Clarion DRZ 9255 users

[BodegaBay 10+ year member]

Yep he sold it. To me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/veryhappy.gif.fec4fed33b4a1279cf10bdd45a039dae.gif Thanks Bodega //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Kali,

Good to hear from you again. How is that "old school" audiophile system of yours coming along? Have you connected all the components? How's the DRZ9255 running for you. I gotta admit, I missed the classy feel that unit exudes!

Give us some pics, will ya?

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

I love eclipse decks, but for the price difference between an eclipse and a 9255, it certainly should be an upgrade.

One would think so. . BUt its the only deck that allows you go full active on a 3way fronstage. So for those that need it in a single DIN,that its the solution.

I saw a few of those in actual SQ cars I got to audition over the weekend at an ECA regional meet. Nothing 'magical' in its performance-great sound as expected, and as Bodega said packed some warmth, but def drop dead gorgeous and a solid knob. I'm not ditching my 8455, I wasn't that impressed- It does what i need and it does it just as well as a DRZ would on my setup- actually corection, it couldn't -s it doesnt have 24db slopes as I like to use on my active fronstage.

 

[BodegaBay 10+ year member]

I had the same conclusion as Max. After returning to Eclipse, I realized that I liked their sound characteristics and DSP implementation over Clarion's -- it's just a personal preference. With the DRZ, I had to set the sampling frequency to 96kHz to add depth that was missing.

And since I detest using outboard x-overs and equalizers, I was ecstatic to see that Eclipse finally gave their flagship head-unit more flexible settings such as 24db slopes and lower cut of frequencies. I loved the DRZ and am bummed that it lacked the flexibility I needed.

 

[Greg200SE-R 10+ year member]

I'm not ditching my 8455... It does what i need and it does it just as well as a DRZ would on my setup- actually corection, it couldn't -s it doesnt have 24db slopes as I like to use on my active fronstage.

And since I detest using outboard x-overs and equalizers, I was ecstatic to see that Eclipse finally gave their flagship head-unit more flexible settings such as 24db slopes and lower cut of frequencies. I loved the DRZ and am bummed that it lacked the flexibility I needed.

Hours and hours of tweaking my (returned) Eclipse 8455 has taught me that I have no need for anything higher than 18dB slopes... In fact, I liked the sound of 6dB slopes for my mids+tweets much better than 12, 18 or 24dB! Of course, with such a shallow slope I ended up with staggered frequencies (800Hz LP and 1600Hz HP, for a -3dB point around 1200Hz) rather than a common HP/LP frequency. 6dB seemed to let the highs and lows mesh together a lot better.

This REALLY opened up the sound, height- and width-wise. It leaves no sound "gaps" between the mids and tweeters like the 12 to 24dB slopes did. Even my sub/mid XO ended up with only 12dB slopes. So, for my car at least, the Clarion has a flexible enough crossover plus more precise time-alignment, which is what I wanted in the Eclipse.

I would have liked MP3 capability and HD/SAT radio though. I will miss the memory stick feature as well.

 

[slick316 10+ year member]

i went from an eclipse 8053 to a 9255, it was a nice upgrade in my opinion. i barely had to make adjustments to the unit for me to get great sound.

i recently bought an AVN, after using the unit for a month i concluded that its just not worthy of the eclipse name, the sound isnt even as good as the low end $179 eclipse, i tried both and the low end eclipse sounded better.

tried a 8445 also, not nearly as nice sounding as my 9255. i really think that the 8053 is eclipses closes offering to the 9255.

the fact that the 9255 works well with minimal adjustments is what i like. i have NO EQ adjustments, no time alignment adjustments, the only thing i have adjusted are the crossover points and slopes, thats it.

i hand it to eclipse though, so many features for the price, if the 9255 didnt exist, i would probably have an eclipse in my car right now.

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

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[JLCivic 10+ year member]

i went from an eclipse 8053 to a 9255, it was a nice upgrade in my opinion. i barely had to make adjustments to the unit for me to get great sound.i recently bought an AVN, after using the unit for a month i concluded that its just not worthy of the eclipse name, the sound isnt even as good as the low end $179 eclipse, i tried both and the low end eclipse sounded better.

tried a 8445 also, not nearly as nice sounding as my 9255. i really think that the 8053 is eclipses closes offering to the 9255.

the fact that the 9255 works well with minimal adjustments is what i like. i have NO EQ adjustments, no time alignment adjustments, the only thing i have adjusted are the crossover points and slopes, thats it.

i hand it to eclipse though, so many features for the price, if the 9255 didnt exist, i would probably have an eclipse in my car right now.

Any Eclipse I ever had sounded excellent, set flat. I certainly am not questioning that you believe the 9255 sounds better than an 8 series eclipse. Given the price difference, it certainly should. If I have the $$$, I may try the 9255, although I am not sure how much better it will sound than my 8250(if at all). Only one way to know for sure.