Unexceptional unit with good features and performance

For the past 5 years or so, the primary CD transport in my 95 Nissan Maxima has been the Pioneer Premier DEX-P1R, which was reviewed by me several years ago here. I had fallen in love with the huge amount of flexibility offered by the numerous all-inclusive features in that unit, such as the variable crossovers, digital time alignment, and a 13 band crossover. One major fault of that unit was its reliability (or lack of) of its ribbon data cable that connects the faceplate to the chassis, which has a tendancy to fail after a few years. I went through several units during the 5 year ownership period. I thought that it was now time to look into a new head unit.

The first piece that I obviously looked at was the Pioneer DEX P9 and the DEQ P9 combo (drool!). It improves on the crossover by allowing for a 4-way system, though I would never use it, and more importantly, a 1/3 octave EQ. However, this was a bit out of my price range. So, after some research, I opted for the Eclipse CD8445, based on its listed features. This unit has since been supplanted by the CD5000, but its essentially the same unit, with a different model number for a new year. Below is a description of the unit and some of the major features.

The unit itself looks to be of high quality, with a glossy looking face plate. There are two rotary knob/button units, one on each end, that controls, volume and other adjustment functions. The center of the unit contains the display area, which uses what I think is a form of “organic EL”. It is non-color, but allows for moving images. A remote control is included to make adjustments such as volume, track advancement, source change, and mute. The eclipse is HD Radio and Sirius satellite ready. The output voltage is rated at 8V, which is more than enough. There are 3 sets of RCA outputs and an auxiliary input. The unit plays MP3 and WMA discs as well as regular CD’s. A Magic Gate memory stick feature allows for downloading some display options and music. The ESN security, which can be optionally enabled or disabled, can be done via the memory stick or a CD. This is the security feature used by Eclipse instead of the traditional removable faceplate. It basically allows the user to program a “key” CD or memory stick that is required for the unit to function after any disruption in power to the unit. Without this “key”, a thief would not be able to use this unit after it is removed from the vehicle.

For sound adjustments, there are two modes: normal and advanced. The advanced mode offers all the major sound processing features of the unit, and I don’t see any reason to use the normal mode. DSP settings allow “reverb” effects of five different options, such as club, stadium, etc. A time alignment feature allows digital time delay to help to recreate a sense of equalized path lengths from speakers of different locations. A 2-way crossover, adjustable in 1/3 octave increments is handy for on-the-fly adjustments without having to go to the trunk. A multi-harmonizer feature supposedly restores some lost high frequency details in compressed music. A Circle Surround II feature from SRS labs is supposed to help raise and widen the soundstage and improve bass response. A 7 band parametric EQ allows adjustable center frequency and Q. The frequency starts at 63hz and increases at 1/3 octave increments up to 16khz, which equals a total of 25 center frequencies. The Q is variable for “normal” to “sharp” to “slow”.

In the next several paragraphs, I will discuss real world uses of this unit and its various features. Many of these comments are not necessarily to disparage the unit, but rather to comment on what I felt could be improved or they may be personal tastes. I realize that no one unit will be perfect for everyone, so most of this reflect what I felt regarding this unit. First off, the installation went straight forward. I connected the power/ground/accessory/illumination/antenna/remote amp. I did not have use for the built-in power, so the speaker outputs were covered. Once installed, the unit powered up and the display went through its demo cycle. I found the display to be nice (much better than my old DEX P1R). The image quality was relatively smooth. However, it is difficult to read in direct sunlight. The display basically washes out, and there is a bad glare problem from the smooth plastic faceplate finish. At night-time, the display looks very nice. There are several “movie” demos that you can choose as a “screensaver”. I couldn’t find a way to keep important display info on screen at all times (volume level, track number/time, etc.) during normal use. The movie screen would play, and I would have to hit the middle button on either knob to display this info. Perhaps I missed in the manual where I could change this. The color of the buttons can be changed, from green, blue, red, etc. This is a nice feature if you want to match the color of your car’s dash lights.

Loading a CD requires you to press the cd eject button, and the entire face plate will tilt and move itself down, allowing for a CD (or memory stick) to be inserted. You have to press the eject button again to close the face, which requires an extra step. I must note that when the faceplate lowers, it protrudes out and down quite a bit, so make sure there is sufficient clearance below and in front of the unit. I prefer volume knobs to buttons, but this knob did not protrude out enough, so grabbing and twisting it needed getting used to. Pioneer’s current knob is much easier to adjust. Alpine’s knob has a rubber grip on theirs. The knob on the right side for track advance and sound tuning also had issues. Moving up or down 1 track required a very fine amount of turn on the knob, and it was easy to overshoot and advance the tracks by 2 or 3 songs. On the other hand, I did like the separate audible search buttons, which have become almost extinct on aftermarket units these days. This allows you to audibly rewind or fast forward using its dedicated buttons instead of having to holding down the track advance buttons. Also, it was nice to see a mute button on the remote as well as the faceplate.

Sound adjustment from the faceplate was pretty intuitive. Just about all of it is done from the sound button and the knob and buttons on the right side of the unit. Each features, such as the EQ, crossover, etc, goes through somewhat of a folder based menu system, which is relatively easy to follow. The crossover is a 2-way design, and it worked just fine for a basic 2 way system. The EQ works decent, but I wish the lower end of the frequency range went another octave or so. The time alignment feature was a waste of time. It worked just like a “listening position” selector, with no adjustments. I didn’t find the Circle Surround or any of the other processors to my liking, but other users may find them useful. The remote is relative small and has major functions on it. The problem with this was, the volume buttons responded way too slowly – pushing and holding down the up or down buttons results in a very slow and painful adjustment time. Multiple pushes of the buttons didn’t improve things either. The Pioneer’s remote was big and bulky, but it fit very nicely in the hand and pretty much everything could be controlled from it. I could pretty much use that remote by feel in the dark after about a week of use, even being able to control complex features like time alignment, eq and crossover without looking at the remote or the dash. The ESN security is a personal taste. I don't like to leave my headunit showing. A high end unit may suggest to thieves that you might have additional amps and subs in the car. I prefer to remove the face, so the thieves don't see it. I'm more of a stealth setup kind of guy. Others who don't like the hassle of taking the face off every time may find this feature very convenient.

Honestly, I’m probably being too harsh on the CD8445. It is a fine performing head unit, with some good features. However, compared to the DEX-P1R that I’ve been using for so long, it does not compare in terms of features. The CD8445’s EQ is a bit better, but the crossover and time alignment cannot compete with the Pioneer’s. Admittedly, it’s a high standard. I had issues with its user friendliness with the knobs, the remote, and the display, and the high end features were not up to par for my tastes. Ultimately, after about 3 months of use, I went and bought an Alpine CDA-9855. But, that is another review to be done later.