first of all, sorry about these opinion threads... im just trying to figure out what i wanna do with my system before i transfer it to my new car...

i have an eclipse 5506 headunit... 8 volt preouts & copper plated chassis... ive been using it for over a year... i love the deck... no problems and love the sound...

this is where the problem comes in... the car i have had it in, i have been able to hide the deck... it is hidden from plain site and still easy & convenient to get at... the new car i have, i won't be able to do this... so the unit will be in plain site for someone to see it/steal it... this is something i dont want visible...

my solution is either keep the deck and hopefully no one notices (it is a rather plain looking deck except for the NOB) or buy another deck... the only 2 brands that i like and are sq oriented are eclipse and nakamichi (i like the simplicity of these and they look very similar to the stock deck)...

should i keep the eclipse deck or get a new one? and what i want to know is how good are nakamichi decks are? reliable and good sq? would i be losing anything if i went from my eclipse to a nakamichi? or would i be getting a better product? the nakamichi decks im looking into are the cd-400 and cd-500...

thanks in advance...

personaly i would keep the deck that u have seeing how everything works and u like it, and put the extra $$$ of buying a new deck and into a stealth install. but if u want a change in looks and performance... then by all means get a new deck.

__________________
87 Nissan Hardbody/truggy. Tube frame. full EXO. 39.5" IROKs. 18" FOA coilovers ft/rr. D60's. 5.89

4.3/4l60e/207/205-all sold. now putting a TBI 350, 700r4(.5"valve, corrvette servo, red band, shift kit), 203/205 triple stick.

______________________________/\/ / _\'' /\/\ ()_______________________________

Keep the Eclipse, it is a great cd player.

__________________
Forbidden Audio Ltd. (1995)
Rob Atkinson

Eclipse / MB Quart / Soundstream / Power Acoustik / Parrot / Pioneer / Pioneer Premiere / Kenwood Excelon / Morel / Focal / Scosche / EFX / MTX / Bass Slammer / Audio Control / Blaupunkt / ARC / Stinger / Streetwires / Metra / Pac Audio / Bassworx / JBL / Infinity / Compustar Pro / Audiovox / Clifford / Autopage / Fusion / CDT and whatever else you need.


"Randomhero wrote: The xplodes sound best in a pretty large enclosure. Optimally I prefer a trash can or dumpster. "

buy a used stock deck and make a good false face for the eclipse.

__________________
2004 300M SPECIAL
Alpine CDA 9833
Alpine Pxa-h701
Alpine Rux-c701
Rockford fosgate p400-4
Rockford fosgate p4004
Hifonics BX 1205D
JBL c608 GTi
JBL p963
Infinity 2.5" center channel
Alpine type R 12"(2)
all active SQL set up with 2000 watts rms

A stealth install of the deck isn's always the easiest, most practical, or most attractive ot the user. Understandable depending on the vehicle.
You could use the money to tint your windows (doesn't have to be really dark if you don't want it but dark enough to not be able to tell it is a high-end deck) and buy a good alarm.

__________________
Pioneer - MB Quart - OZ
http://www.cardomain.com/id/37554
"Your sister is hot but your mom does that thing with her tongue..."

I've had at least three of the older style Eclipse decks similar to yours, maybe even more that I can't remember, as well as a Nakamichi CD45z. The decks from both companies sounded great, but the Nakamichi had numerous problems. It hardly played any of my burnt cd's, the cd's that it did play (burnt and original) it skipped a lot on, tuner was nice though going from memory. The faceplate construction was very cheap as well, for a supposed high end deck it was built like a cheap Pioneer. Don'y know which model your considering, maybe the CD700 is actually nice, I wouldn't know

Eclipse on the other hand I have absolutely nothing to complain about. If I didn't have my current deck, chances are I'd be running one of the older Eclipse decks just like yours.

I wouldn't be too worried about someone stealing your Eclipse, most of the kids that are going to break into your car are going to go after a nice shiny silver Alpine or Pioneer, not a boring black deck made by a company that they had never heard of. I had all of my Eclipse's mounted in plain sight, and not one thing happened while I had them. Of course, knock on wood, my cars have never been broken into

__________________
luvin' tha ol' school Sorny

Changing HU due to potential thievery... seems pricey and risky (you have one you love, heck I am only infatuated with mine)

I would consider an alarm
I would (As stated) consider tinted windows
Come on be a man give your deck a commitment

__________________
MECA SQ

www.cardomain.com/memberpage/769882

I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

haha... its not enough that i give her a home, i gotta get her a ring too? LOL

in the car i have now, a stealth install was quite easy once i looked into it... look pretty good and no one even knows until i take off the plate... ill post pics of it once i sell the car... [img]smile.gif[/img] although in my new car, it is possible but much harder...

alarm will be a definite but i dont really want tinted windows...

i think ill just keep my eclipse deck... after reading about all the quality issues and weak preouts, i think ill steer clear of them... although i do like the look of cd-500 since it looks almost identical to my stock unit and can play mp3s... i guess i wont be able to get a 8454 now since it'll be way too flashy in the open...

thanks for your help [img]smile.gif[/img]

Nakamichi is a great sounding product and since 1948 has been making Higher end orientated products. Yes they have had some quality issues in the past but so has Eclipse. I'm happy to say that We've experienced very little returns on any of the new product. Build quality is good and the cosmetics are very simple yet classy. The pre-amp section is not 8 volts but still a healthy 4 volts. Which is still plenty of voltage to drive any amp properly.

In Canada the Head Units are now all covered by a 3 year over the counter exchange warranty which is pretty hard to beat.
To change or not to change is totally up to you they are both great players.

__________________
Jeff Litke<br />G.E.T Marketing<br /><br />Erikson Consumer /<br />Karz Electronics<br /><br />(604)628-1739 Office<br />(604)628-1753 Fax<br />(604)202-6643 Cellular<br /><br /><a href="http://www.get-marketing.com" target="_blank">www.get-marketing.com</a><br /><br />jeff@get-marketing.com

are the nak cd mechs still the top of the line cpc (cheap plastic crap) jvc mechanisms

[ March 20, 2005, 08:20 PM: Message edited by: pinhead ]