meaning if you don't have steering wheel controls you won't be able to use an external remote with it. Certainly not a deal breaker but something to be aware of. If you have steering wheel controls there's an accessory you can buy that will interface between those and the head unit. Also, you will need a bypass switch for the emergency brake restriction. This is a feature most modern head units have today. I guess it's suppose to ensure you aren't watching videos while driving or something. Anyway, the PAC TR1 works great and is easy to install and you can get it from Sonic. Order and install it with your head unit or it won't work.

By Mickey on March 6, 2023 Verified purchase

Awesome head unit!!

I like that this head unit is adapting with the times. Without the CD player, this unit is very slim and light, and the carplay works well. I was able to connect all my cameras and amp-preout no problem and the remote connection is good!

By SGS on October 27, 2020 Verified purchase

Really nice unit for the money

I replaced a JVC touchscreen unit that I put in my truck about 2 years ago with this Alpine unit. The JVC was very slow to react and I could barely see it during direct sunlight contact. This Alpine unit is 10 times better. Instant response to input and adjustable brightness so you can see during direct sunlight contact. My only complaint is I had to install a bypass so I could access the Bluetooth and Android auto settings in my Toyota Tundra. I only wish I would've known that before I put it all back together. Overall though, this is a great head unit for the money.

By Caleb on October 12, 2020 Verified purchase

Great Value

This unit has all the features of the high end units. The price is very reasonable and the quality is actually better than some of the high end units

Alpine ILX-W650

Easy to install and the back up camera feature works great!

By Mark on May 17, 2020 Verified purchase

Great value

The short chassis was a great fit. Has all the features I need which are apple car play and google maps. Very responsive.

By Jason on December 1, 2022 Verified purchase

Never again

I had this professionally installed 25 minutes from my house. Twice during my drive back the receiver just cut off. Completely!!! Then took the 15 long seconds to cut back on. The CarPlay doesn’t work if the car is already on and I plug my phone in. I literally have to cut my car off. Plug the phone into the usb and then cut the car back on. That’s the only way CarPlay will activate. BS! And on top of that yes I cannot access settings. I guess it’s the parking brake fiasco. I’ve tried every variation of off and on on the PB and nothing. I’m so frustrated with this product I wish I could yank it out and send it right back!

Amazing head unit, especially for the price

Absolutely love this head unit and do not miss not having a CD or DVD drive at all. In 2020, there’s really no need for a CD or DVD player as you are most likely streaming everything. Apple CarPlay is fantastic. One of the best parts of this radio is the ability to adjust your speakers for a completely flat response in your car through the parametric equalizer. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to move on to time aligning your speakers. This is no gimmick and produces amazing results when done correctly. Bass is much sharper, vocals become crystal clear, and the imaging and sound staging will really bring the sound to life. The only way to get better than this is to get full DSP where you have full control of parametric EQ’ing and time alignment for each individual speaker, provided you are supplying each with its own channel of amplification. This is what’s known as running fully active. That is a very expensive option to pursue.

By Merle on February 28, 2020 Verified purchase

Nice Radio

Happy to buy this radio for a great price. East installation for my suv.

By Herbert on January 31, 2022 Verified purchase

Good unit

Decent low end head unit , really lacks alot of the bells and whistles . Good unit for someone who doesn't care about SQ and adjustability

By Ben on November 5, 2020 Verified purchase

Alpine iLX-W650 "could have been great"

Alpine really made a great looking unit, nice low profile, good quality materials but it lacks a lot of key features, also I know its full touch screen but would like to see a return of units with a physical volume knob, digital buttons are responsive but if you have an older vehicle (like I do) with no steering controls, it can be frustrating to adjust while driving.

Cons
No folder options with audio stored on USB (can't scan or select folder just skip to next track, every thing is combined as one big album)
Android auto is a joke (3 Android phones 2xSony 1xNokia none can be detected)
Slow response on touch screen to skip tracks when using Bluetooth
Not really a con but wish it had visualizations when playing from USB
Center of screen has "frost" spot on cold mornings

Pros
Size (Low Profile easy to install)
Best crossover I have used in a while
3 sets of pre outs
Built in amp is powerful for stock speakers

I can recommend this unit to people with steering controls (note you would have to purchase an interface from PAC etc.) and an ios device cause it doesn't seem to like Android. Overall I am a bit disappointed but it is a pretty decent unit, could be a bit cheaper.

