Alpine or Eclipse?
Originally Posted by 2 Da Max
wow thats beautiful! how much does that go for?
You cant have it Alpine Boy
besides, youll break it too quick
Im really hoping your not taking this personally.
lol good thing i didnt tell you how my first power acoustic amp caught on fire... twice!! first time it was cuz it wasnt grounded and was still playing, 2 nd time is becase the dealer wired it wrong lol. he just grabbed and threw it out the trunk
Originally Posted by 2 Da Max
lol good thing i didnt tell you how my first power acoustic amp caught on fire... twice!! first time it was cuz it wasnt grounded and was still playing, 2 nd time is becase the dealer wired it wrong lol. he just grabbed and threw it out the trunk
Originally Posted by 2 Da Max
hey Don did you ever had alpine as apart of any of your systems?
Yes, MANY years ago. I do still sell Alpine so dont considered me biased in a sales perspective. Eclipse is just all around a better product, and for the money. Alpine is very overpriced for what you get.
--Don
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,771
Originally Posted by Pearl96Max
Yes, MANY years ago. I do still sell Alpine so dont considered me biased in a sales perspective. Eclipse is just all around a better product, and for the money. Alpine is very overpriced for what you get.
--Don
--Don
About 11 years ago I was a HUGE alpine fan. I had a few different Alpine decks and eventually could afford the CDA-7939 (the one with the steering-yolk-looking volume control **** that protruded from the face). At the time, it was Alpine's flagship HU. My local Eclipse retailer talked me into trying out the Eclipse 5303R over my loud protests. I couldn't see how the Eclipse (MSRP $550 and I believe a fairly new brand at the time without any sort of reputation) could possibly sound better than my Alpine (MSRP $800). Well I put the Eclipse in the dash and sold the Alpine as fast as I could. The Eclipse was incredible in terms of SQ vs. the Alpine. But that was then.
Nowadays, nearly all modern head units are made so well that they all have about the same level of SQ. What differentiates them are features, cosmetics, ergonomics, reliabilty, and the like. If you THINK that "Alpine" is better than "Eclipse" and you own an Alpine, believe me, you will think your Alpine is better regardless of the truth. Too many people attach stigmas to brand names. I guarantee you I could make a killer car stereo system with several brands that are thought to be "crap" and they would sound as good, if not better, than the mainstream "audiophile" brands.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that whether you buy Alpine or Eclipse, buy the one that has the features you want. I agree with Don that Alpine is a little over priced for what you get compared to Eclipse. But if you like a particular deck because you like the way it looks or performs, then buy it. You really can't go wrong with either brand if you shop carefully
Tony
I have stuck with Alpine because I like their ease of use and SQ. I thought many times of giving Eclipse a shot, but I do not like that I cannot detach the face. My brother actually told me about Eclipse back in 1994, one of his friends had one in his car. I have like them since. I go down to Mexico sometimes and I don't believe that the average thief down there knows about the ESN. If they see my car parked and there is an aftermarket stereo in it, they will go after it.
When I changed out my CDA-7949 and PXA-H600 processor for the CDA-7998 I was not impressed with the SQ when compared to my original setup (I had the 7949 connected to the processor with a fiberoptic cable so that the processor could do the digital to analog converion). Don't get me wrong, the 7998 is a great HU with a lot of features, but it falls short in the SQ department when compared to the 7949 and H600. The processor had four 20bit Burr Brown DAC's for the front and rear channels, and 2 of Alpine's regulated 1bit DAC's for the subs. I could tell the difference in how music sounded between the two setups, and I went back to the 7949 and H600, but came back to the 7998 for ease of use. The 7949 was terrible at reading CD-R's. I can't believe that for the price that Alpine was originally charging for the 7998 that they could not throw some better DAC's in there. I know that Eclipse has some multi bit DAC's in some of their units, and this may be what finally gets me to go for one of their HU's. I was actually thinking of getting a case for a detachable stereo, and trying to do something to make it stick on the face of an Eclipse HU. I think that I may actually give Eclipse a shot in the near future if I can fabricate something.
Don I may hit you up to get some information regarding some of their current, and older models.
