Customer Reviews

Excellent amp, very versatile

I would absolutely recommend this amp for a factory head unit integration. Especially if the system uses a can-bus for volume control. It's probably not a solution if you're adding an aftermarket head unit because there's features you won't use. I think it's just enough power for the average user. I would also recommend using 2 ohm subwoofers, or dual 2 ohm voice coils. I was trying to use the existing subwoofer location witch is "free air" and I used a dual vc 4 ohm sub. There was practically no bass. I end up adding a subwoofer amp and a separate subwoofer box. If planned carefully, this amplifier should supply enough juice to the subwoofer.

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Great amo

Seriously impressed, easy setup, crystal clear. Simple app integration, everything comes with it. Better than $& audio DSP amps bc setup is extremely easy, BT comes free, works with iPhone, iPad, and Mac running parallels. Unless you want an ARC or Mosconi it competes with everyone else.

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Life for the anemic Bronco stereo

So I finally got my 2023 Badlands (non B&O w/sub delete) audio system upgraded. What I went with; Alpine PXE-C80-88 8 channel amplifier w/DSP Hertz CX 100 4" dash Hertz C 165 F 6.5" kick Hertz CX 165 6.5" in SSV Works PODS JL Stealthbox 10" sub Channel 1 & 2 (Hertz CX 100): HPF @ 400Hz Channel 3 & 4 (Hertz CX 165): HPF @ 100Hz - LPF @ 400Hz (bandpass) Channel 5 & 6 (Hertz C 165 F): HPF @ 100Hz Channel 7 (JL Audio Stealthbox®): LPF @ 100Hz I am glad I did. The stereo is AMAZING! I don't want bass that rattles my fillings out, but I do want to feel it... more specifically I want to feel like I did when I was at a live concert. This setup delivers, period. I feel that going with the mid range woofer in the kick panel (Hertz C 165F) and the mid to high range speaker (Hertz CX 100) in the dash is a MUST! If someone doesn't have the money for a sub yet, but this stock system is making you regret buying your Bronco...consider putting the mid range 6.5" in the kick, and possibly swap out the dash and pods (even w/quality 4" speakers). Run everything through a LOC and into the Kicker Key.... that alone should make a difference on a reasonable budget. IMHO, most of the previous upgrades so far left out one important item.... the LOC. The Kicker Key has a DSP, but if you are not summing the whole into it first, you will suffer from the stock EQ..... that's like trying to run a marathon on your knees. Don't do it.

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Not ready for prime time...after all this time.

As others have mentioned this product is just a mess. I am not sure what Alpine was thinking releasing the software in the manner they did but its truly flaky and I can't really seem to figure out how to make it do simple things like actually save settings. Spend time tuning the DSP with your PC and when you turn the car off it all seems to reset back to nothing. I am going back to analog crossovers and basic boring amps. At least I know I won't blow up my tweeters sending full range to them as I have no idea what the Alpine unit is going to do when I turn it on this time. I really wish it was in the 60 day return period....but its not so I am stuck with this.

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Crutchfield response on 11/19/2024

Robert, we're sorry you're having issues with your amplifier. While your order is beyond Crutchfield's 60-day return policy, please feel free to reach out to our Tech Support team for help, or for information about the 1-year warranty on this amplifier. Lifetime tech support comes with every Crutchfield purchase.

Alpine is a Mess

Like others, I was attracted to this product due to the numerous features in a single package but instead, I've learned the product support of this by Alpine has been nothing short of a disappointing and disrespectful. The main issue stems from the 2.0 upgrade which sounds promising by bringing a more robust functionality to PC software and phone apps. In reality, Alpine seems to have shipped the amplifier with the 2.0 firmware without launching the new PC software or a complete phone app. While I can assign inputs, outputs, and speaker frequency from the iPhone app, I am not able to apply EQ either manually or via the auto tune functionality. TCR and AntiEQ are also not available to configure in the iPhone app. At this point, I paid this much for a mediocre amplifier since the DSP features are largely unable to be used. Note the original PC software and iPhone app are not compatible with an amp with 2.0 software. Crutchfield support were rockstars when contacted. They confirmed that Alpine is late in shipping the new 2.0 PC software with an allegedly delivery by end of October, acknowledging the current manual had originally stated delivery by August.... A call to Alpine yielded nothing. They stated the 2.0 amp, software, or app hasn't launched yet and that Crutchfield must be lying to me... Crutchfield, please hear others and my feedback. Consider pulling this amp till Alpine can actually ship a complete product.

