Active setup with Eclipse CD7200

Vertigo107

Has anyone out there one an active setup using only this HU as a tuning device? I am strongly considering going with this head unit, and not using the EQS. Anyone?

arun1963

There are a couple of people here who run this hu here. Don't know if they are running it active tho.

Yeah, I would ditch the EQS. Its a basic 7 band eq and your hu will do a better job. Assuming that its mounted somehere in the boot, everytime you want to adjust something you'd have to go back there. Plus you have issues of gains matching etc. Too many issues to manage for limited benefits.

If you can swing the $$, then the 7200 paired with a bit-1 or the 360.2 would be an ideal combination. I believe the bit-1 is better than the RF but I'd check with Mac on this. He has exprience with processors. For sure the hu+good processor will give you better results than any stand alone hu. Both the bit-1 and the 360.2 give you control over 31 frequencies with independent l/r control and time alignment for each driver. This would allow you to set a more accurate stage and image.

The other benefit would be that of running a digital line out from your hu to your processor. If you mount the processor close to your amp and run a toslink to the processor and then a short rca (maybe a couple of feet) to your amps, you'd achieve two things. Eliminate the possibility of noise that your rca's could pick up and secondly your signal loss would be virtually zero.

The eclipse is a very good unit. The 8v signal though is a bit of marketing gimmick though imho. Keeping everything same, while you would hear a difference between say a 2.5v and a 4.5-5v signal, beyond 5v you would'nt 'hear' the difference. The quality of electronics inside the 7200 are more important than the 8v signal. I would seriously look at some Alpine options as well. I think in pure sq terms its tough to beat alpine. My only grouse with alpine is that you have to pay extra for each feature.

eloplayspolo

as for going with an alpine, i disagree 100%.
I have the 9885 and the ability to tune, or lack there of, is really annoying.

if u havent held an eclipse HU in ur hand, u should, they are built like bricks and the build quality is top notch.

the 1 negative thing i did hear about and agree with is that the 7200 is really hard to read in sunlight.

http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_130P800PRS/Pioneer-Premier-DEH-P800PRS.html?tp=27783&avf=N
this unit is pretty amazing.

if u DO wana check out the alpine units.. the only one worth a second look is the 9887... and ive also heard the imprint system works pretty well, i know a few peeps around here liked it.

bigaudiofanatic

I was running active with a 9887 alpine, audison 4 channel amp for ID XS comps and a RF 1000 watt amp for a ID Q sub. It took a lot of time to setup almost the entire weekend. But I will tell you that sunday night nothing could of sounded better. NOTHING


As for the eclipse never worked with them so could not help you out.

Installer4life

I like the eclipse CD7200 over the 9887 for sound quality. If you go active with the 3 way setup on the 7200 you will lose the sub level control. I agree that the display is hard to see but you can't find a better sounding headunit.

cadenceclipse

not active..hopefully soon..can't imaging how that will b. currently sounds amazing on 4way mode with 8 inch on REAR. had it on 3way but components couldn't handle crossover(HIGH)

sub level control? for what? keep it crankd! or get bass knob..

unrealii

I'm currently running active on my setup. I have the CD8455 (2 generations older than the 7200). I'm not a fan of the EI-Serv autotune feature. I think you can dial it in better with your ears. What are your goals of your audio system? I'm glad my radio has enough features that I do not need to resort to external processing. Ofcourse, I'm not competing, this is just for my daily driver.

Vertigo107

My goal for this setup is to have it be clean and clear, not just loud. This will not be a competition car, but I want it to sound the best it can when I do drive it. It's a show car, so it doesn't get driven very often, but I'm somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to this car. I did do some "ear tuning" the other night and made some decent improvements. At this point I'm going to do a comparison head to head between the 9887 and the 7200. I've decided not to use the eqs, so it's all going to come from the HU, so I'll make a choice soon.

cadenceclipse

comparison how?

MacLeod

The Eclipse is a great head unit and easily capable of running your entire systems tuning duties.

The higher 8 volt pre-out is a premium feature. The higher voltage output, the lower the noise floor.

Vertigo107

Ok, Eclipse it is then. Thanks for the input. One of the dealers here will sell it to me for 429.00 and from what I've seen, that's a good deal. Anyone know anything different?

MacLeod

It usually retails above $500 as far as I know so that does seem like a pretty solid deal.

cadenceclipse

yeah i paid over $150 more..scoop it..

Vertigo107

Yeah, the sales guy said it was about 150 off of retail at that price, and they are an authorized dealer, so I think it should be fine.

cadenceclipse

yeah fine have em install it 3 yr warranty..