When I changed out my CDA-7949 and PXA-H600 processor for the CDA-7998 I was not impressed with the SQ when compared to my original setup (I had the 7949 connected to the processor with a fiberoptic cable so that the processor could do the digital to analog converion). Don't get me wrong, the 7998 is a great HU with a lot of features, but it falls short in the SQ department when compared to the 7949 and H600. The processor had four 20bit Burr Brown DAC's for the front and rear channels, and 2 of Alpine's regulated 1bit DAC's for the subs. I could tell the difference in how music sounded between the two setups, and I went back to the 7949 and H600, but came back to the 7998 for ease of use. The 7949 was terrible at reading CD-R's. I can't believe that for the price that Alpine was originally charging for the 7998 that they could not throw some better DAC's in there. I know that Eclipse has some multi bit DAC's in some of their units, and this may be what finally gets me to go for one of their HU's. I was actually thinking of getting a case for a detachable stereo, and trying to do something to make it stick on the face of an Eclipse HU. I think that I may actually give Eclipse a shot in the near future if I can fabricate something.
Don I may hit you up to get some information regarding some of their current, and older models.
Originally Posted by MacAlert
Screw Eclipse, JL and Alpine, go RAINBOW!!!
Ive ran all the above at one point or another and I wouldnt trade my ProfiVanadiums for any of them even if I was paid to do so.
Originally Posted by 2 Da Max
ive never heard rainbow, alumapro, or precision
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,771
Originally Posted by unrealii
eclipse man...how could you not want this sexy thing looking up at you?!?
Tony
Originally Posted by Tony Fernandes
We really don't want to know what it is that you do to yourself while your sexy stereo is looking up at you...
Tony
Tony
... guess i shouldn't be posting while being half asleep in the library
My first system consisted of Jensen amp that was pushing some Pioneer 6x9's in the back (nothing in the front) and a Coustic amp for my Hella Beat 12" subs. The HU was an Alpine Cassette deck. This was back in the early 90's. All this was in my 1977 Buick LeSabre 
.
.
Okay guys, looks like i'm going to go with eclipse. Now, if only i can find a dealer in TN. . . oh, and how much roughly are the new models going to run me? I def want mp3 if i'm giving up my 6 disc.
Originally Posted by maX5
I dont think Eclipse can handle this.....
All of you who are saying Alpine need to say why, and explain what decks youve had from both, or else your opinions are completely invalid. I had the 9815 in my car for 6 months or so about a year ago, I have the 8053 now.
Eclipse pwns Alpine, the end newbs.
I've had several Alpine decks the last one being a CDA-7998. This thing was "supposed" to be top notch. The best sounding Alpine HU setup I had was the CDA-7949 connected to an Alpine PXA-H600. To this day I think this old setup is better sounding than any of their newer decks, except for their F1 stuff.
I grew tired of the 7949 not reading my CD-R's and went with the 7998. The 7998 could not come close in terms of SQ to the my older setup. Sure it had a lot of sound tunig capabilities, but even with those it was not up to par to what I had. This Friday morning I went and bought an Eclipse CD8454. I was pleasently surprised at how much better the sound from it was when compared to the 7998. Lstening to it reminds me of my previous combo (7949 & H600). The whole Alpine MX thing is a joke(it was good for the sub, but terrible at all the other frequencies), the Eclipse Harmonizer actually makes the MP3's sound better. I am very happy with my purchase and only regret not doing this sooner.
I grew tired of the 7949 not reading my CD-R's and went with the 7998. The 7998 could not come close in terms of SQ to the my older setup. Sure it had a lot of sound tunig capabilities, but even with those it was not up to par to what I had. This Friday morning I went and bought an Eclipse CD8454. I was pleasently surprised at how much better the sound from it was when compared to the 7998. Lstening to it reminds me of my previous combo (7949 & H600). The whole Alpine MX thing is a joke(it was good for the sub, but terrible at all the other frequencies), the Eclipse Harmonizer actually makes the MP3's sound better. I am very happy with my purchase and only regret not doing this sooner.
Originally Posted by MannyNJ2k2max
they start under $200 for 5v/55ohm mp3 models- the 8v units are in the HIGH $400's-600 range i believe - msrp of course
Originally Posted by maX5
I dont think Eclipse can handle this.....
Like Kevin said, if your gonna Try to find something better, then at least post facts, not opinions.
