Eclipse 8454 or 5444?

[lildragon45 10+ year member]

I am looking to but a new head unit to replace my Clarion DXZ745MP. I want to try an Eclipse unit. My two choices are the 8454 ($330) and 5444 ($210) Which would you get for your own system preference? I really can't find any information on these 2 units to tell the difference between them, beside's one being 8V and other 5V. I listen to alot of MP3 cd's, so ease of navigation is a must also. Thanks for any input.

Cadence Z7000 & Z4000

Cadence ZX- 6KIT & ZX-691

RE SE 12

Optima Red Top

Stinger Wires and Lightning Audio RCA's

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[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

out of those 2, def the 8454....may cost more, but its worth more and will hold onto better value being a flagship deck. The processing/dsp of the 8v series is much better/extensive as well.

 

[lildragon45 10+ year member]

Do you know if the MP3 tag displays fully on the 8454?

 

[acousticguitar 10+ year member]

the kenwood x789 might be a consideration from what some ppl say.

 

[WeDgE 10+ year member]

may cost more, but its worth more and will hold onto better value being a flagship deck.

That's what I thought until I tried to sell it. It'd value has dropped over $200 on the internet in the 6 months I've owned mine... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

That's what I thought until I tried to sell it. It'd value has dropped over $200 on the internet in the 6 months I've owned mine... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

my point being its value is considerably better than a 5444- what do you expect from a discontinued deck/model

 

[lildragon45 10+ year member]

the kenwood x789 might be a consideration from what some ppl say.

I was thinking maybe kenwood, alpine or pioneer. But just want to try an Eclipse unit for now. I change units about once every year. But I still want to know how people like the MP3 playback.

 

[lildragon45 10+ year member]

Can someone give me a short review on how they like/dislike the Eclipse's MP3... I am leaning toward the 8454...

 

[Justintoxicated 10+ year member]

I would have got the 8454 if I could fine one, however I can't so I got the 5444 instead.

I would not say that *V means better processing but a slightly stronger and overkill signal for most amps. The 8454 does have some cool features my 8454 does not have. The display is flourescent instead of liek ont he 5444, I heard mine would be hard to read but it is extrealy bright even in the daytime, the only angle it is hard to read from is if I stick my head on the seat and look at it and even then I can still read it it's just not as bright.

Mine displays the full mp3 title, but not the file extention (which is pointless since they only support mp3's anyays) which is enough for me. You can jump by directory or by song..

Only Issue I have had with mine was mounting it in my Titan. Titan was a ***** because you have to replace the Dash bezel for the SE or LE with an XE bezel because the stock 6 disc is integrated in the bezel. THen I had to buy a metra install kit to convery the double din to single din, and when I installed it it would not open all the way so I had to dremel down the sides of the Metra install kit

You can see the lower corners of the second pic the trim piece had to be cut in this picture to prevent the arms from hitting.. Besides that the CD player is excelent. I actualy Like the Display on the 5444, nice and simple bright clear text. Not screen savers or flashing picstures or animations (other than song title scrolling) I liek the ability to copy CD's to Mem Stick in mp3 format as I listen to them, friend brings over CD and I copy the song or entire CD that I want)

Get the 8454 you won't regret it, but if price is a concer the 5444 is an awesome unit also.

I'm not positive on the 8454 but I know the 5444 opens up more than the new units which I liked, it also has a MUCH more solid feel the to HE, they kept it nice and simple and effective...As far as holding it's value none of them will, and these are already last years units so that should not be a concern . I picked mine up for $230 at best buy brad new. I installed it myself because I knew the install would be difficult on my truck and I didn't want them to both things up or over charge me for the parts.

I have not hookup up my Amp's yet as I'm waiting for my fronts to put the door pannels back on and then I have to matt and run wires through the entire vehicle so it will probably be another month at least before I get to use the awesome pre-outs.

I'm missing the steering wheel controlls but not so much the 6 disc changer, I may add a cd changer later.

These pics in NO WAY represent how nice the unit looks at night. I love driving my truck at night. These pics are blury and make the screen look hard to read due to the way the camera percieves the image and the angle (on the seat) I had to use to steady it. I assure you it is a very very crisp clean looking HU at night. Like I said it is hard to read with your head on the seat, but any other angle and it looks much much much more crisp than the pic, even if your above the HU it looks better than from below it. You can change the bottons to red or green but not blue. I like red.

I know it looks bad in the pics due to camera position and sensitivity, but when your sitting in the truck it is the most easy to read HU I have owned be it day or night and it is very sharp and the letters are very bright. Which is just what I was looking for. I'm usualy not looking at the HU with my head on the passengers seat anyways. These pics represent about the worst angle you coudl view the HU from.

 

[lildragon45 10+ year member]

Thanks Justintoxicated for your views and pictures, very helpful, by the way when did you buy your unit?

 

[99StangGt 10+ year member]

The 8454 does have more prossesing then the 5444. 8454 has a pro mode that has alot more fine tuning for time delay and active 3-way crossover for multiple amps.

 

[Justintoxicated 10+ year member]

If thats what you mean by more processing, they both use the same DAC's but yea it has more tuning. I would have purchased it if I could fine one but this one is good enough for me anyways. The active crossover would have been sweet, but I'm going with DLS 6.2 components anyways so I guess it's not really necessary for me.

I was wrong I do get file extentions in MP3 mode.

I boguht it a few weeks ago.

 

[acousticguitar 10+ year member]

i got a 5444 and i like it. i wish i could work more w/ the time correction in an easier fashion, but overall i've found that i like this deck. (the 8454 was $320 + tax, the 5444 was 250 + tax) i didnt think the extra 60 would be worth it since this car audio stuff is #@$@#$`~ expensive. but the 5444 does sound pretty good once i used the graphic eq to do my bidding. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Justintoxicated 10+ year member]

good to hear the graphic EQ works well, I have not touched mine yet, as I only have 1 speaker installed and running off the HU lol as I am still waiting for my DLS to arrive. it's taking forever to get these things since my dual mags blew...so No Door pannels for me for another week.... Oh man it's getting old having to roll down the window to close the door ever time I drive for the past 5 weeks.