ALPINE CDE102 E 50WX4 AM FM CD DET FACE

• Features -
• Power Output - Max 50 W x 4 High Power Amplifier
• Display - White LCD (14 Segment)
• Control Type - Rotary Encoder Knob
• Face Color - Black

I was looking for a "cheap" car stereo to replace the factory head unit in my 2001 Mustang. I wanted AM/FM and CD, with mp3 compatibility, a USB connection, and an AUX in. Additionally, due to my car's unusual factory sound system, I needed preamp outputs with a high pass filter and a low pass filter for the subwoofers. The Alpine satisfied all these requirements, and it's been great so far.

Pros: cheap, sounds good, easy to install, plays mp3's on both data CDs and USB sticks, and supports iPod connectivity with optional cable as well as audio AUX input on the front panel.

Cons: User interface is a bit clunky.

Notes: I have a Mac, and to get songs to play properly and in the correct order on a USB stick, you have to copy them to the stick in the order you want them played, and then *remove* all the hidden files that the Mac copies as well. The Alpine will skip these hidden files, but it takes a few seconds for it to realize it can't play them.

Also, my unit does not seem to like Memorex CD media. A burned Memorex CD plays fine at first, but then in the middle and toward the end of a CD it starts to skip, drop out, and eventually stop playing altogether with "error" on the display. TDK media has no problems at all with everything else being the same.

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Major CON. First of all, the user manual is on a CD and there is no hard copy. This does make it hard, not impossible, to use the manual in the car while working on the radio just harder to handle a lap top than a piece of paper. And no, I did not want to print out the pertinent parts. It just seems as if having a small paper manual would be a nice touch. I do always find backup manuals for my gear, but a paper manual for car installed equipment would be wonderful.

SOUND out of this unit is SUPER. Even better than the premium radio that came in my Escape. Have had Alpine radios in my VW and BMWs in the past so was happy to find this radio. Had to get it because the Factory installed 6 CD player went out, but also wanted a few more sound options, like Aux and USB.

CD, Aux., and USB all work great with my gear and I had no problems with any of them.

a. I tried Factory CDs as well as home burned CDR and CDRW. All worked well with both Windows Media Player and I tunes being used as burners.

b. Used a 1 GB Kingston, 2 GB (Memorex) and a 4 GB Kingston DataTraveler I Flash drive. All worked downloading from both Windows Media Player and I tunes, as well as direct copy from a CD.

c. IPod I have two different iPod Shuffles: The first Generation works fine with this plugged into the Aux Jack (front panel). Second Generation I pod does NOT work. Controls in the ear buds make this a very hard to use unit with anything not apple. (Do not buy 2nd Gen unless you are going to use it just by itself. If anyone knows how to make this work with this radio, please let me know.) There is a list of IPdos that will work with the radio, but this is on the user manual.

Both the Kindle and IPod 1st Gen use a standard (cheap) stereo to stereo cable for input to Aux.

Overall I have found this radio to be well worth the money.

Con my wife cannot turn it on or off because there is not a switch labeled for this function. You have to hold in the source button for at least 2 seconds. Mt radio is wired into the key so it does turn off when the key is removed, but you would have to manually turn it off and on if wired differently.

Con: The only place the serial number is listed is on the bottom of the unit. Once installed you cannot see the serial. It would have been nice to have the serial number under the removal faceplate.

CON: Update 7/5/2011 I finally had to print out the Clock Setting Procedure. You would think it should be simple to remember, but it is not. 2x a year is not enough to remember this fairly complicated (if you are not reading it) procedure.

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Great HU for anyone replacing any stock Stereo. It will make your stock speakers come to life! Many have given this HU a lower rating because of the USB port not being compatible with the Ipod/Iphone. The box clearly notes that the USB Port only plays flash-drives, hard drives, and any mass storage devises. For ipod support you will need the KCE-433IV cable which connects to the back of the unit. For those who are having problems with their flash drives not reading your media files, You need to make sure your devise is formatted to FAT 12 / 16 / 32. Anything else, your HU won't be able to read.

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I don't have time to write a full review on this receiver but the KCE-422i cable they try to give you is not the correct cable for iPod connection. You need to get the Alpine KCE-433iV cable. Look at Alpine's site. Just a heads up.

I don't review very many of my purchases because I believe in longevity and most of the time there is a new model out the next year after you buy something. I was surprised to see that this Alpine head unit is still available new!

I have had my CDE-102 installed in my truck for around five years and it has worked flawlessly! I love the sound from the unit and the CD player still works (I had a bad run of almost every other brand's CD players lasting two years maximum). Reviews have complained about iPod connectivity and I guess an informed sales person should have mentioned that you need a cable for iPods. I bought the cable with my unit and my iPod Nano is constantly plugged in and works just fine. Being able to control your iPod off of the head unit is fabulous! I will admit that some functions are hard to perform, after five years it still takes me some fiddling around to remember how to set the clock. I haven't used the auxiliary input or USB input very often but last I knew they still worked just fine.

All in all, if you want a good cheap stereo that will last a long time and sound great this is the unit for you!