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Crutchfield response on 10/8/2024

We're sorry you're having issues with your amp. Whenever you are not completely satisfied with anything you purchase from Crutchfield, please contact our Customer Support team at 1-800-955-9091. Purchases from Crutchfield can be returned or exchanged within 60 days of the purchase.

Alpine is a train wreck

I think this is a promising product, and while it does some things well, some features and functions are not ready for prime time. The real problem is that Alpine, the company, not Crutchfield, is an utter disaster. This amp died on me outside the Crutchfield return period, leaving me to deal with Alpine regarding the warranty. I have been trying to get warranty service from Alpine for 4 months; every time I call or email, they tell me they will ship me a new amp, and I can return mine. They have told me this half a dozen times over 4+ months, but no amp ever ships, nothing ever happens, and every agent acts confused when I call and starts the process over from scratch, and again, no amp, no contact, no communication, nothing. Please understand that if you buy this device, you have NO WARRANTY beyond the Crutchfield return period. Alpine is incapable of supporting the product, so while Crutchfield is great, you're on your own once you're past that period. I eventually gave up and had to purchase another device to get audio back in my vehicle, so now I am just out $$$ with no recourse and am being actively ignored by Alpine when I beg them for help. Side note: there are flaws in how the auto-tuning works as the signal is at the amp not the head so it is tuning only for direct input and cannot adequately tune for equalization or time correction coming from modern factory head units making it impossible to get good sound in the primary use case for the device.

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Tuning not that automatic

The amp portion of the Optim8 seems a little underpowered using the 150x2 channels to power my rear fill, I definitely wouldn't use it to power subs. The DSP input-output mode sections were kinda confusing, I preferred to just set that part up manually. If you are looking for a fast and easy tune, this is not the product for you. There are other products that do a full tune. That being said, the auto-tune function on the Optim8 is awesome once you get everything else set up correctly, which takes a lot of work. If you don't fix everything else before you use the auto-tuning the results are pretty horrible. To get it tuned correctly you still need a laser measuring tool, a calibrated mic, and REW or an RTA. First you have to set the crossovers for each speaker. Then tape a piece of paper to the ceiling of your car where your head will be. Measure the distance from each speaker to that paper adding 2 to 3 inches for the grill space. Subtract those distances from the farthest speaker and enter those measurements. Then you have to EQ each speaker flat with a mic and an RTA (I like REW because it gives you the exact PEQ's to use). Now you are finally ready for autotune to work its magic. It fixes phase issues and sets everything to your curve. If you did it right the band will appear to be playing on the dash in front of you and will sound Amazing.

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Alpine PXE-C80-88

Great amp. App is great for fine tuning but you should use your laptop to set up the 6 preset slots on your remote

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Alpine PXE-C80-88

No software can download. At Alpine USA.com without the pc software that amp is no functional ??

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Crutchfield response on 7/22/2024

Once we saw this review, our Tech Support team reached out to Wei Ji to help him further. Whenever you encounter a problem with anything you purchase from Crutchfield, please contact our Tech Support team right away. Lifetime tech support comes with every Crutchfield purchase.

Great sound, Pricey, for advanced installers

I have a lot to say about this amp but Crutchfield reviews give very limited space. Overall this amp/DSP combo does a decent job. You will need a Windows PC to set up the inputs/outputs. It does sound clean, as long as you don't set the main volume (there is no gain setting) too high. This is more like a 35w amp. Distortion\hiss really kicks in closer to "max" volume. Auto-eq does good job trying to flatten, you can adjust house curve afterwards. You need to be comfortable with advanced concepts and software/DSP. The steps required are not called out very well. Watching Alpine-Dan's videos was extremely helpful. Plan to spend many hours trying different things, and don't be discouraged if you have to start over. There is no turn on/off thump. The built-in RTA (in software) only works if you are using high-level (speaker) inputs. You program with your iphone or with PC (but not both as they will erase each other). External microphone connects directly to amp. My iPhone 15 Pro microphone didn't hear anything above 10kHz, external mic connected to amp picked up a full frequency.

