I am in HEAVEN. You know what they say "you do not know what good is (in this case SQ) till you hear something better." Well, I thought the previous 960MP and latest Alpine 9855 had great SQ. How much better could it get? TONS!
I am blown away. The SQ of the Clarion is UNREAL. I firmly believe it is MAINLY b/c of this:
Yep, this is the Power Supply. Almost as big as the HU. If you read the print on it, you will see it has a noise filter built it, but not only that. I almost wet my pants when I found out what the "back up" printed on it meant. Well, the PS has internal back up (like a UPS) to keep the settings in memory even after the power cable is disconnected. I found out after I unplugged the power to the HU for a good 25-30 minutes, and when I reconnected and fired it up, ALL my settings were intact :) Yay, no more having to readjust everything after working on my car! Also, the Power Supply provides 15V constant at all times to the HU, as opposed to 12V-14V or whatever the alternator feels like on "other HUs. I firmly believe that's half the SQ right there.
The HU has a self-check the very 1st time you turn it on. Meaning, it will automatically detect what's plugged in. For example, the HU has 2 AUX inputs. I only use one for my XM. The HU automatically detected the AUX in use and activated it, and it DOES not cycle through AUX 2 when cycling sources since it is not in use. Same w/ SUB, no need to activate it if already plugged in etc.
The features are A+. 4 WAY X-over with bandpass even on the sub! Also, for EVERY X-over point and EVERY speaker, there is phase adjustment, not just phase for the sub. Also, gain setting for every speaker/x-over point.
The 4V preouts it seems they are indeed 4V. The HU sounds LOUDER and cleaner at 3/4 volume than the Alpine. I took it almost to MAX volume, no clipping whatsoever.
Stereo separation makes any other HU a joke. I mean WOW, you can tell w/ perfect clarity what's supposed to be left/right and center. I do not know the stereo separation specs on the deck (not in tha manual), but it is VERY obvious how more defined and easily to place everything is in the music. Amazing left/right separation and center image. It sounds better even though I HAVE not messed with Time Allignment yet at all.
Of course, every other aspect has improved. Sound is just SO MUCH CLEANER. At 0db volume there is no clipping whatsoever. Haven't gone higher than that on the vol knob. Dual 24-bit / 96 kHz Sampling Digital-to-Analog Burr-Brown Converters SHINE. BTW, you can choose between 48KHz and 96KHz sampling; default is 96KHz.
Sensitivity adjustment for both AUX inputs.. nice
The HU is pure quality. Take a look at that.. no moving parts, pure copper:
What you see above is IT. One line on the screen, that being CD text (artist or title or track) or clock. I love it!
The HU has BOTH 1db volume increments and 0.5db (an industry 1st and only so far) volume increments. By pressing and rotating the volume knob, you can adjust volume by 0.5db increments. Do it again, and it goes back to 1db. Also, the volume is displayed in DBs. Starts at -95db, +6db is max.
The specs on the deck is 4V RCA outs. I found out on the manual that the 4V out is at 0db, and at max volume (+6db) the output voltage is 8V
I am copying the specs in manual:
Line output level (CD 1KHz):
Vol 0db = 4V
Vol +6db = 8V(Max)
The deck will play all CDs flawlessly, w/ no delay. My 9855 had some minor problems sometimes w/ burned CDs only. Also, CD text will appear almost instantly on the screen.
No moving faceplate means PERFECT FLUSH FIT. It just looks awesome:
Digital IN & OUT
CONS (well, not really): The x-overs go up to 18db and not 24db. Seriously, from what I heard compared to the Alpine (and Pioneer premier 960MP) the 18db slope on the Clarion is steeper than the 24db on the other HUs mentioned above. Meaning, the x-overs are A+ quality and work the way they are supposed to, when on the other HUs the x-over was not actually up to par (according to the strictest specs).
No detachable face. Well, I dont want to see any Eclipse owners say anything about that
The "mess" during install:
And here are some pics inside my engine bay:
The thinner blue wire comming under the POS post is the 12Ga wire going directly to the Power Supply of the Clarion. Tomorrow it will be fused, like the wire it came with, which I did not use b/c I did not want to cut it :)
You can also see the 0Ga going to battery from the ALT. fused w/ a 100A ANL fuse.
I still cannot believe the great deal I got, on a BRAND new unit. Yeah, "steep" price ($650), but really a steal since even on e-bay they go for $950-1000 plus shipping.
Now what makes things worse is that the HU has 4way x-overs.. Meaning, I now can have a 3-way setup upfront... I might start looking for some shallow dome mids :)