Alpine ILX-W650

The unit is very nice and easy to program. I would definitely recommend this unit. It is a very nice unit at a reasonable price.

Alpine did not disappoint

I have not had an Alpine unit for 20 years. this one was easy to install and sounds terrific. I'm glad I gave them another try

By Rick on January 29, 2023 Verified purchase

Great Receiver !

Never installed it, and sold it.
I never should have sold it.
I got it for the price it came out as, which was way lower than now.
It was well built, had a short chassis, had tons of features, and had a fantastic looking screen.
All the features you would want too.
I especially liked that it had HD radio and 4v preamp outputs as well.
Only two things I didn't like .....
The watts were low in concideration to others.
It had everything except navigation which I could of used my phone to link to.

By Josh on August 21, 2022 Verified purchase

Just enough

I am a Transporter traveling all across America I need a system that would was somewhat compact but with enough kick without the over kill, the adjustable is awesome, it's as though u were in a studio, being able to separate or keep amp and stereo together is awesome.

By Howard j on June 24, 2022 Verified purchase

Awesome Headunit

This headunit is certainly great quality especially for this price range. There is no lag when clicking on buttons or switching screens, and it boots up pretty quick. You can also adjust several different sound settings which may be a little overkill for most people but is definitely a nice feature. Android Auto and Apple Carplay work like a charm.

I called Sonic Eletronix and spoke with a gentleman who was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. I told him what I was looking for and he knew exactly what I needed. He set me up with the steering wheel control module and everything else I needed specifically for my car.

Overall I would highly recommend this unit.

By Joshua on October 15, 2023 Verified purchase

Christmas

Purchased for my niece for Christmas. She absolutely loves it and it was very simple to navigate and install.

By Jeffrey on December 29, 2023 Verified purchase

Lots of nice to have features for a fair price.

Never owned an alpine head unit until now and I’d own another one. This radio was $280 or something on Black Friday and had apple carplay for under $300 so I decided to give it a try. I really like the CarPlay feature. Touch screen is super responsive only thing I don’t like it about it is the lack of an actual volume knob. It has a ton of sound settings and can make my stock door speakers really sound pretty decent. The subwoofer controls are also intuitive and easy to use. I like it quite a bit overall.

By Dude on December 6, 2023 Verified purchase

Beautiful head unit

Android auto is so responsive it's crazy, sound quality, all of the EQ settings, I could go on and on. Paired with the 450w power pak, behind it in the dash, along with a Skar sub with a 1200 watt amp, sounds amazing with any song, no distortion, sounds like you're at a concert with any band. Installed in a 2007.5 Silverado 1500.

By Brandon on December 2, 2023 Verified purchase

Radio and install

The radio is what I expected from Alpine. The install info was good. Vides from YouTube helped and infor on the wiring for my Toyota tundra from tundra talk fourm. For the camera. I gave up trying to find a trigger wire in that area and ended up running a wire to the passenger side kick panel. There's a blue wire in the lower white plug that gets 12v when the vehicle is put in reverse.

By Richard on November 27, 2023 Verified purchase

ILX-W650 - One of the Best Double Din!

This is my third ILX650. One in a previous vehicle and another in a current car. Latest will go in son's car for Christmas. Very shallow chassis so much more room for install. Fast response and intuitive menu system make daily use a pleasure. Who uses CD's any more?!

By JAMES on October 22, 2023 Verified purchase

Simple to use and covers all that you need.

So far I love the unit. I updated from a Kenwood DDX386 because of Android Auto. Everything works as it should and the receiver boots up quickly. Something that my Kenwood didn't do. It took forever to connect with Blue Tooth. Even starting the car after having the unit on, it had to do a total restart. Getting into the detailed settings requires a parking brake trigger. So, order a bypass when you order the unit. I got mine off eBay. The one negative is that now I have a speaker pop the key off. I checked my grounds and re-wired directly to my amp power. This didn't change anything and is frustrating because it never happened before. I'm sure I can figure it out eventually.

By Patrick on December 23, 2023 Verified purchase

Very nice

I like the colors and the ease of use on each ap.... I don't like that there's no power button unless I just haven't found it yet. The overall looks are way better than my factory radio. Glad I made this purchase.... Still trying to get used to the functionality of android auto

By Shawn on February 26, 2024 Verified purchase

One simple unit

Amazing detail and clarity on a mechless head unit. Eq is amazing!! Only down fall, super sensitive to touch but that’s also better than most units you almost have to insert your finger to get commands to function. Highly recommend!!!