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The perfect amp / digital processor

Great piece of equipment! installed in my crew cab Tundra and it's more than enough to power to entire truck. 11 speakers and 2 10" subs It's small footprint fits underneath the passenger seat perfectly in place of the factory amp. Little bit of learning curve setting up and tuning but overall, The best Bang for the Buck!

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Great amp

This is a very powerful and versatile amp. It allows several different configurations with plenty of power to spare. The DSP is awesome.but still trying to figure it out. Love this thing.

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At Home Stereo

This amp is easy to install and setup went well after some trial and errors. I enjoyed the challenge. Once I got the amp setup a ran the automatic tuning feature I was more than pleased. This amp gives me the old school at home stereo vibe. You can not beat the Alpine PXE-C80-88, for now.

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Alpine PXE-C80-88

I installed this in my 2023 outback. The oem headunit is the signal source. On paper this unit says it has 10%THD. and it does BUT the noise starts at absolute full volume, so unless you plan on having your headunit at full volume and the PXE volume at full blast you'll never hear it. DIYaudio has a full test of the unit on their site, had alpine called this a 45x6+140x2 they could say it's a 1%THD unit.. As far as the features it does everything you could ever want. 5stars all day.

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Great HW, software needs work.

Let me cover what I started with and then get to first impressions - see pros and cons for more details. I have had the unit functional for 24hrs and this is used with a pioneer nex 4500 unit in a Subaru 2006 WRX. The small form factor was a influencing factor to go with this unit tofit under a front seat. Overall I am pleased with the hardware and sound output quality and volume. The EQ autotune worked well with recommended mic and other ios app. Dsp software connected to pc fine. PC software appears to be buggy with channel settings and this lowered the overall experience. Hardware 5, Software 3, Sound 4 (likely my speakers limiting), Install 4.

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Fantastic amp

I'm really impressed with this amplifier. The configuration is perfect for my vehicle (2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime), which has six full range speakers. The amp perfectly matches that with six channels, plus the addition of a sub in the rear. 50W per channel is just fine for my car... I'm more interested in sound quality vs SPL. This power level is enough to make it louder than my ears can take, while the sound quality is outstanding enough that I need to upgrade my dash speakers to separates in order to derive maximum benefit. However the real star of the show is the DSP. The auto-EQ function makes it so easy to correct for peaks and valleys in the car cabin audio response. I can't believe how much better it sounds with EQ vs. no EQ. After setting the EQ, I have had a lot of fun tweaking crossover points and slopes, and generally adjusting the sound from the various speakers. The included remote control also works great, although I wish the knob could be configured to adjust subwoofer level on the first twist. It's a bit annoying to hold the knob down for a few seconds before twisting controls sub levels. But overall, it works great, and it's a major plus to have a remote that can switch profiles. Especially when I have my kids in the car, who complain if the rear door speakers aren't working. When it's just me, I adjust time alignment to match my head location and turn off the rear speakers. With kids, I let all speakers operate equa

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Awesome all-in-1 amp

I had this installed a couple of weeks ago along with some R2 components up front and S2's in the rear. It's also powering an 8" sub with dual 4-ohm coils rated at 150 watts RMS. I'm utilizing all 8 channels - tweeters on 1/2, woofers on 3/4, rear coax on 5/6, and sub coils on 7/8. My factory head unit also had those same 8 channels so I used them as the high level inputs for the amp. I found it to be fairly straightforward in all aspects of hardware and software. Use 10 gauge wire (not 8), use a Windows laptop to configure, use an iPhone for the Auto EQ (clean your mics on your phone!!!), then go back and fine tune while listening to music. Watch the YouTube tutorials if you need help. It will actually get you pretty good sound with only a few minutes of work. You can mess with the target curve to boost the bass, mids, or whatever you prefer. The DSP is definitely the most important part. It has 31 "bands", but you can grab any one of the points and move it to whatever frequency you want with whatever "Q" you want. For example, I made some very narrow cuts on the tweeter channels to reduce some harshness in the "S" sounds for vocals and cymbal crashes at high volumes. I did this while listening to some older rock music so I could pinpoint those frequencies. I know the unit can only put out about 550 watts RMS, but it is plenty loud to make you go deaf. I think it's perfect with 1 sub with dual 4 ohm coils. Probably need a second mono amp for big subwoofers.

