HU: Eclipse CD7000 or Pioneer DEH-P880PRS

DemonAstroth

I'm finally considering a head unit.

I've had a dension DH100ix for a few years, and although I love the 40 gigs for hard drive space... i'm going insane with the 5 DSP's and the "bass, treble, balance, fader" as its audio tuning.

I see both of these head units going for about 300, so the price is comparable.

What I'm looking for most is being able to tune my speakers with it. I now have some Alpine SPX-177r's in the front and some DB6500's in the back with 2 10" Infinity Perfect Kappas. Sound quality is very important.

2nd thing in the list is the ipod interface. I really want to be able to control it from the head unit, and I cannot find if that's the case for both head units.

and last, is the CD7000's navigation/maps actually worth it? Or is it just a gizmo not worth getting the extra GPS controller for.

If everything is tied then the looks of it would be the last thing, and although I love the clean look of the pioneer, it would clash with my all black interior. lol

IF anyone is familiar with these head units please chime in.


Thank you.

cam5860

If I was going to buy one of the two it would be the pioneer hands down. The pioneer will do everything the eclipse will do at half the cost.

But me personally I just ordered me one of the new Kenwood excelon X-791 headunits.

It has everything I'm looking for in a unit and did I mention it looks good too. I only payed 169 for it on ebay brand new out the box.

killerb

i love the kenwood excelon units also. i have the x-990 and im thinking of getting the new x-991 when it comes out. it is sick!

cam5860

I'm finally glad to see Alpine getting back in the high end decks. They have the CDA-9887 coming out soon.

It has 24 bit DA converter, 7 band equalizer, 6 channel digital time alignment and high and low pass filters.

It also has 4 volt preouts. Huge step up from what they have had to offer the past few years.

1996blackmax

I had thought about giving the 880 a shot. I have read many threads were people have had noise issues with them though, and problems with Pioneer units in general. These issues go back to the DEH-P860's....I would have thought they would have worked this out by now. I have owned a couple of Pioneer units in the past (no problems with mine) the last being the DEH-P8600MP, and liked the SQ it provided. In the end I found Pioneer even less user friendly than my Eclipse units. While the lack of buttons makes for a nice uncluttered look, it is a PITA to do basic things. I like the ability to pause a song, mute the sound, raise and lower the sub volume, or just switch a radio preset just by pushing one button. None of this is possible with the 880 and with the exception of the radio presets the same was true with my 8600. I do not like having to go through menus and sub-menus to do basic functions in a vehicle.

The Eclipse unit is not perfect, but is pretty easy to use. One of the things I really like about it is the programable shortcut button. It allows me to set it for whatever function I want. I currently have it for my EQ settings. I push it when I have passengers in the car and swith to the setting that has the values that I have for that situation. When I am alone I just push it again and have the setting that sounds best for when it's only me in the car.

The navigation on the CD7000 should not be the main reason to purchase this unit. It basically like using mapquest, if you get the GPS unit for it it will show you as a dot on the map in real time. If you deviate from this though it cannot re-route you. It can also show you a compass on the display, as well as adjust your volume according to your speed.


Forgot to mention....

While both units can use a microphone, I really like this function on the CD7000. The Pioneer has an auto EQ function. I really did not like that on my 8600, it never really sounded good to me. It did allow you to also adjust this yourself, but it is not as easy as when you do it for the CD7000 on the Eclipse website (also a pain on the CD7000 if not done on the website). This little function will allow you to see problem areas (frequencies) in your system and adjust accordignly.

cam5860

Killerb that new kenwood x-991 coming out, is one of the most advanced decks Ive seen yet. It's going to have 512 MB of flash memory built in the deck.

Thats around 370 songs you can store on this deck. It also has a fully digital audio platform with SRS HD WOW processing to enhance clarity, dynamic range, and acoustic presence of your music.

I would like to hear my ipod on this deck. I bet it sounds awesome. But with a price tag of 650 bucks. I will have to pass on this deck.

killerb

the ipod sounds great on my x-990. i will be able to get the x-991 for alot less at a shop in philadelphia from an authourized dealer.

1996blackmax

The CDA-9887 looks to be a very nice unit.