By Tyson Cox Sunbelt on March 25, 2024 Verified purchase

Clean and functional

It updated my sad head unit in my 2011 ram 1500. Looks good. Good sound. Depending on what you install this in, you may need an interface adapter. Only drawback is setting up parking brake wire. Alpine made it so you have to hook it up to access settings and most controls. Pay close attention to the installation instructions and you shouldn't have any issues

By Josh on April 26, 2024 Verified purchase

2013 GMC sierra 1500 without Bose and no bypass switch installed

In general I do like this head unit. It was easy to install. Shipping was fast and Sonicelectronix is awesome! I had to contact customer service to verify my address and they were amazing. Now for the ehh things about this head unit. If you DO NOT run the wire to your parking brake you will only have the ability to use your radio, CarPlay(unsure about android), and simple EQ settings. The nice thing with the simple EQ settings is you can turn on your sub. However it is annoying that you have to attach the parking brake wire or purchase a parking brake bypass micro switch. In order to access the”master EQ” Bluetooth and other settings. The Alpine instructions do not help you in anyway to determine if the wire requires a positive or negative connection. So you’re left to figure it out yourself. Also I understand why Alpine did this. In theory it was to help stop driver distraction but other brands like Kenwood have a simple work around. If I had to buy another double din I would not buy an alpine because of this issue. With that said I have purchased the bypass switch from Amazon. I do like this head unit it booths up within 10-15 seconds and CarPlay is very responsive.

By Lance on June 19, 2024 Verified purchase

Great headunit

Pros: the 9 band eq , apple carplay and andriod auto. The audio is much cleaner and can hear more subtle tones in the music i want able to before.
Con: the bass doesnt hit as hard as with my 50 dollar dual head unit.
Over all im really happy with the headunit ill sacrifice the bass for having the functions and better sounding music

By Austin on July 12, 2024 Verified purchase

Excellent for my Expedition

I installed this in a 2001 Ford Expedition for the Android Auto feature to utilize navigation. I have the same ILX650 in my 2006 Scion and enjoy it, so I decided to get another one. My only issue is with the illumination; it lacks dimming features and doesn't have an illumination wire for the wiring harness. Sometimes, I wish to turn off the display, but I haven't found a setting for this, and the bright button lights remain very bright even when the radio is turned off. Overall, the sound quality and other features are great, and I appreciate the simple layout of the menus.

By Shane on June 13, 2024 Verified purchase

Highly recommended

I love all the features of this headunit. Alpine makes an excellent product..the unit distorted very very little..if at all..@ full volume. (Perfect for setting your amp gains)..

By Robert on March 16, 2025 Verified purchase

Great buy!

The apple car play is very responsive and fast. This is probably the best head unit I have owned. I have always purchased pioneers. The only downfall is that this one does not have a remote.

By Tagiilima on March 15, 2025 Verified purchase

Great price

Price and shipping were perfect. Love the product . Will be using your site for all my projects

By Eric on February 28, 2025 Verified purchase

It works as it should. I love that the Bluetooth works from a long distance.

By Alan on February 12, 2025 Verified purchase

Great purchase

I brought this for my daughter and it fits and works perfectly for her needs.

By Rodney on December 29, 2024 Verified purchase

Best base model alpine

Great base model alpine

By Damon on December 13, 2024 Verified purchase

Awesome double din with car play

Super easy to use, works great no complaints

By Tallon on November 25, 2024 Verified purchase

Ixl-w650 Alpine is by far the best

The Alpine ixl-w650 is a quality unity with multi features. Simple instructions and good looks priced fairly is a win win. You can’t go wrong with this one.

By CARTER on October 4, 2024 Verified purchase

A little pricey but worth it!

Not slow and overall functions well. No delay or anything. Makes the car feel and ride experience even better.

By Segundo on May 25, 2024 Verified purchase

Works great

Installed in a 2012 Ram 2500. Fit great, looks good and gives more features than the original radio.

By James on May 20, 2024 Verified purchase

Very straight forward connection and easy install with added connectors. Thank yo-yo Maria and Joanna for all your help!

By David on May 19, 2024 Verified purchase