Has anyone done this? I tried burning a setup file on a CD, but the head unit can't find it. Is it even worth it to try and adjust the time settings and such in my tiny little compartment?

Just wondering.

I just bought the same head unit, the alpine site says that our head unit is not supported yet...? I also thought we could program our own greeting message, I can't seem to figure it out.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to adjust the time correction settings, and it's pretty easy.

I did mine (Alpine 7894) in the "TCR Manual" mode by setting the speaker farthest from the driver (right rear) to zero. Use the fade and balance adjustments to isolate one pair of speakers (both rear then both left), making sure that the other adjustment is centered.

Then adjust the time delay for the other speaker in the pair (LR then RF) until the SQ sounds best balanced. It was pretty obvious when the delay was way off, and then hard to tell within 2-3 msec, so I set the delay in the middle of the "indefinite" range.

Do the front pair last, adjusting the nearest speaker (LF) only. For my 325i, I ended up with 23 msec delay for LF, 7 msec each for LR and RF. I also did the distance/math method described in the Alpine manual and got the same result with 1 msec, when measuring to door mids.

You'll want to use full range music for this, and definitely DON"T do it when you're driving.

The result was a little more volume, more "full" bass, less harsh highs, and no balance/fade offsets. The sound seems to originate in the middle of the car, not at separate speakers. While it is obviously idealized for the driver, it still sounds very nice from the front passenger seat.

Dude, talk to me like I'm 3 years old. :D There really aren't clear directions in the manual and nothin on the Alpine website supports the 9815.

Step-by-Step would be greatly appreciated from this retard. ;)

Dfrost, could you post all your time correction settings you used for your vehicle since our cars are similar.

Phillip, sorry but that WAS a step-by-step for the method I used to make the adjustment by listening for SQ.

The manual says to measure the distance, in meters, from the driver's head to each speaker. The speaker farthest away (RR for Lh-drive cars) is the reference distance (1.5m in my car) and will be set to 0 delay. Then subtract the other distances from RR, and divide by 0.345. For example, my LR speaker was 1.2m away, so 1.5-1.2=0.3, and 0.3/0.345=0.9, so you'd set the time correction to 0.9. When I did my SQ test, it sounded a tiny bit better at 0.7, so I used that instead.

The front speakers are quite different distances to kicks versus mid/tweeters, and my listening tests seemed to agree with using the distance to the door speakers. In another thread we noted that the mids on early cars like mine may be quite different from later. So I'd recommend the listening test also.

My previous post has my settings, but here they are concisely:

LF = 2.3 RF = 0.7
LR = 0.7 RR = 0

Phillip, just guessing for your roadster, it would probably work out to 0 for the right-side speakers, and about 1.5 for the left-side. Your front versus rear difference is probably too small to tell.

I'm talking about doing to website download settings. What is a listening test? I told you, I'm retarded when it comes to these things. In my car, funny enough, the furthest speaker would probably be the kick panel speaker on the passenger side, followed by the mid/tweeters on the passenger door, then the rear right speaker behind the passenger seat, then the Bazooka Tube on the passenger floorboard, and then the driver side speakers, etc.

There are also two types of speaker setup choices for the X-over which I have no clue about. But, it doesn't matter because I don't know how to download the damn thing. ;)

Phillip,

I have NO idea what about any website download. There isn't anything like that for my Alpine 7894. All I was answering was your question about time settings. The listening test is the one I described in my first response above as the way that I made time corrections.

The download thing is the same feature as the 7998 unit. Thanks for trying. It's supposed to be this very cool feature that allows you to tailor your sound settings and crossover settings and power up greeting settings, etc.

Another feature I paid for that I don't know how to use. :(

I don't see an option for power up greeting for the 9815 us ut just me?

Phil:
go to www.alpine1.com
then click on 'i-personalize'
u have to register...do it and be honest as this stuff will be used in the headunit
login
then put your info in
u can now set opening message/eq/x-over/time alignment, etc...
when your done u download the settings to your computer by clicking on DOWNLOAD i believe...
then u burn a CD-R with the file u just downloaded and stick it in the CD player....the details are listed below...if u have any issues call me....
Kevin


After you've edited and properly entered all the desired parameter settings in the main displays, you can download all the data from the i-Personalize website to your computer and record the data to a CD-R - for automatic uploading to your head unit.


Operation

1. First, confirm that all your edited settings are correct and properly entered to the charts on the left side of the display. When completed, click "FINISH," then click "DOWNLOAD."
2. From the "Download" display, enter the desired file name.
"A_U .mp3"
The file name can contain a maximum of five characters - uppercase/lowercase letters and/or numbers only; no spaces.

Note:
The prefix "A_U" and an extension of ".mp3" are automatically added to the file name. Do not change these; they are necessary for proper uploading of the data to the head unit. Also, make sure that no other files having a prefix of "A_U" are contained on the CD. If you want to create different i-Personalize settings files, write each of them to a separate CD-R disc.
3. Once you've input the file name, click "Download" to start downloading the data

You'll be prompted to specify a folder (on your hard disk) for saving the data. Change the folder if necessary, and remember its location - for transferring the data to CD-R in the next step.
NOTE:
Keep in mind that the actual data amount is quite small (roughly 100KB).

4. Insert a blank, formatted CD-R in the CD-R drive of your computer.


5. Write the data (saved in step 3 above) to the CD-R disc.

Note:
The CD-R must be formatted and closed according to the ISO 9660 standard.
For specific instructions on recording to CD-R, refer to the documentation included with your CD recording software.
For details on settings for the head unit, refer to the owner's manual of your particular head unit.
You can store downloaded i-Personalize data and audio data (such as MP3 files) on the same CD-R/RW disc. Also, different "sets" of i-Personalize data can be stored to the same disc.
However, if you store both i-Personalize data and audio/music files on the same disc, keep in mind that audio file names starting with "A_U" cannot be used - these are reserved for i-Personalize data.
Up to 512 MP3 files can be read and played from the head unit. The head unit searches through and displays only the relevant i-Personalize data files. When several i-Personalize files exist on the same disc, you can select the desired file and upload it.
Make sure to store all downloaded i-Personalize data files only in the top folder of the root directory of the CD-R/RW.

Does it really make that big a difference?

I don't know what settings to enter nor do I know which speaker setup I have for the x-over settings.

i can help you with that over the weekend if u like...
Kevin

it CAN make that big a difference if done properly...wanna fly me out to VA..hehehehehe j/k
Kevin

hey, can someone who as the Alpine 7894 post the time settings for a M3 coupe with the HK system?

TIA

JT

I'll try to give you a call this weekend if I get a chance. But, it's Easter and I also have this Import Xpression BBQ this weekend. One way or another, I'll most likely be calling you for help again. ;)

no problem...tell James i emailed him if he asks u why i havent contacted him yet :)
Kevin

JT///M3

The 7894 time settings should be the very similar for your M3 coupe with HK, as for my 325i sedan with 6x9's in back - see my post above for the numbers. Any differences in path length would be very small.