TwentyTen

Does anyone have experience with both Alpine AND Eclipse? I have an Alpine Headunit right now and LOVE IT! I want to get the Eclipse Nav/DVD/MP3 head unit but dont want to give up the features that make my car sound so good: MediaXpander, Time Correction, Parametric EQ, Crossover, Sub Phase Control, etc..

What do Eclipse's head units offer. How do they sound?

Any and all info is appreciated.

88supramki

which eclipse hu are you wanting to switch to? all of the eclipse double din navi units offer an onboard eq, the dsp is alright but i'd rather just have the system tuned using the eq. they all have sub control as well. the avn5495 and soon to be avn6600 both come with a simulated surround sound feature, the avn5495 comes with a 30GB HD that has 10GB dedicated to the navigation software and 20GB that is for storing music from CDs, NOT MP3 CDs, it rips in real time. All of the AVNs play DVDs, but whether you want them at the same time as navi is a different story. the AVN5495 can have navigation prompts going while you're watching a movie because of the HD, and the AVN6600 can do the same because the bottom drive is for the map disc only and the top drive is for CD, MP3 or DVDs.

ive been using eclipse headunits for years and have always been a big fan of them. but that's my personal preference.

kratos

I NEVER use my Media Expander. Why? Because I think it sounds like poo. It is supposed to make your MP3s or Windows Media sound better but really, it bumps up your lower and higher frequencies more or less which sounds too digitally generated to me. Real CD's, flat or slightly EQ'd and you'll have the most realistic and warm sounding set-up in 99% of all cases. Of course there is a lot more to it than that but consider it a start.

TwentyTen

I must not be subscribed to this thread - I didn't know there were any responses. Thanks for getting back to me.

88supramki: I was looking at the HU with the on board hard drive until I started reading reviews of the CD Ripping feature. It doesn't rip homemade CD or MP3s. I only listed to home brewed MP3s. So then I started looking at the AVN-6600 (http://www.eclipse-web.com/6600index.html). The one with a seperate drive for the nav DVD and a seperate drive for the CD/DVD/MP3 discs. I'll pass on the AVN-7000 because I dont like the fold out face, covers too much real estate.

I want to know if I should add the price of a seperate DSP unit and hide it in the glove to get the sound that I have now from MP3s.

Kratos: I use the Media Xpander all the time. To get the most out of it, connect the head unit to external amps and turn the P-IC to OFF. This disables the internal amp. That's what is causing the distortion. After you've done that, THEN go in and tweak your EQ settings. I don't know which model you have but the 7897 can store 6 user EQ settings. I have one for CDs and a few for MP3 discs. For MP3s this is the best feature ever created! It does tend to make store-bought CDs sound unnatural but I found it really does bring back the details that were lost in compression.


Thanks Again

//

88supramki

all of the AVNs come with a DSP function...but it's all kinda lame. The AVN6600 is the one I'm waiting for for my car. I want the DVD drive up top and the permanent map drive, pretty much a poor man's 5495

Neo

iTrader: (3)

So are there any other differences between the 6600 and the 5495? Meaning, outside of the HD, were anything new added or deleted for the new 6600? Sorry. Short on time so I can't do the research right now.

88supramki

the 6600 has the newer version of the navi (gen 3 i believe), ummmmm...they share a lot of things in common. i know that the 6600 is one of the only avn's that is iPod ready for eclipse's new ipod unit that they came out with (i think the 7000 is ready too, but not positive on that one) other than that it's very minor stuff, like the 5495 has the memory stick slot and the HD, the colors for navigation are different and a few minor different things with that aspect. won't know a WHOLE lot more about the 6600 until we get one in and get to mess with it, which should be in april or may.