dedpool
Junior Member
First, let me say that the 8454 is a great HU. It has an incredible array of features and the SQ is, as expected from Eclipse, top notch. My favorite features (not including SQ which was priority 1) of the 8454 are:
1. Time alignment
2. 10 band parametric EQ
3. Built in RTA (more on this below)
4. Built in X-over
5. Ability to set the illumination to red (matches my VW's dash lighting)
Ok, now for the problems. I'm having some difficulty with the RTA. I follow the manual to set the HU up to monitor the frequency response, but after the HU goes though the "Measuring" phase, I don't get a display of the response like the manual says I should. My audio dealer called Eclipse tech support (kinda rude IMO), and was told by someone who supposedly owns one that the response is only recorded to the HUs memory--not displayed. However, on page 127, the manual says:
"Pink noise will be output from the speakers and measurement of the frequency characteristics will start. [Measuring] will appear on the display while measurement is in progress. When measurment is complete, measurement results will appear on the display."
Either the tech support guy is wrong or the manual is. He said that it wouldn't 8454's display and that I needed to just write the results to the memory stick and use E-iSERV to upload the frequency results and tweak the HU's settings. E-iSERV is a really cool concept and I'm excited to try it...which brings me to problem 2.
I can't seem to get the PC to recognize the memory stick if it's formatted by the HU, and the HU doesn't seem to recognize the memory stick if I format it using the PC.
I have a SanDisk memory card reader. I formatted the disk following the instructions in the manual and it seemed to work fine (no errors or anything unexpected from the HU). So I did the RTA measurement and copied the data to the disc using the directions in the manual. Again, this seemed to work as it should (except for the measurment itself as stated above). Then when I loaded the memory stick into the SanDisk, the PC recognized that there was a removable drive but it said the disk wasn't formatted and asked if I want to format it. I figured I'd try formatting with the PC then re-writing the data from the HU, but when I formatted the disc with the PC, the data writing from the HU went so fast I didn't think it really wrote it to the disk (about 1 second as opposed to 3 - 4 seconds after the HU had formatted it). I checked anyway, and again the PC said the disk wasn't formatted.
So do any of you few people who have the 8454 have the same problems? Can one or more of you try running the measurement and see what happens? Do you get the freq response to display or not? And have you had any problems loading the results up to your PC? I'm going to have the dealer try it using the 8454 they have on display and see if they can get theirs to work.
Oh. I almost forgot problem 3 which is relatively minor, but is still an irritation. With the car's headlights on, the display lights of the HU intermittently pulse. Almost as if I'm turning the lights on and off. I'd think it was a loose illumination wire, but the rest of the HU's lights are steady. Just the whitish lights on the actual display are affected. Anyone seeing that problem?
I'm wondering if my HU is having some problems. I might need to swap it out for a new one.
Thanks for any input.
1. Time alignment
2. 10 band parametric EQ
3. Built in RTA (more on this below)
4. Built in X-over
5. Ability to set the illumination to red (matches my VW's dash lighting)
Ok, now for the problems. I'm having some difficulty with the RTA. I follow the manual to set the HU up to monitor the frequency response, but after the HU goes though the "Measuring" phase, I don't get a display of the response like the manual says I should. My audio dealer called Eclipse tech support (kinda rude IMO), and was told by someone who supposedly owns one that the response is only recorded to the HUs memory--not displayed. However, on page 127, the manual says:
"Pink noise will be output from the speakers and measurement of the frequency characteristics will start. [Measuring] will appear on the display while measurement is in progress. When measurment is complete, measurement results will appear on the display."
Either the tech support guy is wrong or the manual is. He said that it wouldn't 8454's display and that I needed to just write the results to the memory stick and use E-iSERV to upload the frequency results and tweak the HU's settings. E-iSERV is a really cool concept and I'm excited to try it...which brings me to problem 2.
I can't seem to get the PC to recognize the memory stick if it's formatted by the HU, and the HU doesn't seem to recognize the memory stick if I format it using the PC.
I have a SanDisk memory card reader. I formatted the disk following the instructions in the manual and it seemed to work fine (no errors or anything unexpected from the HU). So I did the RTA measurement and copied the data to the disc using the directions in the manual. Again, this seemed to work as it should (except for the measurment itself as stated above). Then when I loaded the memory stick into the SanDisk, the PC recognized that there was a removable drive but it said the disk wasn't formatted and asked if I want to format it. I figured I'd try formatting with the PC then re-writing the data from the HU, but when I formatted the disc with the PC, the data writing from the HU went so fast I didn't think it really wrote it to the disk (about 1 second as opposed to 3 - 4 seconds after the HU had formatted it). I checked anyway, and again the PC said the disk wasn't formatted.
So do any of you few people who have the 8454 have the same problems? Can one or more of you try running the measurement and see what happens? Do you get the freq response to display or not? And have you had any problems loading the results up to your PC? I'm going to have the dealer try it using the 8454 they have on display and see if they can get theirs to work.
Oh. I almost forgot problem 3 which is relatively minor, but is still an irritation. With the car's headlights on, the display lights of the HU intermittently pulse. Almost as if I'm turning the lights on and off. I'd think it was a loose illumination wire, but the rest of the HU's lights are steady. Just the whitish lights on the actual display are affected. Anyone seeing that problem?
I'm wondering if my HU is having some problems. I might need to swap it out for a new one.
Thanks for any input.