Double-DIN multimedia HU's, maybe w/ Nav

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

Hey all,

My ol' faithful Alpine CDA-7878 CD transport is messed up. I've decided to buy a new deck and send the 7878 off for factory repair.

I'd like to do a double-DIN deck with all the goodies. Since I haven't been in the market for many years, I'd appreciate some additional recommendations and feedback.

I'm thinking seriously about the following models so far.

Eclipse AVX2494 (if I can find one)

Eclipse AVN5495

Eclipse AVN5435

Eclipse AVN2454 (last year model?)

Kenwood DDX8017

Pioneer AVICD1

Am I missing any to consider?

Thanks for your input!

-HiAmp

Click to read more...

 

[swoosh 10+ year member]

I've been looking at the Eclipse 5495, it seems pretty **** good, I just don't know how the harddrive would hold up in an environment with a lot of soundpressure where it willl vibrate, and if you hit a big bump while it is accesssing the HD. If neither of those end up being issues with it then it seems liek it would be my 1st choice //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

I've been looking at the Eclipse 5495, it seems pretty **** good, I just don't know how the harddrive would hold up in an environment with a lot of soundpressure where it willl vibrate, and if you hit a big bump while it is accesssing the HD. If neither of those end up being issues with it then it seems liek it would be my 1st choice //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

It looks like a standard laptop hard drive, as far as I can tell, which can (and does) get a lot of abuse on the road. It should be ok, but that's a new addition to their lineup, right?

I think I'm just gonna go for the AVX2494 for the mega-pixel display and lots more audio features. Don't really need Nav, although it would be helpful at times.

I sure do like that 5495 though *drooool*..

 

[Slaugh 10+ year member]

hey HiAmplidude, much

ive been looking for this 7878 now i heard what you say thou i know it will be a tough mission to find it...

 

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

Ya man, you're going to have a hard time finding a CDA-7878, especially to ship to Brazil.

They are sweet high-end decks.

If I'm not blown away by the new Eclipse HU, I'll probably put the 7878 back in my truck, after Alpine is done fixing the loading mechanism. If I don't decide to put it back in, I may sell it to some happy audiophile.

 

[swoosh 10+ year member]

It looks like a standard laptop hard drive, as far as I can tell, which can (and does) get a lot of abuse on the road. It should be ok, but that's a new addition to their lineup, right?
I think I'm just gonna go for the AVX2494 for the mega-pixel display and lots more audio features. Don't really need Nav, although it would be helpful at times.

I sure do like that 5495 though *drooool*..

Sounds cool! What extra audio features does it have?

 

[Red X 10+ year member]

The 7878 is know for the failing CD mechanism. I had 3 repairs to mine but I love that deck!! The solution that a friend of mine took was just buying ch chagners! The signal to noise ratio of the Alpine CD changer is just as good as the deck, can't hear any difference. Trust me the mechanism will break agian //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

The 7878 is know for the failing CD mechanism. I had 3 repairs to mine but I love that deck!! The solution that a friend of mine took was just buying ch chagners! The signal to noise ratio of the Alpine CD changer is just as good as the deck, can't hear any difference. Trust me the mechanism will break agian //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

Does the changer have a high-strength single-beam laser pickup like the deck? Of course that doesn't really do much for MP3, which is primarily what I listen to.

It's been flawless since I bought it in (I think) 2002. I was kinda' surprised nothing had happened with it for so long. I was expecting the motorized face to have trouble first, but then this... (gawd, I hate listening to radio only! *heh*). Good to know that others have experience with it.

Thanks for weighing in, man.

 

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

Sounds cool! What extra audio features does it have?

As far as I can tell from the http://www.elipse-web.com site, it appears to have been focussed more toward the audiophile and not so much toward the traveling business person. It's hard to tell from the spec's on the AVX vs. AVN models, but looks to have more time adjustment, DSP, other tweaking, etc.

 

[95Eclipse 10+ year member]

avx all day long, the pioneer avicd1 is NOT A DVD PLAYER... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

the 8454 is last years model, but the new one w/ dvd or hdd is awesome...

 

[95Eclipse 10+ year member]

I've been looking at the Eclipse 5495, it seems pretty **** good, I just don't know how the harddrive would hold up in an environment with a lot of soundpressure where it willl vibrate, and if you hit a big bump while it is accesssing the HD. If neither of those end up being issues with it then it seems liek it would be my 1st choice //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

its a flash drive, no moving drive @ all...

 

[95Eclipse 10+ year member]

The 7878 is know for the failing CD mechanism. I had 3 repairs to mine but I love that deck!! The solution that a friend of mine took was just buying ch chagners! The signal to noise ratio of the Alpine CD changer is just as good as the deck, can't hear any difference. Trust me the mechanism will break agian //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

also known for overheating...

 

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

its a flash drive, no moving drive @ all...

whoooo... that sure would be nice to have a 20 or 30 GB solid state (no moving parts) non-volatile memory module, but that part alone would likely cost as much as the deck already does. It is actually a laptop hard drive with a platter and heads and the full meal deal. Looks like you can even pull it out to slap it in something for fast loading (not sure how that'll work yet though). Oh, the MemoryStick slot is a "flash drive" of sorts though. Check out this pic'. Kinda' cool idea.

http://www.eclipse-web.com/avx/index.html

 

[HiAmplidude 10+ year member]

also known for overheating...

I thought that was a little strange when the loader started failing in CD mode it would display "OVER TEMP" (or something), but in the years that I've owned it, it has surely seen far more abuse in MUCH higher temp's than when it was reporting that error. I live in the desert where it's not uncommon for it to be 120* F inside the car when I get in. I wonder if the loader failures and temp errors are what people are reporting? I hadn't heard that before.

 

[swoosh 10+ year member]

From the Eclipse site, about the AVX-2494

Also records from broadcasts.

Another plus is that Music Juke even allows you to record AM/FM radio broadcast clips. Just hit the record button when you hear something you like being broadcast and Music Juke will make sure it’s recorded from the song’s beginning, even if you hit the record button after it started!

Now that's some crazy ****!