Hi all,

At the moment this is a purely hypothetical. As most would know the new Alpine F1 status CD player has an external DAC, with the price of the CD falling a bit as it is purely a transport.

My question is... If I were to purchase the F1 Status CD transport only, would this work well (or at all) with either a PXA - H701 or PXA - H900???

I may be totally wrong here, probably am. But I thought it worth asking around as this could present quite a good (if not expensive) option.

Thanks, Dan.

should work well with the pxa h900 definitely as correct me if im wrong the reason why the new h/u is just a transport is because most users end up gettin the pxah900 anyway so use the DAC in the processor instead.

That's right, as I understand it.
The new setup allows for two options:

If you want the full Multi Media Manager processor functionality then you choose the new PXI-H990 as a companion device to the DVI-9990EI.

If you don't, you choose the DAI-C990 "High Resolution D/A Converter" and feed from there to a more "conventional" system.

Either choice is pricey, if very good.

hi daniel

i have the full 2004 catalogue

it seems like the dvi-9990e can only be used with either the dia-c990 or the pxi-h990

the dvi-9990e doesnt come with optical output but comes with the ieee1394 digital output plus the alpine ionbus (instead of the ai-net system)

the pxa-701 comes with inputs for ai-net, optical toslink & analogue rcas. So it looks like if you use the dvi-9990e you have to use the processors made for them (dia-c990 or pxi-h990)

look on the bright side the dvi-9990e is cheaper than the old 7990 and dual px-h990s (16channels for surround sound setup) are cheaper than the old pxa-h900

jas: got an RRP on them?

from what ive read in a magazine the dvi-9990e was around $3k and the pxi-h990 was $1.5k but i could have misread this....it was a month ago i read this ...and i didnt buy the magazine, not even sure which one it was

man maybe i just made this up..im going crazy!!!!

might be best to ask you local alpine dealer

the deck is dvd audio and uses ionbus
to go to the processers witch have 6 burbrown dcas
and all the wank the ionbus network is 1000 times faster than Ai-net cos its digital it wont work as a stand alone unit the deck's 3999 the processers your guess is as good as mine dvd audio is the way to go

forgot to say that its also 6.1 audio
not 5.1 its 6.1 witch means youcan now have a centre rear speaker, centre front, f right and left , rear right and left , and subs probaly the best deck on the market

I thought the new DVI-9990E was supposed to be cheaper than the 7990, as it has no DACs.

The 7990 was $3990. Heard/read somewhere the DAC unit DAI-C990 was around $1500.

$2999 for the 9990 as the RRP stands back in the beginning of the year, but as Mr_Bob enlightened me today, they won't be available till next year

Yet another "sort of released" Alpine product.....

I love my Alpine front ends, had too many to count, but this does get tedious.

I had listened to one in Thailand on May semester break. if you play a normal CD the different is marginally better however if you play a DVD-A it will kill any CD setup any day. but why DVD-A when the new mediium for audiophile is leaning toward SACD. almost all the audiophile label are releasing their product in SACD not DVD-A. Wrong move Alpine!!! I believe that who ever investing in the F1 system must be a hardcore audiophile and would a truckload of SACD not DVD-A in their collection.

the price in Thailand was ThB 85000 fot the transport and Thb65000 RPP for the audiophile D/A. whare 28thb = 1 A$

tha DAIc990 isn't the processor though... so that combo provides no EQ or T/A
the PXI-H990 has the T/A and EQ facilities... but at a price!

If I may suggest...the new F#1 components are great, but I'd prefer to track down a 2nd hand H900 and a CHA-S624 changer or a 7998R deck instead of the new stuff. Why? Because the new H990 is not a universal processor, it uses a new IONBus connection rather than AI-Net. So it can only function with the new DVI-9990E...

Since the H900 is a universal processor, it can be teamed up with any head unit, freeing you from using the 7990 deck. This is how I would do it: a cheap (new or 2nd hand) Alpine deck with AI-Net, either a cassette or a CD tuner connected to the H900 by way of AI-Net. Then a CHA-S624 changer connected to the H900 by way of both AI-Net (for control) and optical digital connection (for sound).

