Are any head units better "bang for the buck" than the Eclipse CD5423?

Hi,
I have basically decided on the Eclipse CD5423 as my new head unit, but I wanted to make sure there aren't others out there I may be missing. I've looked at most mainstream brands, and they just don' t have as much to offer for $289.99, the price every Authorized Dealer must sell this head unit for.

By Bang for the buck, i'm not talking useless features. I'm talking about Sound Quality, powerful, clean sound from the onboard amps, 3 pairs of low impedance subwoofer outputs(4 volts minimum) and a quality D/A converter. I'll be using the decks built in amp, atleast initially, so that is a big consideration as well. The power of my Pioneer Premier DEH-P630 I have now just doesen't cut it for an onboard amp.

Heres a link to the head unit....
http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/cdtuner/top.html#cd5423

I don't think the Eclipse amp will be 50 watts. That's probably peak watts. Check the specs and see what the RMS watts rating is. It may be less than the Pioneer.

Originally posted by moparman
I don't think the Eclipse amp will be 50 watts. That's probably peak watts. Check the specs and see what the RMS watts rating is. It may be less than the Pioneer.

Its max power... however, the Eclipse is a much better quality unit, in terms of SQ etc... You cant even compare em...

Any power rating you see on radios is peak power.

The Pioneers have good amps in them. They have the MOSFET power supplies like amplifiers do. Keeps the voltage regulated and constant.

I have an Alpine radio in my car. Its rated at 60x4. It sounded pretty good in there before I got my 4 channel. Any external amplification that you can use is better than deck power. Its cleaner, lower distortion, and a LOT more power.

I dont know anything about the Eclipse headunits. Ive heard they are good. I know for a fact though that Alpine is kick-ass. :D

Steven

I've actually heard the Eclipse though, and my Pioneer, and even my old 60 x 4 Alpine 7863 didnt compare to it. When I demo'd it at sound advice, they had it running on deck power to some Alpine SPR-174A 6.5 coaxials, and going through a JL 1000/1 amp, with my choice of JL 15W3, 13W7, Eclipse Aluminum 12", Pioneer 15" SPL sub, or Kicker L7's. It blew me away on just about every sub there, and the coaxials on deck power kept right up with the bass.

There is no doubt this is the best value available at it's pricepoint, I just wanted to make sure there weren't any comparable non-mainstream or not so well known but nice brands and/or models I was missing.

Also, if anyone knows where that Eclipse unit can be purchased new below the Authorized $289.99 pricetag everyone seems to be selling it at, please let me know.

skmoore21,
Just about every head unit in existence these days have Mosfet Power Supplies :) With the exception of Koss, and some of the worthless immitation brands. Pioneer just describes their head units as having MOSFET50, etc... power, which makes it more obvious.

I thought all of them had Mosfet power supplies... :) I didnt mean that Pioneer was the only one.

Ive never listened to the Eclipse headunits. Ive heard they are good though.

Im pretty satisfied with my Alpine. If I go look for another headunit Ill check out the Eclipse. :D

Steven

I don't think you can go wrong with the new Eclipse head units. I didnt really like their last series, but the new ones are great. In my book, Alpine would be a close second to Eclipse.

Alpine and Eclipse don't have the unneeded features like Pioneer and a few others do though. Simple Functional displays and menu's, and more money spent on the quality of the internal components. That's what people should really want in a head unit. Eye Candy takes away quality from the rest of the unit.

you might want to look into nakamichi as well. they make some nice head units.

big worm, yes they do. They are the perfect example of a no frills, quality head unit . I don't know that i could get the same quality with NAK for $289.99, with 5 volt, 55ohm preouts, etc...
I just looked at them, and unfortunately I need a decent onboard crossover in a head unit... The Nakamichi CD400 doesen't appear to include any type of crossover, so I guess I've decided on the Eclipse.

alpine 9813, nuff said

Eclipse authorized dealers arent allowed to discount prices unless Eclipse runs a special themselves (read: never).

You can find em cheaper online, but the warranty is history and Eclipse's have no detachable face. So if you buy it outside of an authorized dealer the "ESN" feature is not useable. IMO ESN is completely retarded but i figure if you want an eclipse deck you may as well take advantage of it. Basically they replace your deck if its stolen, on the theory that it wont get stolen in the first place because if you rip it out its useless without the key disc. (yeah like thieves care).

Rogue Leader,
Yes I know authorized dealers have a set price to sell their items. I guess it's not such a big deal to buy Audiobahn or Kicker subwoofers un-authorized, But a head unit would be a bigger deal.

Even the Authorized price for this head unit is reasonable. If I can't find it used, I have no problem paying the MSRP, I was just trying to save a few bucks :)