Got a new toy.. Eclipse 8454
05-02-2004, 12:18 PM
#1
50 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 60
Ahh... the Eclipse 8454 
I got it from Channels Electronics in Orangeville, Ont. They're having this big sale today, and so I got an awesome deal on the 8454. Significantly less than $900. The ppl there helped me a lot, one of them went on a 4 hour seminar on the new decks' abilities, so he was able to answer a number of questions, but not all because they haven't even had a chance to play with it yet.
They didn't have one on the board, because they just got them in, so I demo'd an 8053, whose display and controls are similar to the 8454. I didn't care about testing the sound, there's no point in trying that out on a demo board cause they have different amps, speakers, and environment than my car.
The display is beautiful. It's very classy, some nice light, but sharp colors, it isn't flashy at all like some decks that look like a disco ball in your dash. The controls were very easy to use, I was very happy. Adjusting the EQ and time alignment, which I will be spending some time on, is very simple. It shows graphical as well as number display for the pro and standard mode EQ, which is a big one-up on Alpine. Being able to see what you have done at a glance is invaluable if you're like me and spend 7 hours straight tuning a car sometimes.
The manual is big, 177 pages. And it's all english, so I have some reading to do. I was glad to see how thorough it was, since I will be using all the features I can on this deck, and I have never used an Eclipse before, so it will be all new to me.
I didn't try the MP3 / WMA features, as the 8053 doesn't have them and they didn't have another Eclipse on the board that did. I really didn't care, because MP3 navigation is the least of my concerns. If you buy a deck for SQ, using MP3's on it is quite contradictory, so Eclipse basically just added the ability for the deck to do so, they didn't really care how feature rich it was. Let's face it, if you want SQ, you don't use MP3's.
Some very neat features were added to this deck that I personally can't wait to try. For one, the deck comes with a small microphone. At first I had no idea what the hell it was for, but I went through the manual and apparently you can place this mic somewhere in your car and run a test tone or something from the deck, and the deck will adjust your EQ and time alignment for the listening position automatically. How crazy is that? It will be nice to see how well it works (I have my doubts) but if it does work even just for time alignment, its going to be very handy.
The other thing is the memory stick. It comes with a 32 MB stick. Apparently you can download your settings to the stick, put the stick in your computer, upload the settings to a software program or to the web, and adjust settings from there, or display the settings for your car graphically, or download new settings from the web site. Then upload them back into your deck. Too cool.
Something new to me is ESN, which I think is a great idea. You can code the deck to a specific CD, and when the deck is unplugged from power, you need to reinsert that specific CD for the deck to operate again. It's a great idea really. It also says the deck can be tracked electronically, but I didn't read too much about that yet.
Warranty? 3 years. 2 if you install it yourself. If the deck is stolen in the first year you own it, you get a replacement for free. No one else I know of has that.
I have attached some pics. When I get it installed with my ARC 2100XXK and my Focal's (which should be here next week), I will definitely give some more thoughts on the deck.
Here's the stuff I got with it. That thing on the top of the deck is the mic.
The face. Subtle, but beautiful.
The manual. It's not big print either
The box!
-D
[ May 02, 2004, 01:20 PM: Message edited by: Diabolik ]
I got it from Channels Electronics in Orangeville, Ont. They're having this big sale today, and so I got an awesome deal on the 8454. Significantly less than $900. The ppl there helped me a lot, one of them went on a 4 hour seminar on the new decks' abilities, so he was able to answer a number of questions, but not all because they haven't even had a chance to play with it yet.
They didn't have one on the board, because they just got them in, so I demo'd an 8053, whose display and controls are similar to the 8454. I didn't care about testing the sound, there's no point in trying that out on a demo board cause they have different amps, speakers, and environment than my car.
The display is beautiful. It's very classy, some nice light, but sharp colors, it isn't flashy at all like some decks that look like a disco ball in your dash. The controls were very easy to use, I was very happy. Adjusting the EQ and time alignment, which I will be spending some time on, is very simple. It shows graphical as well as number display for the pro and standard mode EQ, which is a big one-up on Alpine. Being able to see what you have done at a glance is invaluable if you're like me and spend 7 hours straight tuning a car sometimes.
The manual is big, 177 pages. And it's all english, so I have some reading to do. I was glad to see how thorough it was, since I will be using all the features I can on this deck, and I have never used an Eclipse before, so it will be all new to me.
I didn't try the MP3 / WMA features, as the 8053 doesn't have them and they didn't have another Eclipse on the board that did. I really didn't care, because MP3 navigation is the least of my concerns. If you buy a deck for SQ, using MP3's on it is quite contradictory, so Eclipse basically just added the ability for the deck to do so, they didn't really care how feature rich it was. Let's face it, if you want SQ, you don't use MP3's.
Some very neat features were added to this deck that I personally can't wait to try. For one, the deck comes with a small microphone. At first I had no idea what the hell it was for, but I went through the manual and apparently you can place this mic somewhere in your car and run a test tone or something from the deck, and the deck will adjust your EQ and time alignment for the listening position automatically. How crazy is that? It will be nice to see how well it works (I have my doubts) but if it does work even just for time alignment, its going to be very handy.
The other thing is the memory stick. It comes with a 32 MB stick. Apparently you can download your settings to the stick, put the stick in your computer, upload the settings to a software program or to the web, and adjust settings from there, or display the settings for your car graphically, or download new settings from the web site. Then upload them back into your deck. Too cool.
Something new to me is ESN, which I think is a great idea. You can code the deck to a specific CD, and when the deck is unplugged from power, you need to reinsert that specific CD for the deck to operate again. It's a great idea really. It also says the deck can be tracked electronically, but I didn't read too much about that yet.
Warranty? 3 years. 2 if you install it yourself. If the deck is stolen in the first year you own it, you get a replacement for free. No one else I know of has that.
I have attached some pics. When I get it installed with my ARC 2100XXK and my Focal's (which should be here next week), I will definitely give some more thoughts on the deck.
Here's the stuff I got with it. That thing on the top of the deck is the mic.
The face. Subtle, but beautiful.
The manual. It's not big print either
The box!
-D
[ May 02, 2004, 01:20 PM: Message edited by: Diabolik ]
05-02-2004, 05:44 PM
#9
500 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 870
There is no 8444, i think you mean 5444?
Wanna trade decks man? I have an 8443 and i love it to death but do wish I had the 8454
. I haev heard that the memory stick is used to store the results from using the microphone and then u use it to upload the info to the internet and it will tell you how to set your deck for a flat response or something like that.
Wanna trade decks man? I have an 8443 and i love it to death but do wish I had the 8454
. I haev heard that the memory stick is used to store the results from using the microphone and then u use it to upload the info to the internet and it will tell you how to set your deck for a flat response or something like that.
