Hello Everyone.

The first step in my upgrade is a new head unit.

After months of spec reading, and doing research
on how to understand the specs that I was reading
(twice. a nice scrape of the driveheads against
the platters in mid june meant I got to start all
over again...), I have narrowed my shortlist to
the 2 heads specified in the message subject.

I've pretty much made my decision.
I'm curious, however, if anyone can change my mind.

What I'd like is input from people, both good and bad.
(good and bad input, not good and bad people)
(oh, alright, the bad people can contribute too)

I'm very interested to hear from those that have,
or have had in the past, one or the other units.
More importantly, WHY they choose that unit.

Of course, I'd also like to hear from anyone that
has an opinion on one or the other, without
necessarily owning either of the units.

And finally, if you prefer one, what would you say
to try to talk me out of buying the other?

Now here's the kicker.

I'm not going to tell you which of these units
I've decided on. Of course, you're welcome to
take a guess, but I'm not owning up until I have
some feedback.
Maybe I'll keep a running tally of who guesses
Bremen and who guesses 8455. Could be interesting
to see the numbers.

Anyway, what I'm trying to do is get (hopefully)
unbiased opinions on both units, without you guys
hedging on one or the other because you know which
I'm partial to.

PLEASE, give me your best shot!!

Thanks much!

C-me,
Tim.

highend blaupunkt decks rule have owned many and would use another
reception is the best
they have more human creature programable features than any other decks out there
german engineering
not japanese twinkle
like turn on volume
scan time
day time brightness
night time brightness
and lots more
the eclipe stuff is over rated in my opinion

I have not been a real fan of Blau in the past but that Bremen looks sick on paper. If it sounds like a champ also that's the one I would go for.
If you did get the Bremen shoot me a PM and let me know where you got it and what it costs please.

[ September 16, 2005, 05:55 AM: Message edited by: Hardwrkr ]

http://www.nakamichi.com/home.html
CD-500
'nuff said

I have seen very little of the Blaupunkt out here in the west. So I would personally go Eclipse out of those choices. Personally my next head unit will probably be Alpine.

Maybe he needed crossovers, EQ, etc in his HU choice?
Maybe he has heard of the reliability issues Nak has had in the past and reluctant to go that route?
Maybe you didn't read the question where it said which of these TWO choices?

I would go with the Eclipse for these reasons:

I have only ever messed around with one Blau deck.

I have had several Eclipses, and they have all been excellent both in performance and reliability. I pretty much know what I am getting when I buy an Eclipse. I can't say that about Blau(again, just not much experience with them).

You have chosen the Bremen that’s why you use it in a sentence first, it’s your right half of the brain taking over ;)
You can't Dee nigh it even if its the truth no one will believe you now it will be oh sure he was thinking of the other one, he just said that to screw Icon up.

yada yada this is me causing poop again. I like eclipse, well made look good.

AHA!!

I suspected someone would reply with that answer.
I was toying with putting the following in my
original message :

"These units are listed in alphabetical order
so no one will assume I've put the one I'm
more interested in first."

But then I became more curious to see if someone
actually would accuse me of listing my favorite
first.

You have fallen for my cunning plan, Icon!

I'm not going to confess that easily.

Thanks for your input, BTW.

C-me,
Tim.

Now the question is, if everyone jumped off the deep end, would you? Just cause everyone seems to be running Eclipse, that shouldn't stop you from getting the blau.

If you can, try listening and playing with them both, and make your final decision based on what you get. Let us know how it turns out.

I hope you bought the one from the company whose products haven't failed the last three times I tested them.

"Some snack foods may be laced with arsenic, we tell you which ones at News at 11:00" says the damn newsperson during the commercial break.

^^^^^^Exactly. What kind of lame imput is that Dave?

Hey I like this guy hes quick on the ball. Not like some MODS I know ;)

[ September 18, 2005, 07:25 PM: Message edited by: Icon ]

I quit Blauing Chunks in the 90's when reliabilty became a huge issue.

They could very well make a nice deck now, but I have not looked twice at one for over 10 years.

Welcome to the forum.

[ September 17, 2005, 05:15 AM: Message edited by: Car Trek ]

And Eclipse has had a sparkling reliability record?
Not to mention the endless units with dreaded turn-on pop.

Endless units with turn on pop? The ONLY model I have seen anything remotely resembling consistent complaints on regarding turn on pop is the 8443. Every Eclipse I have owned has been dead quiet. The 8443 had the problem, and it shouldn't. I love eclipse decks, but yes, they have had their issues(skip n blip...but that issue was resolved many years ago). I would feel confident buying another Eclipse.

