<< Do you by chance know how much the Commander is (or will be) selling
for? >>

Not a clue, sorry.

<< Are you going to upgrade to that for Voice Control and MP3
capabilities? >>

The MP3 playback is tempting, however I have no use for the voice control or
cell phone handling capabilities. I think I'll just use one of the AUX inputs
and buy a portable MP3 player for use in the car.

<< If I did upgrade to the 5433/5423, any idea of what I
might be able to get one of those for? >>

If you shop retail stores, expect to pay MSRP or very close to it. You'll get a
better deal shopping at a non-chain store that sells only Car Audio equipment.
But there's no way for me to give you an exact price.

<< Considering the fact that you
got a great deal, I was wondering if you could tell me how you got it
at that price! >>

I noticed that The Good Guys! website was having a special - 10% off purchases
higher than $299, No Tax, and No Shipping Charges. The problem was, they don't
sell Eclipse product through the website, and the a.ses at my local store
refused to match the website deal, claiming that the website had exclusive
pricing because it was run by someone else for the company. I called Al & Eds
(whom I throughly dislike) and told them about the deal, leaving out the part
about Eclipse product being unavaliable on the website, and got them to take
12% off the MSRP of the 8443. I then called the shop I actually wanted to buy
from, and told him the deal A&E wanted to give me, and in a panic to get my
business, he offered me the deck, installed for $440.

Hey Steve:

Do you by chance know how much the Commander is (or will be) selling
for?  Are you going to upgrade to that for Voice Control and MP3
capabilities?  If I did upgrade to the 5433/5423, any idea of what I
might be able to get one of those for?  Considering the fact that you
got a great deal, I was wondering if you could tell me how you got it
at that price!

I'm not going to go with anything that is Bargain price.  I want nice
features, but don't want to give up good sound and good build quality.
That's why I'm now choosing between the Alpine and the Eclipse.  The
Clarion is out.  Too many people saying they are going down hill now.
Which is unfortunate, but it's probably their own fault.

Thanks.

<< 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.