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Chesapeake

There is a lot of bad information in the reviews. If you're interested, or have purchased you need to review the YouTube videos. The amp/dsp is pretty good. I'm saying pretty good as I'm new to true-ish DSP having come from the kicker keys, which were stupid easy to use. This takes time. Yes, you can autotune but then one starts tinkering and next thing you know an hour has passed. Be sure it fits your current system and future growth. What appealed to me is the 6 channels at 47 watts. Or 4 at 47 (highs/rear fill) then 150 for some midbass and the ability to manage a mono/sub amp as the 250 is not really enough. (those were all measured results) So just be clear abt what you want in a system. I prob need to watch more videos on dsp tuning, but this might still turn into a time suck if you don't get it professionally done.

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REQUIRES WINDOWS

NOTE: requires Windows computer to adjust most settings. Without a Windows computer, you can use the wired controller (included) to make coarse adjustments from pre-defined crossover settings for tweeter, mid, woofer, sub for each speaker, and switch between inputs. The auto-tune software is iOS only. Seems great on paper with the included DSP and Bluetooth connectors, sub channels, and flexibility for configuration, but reality is you must have Windows to make full use of the amp. Since I don't, my feedback is limited to this part of my experience.

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DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME INSTALLING THIS

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME INSTALLING THIS 1star because I couldn't select 0. Crutchfield should stop rep'ing this product. 10% Distortion is insane. With no inputs, speakers hooked up, and amp volume near peak there is a terrible whine produced at all speakers indicating insane internal distortion at 0 amplitude! Single 40A fuse for a supposed 900W. 40A*12V = 480W not 900W. No wonder the actual power inputs are 10 gauge, and small 10 gauge at that. Software difficult to use but eventually got the hang of it. No RTA, even though all the hardware is there. Need to buy separate mic to use AutoEQ. This unit seems like more of an experiment with lower quality components than a product, even for Alpine...

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Crutchfield response on 11/6/2023

Eugene contacted our Customer Support team and setup a return. Purchases from Crutchfield can be returned or exchanged within 60 days.

Would not buy again or recommend to someone

My experience with this amp was not the best. Directions state it'll take 8 gauge power and ground it will not. So buy 10 gauge. Second is when alpine was contacted they said yes we know just buy smaller wire. They didn't care advertisements were wrong. Directions were vague on proper setup. You have to use a computer with their program to setup so make sure you have a laptop. The word control takes awhile to get use to. Just switching from radio to bluetooth takes a min.

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Crutchfield response on 11/1/2023

We're sorry about the wiring discrepancy, Jonathan. You're absolutely correct; this DSP/amp will accept 10-gauge wire and not 8-gauge wire. Thanks to this review, our Product Research gurus, Russ and Pat, were able to correct this information in our database.

Great power, options, and size!

General speaker info: This amp does a great job of powering the six (2 tweeters, 2 midst, and 2 coax/full range) speakers in the doors. Don't let the low power rating per channel deceive you. You can also use the "subwoofer" outs (7 and 8) as additional speakers, or subwoofers. The amp allows you to select what kind of speaker each channel is connected to. So currently I have the subwoofer outs connected to 2 6x9's in boxes with a low pass engaged. General amp info: I am not a fan of the power/ground connection size. I wish it would allow larger to be used, but that's more of a personal opinion. The speaker outs are all 14 awg and again nit my preference. But it works very well. Tuning software info: It's a little clunky. Definitely not as refined as JL Audio. There are still a ton of adjustments available so you can really dial in the sound. I spent quite a few hours on multiple occasions creating different profiles. This of course is not necessary. You will probably spend an hour or so if you are remotely familiar with the process. Remote control info: It's decent, but clunky as well. Once you get used to playing around with it, you will be addicted. Ha ha. Overall: I would recommend this amp to any novice to pros that are looking for a DSP multi channel unit that really does push some higher end Alpines cleanly and with less cost in wiring. This would not fulfill a very high end setup, but it would be a good add on. 1 star short mainly for th

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Prepare yourself for proper installation.

