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I visited all the major stores in Perth and viewed all the brands and what they had to offer. I was initially interested in a Pioneer but was disappointed with the video display. It had horrible "negative film" effect even on a slight angle.
Eventually I was going to settle on an Alpine IVA-W502E which I got quoted $1250 for. I was almost sold till I noticed that for that price, I'm not really getting a lot and the extras were very expensive. To incluse SAT NAV with the Alpine it was going to cost another $1500 so I decided to keep searching.
Walked across the road to another shop and was told about the Eclipse AVN726EA. It sounded like the perfect solution to my needs. Rang around and got a best price of $1800. I demo'd the unit and instantly bought it.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
The Eclipse has a very clean and uncluttered face. There are the typical volume buttons, mute, phone and the main NAV, AVI and MENU buttons. It was built to keep your focus on the screen rather than the buttons around it.
It was very easy to navigate through the options even without reading the manual (us males don't need manuals
)Navigation was a press of a button away and so were all the other options via the MENU and AVI buttons.
The screen was bright and extremely clear. It is very easy to see even in full sunlight. The only other HU I found that was as clear and bright as the Eclipse, is the Alpine. I think the Alpine was a little bit brighter but not a noticeable difference.
One thing that really impressed me is the load up time for the interface. It takes literally 3 seconds to load up after you started your vehicle. I've seen Kenwood and Pioneer units take from about 10 - 30 seconds to load. The menu changes are also immediate where other head units had quite a noticeable delay.
Some vital options have been removed in this HU compared to the AVN6000 and that is Time Alignment and 7 Band equaliser. You have to keep in mind the RRP of this unit is $1500 cheaper than the AVN6000 when it first came out. Some audiophiles will be disappointed with this but I seriously think that this can be overcome by using ad-on devices.
MAIN FUNCTIONS
The Eclipse has one of the easiest to use interfaces. You basically control your options from the 3 main buttons as mentioned. Switching from Radio or DVD to SAT NAV is effortless and can be performed SAFELY while operating a vehicle (without looking at the screen). My wife found her way around the interface in a matter of minutes.
SAT NAV was a pleasure to use. It's one of the best systems I have seen to date, other than the TOM TOM integrated units. You have 2D and 3D modes as well as the option to turn on BUILDINGS which help you in identifying unfamiliar locations. I have this option turned on but it doesn't work outside the CBD area. In metro areas none of the common buildings were showing.
Accuracy is very good and re-routing calculations are very fast. Normally it completes the re-calculation within 5 seconds.
The satellites lock on within 10 seconds. I have my GPS antenna inside my dash and it's not even lying flat yet I get a lock-on within 10 seconds and at full strength.
There is one disappointment and that is the lack of Text To Speech compatible voices. There are only two, and they aren't the best sounding. All the other voices will still tell you directions and where to turn but it will not say the street names. Hopefully this will be easily solved with a simple (and hopefully free) software upgrade.
I was also unable to test the SUNA traffic warning system as it is not available in Perth until Q3 2009.
DVD's look absolutely stunning on this screen. A lot of detail is evident especially in the dark areas, where shades and high contrast shots usually lack any definition.
IPOD control is very easy to use. The HU comes with a USB cable attachment so there is no need to buy a cable unless you want to watch video from your IPOD (which requires a separate cable).
One of my favorite features is the Bluetooth Mobile Phone control. With the built in Bluetooth, you can even play your music from your phone, or any other MP3 player with Bluetooth built in. The sound quality was quite good but obviously doesn't compare to a high quality MP3 encoding.
Pairing your phone with the HU is very easy. No different than connecting any device to your computer. The best thing is that if you leave your car, the phone will automatically reconnect with the HU when you return, providing that you don't turn off the Bluetooth on your phone. If you disable Bluetooth on your phone you will have to re-register the phone with the HU as you need to enter a security code.
Telephone conversations are very easy with HU and quality is no different than talking directly into the phone. There is no background noise or "echo" effect.
You will be pleased to know that the HU can also download your contacts straight into the deck so you don't even have to touch your phone to make or receive calls.
Now onto sound quality of this head unit. I am pleased to say that even though some of the functions are missing from it's predecessor, none of the sound quality has dissapeared. I am using my standard speakers and this HU has made them sound like I've upgraded my entire system. There is details in the speakers that I haven't heard before and there is no distortion even at full volume.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Taking into account the cost of this HU with the features included and the sound quality, there really isn't anything else out there that will beat the Eclipse. This HU is extremely easy to control and use. There are some things that have been removed but this would only affect the serious audiophile, even then, it can be overcome by using external processors.
I have not been able to find anything else on the market, in the sub $2000 price range, that compares to this HU.
It's not perfect, but damn close.
Value: 5/5
Functions: 4/5
Ease of Use: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Positives
- Super fast start-up time
- Great screen. Very bright and clear. Easy to see even in full sunlight.
- Easy to operate
- Great sound quality
- No delay in menu selections. Instantaneous response.
- Sensitive touch display but not too sensitive so it's unusable. You don't have to press hard at all.
- Fast satellite lock on (within 10 seconds)
- You can't turn off the system. It will always stay ON (SAT NAV). The best you can do is turn off your audio/video source but SAT NAV is always operational.
- Text-To-Speech only works in the default voice. If you change voices TTS won't work. All TTS compatible voices are identified in the unit but aren't the most pleasant on the ear.
- Only a 3 band equaliser (Bass, Treble and Subwoofer)
- No time alignment
Edited by CrazyNuts, 15 June 2009 - 09:44 AM.
