Alpine 9853 vs. 9855

[02BRUCRU]

I know that once I put a new headunit in my car, I want either of these 2 alpine headunits, I just wanted to hear some input from you guys about which you think is better, and whether the 9855 is worth the extra $100 bucks.
Also, my other question for these would be how well does the CD automatic fold-down work. I have heard mixed reviews about problems within both models with this. Please let me know what you guys think.
If you have any other suggestions of a model that I have missed as well, any extra info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[tommymcc]

the extra $100 will be the different display, however this makes it much easier to adjust the settings, the cda 9833 and 35 were the same unit, but i about went crazy trying to set a 33 up, they will sound the same assumng you figure out how to adjust the non user friendly settings via the interface n the 53

imo, i would go for an eclipse HU, i used to use eclipse and switched to alpine back when mp3 playback was new, i had two units but all the features of alpine did cost with a lack of good sq, the average listener won't hear the difference though, it's only heard through mid to high end speakers and amps, the main diff is the 8v preouts and 24 bit DAC, i didn't realize that my tweeters were distorting a little bit till i got this HU, they're louder now and cleaner, and all my gains on my amps are turned down to compensate for the 4v to 8v change in input load, eclipse also have better features than alpine now, minus the xm or sirius compatablity, but hey, you don't by a SQ HU to listen to satelite radio, thats like buyinga 60" plasma to play your vhs

www.eclipse-web.com if you wanna check them out

not trying to change your mind or anything, just saying i've used both types of units and was very disappointed with alpine, and yes, the 9835 and 55 are the same unit, only diff. is the interface changes and the glide touch, alpine also needs its own amp kit if you want it to run good, it will dim your lights by itself due to the v-drive amp it has built in

[02BRUCRU]

Thanks for the input, also, one other thing I forgot to mention, I have an Ipod, and no matter which headunit I go with, I really want to have the connection controls on the headunit so I don't have to work both. I've heard many bad reviews with this as well, so again, any feedback from you guys would be great. Thanks.

[tommymcc]

ah, then that is a big reason to go with alpine, they are one of the few companies that make the connector that just allows you to put the ipod in the glove compartment and forget about it, i wanna say it keeps charging the ipod as well, but i may be wrong