This amp is pretty decent for the money. Did a simple focal flax system with it. Front component speakers in active and two 8"subs. As said the power terminals are small. I was able to get Rockford Fosgate 8g in without stripping wire. I used a 7g ferrule terminal crimping multiple times really tight. Only then did it fit. Setup was a pain with mine. I suggest just put it in 8 channel mode no matter what. Pick and choose what speakers are on what channel from there. Had trouble with getting the aux to pickup and the subs are near silent at first startup even with the gain up. I had to adjust eq manually on the subs. I used the mixer to get the rca to work. Still have some messing about to do. No android app is a pain. I'll have to look into mics to auto tune. The controller takes some getting used to. I thought it was only good for volume and bass. After looking over the manual again I found all the features. After giving a listen without much tuning I will say I'm pretty happy. It plays loud enough for most situations. Not a stero war winner but that's about it. I'm sure guys will say my bass is lacking but I'm pretty happy with it. Outside the car it's not impressive at my higher listening volume. Thats not really a problem with me. I haven't pushed everything to its max though. The quality is up there with my home setup. It being a yamaha rx v6q and klipsch 5.1.2 system.

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Awesome AMP!!!!

Love this amp. Extremely easy and you get amazing sound. Thanks to Colin's amazing support @ Alpine, I was able to get this up and running to my liking. If anyone needs support, you can reach out to him. The software is intuitive and the sound is great. Plenty of settings at the price point, stays cool, and the controller is great. My phone connected to it and tuned it. Only knock I have is when I ordered it, it was recommended 8 gauge wire. It was a pain to get the 8 gauge wire to work. Overall amazing piece.

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Alpine PXE-C80-88

This amp/processor is perfect when using it with component speakers. The built in active crossovers give you limitless adjustments to time all the speakers.

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Alpine PXE-C80-88

I just finished installing this Optim 8 although there is a bit of a learning curve with the software and how to actually save your presets this thing sounds absolutely incredible once you get it up and running. I first had issues with getting the subwoofer to turn on, I'm running a pre out from the aftermarket head unit to the DSP/amp and I only have one sub its a JL audio W3 wired in at 2ohms after assigning the inputs and assigning the outputs still had nothing I ended up going to the mixer tab on the top right corner of the software and it ended being incorrect on there for some reason after I fixed it the sub fired right on and I was able to start the auto tune process then EQ to my liking. So for anyone getting this unit play close attention on how you assign each channel going in/out after playing with the EQ for some time I got it to where I'm happy but will still need to fine tune it more this thing can be pretty advanced if you want it too, the sound quality is pretty nuts I was streaming from tidal with the highest bit rate and it felt like I was at a concert and not in my single cab pickup truck the soundstage and clarity is incredible recommend this for any audiophiles out there.

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Boerne

little bit of a learning curve on the software but after I got it figured out it sounds great.

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Great on paper, but disappointing

I was so excited for this product - it looked like it would provide a more-affordable all-in-one solution as compared to more expensive amp + dsp options. Unfortunately, this product was underbaked in design and software. The installation instructions are very vague. It did not state what gauge wire to use for power/ground. It's not even a true 8 gauge. I had to take a stranded 8 gauge and peel away strands until it fit. I called Alpine technical support about it, and they didn't give me any guidance other than to try 10 gauge, but 10 gauge wouldn't satisfy the amperage. When I did finally get the power in, the set screw is at an angle and does not hold the power well. I was excited once I got everything connected and working, but the DSP software is poorly designed and may be buggy. First, I tied to do the setup via the Iphone app. It does not actually let you setup the DSP for channel assignment, EQ, or time alignment. All it does is the auto-tuning function. Because I hadn't used a Windows laptop to set up those things first, the auto-tuning wasn't useful. Then I tried using the Windows software, but it would not save my changes for speaker assignment and kept overwriting work I had done for no apparent reason. There are no instructions on how to use the software and the Alpine video online wasn't helpful. In short, I was really excited about this product, but I can't recommend it now until Alpine provides better instructions and fixes the buggy DS

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Crutchfield response on 7/17/2023

Justin contacted our Customer Support team and set up a return. Purchases from Crutchfield can be returned or exchanged within 60 days.

Incredible

Outstanding

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