I really like my new cd player

[GreenGT3]

Well today I finally broke down and spent the $$$ on a new deck. I decided to go with the eclipse 8443. It has so many things it can do I just don't know what to do with it. It sounds so much better than my old deck. Then again this thing has time alignment, a 5 band eq with a 24db per octive, and other settings i havent really figured out yet. It was hard to get though because of the $450.00 price tag. but I think in time I will become happier with my choice. Take a look at my for sale listing under the rockfordfosgate 400a4 and you will see the price of my old radio if you are looking for something cheap. Here is a picture of the new one.

http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/cdtuner/image/cd8443.jpg

[blake]

nice looking...does it play MP3 CDs?

[zx7ninja]

Nice! You'll be more than happy with that unit. The sq from it is top notch.
I've been planning on upgrading to it's big brother, the 8053, from my current Alpine 7995. Balanced output to my eq's and crossover would be nice:D

wbkm85: It won't play mp3 discs right from the box. From what I understand, the unit is built for high SQ, and since mp3's aren't very SQ oriented, the support is not included. BUT- there is a plus. Add the optional Eclipse Commander unit, and you add the ability to play mp3's. But not just mp3's, the commander does much much more than just that. I don't have the time to do a search for the features right now, but go ahead and do one. It's surprising what it'll do actually.

Anyway, great choice, and I hope it lasts you a long while.

PS: SAVE YOUR RECEIPT. If you even forget what cd you used to lock it with the ESN feature, or if the unit becomes permanently locked somehow, you'll need it for eclipse to unlock it for you. They WILL NOT do it without the receipt.

[MattBatt]

That feature is kinda scary but do they still have the one year theft guarantee? and 3 year waranty? I have used my waranty 2 times now.

[GreenGT3]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I think they still have the one year free replacement. I deffinately will be keeping my receipt. I had owned an eclipse deck before this one so i am fimiliar with the security.

zx7ninja, it sounds like you are pretty up on the info for these decks too. I still have no idea what to set this thing at. But at least the guys at the shop I bought it from will go over the settings with me on monday. It is for sure a good SQ deck.

wbkm85, As for not doing MP3's with out the commander, i really gave it some thought because I could have got the alpine deck that was really close. I decided not to go with the alpine because it just didn't sound as good as the eclipse. and I figured if I want to do mp3's i could just hook up a portable mp3 player through the aux input.

[zx7ninja]

Originally posted by GreenGT3
Thanks for the reply's guys. I think they still have the one year free replacement. I deffinately will be keeping my receipt. I had owned an eclipse deck before this one so i am fimiliar with the security.

zx7ninja, it sounds like you are pretty up on the info for these decks too. I still have no idea what to set this thing at. But at least the guys at the shop I bought it from will go over the settings with me on monday. It is for sure a good SQ deck.



Yep, they still do have the one year free replacement, as long as it was installed by an authorized dealer, or if the dealer signed of for you to do the install yourself.
So how did it go at the shop? Did they go over all the settings with you? There are a lot man, and learning what you can do with them should be very useful, not to mention you'll be able to tailor the sound to how you like it, not what the installer set it at.

[GreenGT3]

Well after going in and talking to one of the salesman. I decided that I will bring the car in next week sometime and have them hook up an RTA and an o-scope. So that eveything can be set the correct way. I am still getting a small thrump from my sub when I turn on the car if the deck is in CD player mode. I am thinking that it might have to do with the gain on the sub amp but I am not to sure because I did turn the gain down a little. I will keep you posted next week once I get it all done.

Green

[AmIGrand]

That is one of the sweetest decks of all time. Enjoy!

I just had to sell my 55040 - among other things - to buy a new engine. I miss it - but now I have an excuse to buy that one when I start over!! :D

[MattBatt]

Funny thing about all the features is that the salesman didn't know exactly know how the tilt worked on my 55430 and the manual didn't even mention it had that feature I had to figure it out on my own.

[GreenGT3]

I turned the gains all the way down and it still makes the thump when the deck is in cd mode and I turn the car on. It is unreal that with the gains all the way down I can turn the deck up to max and have the speakers almost distorting. I can't wait till i have more time to take it to the shop and have them hook it all up to the meters. The 8 volt preouts must be the reason I can have the gains so low.