In the Parts for sale forum.

Tony

 

Y R U Selling?

 

A long time ago I made this decision to cut down on my car stereo expenditures. I tried to tell myself that I would be happy with an "average" sounding system. Well, I was wrong. I don't think I'm gonna be happy unless I have the best, or close to it. I bought myself a Sony CDX-C90 to replace the Eclispe and I will be replacing my Focal coaxials with my old Dynaudio 3-way component set. I learned a very important lesson here: Once you upgrade, you can NEVER go back!!!

Tony

 

 

Tony, I'm curious as to why you think Sony is better than Eclipse? Is it because you wanted more features, or you think the sound quality is better? My stereo shop never could get rid of that motor noise in my 5442. Ohhhh, I know, you are impressed by the flying dolphins across the screen, or is it the racecars ?

 

Are you mad?? getting a sony over an eclipse, i guess you do like the purty pictures on the screen. an eclipse 5442 is good enough for competition, well to each his own i guess.

 

Well, for me to answer this you have to know my background. I used to be a huge Alpine fan. Had a 7939, which was their top-of-the-line model at the time. Then I got a Eclipse 5303R, which was their top unit as well. I liked the Eclipse much better. It wasn't as harsh-sounding as the Alpine, and it had a much better soundstage...the instruments were much clearer, more defined and separated. Then I bought a Sony CDX-C90 (Sony's flagship). Loved the SQ more than any other CD player I had heard to date, but didn't have it for long because it was a refurbished unit. It wouldn't keep memory at all, and you had to keep setting up all these custom menus each time you turned it on (which, if you are familiar with it, it a time consuming task at best). Then I bought a Nakamich CD-700 (Naks flagship). Loved the SQ every bit as much as the Nak, but thought it was ugly and it skipped too easily and wouldn't play some of my CDRs. I had that for quite some time and then decided to downgrade (see previous post). Got the 5442. I like it, but it just wasn't what I was used to (DUH). I think the 5442 looked really good in my dash, though.

Anyway, I'm back to the CDX-C90, and it works great, so I don't have to deal with the memory problems I had previously. It is one SMOOOTH sounding player. I think it even rivals the Nakamichi.

Another thing: Compare prices. The Alpine was $700. The 5303R was $600. The 5442 was $450. The Nakamichi was $1,750. The Sony was $1,200.

So yes...the Sony is a waaay better SQ unit than the Eclipse (or any Eclipse model for that matter). But we're talking apples vs. oranges here. The Sony CDX-C90 and the Nak CD-700 are two of a select few head units that are mentioned when most audiophiles are asked what are some of the best head units ever made. In my opinion, Eclipse makes one of the best values for your money out there, period. Great sound, great features, great warranty. But there are much better SQ units available if you have the desire and money. I guess it depends what matters to you the most. For example, the C90s display is TERRIBLY difficult to read in daylight. The CD-700s was very bright and easy to read under any lighting conditions. The Nak skipped like crazy, but the C90 doesn't at ALL (or my 5442 for that matter).

Priorities. I was just lying to myself when I thought I would be happy with only a "decent" system. LIAR LIAR! I don't know what I was thinking!!
Tony