How much do those HU's cost? For $900 you could get yourself a nice HU (I think the 8454 is like ~$440, correct me if I'm wrong) and also a nice EQ. Maybe like a 1/3 octave EQ to help tweak and tune the system. You would need somebody that knows how to tune with a 1/3 octave EQ though cause with 30 bands it gets to be a lot of things to adjust! An EQ can help make a system sound a lot better, especially considering we are dealing with car audio here and all!

 

If you want "concert level sound" do what my friend Larry and I did. Just for the hell of it one day we put his Klipsch La Scallas in his dad's van. Without a doubt it was and is the loudest I've ever heard in a vehicle.

 

The new Eclipse has a 4-band EQ, not a 10-band. Old school Clarions have really sweet EQs, but I haven't played around with their new ones; they're 3-band, but they also have digital time correction and VSP to broaden the soundstage, plus 6 sets of 4V preouts -- if you're trying to build a system to play at concert level, that really helps.

The awesome thing about the Eclipse is that if it gets stolen in like the first year that you own it, Eclipse will replace it for free! Wish I had that a couple times.... Eclipse does make awesome decks, I just don't like the sound personally, a little too harsh. The JL amps are pretty harsh too, but if you like that sound (MB Quart is a good example), there are a lot of great brands to choose from.

Seriously about the speakers, those Alpine Type-X are some of the best for any amount of $, but check out like Crutchfield or something, they have awesome prices (I got mine from Sound Advice for $150). Another great thing about the Type-X 2-way components is that if you want to make it 3-way, just buy the woofer, and it comes with a crossover that integrates into the existing 2-way setup. Not only do you not have to buy a new set of components, but you can even amp it all with one amp. Check out some car audio forums, they've got nothing but good things to say -- the speakers are awesome!