Alpine 7980 (ca. 1992–1993)

Little is documented about the Alpine 7980 outside of a handful of period magazine reviews. What the record shows is a CD player/tuner car stereo with a front-loading six-disc magazine changer. That setup needed about 14 cm (5½ inches) of clearance behind the dash when swapping discs, and it could interfere with a stick shift in some cars. The magazine itself was slim, but inserting and removing it took a fair amount of depth. Unless the unit was mounted unusually high in the dash, the magazine's overhang covered the tops of the display's "Mono" and "DAP" indicators.

Audio (February 1993, p.68-72) profiled the 7980 at length. The review noted that a slim infrared remote handled volume, radio band selection, 20-dB muting, tuner/CD mode, preset recall, and CD track skip. The tuner section measured alternate-channel selectivity of 83 dB and a capture ratio of 2.0 dB. The AM section's frequency response was described as not fully conforming to expectations. There was one operational quirk. The voltage amplification stages could go into overload unless a certain internal control was set about 10 dB below its maximum. Defect tracking on CDs was described as "good though not great." The volume knob was a real knob rather than a rocker switch, and the reviewer appreciated it as a space-saving but functional choice.

A short piece in HiFI-Stereo (June 1992, p.31) referred to the 7980 as part of a "transportable component system," suggesting a removable-chassis or at least a multi-piece installation approach. A dimmer lead was provided for front-panel illumination.

Surviving information on production years, original price, and sales numbers is essentially absent. The 7980 appears to have been a relatively short-lived, high-spec model in Alpine's early-1990s line. A reviewer at Audio considered using it as his personal reference unit.

Type: CD/tuner car stereo with 6-disc magazine changer
Tuner selectivity (alternate channel): 83 dB
Capture ratio: 2.0 dB
Remote: included, slim IR type with volume, muting, band, mode, presets, CD track control
Magazine depth required: approx. 14 cm
Known period reviews: Audio (Feb 1993), HiFI-Stereo (June 1992)