need some opinions on eclipse, clarion, alpine etc

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

No I’m not going to date my H/U smart ass (or dumb ass depending on how you look at it) but you have to admit there not the nicest looking H/U out there. By stating that Eclipse are the best sounding H/U out there is pretty subjective. The H/U is only once piece of the puzzle. I’ve never demo(ed) an Eclipse but I have with some well respected Clarion units and it did not blow me away. I too would never take looks over sound quality but there are too many other H/U that sound “just as good” with out looking like crap. That’s where I’ll spend my money. I mean then how do companies like Alpine, Pioneer, Panasonic, JVC, and many others stay in business if Eclipse is the best? Think about it.

I pretty much did admit this year's eclipse decks are not the best looking, imo.

It is funny you insist sq is subjective yet somehow, looks are not?

I would also argue that the other brands readily available do NOT sound "just as good," at least they haven't to my ears over the years. I do know people who for whatever reason prefer the sound of clarion or alpine or pioneer, etc to eclipse. Their ears are definitely hearing something my ears have not.

Your line about how do other brands stay in business if eclipse is the best is laughable. Other brands stay in business because people buy products for different reasons. There are people who think eclipse sound the best, as there are people will insist that alpine or clarion or pioneer, etc sound the best. Some people will go into a shop and say "uh, I want a head unit that has red backlighting on it," and that is their only criteria for the deck. Some(I would say MANY) do not prioritize SQ when buying a deck. They will buy a deck because it has more features than another at a given price(more features doesn't mean that deck must sound better, but many just love to mess around with their decks all the time for some unknown reason),has a specific feature they want, etc.

Did you really think that line about why the other companies stay in business was thought provoking? The answer was common sense, not some huge mystery.

 

[gnet158 10+ year member]

Not thought provoking just making a point. Which you obviously missed, let me help you out a bit. If everything else really sounded that inferior to Eclipse don’t you think more people would buy Eclipse. I guess not because other H/U exist, I (personally) don’t like the looks of the Eclipse H/U. And I seriously doubt after hearing one, it would sound so amazingly brilliant that it would make me run out, rip out my Alpine and buy one. Maybe that’s the “end all H/U” for you but not for me.

Your arrogance is what is truly laughable in this thread.

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

Not thought provoking just making a point. Which you obviously missed, let me help you out a bit. If everything else really sounded that inferior to Eclipse don’t you think more people would buy Eclipse. I guess not because other H/U exist, I (personally) don’t like the looks of the Eclipse H/U. And I seriously doubt after hearing one, it would sound so amazingly brilliant that it would make me run out, rip out my Alpine and buy one. Maybe that’s the “end all H/U” for you but not for me.
Your arrogance is what is truly laughable in this thread.

I never said all other brands sounded THAT inferior to Eclipse. I also explained why people buy whatever brands they buy(I thought that was pretty clearly and easily explained). Not everybody(in fact I would say a small percentage) buys head units with SQ as the FIRST priority. I have seen it time and time again. The marketplace is huge, and different brands are attractive to different buyers(just like with any other product on the market).

In case you didn't notice, I don't run an Eclipse deck. I have run many of them, but I don't at present.

My arrogance? You cannot seem to grasp the easiest concepts. You make a ridiculous point, I explain why it is not a sound point, and then you bring up the same point again like it has any validity at all.

Your statement about not running an eclipse(even if you heard one) proves MY point. You prioritize things differently than I do. If I heard a deck and it sounded better than what I had(which an eclipse may or may not to your ears), I would have a hard time buying something I knew did not sound as good. I prioritize SQ over everything else in a head unit. I understand I am in the minority with that opinion.

Your example of "well, eclipse can't be that great since other head units exist" is like saying "well, Car B can't be the best for $20K since other cars exist at that price." Sure they do, because different people place different priorities on things. Some would buy the fastest car they could get for the money. Others want the biggest, or the most reliable or the most fuel efficient, etc.

 

[gnet158 10+ year member]

Ok

 

[Goldenknob 10+ year member]

gnet.. you ask peoples opinion then you criticize them for it.... what gives?..

the clarion is nice looking.. gotta love the touch screen and that it's TFT....but I don't know out of any of the 3.. never heard them...aiwa sounds good though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

gnet.. you ask peoples opinion then you criticize them for it.... what gives?..
the clarion is nice looking.. gotta love the touch screen and that it's TFT....but I don't know out of any of the 3.. never heard them...aiwa sounds good though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif Uhhh....actually this isn't gnet's thread and he never asked for opinions, Vanquish did. gnet and JLcivic were debating throughout the whole thread.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Ebonyisland 10+ year member]

No I’m not going to date my H/U smart ass (or dumb ass depending on how you look at it) but you have to admit there not the nicest looking H/U out there. By stating that Eclipse are the best sounding H/U out there is pretty subjective. The H/U is only once piece of the puzzle. I’ve never demo(ed) an Eclipse but I have with some well respected Clarion units and it did not blow me away. I too would never take looks over sound quality but there are too many other H/U that sound “just as good” with out looking like crap. That’s where I’ll spend my money. I mean then how do companies like Alpine, Pioneer, Panasonic, JVC, and many others stay in business if Eclipse is the best? Think about it.

They stay in business because people are dumbasses (not smartasses).

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

They stay in business because people are dumbasses (not smartasses).

Are you saying that people who own head units other than Eclipse are dumbasses?? I sure hope not.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Just my $.02. I recently switched from an Alpine 9811 to an Eclipse 5435 and the SQ improvement, for me, was substantial. At first, honestly, it was like going from FM radio to a CD. Now I have gotten used to it, but I still appreciate those 5v preouts every time I crank it!

Eclipse cannot be beat, IMHO. Now when it comes to all those little features we all like, it's a toss up and I think Pioneer and Alpine have the advantage.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[ighettoboyi 10+ year member]

i dont see why youre not including pioneer/premier into your little decision. i'm not a big fan of the 80 but the 770 and the 960 are sweet imo

 

[Justintoxicated 10+ year member]

I like my eclipse for SQ but do not like it for it's shortfalls, Im having one hell of a time finding a location to mount the LED on my PAC-SWI-X, so if keeping steering wheel controlls is a concern then look elsewhere I just might, that and I can't for the life of me figure out where they failed to implement a PAUSE button...

And I can't controll the rear fill in advanced mode so I may jsut have to unhook it compleatly.

Sure does sound good though and is a very solid unit...BUt some of these things (Mainly Pause, and using the PAC with it) are very important on a car audio reciever IMO. Hell if I cared too much about SQ I should look into home audio.

The rest of the interface and controlls are wll thought out, and it gets the job done well, but I'm thinking about getting rid of mine after only 3 months, since I already ruined $80 in my new trucks plastics trying to find a place to mount the PAC LED, I test it before drilling the the remote sensor is so **** picky that once mounted it does not work correctly.

Eclipse and alpine are my favorite HU's Eclipse #1 followed by alpine (better features while having great SQ) This year both of these companies took a dive in quality IMO. Especialy this years alpines. I would probably look to the Clarion HU made by McIntosh, Pioneer Premier, or even Kenwood Excelon this year. You won't hear much difference in SQ runnign speakers off the HU or even with cheaper components.