Dave is playing I have a secret just like the thread master

OK Bankie you have looked at paper and you have read a lot... have you listened to either? Have you seen who has the best ergonomics, having features is great but a menu in a menu in a menu is a pain. Reliability is certainly an issue (and a big one).
The Blau is rumored to have one of the best radios in the biz and that is important to some (like me). And everyone knows Eclipse sound great so it is a good ego builder in the lanes.
Personally I could live with either, I have certainly heard more Eclipse units than Blau and the 'punkt doesn’t have the nice sexy feel to it.

I would have to hear and play with it though

[ September 17, 2005, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: JohnVroom ]

looks like the right half of icon is in a fight with the left half
hope theres something left after the fights over

Guys, he has a double din opening and installed both as both are great units. Should Blau come back down to earth at a more reasonable pricepoint, I would consider the line again.

I too had my fair share of fatalities with Blau units (primarily the old Sony based transports, Aspen and ? CDX5040 and CDX5080 Sony in disguise (all were the same pile of stinky smelly crapola))In the late 90's I toyed with the line again and while the quality had improved there were still failures and high price points to contend with.

As far as the dreaded "pop" issue with Eclipse, it was indeed related to only the CD8443 model. As one of the longest serving Eclipse dealers on this forum, perhaps I am a little more aware of it than others. That aside though, the CD8443 was a good unit. To date with this years models, absolutely zero warranty claims.

Sorry, just being a smartass... Kinda hit a nerve.

I'd be sued if I ever expressed publically that an entire brand of products had caused me no end of trouble during testing - including needing to remove a CD with a hammer and screwdriver. That's a secret that can't be revealed.

DWVW - yep, that was the leadup to the commercial - but your cable went out during the Budweiser add and came on a half hour later.

I would take the Blaupunkt over the Eclipse in a heartbeat -- almost every Eclipse I ever sold failed best thing I ever did was drop the line back in the day

Hello Everyone.

First, I have to apologize for disappearing for the past few days.

Second, you guys are great!! Of the 4 forums I'm
asking for help on, this one is by far giving the
most and the best feedback.

Some responses to what everyone has been saying:

If I do get the Bremen, I will let you know.


<sigh>
Where did THAT come from!?!
I don't remember seeing it when I was looking at
Nakamichi. And it looks nice!! Ah well, I can't
get distracted now. It'll have to go on my list
for the next head purchase.


Good lord, no! I gave up peer pressure decades ago.
I do research, take opinions (expert and other) into
consideration, try and test, weight all the factors
and try and make an informed choice.

Then I do what my wife tells me...

Well, I was going to start questioning Dave:
Obviously, what company?
What were the products? Were they heads?
What tests did you do? What were you testing for?
How did they fail? Were you TRYING to break them?

But then Dave said:

Not even willing to PM me and do a little surreptitious disclosure?
Not so much?
Even if I promise not to tell?
No?
Oh well, can't blame you.
BTW , I stumbled across your website a couple of
weeks ago, and spend a couple of hours reading.
Very Nice! Thank you.

WELL?!? WHAT THE H#!! ARE THEY, DERECK!
I hope ritz crackers aren't on the list, else I'm a dead man...

MOSDS? That one I don't know. Please help.

Bankie!?! HeeHee! I think I'm back in grade 8!


you have looked at paper and you have read a lot... have you listened to either? Have you seen who has the best ergonomics, having features is great but a menu in a menu in a menu is a pain. Reliability is certainly an issue (and a big one).


I am having a HORRIBLE time tying to get my hands
on either of these units! I finally found a
Bremen, and although it was powered, it wasn't hooked
to an antenna or speakers! I'm probably going to
go back there and pester them to hook it up properly
so I can play with.

I have yet to find an 8455. Anyone know where I
can get my hands on one? Anywhere from Toronto to
London to Niagara Falls to Waterloo to any points
in between?

Regarding reliability, whataya got? What reliability issues have you heard?
GIMME!!! gimme-gimme-gimme!

HEY!! Never thought of that! Don't have enough
money for both, though. (Got the eye-roll from
my killer wife when I mentioned the idea of having BOTH).

Rob, you're obviously a retailor that knows a few
things. Why do you have to be 2/3 of a country away?

pant...pant...pant....

Ok, that's all I have for tonight.
Must sleep now. [img]graemlins/boring.gif[/img]

Thanks for all the input guys!

C-me,
Tim.

One last question.

Does anyone know where online I can find an 8455
user manual? Blaupunkt has downloads on their site,
but I can't find anything for the eclipse.

C-me,
Tim.

Dmac, e-mail me: thanks dave

[ September 19, 2005, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: Icon ]

remiond me not to send you a radio to check

Surprisingly, I 'go through' more amps than anything else. Some like to pop and smoke when being pushed hard.. Some do it just for fun. Some do it when I accidentally short the speaker leads... Anyways, after 300+ products in 5 years, things are bound to have problems.

Decks just get tested for output power, output voltage, output impedance and error correction. Then I hunt through the menus and features to see how they work.

T.A - you have mail - but no answers.

Icon - You have mail as well.