EISA 2007 awards

Alpine electronics, the in-car audio manufacturer won two awards at the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) this year. The iDA-X001 and CDA-9887R both received EISA Awards this August.

The prestigious EISA Awards are given to the best electronic audio/video/image devices sold during the year in a variety of categories—selected and judged by EISA, which is made up of 50 different special-interest audio, home theater and mobile electronics magazines in 18 different European countries.

European In Car Innovation 2007-2008
Digital Media Receiver : iDA-X001

With its stylish face plate, high resolution display and ergonomic controls, Alpine’s iDA-X001 provides a glimpse of what a head unit might evolve into in the near future. Though it lacks its own disc drive, the iDA-X001 is optimized to connect with all portable sources of digital media, via iPod direct connection, USB or Bluetooth. Inside the unit are found the highest quality components, including a 24bit D/A converter that can be fully controlled with a wide range of options. The iDA-X001 is a highly innovative and courageous development.

European In Car Audio Head Unit 2007-2008
CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver : CDA-9887R

CDA-9887R is a technologically advanced, well featured, high quality but inexpensive audio head-unit. Its Advanced Audyssey MultEQ XT equalizer has 500 correction points, uses IMPRINT technology, and can optimize sound reproduction to specific vehicle listening environments. It includes a 24bit DAC, digital 6-channel time correction and adjustable 2- or 3-way crossover. Parameters can either be adjusted automatically or fine-tuned manually. Other features include full-speed iPod and Bluetooth connections, 4 Volt preamp outputs and a Biolite display.

Alpine always comes across as a European company, but their head office is in Tokyo and their CEO is Japanese. I have owned several of their systems over the years, and if I was going to recommend an in-car audio system, Alpine is the first brand I would think of.