My current unit has some SRS processing that I am not fond of (SRS Circle Surround II and the SRS TruBass). The easiest way to put it is that it makes the music sound "processed". I wished that Alpine would have used BBE on the 9887. That is one of the things that I really liked about my Pioneer units.

DemonAstroth

It really seems that the CD7000 is the better unit. At least it is the one I like best.

I do not think that the GPS unit is actually that great, but that's not the reason I want it for.

What I really want it for is the equalizers, time alignment, and to be able to tune properly without having to go to the amplifiers and play with them.

Will it really help my sound though? My current unit does not sound bad, and I wonder how much of an improvement I can have with my current speakers.

Also, have you used the ipod connection? How many lines of text are there on the screen? I want to know how easy will it be to use and choose albums, songs, random, etc.

Thanks...

and last, I have looked at a few brands, but for some reason I'm really attracted to the Eclipse and the Pioneer ( I had a pioneer head unit before and I really liked it, it was the premier kind so I don't know if that had anythign to do with it.)

SO I appreciate your suggestions, but I'm pretty much deciding on these 2 head units only

1996blackmax

I personally like the Eclipse more, for the reasons stated, but both HU's are very nice units.

I believe either of these HU's will offer a vast improvement in sound over a HU with basic controls.

I do use an i-Pod through the i-Pod connection at times. It only offers one line of text, I believe it shows all the information when it scrolls through (you can choose to have it scroll once or for it to continously scroll the text information). I think the i-Pod controls works pretty good, even my kids were able to pick it up pretty quickly. I think it's ability to search for albums, songs, artist, and genres is pretty good. To use the random mode you can choose all random, or album random by either just pushing the random button or holding it down for a second or two.

DemonAstroth

Cool... so the winner is the CD7000...

Or is it?

What do you think of the CD7100, I don't know if the only difference is the 8v output, but it does seem like quite a significant difference.

Do you think it's worth the extra cash?

Thanks again, your feedback is exactly what I needed. I guess there isn't anyone here with a 880prs though.

1996blackmax

The CD7100 is basically the same unit as the CD7000, with a couple of changes. You are stepping up to 8v preouts, and the ability to use a USB device. If you are going to be using an i-Pod instead of a USB storage device, then that may not be a big deal. I personally did not think it was worth it for me to sell my unit and then buy the 7100.

DemonAstroth

That's understandable, but... you already have the CD7000, so upgrading may not be the best thing since you already have a very nice head unit.

However, I could get the 7100 for about 150 dollars extra. I don't know if it's worth it though! Haha

Th

cam5860

Well I finally got my kenwood excelon x-791 installed yesterday. I was running a Alpine CDA-9856. Here is the pro's and cons of the two so far.

The sound quality on the kenwood blows the Alpine away. But the kenwood has a 24 bit da converter and 4 volt preouts verses 1 bit da converter and 2 volt preouts on the Alpine.

The Alpine is much better on the use of controls. You can do stuff so much easier and faster with the alpine where as with the kenwood you have to go through menus and so forth.

Playback on the cd controls is much smoother with the alpine also. On the kenwood it is a pain in the **** to fast forward through songs where as the alpine was smooth.

The kenwood has excellent sound quality but lacks on the ease of user controls. The Alpine could have better sound quality but all around it's the better deck.

1996blackmax

I believe that ease of use in the mobile environment is a very important thing. One of the reasons I did not go back to Pioneer.

DemonAstroth

Yes I agree. That is also the reason why I'm not so willing to get rid of my head unit. I basically upload everything to a portable hard drive (40 gigs) through my USB2. Then I use the head unit as a computer pretty much, with folders, subfolder, playlists, etc. It's very simple yet efficient.

Then it has preset radiostations, so from the computer I choose so many files folders and save them as a radio station. For example all my classical music, industrial, etc. Then I can just play the station randomly, and if I choose to I can listen to the album of one of the random songs, just pressing one button, and once it's done then it goes back to the station.

It is a very nice headunit, but soundwise is very basic... It even only has 2 preamp outputs

I wonder if I could get an equalizer instead... I could spare one din.

The eclipse unit looks very nice though, it's a hard choice.

audiobliss

Yep, yep. Hard choice, indeed.

