Tag Team Product Review: Alpine KCA-420i Interface Adapter for iPod™

[elbert]

Note: This is a review which will be done in tandem with Vic Icasas. Please reserve your comments to the end of the review, so that it is posted uninterrupted. You can always U2U us in the meantime. Thanks for your understanding.

Product Review: Alpine KCA-420i Interface Adapter for iPod™

Let me start off by saying that it wasn't easy getting hold of the new Alpine KCA-420i. Alpine's website has a "Where to Buy”, but it wasn't much help. After entering my location, it listed the retailers where the interface was supposedly available, arranged according to distance. However, after phoning a dozen places (with the last one being about 40 minutes away), I was just about to give up. No one had stock of it yet, even if Alpine said so. I tried the ever-reliable Crutchfield.com, but their stocks weren't due in until the 15th of October. It was on the day of my departure, the 4th of October, that I decided to give those listed retailers another try, just in case their stocks had arrived since my first inquiry. Luckily, Custom Car Alarms, in Pleasant Hill (less than 10 minutes away from where I was staying) had stock. I bought two units, one for myself and one for Vic Icasas.

At $99 a piece (well, $107.17 if you include CA sales tax), I feel that it is reasonably priced. Of course, "reasonable" is relative to performance. If the KCA-420i performs the way Alpine described it would, then there wouldn't be any problem. Just in case it would turn out to be a disappointment, I purchased a backup plan in the form of the KCA-121B, which is nothing more than an RCA adapter for the Alpine AI-NET head unit. I could always sell the KCA-420i if I didn’t like it.

I don't understand why Alpine chooses to use the same size packaging as its head units--it's huge! The main unit itself compact, much smaller than I expected. It comes with two connecting cables, four mounting screws and Velcro fasteners (adhesive). I packed the contents into my suitcase, leaving the boxes behind for the recyclers.

No more than an hour and a half after touching down, I installed it in my car. Installation of the KCA-420i is so simple, I did it myself. Having planned this way in advance (this IS the reason I changed my head unit in the first place), I made sure I knew how to slide my Alpine head unit out and back into the dashboard. I plugged in the supplied standard AI-NET cable to the back of the head unit, ran the cable trough the back of my dashboard and plugged it into the compact adapter. I then plugged in the iPod connection cable, tucked the unit away and connected it to my 3rd gen 20GB iPod. Like I said, it ws so simple. It took all but a few minutes to do and I didn't have to pull out my trusty Leatherman.


Vic, your turn.

[Edited on 10-10-2004 by elbertc]

[Edited on 10-10-2004 by vicicasas]

[vicicasas]

My comments in boldface.

Product Review: Alpine KCA-420i Interface Adapter for iPod™

Let me start off by saying that it wasn't easy getting hold of the new Alpine KCA-420i. Alpine's website has a "Where to Buy”, but it wasn't much help. After entering my location, it listed the retailers where the interface was supposedly available, arranged according to distance.

Well, it was a lot easier for ME to get the new Alpine KCA-420i ... all I had to do was say sweetly, "Elbert ... pabili naman o?" Heheheh.

At $99 a piece (well, $107.17 if you include CA sales tax), I feel that it is reasonably priced. Of course, "reasonable" is relative to performance. If the KCA-420i performs the way Alpine described it would, then there wouldn't be any problem. Just in case it would turn out to be a disappointment, I purchased a backup plan in the form of the KCA-121B, which is nothing more than an RCA adapter for the Alpine AI-NET head unit. I could always sell the KCA-420i if I didn’t like it.

The list price seems pretty reasonable alright, but only if you already own a compatible AI-Net head unit. I'm sure there are some people out there who are considering buying the KCA-420i AND an Alpine head unit, in which case you're looking at spending more like P20k instead of P5.5k.

Let me describe the setup I had prior to ordering the KCA-420i from Elbert. I have an Alpine CDA-9813 head unit. I also already had the KCA-121B RCA adapter installed in my car, and the cable snakes down from behind the HU, underneath the passenger floormat, and up into the center console of my car, where the iPod rests in a cradle. Sound quality using this method was decent, far better than a cassette or FM transmitter solution, and the only downside of course was that you had to manipulate the iPod manually to find playlists or songs, unlike the convenience of controlling it from the HU. Of course, later on I would realize that this apparently cumbersome method wasn't such a "downside" after all. More on that later.

Also, I had a PocketDock connected to the docking port of my iPod ... this allowed me to use the Line Out for audio, rather than using the headphone out, for a slightly cleaner sound since I would be bypassing the iPod's onboard headphone preamps. It also allowed me to use any generic Firewire cable to charge my iPod with my car charger. However, I could never charge the iPod and play music simultaneously because I would get a faint but irritating alternator whine thru my speakers, that would only disappear if I unplugged the charger.

I don't understand why Alpine chooses to use the same size packaging as its head units--it's huge! The main unit itself compact, much smaller than I expected. It comes with two connecting cables, four mounting screws and Velcro fasteners (adhesive). I packed the contents into my suitcase, leaving the boxes behind for the recyclers.

I can't imagine how big the packaging was because I never saw it ... when Elbert turned the unit over to me, it was in a ZipLoc sandwich bag, that's how small the interface is! As he said when he first described it to me, it's about the size of two iPods placed side by side.

No more than an hour and a half after touching down, I installed it in my car. Installation of the KCA-420i is so simple, I did it myself. Having planned this way in advance (this IS the reason I changed my head unit in the first place), I made sure I knew how to slide my Alpine head unit out and back into the dashboard. I plugged in the supplied standard AI-NET cable to the back of the head unit, ran the cable trough the back of my dashboard and plugged it into the compact adapter. I then plugged in the iPod connection cable, tucked the unit away and connected it to my 3rd gen 20GB iPod. Like I said, it ws so simple. It took all but a few minutes to do and I didn't have to pull out my trusty Leatherman.

