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.