I have had the same issue with three Alpine HUs (7894, 9830 and current
9831) I have owned. Just looking at the specs, Sony units have better FM
reception capabilities, and from experience I have found this to be true
(the same can be said of Pioneer). Of course, neither come close the CD
performance that alpine provides.

Set your FN reception setting to Normal to minimize the hiss/pop sounds you
are hearing. Or, leave it on Hi-Fi as I have and become accustomed to the
unwanted sounds that occur periodically.

Lolo


"ultraviolet353" wrote in message
om...
I have a '94 BMW 318is. I recently had a new Alpine 9835 HU installed
(also had 5.25 MB Quart Reference Components up Front, JL Audio 10"
Sub, and JL Audio e4300 Multichannel Amp). It was replacing a low-end
Sony HU (CDX-C5000X). The Alpine is a major upgrade, and I love it
except for the FM reception. I live in Los Angeles. The old Sony HU
got flawless reception--clear as a bell. The Alpine unit gets all the
stations but I do get light intermittent static. Let me stress, the
Alpine unit recieves all the stations but it is NEVER clear as a bell
the way it used to be. I get very light static "hits" even on the
strongest stations in Los Angeles. The Alpine has several settings
(Hi-Fi, Normal, and Stable) I have used all the settings and still get
the intermittent static. I had it installed at Al & Ed's and they have
checked all the connections twice and say everything is fine. My car
uses an amplified antenna and that is hooked up correctly as well. So
what to do? Is it possible that the HU is at fault? Could it be
defective? Should I have them replace it? Do Alpine units have
problems with reception? Should I go with a different company--maybe
Eclipse? I really need help because I spent $450 and I am curious why
I am not getting the same "clear as a bell" reception that I had with
my old crappy Sony HU.