No need for me to even pull the head unit out of the dashboard, since I already had the AI-Net RCA adapter installed. Within a minute of picking up the KCA-420i from Elbert's in-laws' house, I merely unplugged the existing RCA adapter from my AI-Net cable and slapped in the cable for the KCA-420i. No need for a power connection, since apparently the AI-Net cable takes care of the power needs. And then I sat back and plugged in my iPod ...

... and now back to you, Elbert.

[Edited on 10-10-2004 by vicicasas]

[elbert]

I had a similar setup to Vic's prior to the KCA-420i. You can read the full description of my original setup here. This is how my connection routed:

Before:
iPod > Belkin Mobile Power Cord > mini-jack to female RCA cable > KCA-120B (Ai-Net Female/RCA Male Cable) > 15' AI-NET cable > Alpine CDA-9827

After:
iPod > Alpine iPod cable > KCA-420i > 8' AI-NET cable > Alpine CDA-9827

I didn't have to pull out the head unit, actually, but I figured a shorter cable might produce a better sound (as if I'd notice the difference).

[elbert]

I'm no Vic Icasas when in comes to photography. Here's how it looks:

[Edited on 10-11-2004 by elbertc]

[winZu]

Hmmmn, is this the male version of The Gadgeteer? Who's Julie and who's Judie?

Kidding aside, nice review guys.

W

[hungryalien]

hey elbert, san mo nabili yun ipod holder? i think thats what i need right now

[Kenneth]

Cool! there's even an Alpine logo on the iPod. So how does one go about scrolling through songs? If you would be so kind as to document or post pics.

[vicicasas]

I was trying to think of a way to finish my end of this Tag-Team review, and I figured the best way would be to just grab my PowerShot, go out to the parking lot, and show you guys on video what it's like to use the KCA-420i. In the quick-and-dirty video I shot just now you'll get a feel for how the scrolling speed is when looking for an artist (not very fast), as well as the speed with which you can move from one track to the following track (much faster than when playing CDs).

Also note in the video that when I scroll to the last artist in my list, it's only at the artists beginning with the letter "M" ... due to limitations in the current Alpine head units, you can't access more than 255 artists. Very frustrating. So I actually I have to unplug the iPod and scroll manually ... and doing that is so much faster than using the head unit.

But on the plus side, while the iPod is plugged, it is also charging simultaneously, and the sound quality thru my setup (Focal Polyglass speakers, Focal subwoofer, and Xtant amplifers) is noticeably better than when I was using an RCA input thru the AUX in.

Other plus points that I neglected to film: When you kill the ignition, the iPod automatically goes into Pause. Likewise, if you're coming from outside the car and listening on headphones, you can slap the cable in and the tune continues to play thru the head unit with only a slight pause as the interface recognizes the iPod.

How do I put it a nutshell? Love the sound and the convenience of being able to charge the iPod, but the user interface needs more than a bit of work. If you don't do a lot of searching for specific tracks or artists (i.e. you use your iPod like a radio station that just so happens to play all your favorite songs) then you won't mind as much. Fortunately, that's exactly how I use my iPod.

Elbert, would you like to wrap up the review?


[Edited on 10-13-2004 by vicicasas]

[elbert]

Thanks Vic.

In keeping with our 'installment tag team review, this is part is The Good, to be followed by The Bad and The Ugly.

Just like any product in the market, the KCA-420i is not without its PROS and CONS. Both are heavy, so the big question then is, which one outweighs the other? I’ll reserve that answer for the end of this review. Let's go with the good stuff first.

• The biggest value the KCA-420i has to offer is the sound—it’s fantastic. No hiss, no distortion, no noise. The music is pure iPod and the quality is just like that of CDs. Mind you, I have a very simple setup--no amplifiers (aside from the one built into the head unit), no polyglass speakers, no subwoofer. But I do get a sound that’s clean, crisp and defined, and it's far, far better than my old line-in setup.

• There is no clutter, only one wire runs to (or is it from?) the iPod. Since the iPod cable is black, it disappears into the color of my car’s dashboard.

• As mentioned in the beginning of this review, installation is a breeze. There is no need to go to a specialist, you can easily D.I.Y.

• It’s a nice touch how the KCA-420i resumes the song that the iPod was playing just before plugging into the car. Just like the iPod Your BMW commercial, you could listen to your iPod via earphones, plug it in and the Alpine continues where you left off. Same goes for instances of shutting the ignition off and on again.

• iPod charging is a major plus too, although I’m unsure if the frequent short charges will adversely affect my iPod’s battery life (note to self: purchase AppleCare for iPod before December).

• Being able to read the track title in large font on the Alpine’s display is a plus because it adds to driving safety (even if the display is limited to a few characters). Reading the iPod’s display can be a real hazard. The large font minimizes taking focus away from the road.

But it’s far from perfect.

stay tuned...

[Edited on 10-13-2004 by elbertc]

[Kenneth]

Excellent! Thanks a lot Vic, I was hoping you'd video the experience.

I actually got into a slight accident while scrolling on my iPod a few months ago. I took my eyes off the road for just a second then... BUMP! Wasn't high speed impact though, just close range. Good thing I just bumped into a really old Hi-ace and the owner agreed to a reasonable settlement on the spot. I put a big dimple on his bumper but na pango front end ko.