how is the 8454 head unit for you. im trying to decide but there are so many good units out there from the alpine 9835 to the premiere 860 and the panasonic mxe9800 and the kenwood excalons. i've heard great stuff about all of these head units, but it seems when i compare in writing they all pretty much offere the same features for the most part.
do u feel that there is anything that sets the eclipse 8454 apart from the other head iunits that i mentioned. im more in to sq then spl. right now im running to jl w7 10's with two jl 500/1 amps and a jl 450/4 on on two sets of jl xr650 componets. i also have a five fared alumapro cap with a yellow top battery and an isolater. the only down fall to my set up is the head unit. i have a sony 770 head unit. its rated to have 4 volt preouts but it really only puts out 2 when checked with a volt meter.
what head unit can you recommend, how big of a difference do u feel an upgrade can make. where does youre eclipse stand next to alpine 9835.
The Eclipse 8454 specs are a bit misleading. In easy mode, it offers the 13 band graphic EQ and a very basic time alignment (position selector and car type, and tweeter location), but does NOT offer the parametric EQ in easy mode or any advanced time correction. I do believe if you use E-iserv, you can set specific time alignment settings and crossover settings, but I haven't used it so I can't guarantee you that. In pro mode, it offers a 3 way crossover (for subs, mids and tweeters) and offers total control over time correction and driver loudness, plus you get a 5 channel Parametric Equalizer per set of drivers, meaning 5 for the mids and 5 for the tweets. If you are simply doing components with passive X-overs and aren't looking for specific time correction, I'd stick with the Alpine 9835 or the Eclipse 5444 as you won't be using all of the Eclipse's features and you'll just be paying extra cash. The Eclipse 8454 and 5444 both offer 24 bit DACs, which is a benefit over the Alpines as the Alpine uses 1-bit DACs (6 of them I believe). CD Audio is 16-bit. The Eclipse offers stronger preouts as well. They're all great head units, you just need to choose what you like best both for what you plan to run and for what you like for ergonomics. The Kenwoods and Panasonics tend to be unreliable, I'd stick between Eclipse, Alpine, and Pioneer Premier.
Yeah i have a alpine head unit now with 2 preouts..7891 or somthing. I wanna buy a new eclipse or alpine to go with my new setup of 2 jl 500/1's running 2 13w6v2's and alpine 4/3/2 channel mrp-f240 amplifier that does 100x2RMS bridged to run my 5.25 componant set up front. What whould be a better head unit??? Alpine 9835 or Eclipse 5444 or the new 2005 models coming out. I like eclipse because of the preout voltages are always 5 Volts or higher..What yall think?
ive heard the new alpines (2005) arent as good as 2004's line. you can get the alpine 9833 for 299 at crutchfield right now. they just barely dropped the price from 449 to 299 last week. theres alot of options out there. have you seen the premiere head units. those are 6.5 volts. but i've heard great stuff about the eclipse head units. so i'll just have to wait and see
Both are 24 bit DAC. It's on their PDF if you want to download it. What you lose is some of the DSP features (you lose Pro mode, basically), you also lose WMA support (still supports MP3 though) and it's a 5V preout instead of an 8V.
OK nice.. now where in the world can i get a 8454 or a 5444. My local dealer doesnt stock these anymore and are waiting for the new models. Ebay is very limited and all are used items. Help out jonathan
I had a pioneer deck in my 1991 civic dx and I'm trying to install a kenwood, I found the diagram for the kenwood but the pioneer colors are different. They are: blue/white, sky blue, red/black, grey/black, white/green, red/green, brown/black, blue/yellow, brown/white, black, grey/white, and red/yellow. If anyone could let me know what they mean, that would be great. Thanx
I am going with the Eclipse. The one thing the Alpine has over the eclipse is the Satellite Radio Option. Eclipse has alot better audio tools then the alpine. Eclipse offers way more tuning options to fine tune your music. I mostly listen to cds and mp3s anyway so thats all i want it for. I will be using this with a nice componant set up front and 2 13w6 subs from jl in the back. Besides i like the simple look to it.
I just ordered my Eclipse 8454 from ebay. brand new and im waiting for this baby to arrive. It has won the grand prix award for 2004 product of the year also. Very impressive HU technology. Cant wait to hear it!!! It cost me $499 plus shipping of 22.00. Just couldnt resist buying this HU.
are you aware of their security features. i think you have to use a music cd to program it. its a special theft deterance that eclipse has. if some one were to steal the hu they would not be able to make it work with out the same disk you used. if they try taking it in to a dealer to get it reprogrammed the dealer is supposed to confiscate it and and call eclipse. also their new unit are going to be coming out soon. the new ones are going to have sattelite radio capabilities. if you would have bought from an authorized dealer you could have gotten a three year warranty plus a one year guarrante against theft
Yeah i know everything about it other wise i whouldnt of bought it. That seller on ebay is a good seller plus he has sold the same model before cause i checked his seller feedback and its legit for the eclipse's he sells. Besides its gonna be real hard to beat this head unit. I dont care to much for satetilate radio anyways. IM strictly into cds and mp3s and sound quality.