Car Audio Central - Ultimate Car Audio Forum and Community

Ryan from Ohio wrote:Denon made some units for Rockford. When on clearance they were going for like $200...

I hear a lot about that Denon RFX9250? No clue what kind of capabilities it has.

Just a cheap SQ Head.

They blew them out real cheap on SD when RF pulled the plug on them. You could pick the better one up for like $200 and the slightly lesser for $170.

People who have them wont sell for much less than $400/$350 respectively. Its insane...

They are alright but not all that people think/claim.

The MX5000 head with the MDA400 DAC, the 4000 combo and the 9255 fair among the best of the best, in that order.

I'm looking to upgrade from my Eclipse CD8445 because I am going to active.

In everyone's opinion is the Pioneer 880PRS an upgrade from the CD8445 ?

I do enjoy the sound quality of the eclipse, but I am looking to switch to an active/bi-amp setup.

falkenbd wrote:In everyone's opinion is the Pioneer 880PRS an upgrade from the CD8445 ?

I do enjoy the sound quality of the eclipse, but I am looking to switch to an active/bi-amp setup.

You'll be good either way. I've used both. I previously owned the Eclipse 8454 (got rid of it because the CD player stopped working) and I replaced it with the P880. Both work wonderfully and I seriously doubt I could tell the difference if I had to do an A/B.

I would base my decision more on the type of driver you're going to run. If you plan on running exotic coned drivers, the Eclipse is probably more up your alley due to its EQ section. You can use it to create notch filters and whatnot because it has separate PEQ (left and right I believe) for each way as opposed to the 880s GEQ. But the 880 has EQ down to 20hz for the sub which the 8454/8455 doesn't have IIRC. Outside of that, they have similar functionality.

The 880 has separate L/R eqs...

Ryan from Ohio wrote:The 880 has separate L/R eqs...

Ah ok. The 8454 uses the same EQ for both sides?

I know the 8445 has the same EQ for both sides. I think the CD7200 MKII does as well.

I'm still trying to understand the advantages between using a GEQ and PEQ.

So far the components I have considered are: Hybrid-Audio Legatio. Boston PRO 60, MB Quart Q-line.

What do you mean by exotic cone drivers?

falkenbd wrote:. What do you mean by exotic cone drivers?

Things like metal cones, carbon fiber, carbon kevlar, some fiberglass, may need a little work in the upper midrange to solve any resonant peaks. The SEAS magnesium cones are a good example, peak in the 5khz region that needs a notch applied.

For a little more than an 880 or similar, I'd rather have something like a lower end Alpine headunit (with whatever features your fancy) combined with their H701 processor and controller. Ebay or on forums will get you that in the $600 range. I'm not a believer in amplifier or head unit "sound". I am a full believer in their build quality, I just don't feel that we can tell the difference with most units, especially in the mobile audio environment, though they can be easily objectively measured.

i was deciding between the 880 and eclipe also. did you make a decision?

I'm pretty sure I am going to go with the Pioneer, just because the price is low, and it gets me the features I want. Except a PEQ. I'll live with the GEQ and possibly get an external sound processor in the future.