Eclipse (Fujitsu Ten) CD8454

Price Paid:  $400.00 from tweeter

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 8443

Summary:
REVIEW FOR OLDER 8443 MODEL

didnt see my model in the 'new' or 'old' model review section so i figured this was a close match. very happy with the 8443- eclipse's flagship CD player in 03. original one was brought back and exchanged becuase i heard noise at very low volumes under a variety of setups in and out of the vehicle. tweeter had no problems with my swap request. this unit has been in 2 vehicles and i've had it set up to drive both speakers and amps with absolutely no problems. impossible to get a cd to skip. it's not an mp3 cd player and i agree with eclipse's philosophy back then- if youre paying extra for a 24 bit converter, youre not going to be listening to compressed cd's. other home made music cd's work fine too. the aux miniplug is great for portable mp3 players. 3 sets of 8v preouts are excellent, not even a cell phone next to the patch cables will cause interference. i find the display plain and kind of underlit but it gets you through the features easily. there is some book work involved to get it set up the way you like but not obnoxiously difficult like some. the 8443 allows a lot of set-up flexibility and the x-over is not some crappy filter- very useful for cutting high and/or low freqs from selected channels.

Strengths:
reliability
cd sound quality (24bit d/a converter)
8v
flexibility
aux audio input
respectable and clean power w/o amping

Weaknesses:
dim display
no mp3 cds

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Soundworld

Year / Model Reviewed:
2005 CD8454

Summary:
Nice deck, looks cool, sounds great. Minor problems with it.

Strengths:
Good sound quality, i had an alpine deck and switched to the eclipse and noticed a big gain in just the mids for loundness and quality and a bit in subs. strong 8v deck.

Weaknesses:
doesnt play cd's too well, I have played factory and burned cd's in this deck and it doesnt read them the deck says *info 3* on the faceplate and then automatically ejects the cd, this is my second one the first one did the same thing and i sent it in and got the same one but now my second one is doing same thing. Going to send it in again. no idea why this deck is doing this, 2 of the same ones at that..

Price Paid:  $650.00 from Norhtfield

Summary:
Good deck, nice sound, controls could be better. good for sql setup

Strengths:
8v preouts
sound quality

Weaknesses:
everything else
had it back for repair twice in a year...soon to be a third time.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from St. Joseph Electroni

Year / Model Reviewed:
2005 CD8454

Summary:
I have owned this product for approximately 15 months now. I am a huge audiophile and sound quality is very important to me. I am currently in the process of building my personal SQ system, and this is the centerpiece. When I installed this unit, I immediately noticed the difference. The quality of sound, even on stock speakers in a 1995 Camry was impecable. With tuning of bass and treble controls, fade, and balance, everything improved even further. The bass is crisp and full, the highs are sweet and sharp and focused on the sound stage. The mids are phenomenal! I have never heard quite so dramatic a difference in sound simply by changing the source unit. The features are easy to use and, with a quick browse of the manual, all controls can be mastered in minutes. The face-plates motorized action is quick and quiet, and the time for inserting a CD before the face closes again is more than sufficient. The display is bright and easy to read at all times of day. The animations are limited, but I am pleased with the basic options. The cosmetics are one of the things that attracted me right up front, and with the ability to change backlight color of the controls, the unit can be suited to any interior. Another nice feature is the sony memory stick slot. Not only can you exactly tune your audio system for YOUR car using online tools at Eclipse's web site, but you can also play MP3's from this slot! I have used many head units from many manufacturers including Kenwood, Panasonic, and Alpine. This HU takes the cake for me. The quality of features and sound, as well as the aesthetics make this my favorite overall CD reciever.

Strengths:
sound quality Ease of use Aesthetics Funtionality of remote Strong Pre-amp signal Memory stick slot Custom audio adjustment

Weaknesses:
Limited screen saver animations

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $599.00 from Sound World

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 CD8454

Summary:
This deck is awesome, both to the eye and to the ear. Being my third cd player and my second from Eclipse, this tops them all. Sound quality is absolutely amazing and the display is just awesome. Although, I wish there were more animations and such............the sound quality makes up for it indefinately. I'm using the deck's amp to power my Alpine Type R components and 6x9's. Even though underpowered, this deck makes these speakers sound amazing. Also, the sound quality from the 8v preouts is fantastic. I'm running two of the new Eclipse SW7124DVC's on an MTX 942 amp and compared to my last deck, the bass is noticably punchier and more realistic. In conclusion, I recommend this deck to anyone who cares about the sound in their car.............well worth $600..........even $700 or $800 would be worth it.

Strengths:
-Great sound quality. -Great display. -Awesome functionality.

Weaknesses:
-NOB remote could use some improvements (takes forever to turn up volume) -Could use more animations.

Similar Products Used:
Eclipse CD5423 Pioneer DEH-P2300