I stated facts, not opinion. I also think the 8053 is a great deck, and again I say that I would consider using it. But to consider it in the same class as the P9 is ignorant. I do not understand why this is so hard to accept.

 

First of all, what difference does it make if I am employed by a store? I have seen many employees in car audio shops that don't know anything about the product they sell. To be honest, I am pretty dissappointed you resorted to such a low blow on that one, trying to take away my credibility. It actually sounds as if you have no knowledge at all about the P9 since you have to ask the distributor. So in fact, it would seem that you have been arguing ignorant to the facts of what the P9 can do. I would think a gentleman that is the largest retailer for Eclipse in BC would at least have some knowledge of such a talked about product. I will enlighten you later on in this reply.

Second of all, you DO need to change your settings in a SQ comp because what sounds good to the judge doesn't always sound good to you. You can store up to 6 sets of settings on the P9 allowing you to have different settings for various judges' preferences as well as your own.

Thirdly, comparing the 8053 to the DEX P9 alone is just ignorant as the DEX P9 was purposely designed by Pioneer to work that way to utilize the benefits of a digital signal to the trunk.

Fourthly, when did I say the P9 combo was in such drastic demand? Obviously less people will be inclined to purchase it since it has a higher price tag. It is called the law of demand, but I won't take the time to educate you on economics since I am sure a major store owner such as yourself is well versed in that area. However, if you look at the SQ competitors, more use the P9 combo than the 8053, and it is very popular in the SQ community.

Finally, if you were to mod the 8053 to bypass all processing, and do the same with the DEX P9, I bet you couldn't even tell the difference in sound.

All in all, you are correct about the daily driver comment. You do not really need the tuning capabilities of the P9 for daily driving. However, this gentleman is looking to compete, and has the $ to afford it. I would suggest finding a used combo, as it can be had for much less than MSRP. Purchasing the P9 over the Eclipse would in fact give him an advantage.

Now lets go over all these advantages.

The P9 has a 4 way crossover, while the Eclipse has 3 way and less crossover points and slopes. This is a major benefit if he chooses to run active.

The P9 has a dual 32 band eq, allowing him to fine tune his system more accurately. I don't care what you say, but some fine tuning with an eq is required to get the flatest response curve.

The P9 has 4 way time alignment, where as the Eclipse doesn't. This will help him if he decides to run a 3 way comp actively.

The P9 has DVD control, allowing him to expand his sytem to video by adding the 6 disk P9 DVD changer, which also utilizes a digital signal to the DEX P9.

The P9 combo stomps all over the 8053 in every area except for price. I am sure you will bring up the fact that the 8053 has 8V preouts, but that doesn't really matter since the P9 uses a digital signal to the trunk, essentially eliminating the need for such a high voltage since the distance from the DEQ to the amp is very short. There is no induced noise from the deck to the processor because of this digital signal, which is always a risk with RCAs.

So now tell me, other than price, how the Eclipse is better? </font>[/QUOTE]The eclipse has a 4 speaker TA in pro mode and an easy TA in normal mode just to let you know. What if I take the eclipse 30 band EQ and the DSP processor and hook those together with the 8053's digital output? Now do you think that would be on the same playing field. Also you mention the P9 allows you to store 6 different EQ settings, the 8 series eclipse has the same thing so there is no advantage with that.

[ February 28, 2004, 11:14 AM: Message edited by: scarlemthug ]

 

I'm sorry, but "The other camp feels that the Pioneer sounds as good as the Eclipse" is a pretty biased statement. It implies that Eclipse is in fact better and that the P9 can only hope to be as good. So that is why I continued.

The statement "I have used neither so I am not about to make uninformed judgements as many here have" implies that you think I am uninformed, which is untrue. I just tend to take a lot of the things you say with some subtle underlying insult. However, if I am wrong I apologize. Now lets end this little debate.

[img]graemlins/beer.gif[/img]

[ February 28, 2004, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: Kool ]

 

Well I think I have made my choice. I have been in around the audio market for about 12 years now so im not a Rookie (even though I will be a Rookie in IASCA this coming season). I believe in the weakest link theory, "your only as good as your weakest link". So when building my system for this season my number one goal was to get the best possible speaker placement in my car (2000 Neon). I have listened to some of the best cars/trucks in the world and havent heard one single car that was great from both seats (excluding a few who have rebuild the intire interior). So what "I" needed was something that had the ability to help correct some of the problems that occur inside my car. That means I need a processor of some kind (thats my take anyway). From my research (which has taken far too long) I have finally come to find that I simply cannot get a better package then the Pioneer P9. The deck on its own is a fine piece though I know it has it's flaws or as least some short comings when compared to my second pick (Nacamichi CD 700II). But I feel that "overall" the P9 combo is better suited to my needs. I have yet to purchase this unit as I am looking into some used units first (I will most likely buy a new one). Here is an quick run through of the rest of my system:

JBL/Crown 600.3
JBL/Crown 300.4 (both ceiling mounted)
JBL Gti 12" (unfortunatly in the trunk, but the cabinet looks nice)
JBL Gti 6" (lacated in the kicks)
SEAS Tweets ("A" pillars)

Using an old Kenwood PS-900 for a head unit right now (this thing is old).

Thanks for all the help!

 

You will not be dissappointed. ; )

How do you like those Seas tweets? Are they the Lotus Reference tweets? If so, are they the silk or aluminum dome? I ask because I am considering getting a set of Lotus Reference components.

 

This should be a great sounding system with whatever source unit or processor you choose. I think you have made a great investment.

 

Welcome to the "my stereo costs more than my car" club. It is a proud and distinguished group of audio nuts (who cant get a date on Friday nights). Be glad you have a new car, if you have a car like me that is over a decade old you could be a member of the always pathetic "my head unit costs more than my car" club, who cant even get hookers to talk to them. [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img]

 

Hehe..maybe some of us are hiding from our cranky pms'ing other half's.