Well, look at it this way:wait wait wait.. ur tellin me the "" Eclipse - 8053 "" sounds nicer then the "" Eclipse - CD8454 "" ??? yeh iv got ALPINES MRV-F540 as the 4/ channel amp and 1 MRD-M1001 for the subs
I don't see how the 8454 could sound better than the 8053(same dacs, etc). I don't know if you could tell a difference in sound between the 2 decks but since, with the 8053, you have no internal amp and the option of running balanced lines, if one has the potential to sound better than the other, it would be the 8053.
Now, if you care about mp3s, get the 8454.