You still get the same K-Grade Burr Brown DACs as the 7990 but with the added features like active crossovers, time correction, HDCD chip and Dolby Digital plus dts decoders (should you wish to change direction to car theatre in the future). Yes, the HU is basically a DIN size volume control, that's why the emphasis is on both AI-Net connection feature AND as cheap as you can get. You'll be exclusively using the changer for playing CDs.

That's why I'm keeping a lookout for a 2nd hand but mint condition H900, and when I get my hands on one, I won't let it go, ever (or until something substantially better comes up). I already have the changer, so the "battle" is halfway there...

Cheers,

Bon

Bodapa : I agree that you have a very good method to mix & match the components. In my not-so-knowledgeable opinion is that the 7990 is not just about the K-Grade Burr Brown DACs but it is a superior CD transport from the ground up compared to let's say a 7998R. It was top of the line Alpine after all.

What do you or others think?

SQL

Thanks for all the input guys.

Bodapa... That is what I am thinking now, and it appears I have secured a deal for CDA 7990 and PXA H900 for stupid money, add to that my HDA and I should have a good setup on the way. I am getting so sick and tired of chopping and changing though, so this has to be the "never get sick of" setup.

Thanks, Dan.

SQL: True, the 7990 has a much better transport mechanism than the 7998 or the S624 changer. It has been argued that the transport mechanism of a player really determines the sonic purity of a signal, and DACs come 2nd. With this you can only have 2 choices: either you agree and get the 7990 or you disagree and get a 7998R or the changer. The way I see it, since the H900 offers a lot more in terms of features than the 7990 (it is after all, a superb quality, no frills deck) I can save money by getting the changer and securing a cheap AI-Net deck. The transport mechanism in the S624 is really quite good, and maybe even very slightly better than the 7998. But this is just me, others might have different experiences.

So if you have the folding stuff to go for both F#1 Status components, go for it! If you have to choose, then I'd suggest the H900 instead of the deck.

Daniel: Don't worry mate, once you get those F#1 components (seems that you have the financial power to secure both the deck AND the processor) I don't think you'll going to change for a long time...

Cheers,

Bon

there is something else to considder

a brandnew DVI-9990e + PXI-H990 is still cheaper than a secondhand PXA-H900

dual PXI-H990 has more outputs than the PXA-H900 but inputs to tbe PXI-H990 is very very limited. IONBUS + IEEE1394(firewire) & analogue. This is very dissapointing. To interface a stacker to the PXI-H990 you require a AI-NET to IONBUS converter (KCI-500B)

The price I have secured for the 7990 & 900 combo is too good to pass up. Just can not wait to have it all set up and then relax for a while.

Makes envious noises.......

Ah, I am not familiar with the pricing of Alpine products here, so if that may be the case then by all means go for it. Currently I am happy with my HX-D2, the only thing it needs now is setting and tuning the whole system.



Great! Enjoy your system! Next time you come across a mint, 2nd hand H900 let me know. If you don't mind me asking, are they brand new or 2nd hand?

Cheers,

Bon

2nd hand straight out of a SQ show car.

Ah, lucky you...hope you're happy with the purchase. And you'll definitely be happy with the sonic performance of those F#1 components. I know, the install is more important than the equipment...but tuning the system is very important too.

Cheers,

Bon

So I am getting a bit confused here. What is the reference to dual PXI-H990's. Why use 2 instead of just one? is it essential to use 2?

Has anyone got any info on the new F1 Status products? I believe they are yet to be released in Australia, but I would like to check out their specs all the same. Also, I know how much the new DVD transport will cost, but how much for the new PXI-H990?

Thanks, Dan.

sorry daniel to confuse you

the dual pxi-h990 would be used for a fully active surround sound setup. Just like the pxa-h900 can be used (12 channels on the pxa-h900 vs 16 channels on the dual pxi-h990)

quote form alpine 2004 catalogue

dual pxi-h990

16channel system

front l&r low, mid,high
rear l&r low, high
center low, high
center rear low, high
l&r subwoofer

from what i can gather daniel you only require the single pxi-h990 since from what ive read you can make the h990 do 4 way x-over setup just like the pioneer p9 deq.

i believe that the costs would be something like this

dvi-9990e RRP$2999
pxi-H990 RRP$1499

meh gimme a hx-d2

*runs*