I've recently realized I want a new HU. I would really really like to have an iPod adapter for my HU, but the only one that works with it will only have limited capabilities, has to have its own power and ground, has to be within a foot of the HU, and costs $100.

The new ones require no power or ground, have full capabilities, and are only $30. But that means I need a new HU.

Sometimes I hate this hobby.

No, wait...make that always.

1996blackmax

You could try and see if an EQ might do the trick for you. The problem lies when you go from a analog signal converted to digital and back to analog....hiss is usually the outcome.

PPI had a very nice unint a little while back.....you may want to see if you can find it on Ebay. I know some people who are running this and have no hiss in their system (it has built in crossovers, eq, and time alignment). Will check on the model number later.

DemonAstroth

OK...

Thanks for helping me out so much.

Things just got more complicated..

I can get an 8454 for 200 dollars, which is quite a bit less than the 500+ dollar 7100. Could I connect the inputs of the 8454 to the output of my current head unit? I don't know if this would work, it's sore of like a chain. (the way I have my amps anyway, as I only have 2 preamp outputs) I don't know if it would work though. It says it has digital and analog inputs, but that's just too technical for me.

HELP!

1996blackmax

The CD8454 can take both signals, you would want to run an analog signal in as I do not think your current HU has a digital output. If I recall, you will use the auxillary input, the switching of digital to analog is set by you. I think the default setting is analog. On my 8455 I could set the gain on the input, but I can't remember if I could do this on my 8454.

This would not be something I would try though.....I would go with an external processor or upgrade the HU.

audiobliss

From casually looking at HU's online from Alpine, Eclipse, Kenwood, and Pioneer, I think I decided I'd like the Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X891 most.

Awesome looking deck.

1996blackmax

I would rather have buttons.....It does make for a cleaner looking face, but I like ease of use.

MacLeod

Im with Max. Im not all that wild about touch screens and all that. A good solid, old fashioned button will last much longer.

audiobliss

Does the X891 have a touch screen? I haven't seen one in person.

Like I said, I just came to that hasty conclusion by just looking at specs online...I'm not 100% if I'd actually want it. Just seems to be awesome for the price and specs.

DemonAstroth

1996blackmax wrote: »

This would not be something I would try though.....I would go with an external processor or upgrade the HU.

Could you explain why you wouldn't do this? Will there be any adverse effects? Or is it just a personal preference?

Thanks again.

1996blackmax

I just would not want to run two HU's in my car when one will do the job. I like to keep things simple.

killerb

bliss, the kenwood does not have touchscreen. dont hesitate to buy the kenwood, i love mine! im jumping on that new x991 when it comes out. it does it all!!

1996blackmax

I thought it only had 3 eq bands....

Bill Ayotte

I've had the Pioneer DEH-P880PRS for about 6 months, and there are some annoyances:

1. The damn back lighting switches between bright and dim, no matter what screen pattern you are using...I haven't found out how to get rid of it as of yet...It gets REALLY annoying at night.

2. You NEED to read the manual in order to play with the settings on this thing, those knobs can get you into trouble in a hurry if you don't.

3. Said knobs sometimes don't like to preform controls, I am pretty sure once it is out of warranty the knobs will stop working altogether. One of mine is noticeably worn in, the volume knob is still tight though...The other you push side-to-side and up-and-down all the time....

Overall though, I would buy it again, the sound quality is far above the other HUs I have owned...I had 2 Alpines, another Pioneer, a cheap Sony, and a Sony MobileES....This preformed better than them all...It did take about a month to get it dialed in though...

killerb

1996blackmax wrote: »

I thought it only had 3 eq bands....

i dont buy a h.u. for eq's or crossovers personally. they dont offer enough control even in the best ones. i run a audiocontrol dqxs so i have all the e.q. and crossovers i will ever need.

cam5860

Audiobliss I have the kenwood excelon kdc-x791. The only difference in it and the 891 is the motorized face and 5 volts preouts. the 791 has flip down face and 4 volt preouts.

Let me tell you the sound quality of this deck is the best ive ever heard and I once owned a alpine 9833. If you have any doubts in what im hearing.