<< WOW! That's a great price. >>

It took a lot of back and forth banter, and what may count as cheating on my
part to get the price. But I didn't hold a gun to anyone for it, and I think
the guy who sold me the deck is betting on the hopes that I'll come back to him
for the rest of my system. Besides, that shop does huge installs on
Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs, Audis, etc... all day long. He can
afford to sell one deck at cost. It really worked out well for me, I went in
figuring it was gonna cost $550-$600 after the install.

<<  I might have gone with an Eclipse for that
price.  >>

It was a hard choice. I liked the sound of both my CD8443 and the CDA-9815. It
simply came down to the user interface problems I had with the Alpine.

<< Although, everytime I try another make I always want to go back to an
Alpine. >>

I'll use nothing but Alpine and Eclipse as far as decks are concerned. The NAK
stuff sounds nice but is far to unreliable, the Blaupunkt stuff sounds almost
as good, but not quite, Pioneer doesn't come close, but they are reliable and
easy to use.

<<  In fact, I still regret selling my 7618.  Gotta love classic Alpine
cosmetics. >>

I can't stand the way those old decks look. LOL. It's the sound quality I like.

WOW! That's a great price.  I might have gone with an Eclipse for that
price. Although, everytime I try another make I always want to go back to an
Alpine.  In fact, I still regret selling my 7618.  Gotta love classic Alpine
cosmetics.

Paul Vina

<< Also, most of the Eclipse units will require the purchase and installation
of the Commander unit to play back MP3s. >>

This is true, and the only downside to Eclipse decks like mine IMHO. If what
you're looking for is a deck packed with features, with an easy-interface and a
"bargin" price, check out Blaupunkt and Pioneer. Alpine and Eclipse will get
you better sound quality, but you pay for it, and any added features. Albeit, I
haggled my Eclipse CD8443 down to $440 installed, a good price and less than
the normal MSRP for both it and the 9815.

I agre with Steve, Eclipse's user interface is a lot simpler on the 55430 I
had but I haven't used either of the new units with DSP so I can't say how
easy they are to use.  After having my 9815 for a coupl eof weeks it's
gotten a LOT easier to use, not nearly as unintuitive as I first thought.
Also, most of the Eclipse units will require the purchase and installation
of the Commander unit to play back MP3s.  If that's a big thing for you look
at the Alpine a bit more.

Paul Vina

I agree with Paul on most of his points. Clarion's HU have been going downhill
in the quality dept. sine the early 1990s, Alpine and Eclipse both offer
superior sound quality to the Clarion, and sound approx. the same as each
other. I personally couldn't get into the Alpine decks only because I didn't
like their user interface. Pick whichever of the two you like using more, I
love my Eclipse deck.

I'd go with Alpine.  I haven't felt Clarion made a solid HU since the
original ProAudio heads in 92 and 93 (like my old 6770) no matter how many
bells and whistles they put in them.  My wife and I both have the 9815
(almost identical to the 9813) and I couldn't recommend them more.  The
Eclipse IMO does not sound any better then the Alpine (I had a 55430) so go
for the Alpine.

Paul Vina

Hey everyone.  I'm trying to decide which deck to put in my car to
replace my stock HU

Primary wants:
*MP3 capability with ID3 translation.

*Decent/Large Display for viewing Text.

*Good sound quality, but not willing to pay for super-high end.  I'd
like to stay around $300 or so.

*Ideally the unit will utilize Play Lists and random-play sub folders.

*I may very well add a sub or replace stock speakers and add amps,
etc, so that flexibility would be nice, but not a priority.  I'd
prefer it to sound solid as it is without needing to add amps.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Alpine, but the feature set of the
Clarion is making me hesitate.  I understand that Eclipse makes great
decks, but, I think I'll be dissapointed in the feature set just to
get a little bit better sound quality, if any.

Thanks for the thoughts.