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Car Audio Equipment
Head Units
Kenwood Excelon vs XXV
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<blockquote data-quote="BodegaBay" data-source="post: 1444718" data-attributes="member: 560141"><p>Prowler,</p><p></p><p>I'll continually opine about the 01D model in the next few weeks but after 15hrs. of playing time with it, it's a top performer in my book.</p><p></p><p>In comparing the build quality, I see that the PCB is not as good as the Eclipse; Kenwood uses a PCB material called CEM while Eclipse uses FR4 (I work in electronics manufacturing). From what I could see without opening the unit's internals, Eclipse seem to use more SMT (surface mount technology) components vs. some back end TH (through hole) of the Kenwood. The extruded aluminum heatsink is better on the Eclipse as well. However, the pre-amp connections and cabling is much better on the Kenwood. The motorized mechanisms for both is solid but I prefer the Kenwoods speedier and shorter singface design. The Kenwood is manufactured in Malaysia while Eclipse 8455 is made in China. From my travels, I still think Malaysia still has a slight edge on quality builds vs. China. But there are world class factories in China as well. Hardly any models are still made in Japan (except the $1K overseas units) which is still top dog in world class manufacturing IMO. I had an Eclipse 8053 and 8443 2-3 yrs ago and those were still made in Japan; the 1990's Alpines were also made in Japan.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure how Kenwood implemented Texas Instrument's Burr-Brown DACs, but they sure sound lusch and full bodied in the 01D unit. I had a Clarion DRZ9255 18 months ago and it uses BB but that unit always sounded warm to me. Same with the Sony C90. The high end Eclipse's DAC was recently confirmed by another member here to be BB as well. But the Eclipse's sound is very much different, dry and analytical (I'm not saying that as a criticism, just my perception of the sonic signature). The Kenwood is just right in my set up; it's might lose out on ultimate resolution in the upper end to Eclipse, but it sounds more musical to me. Like I said, this is a very nice surprise discovery and I'm glad I had an open mind to try Kenwood.</p><p></p><p>I do have to give major props to Kenwood's OEL display. It's clear, precise, and can give so much info vs. the VF (vaccum flourescent) of Eclipse and Clarion. It might not be as bright as Alpine's BioLite but it puts out much more text and color to boot. What impresses me is Kenwood's GUI in that it lets you choose the information you want to display. Also having the RDS info integrated in this unit is just great for local stations. Also, the GUI used with the two knobs is very intuitive and great to use; I do not miss those hard buttons at all.</p><p></p><p>Certainly there are questionable "features" such as the G-Analyzer but then again even serious Eclipse receivers has the GPS Area Shot feature. The only thing I find lacking is it does not support a 3-way active setup and is missing 1-2 bands of PEQ (vs. Eclipse) but it's no biggie in a passive setup.</p><p></p><p>I'll see how it does in the incoming weeks but I'm very impressed so far.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BodegaBay, post: 1444718, member: 560141"] Prowler, I'll continually opine about the 01D model in the next few weeks but after 15hrs. of playing time with it, it's a top performer in my book. In comparing the build quality, I see that the PCB is not as good as the Eclipse; Kenwood uses a PCB material called CEM while Eclipse uses FR4 (I work in electronics manufacturing). From what I could see without opening the unit's internals, Eclipse seem to use more SMT (surface mount technology) components vs. some back end TH (through hole) of the Kenwood. The extruded aluminum heatsink is better on the Eclipse as well. However, the pre-amp connections and cabling is much better on the Kenwood. The motorized mechanisms for both is solid but I prefer the Kenwoods speedier and shorter singface design. The Kenwood is manufactured in Malaysia while Eclipse 8455 is made in China. From my travels, I still think Malaysia still has a slight edge on quality builds vs. China. But there are world class factories in China as well. Hardly any models are still made in Japan (except the $1K overseas units) which is still top dog in world class manufacturing IMO. I had an Eclipse 8053 and 8443 2-3 yrs ago and those were still made in Japan; the 1990's Alpines were also made in Japan. I'm not sure how Kenwood implemented Texas Instrument's Burr-Brown DACs, but they sure sound lusch and full bodied in the 01D unit. I had a Clarion DRZ9255 18 months ago and it uses BB but that unit always sounded warm to me. Same with the Sony C90. The high end Eclipse's DAC was recently confirmed by another member here to be BB as well. But the Eclipse's sound is very much different, dry and analytical (I'm not saying that as a criticism, just my perception of the sonic signature). The Kenwood is just right in my set up; it's might lose out on ultimate resolution in the upper end to Eclipse, but it sounds more musical to me. Like I said, this is a very nice surprise discovery and I'm glad I had an open mind to try Kenwood. I do have to give major props to Kenwood's OEL display. It's clear, precise, and can give so much info vs. the VF (vaccum flourescent) of Eclipse and Clarion. It might not be as bright as Alpine's BioLite but it puts out much more text and color to boot. What impresses me is Kenwood's GUI in that it lets you choose the information you want to display. Also having the RDS info integrated in this unit is just great for local stations. Also, the GUI used with the two knobs is very intuitive and great to use; I do not miss those hard buttons at all. Certainly there are questionable "features" such as the G-Analyzer but then again even serious Eclipse receivers has the GPS Area Shot feature. The only thing I find lacking is it does not support a 3-way active setup and is missing 1-2 bands of PEQ (vs. Eclipse) but it's no biggie in a passive setup. I'll see how it does in the incoming weeks but I'm very impressed so far. [/QUOTE]
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