Eclipse 8455 review

[JeremyC]

This is my review of the Eclipse 8455, if you are here for the E-ISERV setup info it is at the button of my review.

FYI, Steps 4 thru 10 (time delay and crossover set up) have been revised.

Control and looks

When I first saw this deck on the Eclipse web page I was a little worried. I like a clean install, and I felt it would be too much flash for what I was planning. Well thankfully, I was wrong. The display, buttons, and over all looks of the face stand out a little, but still keep a nice clean professional look. The buttons are well laid out, and the menus and sub menus are very user friendly. The only thing I would like to see Eclipse change is the method to change tracks. Right now they use a scroll wheel which is very easy to bump or move to far, and skip over one or two songs when you don’t mean to.

Sound Quality

All I can say is wow, this deck sounds great. Keep in mind the rest of my stereo is designed with sound quality in mind, but if there is a week link, this deck isn’t it. The 8 volt pre outs give my amps a near perfect signal to work with, and the fully adjustable X-overs (when set on the E-ISERV web site) give you more control than most people can hope for. IMO the thing that really sets the deck apart from many of the other brands is the 10 band parametric EQ. This is another area that Eclipse has gone out of their way to give you as much control as possible. This control makes it possible to get very close to a flat response curve, with out adding an external X-over.

Set up

When I first started setting playing with the E-ISERV setting on my Eclipse 8455 I noticed a few problems with the manual, and the directions it give. So I wrote this to help any owners of the Eclipse 8455, or the 8445 with their setup.


1 First thing you need to do is create a few folders on the supplied memory card. The first needs to be titled MSFTEN , and inside of it you want a folder titled DATA , and a second titled SOUND. Once you have created those folders your ready to use the memory card.

2 Now go on to the Eclipse E-ISERV web page and log in. Once you have logged in, click on Audio customize, and then your head unit.

3 Next, pick the speaker set up that matches your car, and if you want to use EASY or PRO mode.

If you have all ready set the time delays, and X-over, or are just here for the PEQ section skip to # 11

Steps 4 thru 10 cover time delay, and X-over set up using the Eclipse Web site. This can also be done from the head unit itself, but you won't have as many options.

4 Once you make your choice it will bring up a second window with three choices. The first allows you to set your X-over and time delays. The second lets you download those setting to your Memory Stick. And the third is for PEQ set up which we will be covering later.

5 Once you set up your crossovers and time delays, download the Data to your memory stick and head out to your car.

6 Now fire up the Head unit, and turn the select button till it highlights CUSTOME MODE.

7 Press the Select button.

8 Once the mode changes to custom mode, insert the Memory Stick.

9 After you close the head unit, select ON. (if you get a caution you still need to insert the memory card)

10 Press the Select button then the Return button.

11 Now it is time to set the PEQ. First of you need to connect the supplied microphone to the left channel AUX in, and then hang it or mount it close to the listening position you will use for day to day driving.

12 Once you have that finished, press the sound button and scroll to PEQ, press enter once, and it will bring up the PEQ page.

13 Make sure the car isn’t running, the MS card is still inserted and the press and hold the mode button for 3 to 4 seconds.

14 It will start a count down, so get out of the car and close the door. (Make sure the door is unlocked)

15 Once the count down reaches zero it will go thru a pink noise sweep, and then insert the data in the SOUND folder you created earlier. Make sure to give it enough time to finish, or you will have to do it again. It should take about 2 minutes. So make sure you don’t hear anything, or what you had playing before the sweep started, before you open the door.

16 Once you have that info, go back thru steps 1 to 3 listed above.

17 After you complete step 3 it will bring up a second window with three choices.

18 Click on upload data, and find the MS on your computer.

19 Double click on MSFTEN, SOUND, and then the file you want to upload.

20 Once you upload the data you will be able to click on the PEQ button. It will then give you the ability to choose between normal (flat response) and 3 other custom set EQ settings.

I downloaded all 4 to start of, and loaded them into 1-4 of my EQ presets. You have 5 total

21 Once you have all the EQ setting you want downloaded to the card, go back and insert it in the head unit.

22 Press the sound button and scroll to import sound data. It will ask you to choose button 1 thru 5 for each EQ setting you downloaded.

23 Once you have your EQ setting programmed to your presets, you can swap between them by going to the PEQ page and pressing the preset # you would like.

I hope you have found this helpful. If there is anything I have missed, or find anything wrong please PM me thru caraudiocentral.net

JeremyC

[falkenbd]

I have 2 questions:

1. How do I get the Serial Key from the CD Player so I can register on the E-Iserv site?

2. Am I going to be screwed trying to set this up with no manual? It is currently installed and working but I am installing amps/speakers next week and want to be able to use the deck to its potential.

[binclintonusa]

Thanks for sharing. It's great.

pret auto