To purchase Eclipse or another name brand? (perhaps MTX)
 

I live in Edmonton and am looking at dropping $1500 (approx) on a car stereo upgrade (amp, replacing factory speakers, adding in a RE-Q5 and keeping the factory deck).

I've been doing some research, running around to the various stores in town, and am finding out that nobody really has the time to want to answer your questions, or if they do, they aren't very knowledgable. I'm not an expert myself, but I am learning more and more from each place I go to !

In saying that, I was quoted an Eclipse package from a local retailer. He is one of the only guys that took the time to answer my questions and find a system to meet my needs.

I just called this person to ask him about who services Eclipse and he says that he'll take of it. He told me that he's the only person in Edmonton that sells Eclipse....the next closest is in a town 200km away.

I'm kind of nervous of purchasing a product that nobody else is carrying. Can anybody provide me with some intel as to why nobody sells eclipse. The dealer said that it's used by Toyota, so it has a strong customer, but besides Toyota, who else uses Eclipse heavily.

I have been also looking at MTX. I find that it's quite popular, but am having a hard time finding reviews on them or Eclipse. How do they compare to each other? Am I comparing a chevrolet to a mercedes? Can anyone provide with intel on how products rate as far as who's the best/worst, etc.

Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

thanks!

You're at the right place!

Tell us what as been quote and what you're looking for in your new stereo.

Do you plan on installing everything yourself?

Eclipse and MTX are OK, but no brand are perfect and you shouldn't limit yourself to "all the same brand setup"

I have the time and my little store always appreciates and needs the business. I am the oldest established dealer in Western Canada for Eclipse, I have carried it for 14 years now. I have lots of options for you to choose from but I tend to have a very good idea as to what is in your best interest for a system as well.

Thanks for the replies.

I am getting the store to install everything....it's a brand new vehichle so feel best with them doing it.

I am just looking for feedback as to why Eclipse is not sold as widely as other name brands. If it is a good product (which I believe from what I've heard), then why aren't more people selling it.

I'm not looking for assistance for spec'ing out what I need to purchase (I've been given good advice and believe in the people that I'm dealing with), but rather information on the name brand itself and it's exposure to the marketplace.

Any additional information would be appreciated.

thanks

Eclipse is a protected line, they do not want it sold on every corner on the block (unlike all the others). It is generally found at higher end or specialty shops. The product is great. That said though, while Eclipse is indeed good products it may not be the ideal solution for everyone. It completely depends on the application and how it is matched with the balance of the product. One part of the Eclipse line that I do not care for is subwoofer warranty, absolutely no warranty on a blown sub (unlike their competition). So if you are going to Eclipse for a sub and you are one that enjoys your bass response, don't risk it with Eclipse for the sub choice (as much as I like the aluminum cone series there is nothing worse than having to tell a customer, sorry no warranty like I told you originally).

Thanks for your reply Rob.

I won't be purchasing a subwoofer. I'm going with an amp (EA4200) and a pair of SP6510's and a pair of SP6910's plus an RE-Q5 (and labour, etc to install it).

I appreciate the feedback...it gives me some confidence that I'm purchasing a higher end product. You can walk into almost store in town and see Alpine/Pioneer/Sony/MTX and others...but when you get to rarer name brand, a person wants to know why not many others are selling it.

Thanks,

if you can get your hands on the audiocontrol lc6, it does a way better job of adapting your factory deck to the equipment you have purchased for about the same money

thats for sure, i got around 5 -6 different brands of car audio stuff in my car. and i willl hopefully be adding an eclipse deck to replace my alpine. if you end up with the eclipse deck provided by rob, let me know what you think of it, i cant wait for mine.

I too would be headed the route of the Audio Control LC6i and if you can find a set of SP6500 speakers (yes they are last years model), they have a detachable tweeter to make them into a dedicated set of component speakers. The new pointsource series lack this ability. I am not at the store to check on these but I think I have a set of them left. The CDN distributor is long sold out of them, I should have bought 20 pairs of them....

How would you say the Audio Control LC-6 compares to the RE-Q5 ?

As a layman, how would I be able to tell the difference between the components when they are installed into my car? Would you have any articles/websites that does a comparison of the two so that I can read up and understand them more. (e.,g consumer reports, etc for the layman?).

The RE-Q5 and the Audio Control are two items that I am trying to understand how they work. The way it's been explained to me is that they take the sound from the factory deck and work with it..........

If someone can add to this, I would greatly appreciate it.
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About the tweeter....I believe my retailer that he's taking the tweeter from the 6510's (or 6910's)..can't recall...and will be using that. My car has tweeters in the dash ....6.5"s in the doors and 6x9's in the back. He did say that he was replacing the factory tweeters with a tweeter off of the new speakers. Am I correct in saying that?

Thanks.