Eclipse CD5405 Car CD Player
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Eclipse CD5405 in-dash CD Player: High End Performance for a discount price!
Pros
Perfect sound quality, great FM reception, MOSFET amplification.
Cons
Blue display with red buttons on a satin finished face?
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The CD5405 by Eclipse is the best I have tried so far. I would be surprised if I could buy anything better for under $180!
Recently I started to install stereos into a few trucks that we purchased. Being the guy with the company checkbook while maintaining a healthy addiction to Epinions I have decided to shop around a little. I want to find the best in dash CD player I can for under $180. I need that CD player to meet a few other requirements aside from just being affordable. I need the unit to be easy to use because they are going into commercial trucks and I do not need my drivers fiddling around with a complicated radio going down the road. I also need the CD player to sound good and stand up to the noisy and rough environment of a semi truck. I came across the Eclipse CD5405. This is the latest and greatest entry level CD player from Eclipse.
The Basics
Eclipse radios are made by Fufitsu Ten out of Japan. This is a company that has been well known for making high end car audio equipment for a while now. The Eclipse name is among the elites in car audio so to find a CD player meeting my short but important list of requirements was, well, surprising.
The CD5405 carries a lot of punch in such a little package. When looking at CD players in this price range it seems that nearly all the radios carry the same essential features. You will find that most of the players can read CD's as well as CD/R and CD/R-W's. For a company to stand out in the crowd of affordable head units they need to offer something extra. For the CD5405 it is their detailed interface and the dual pre-amp outputs. The interface goes a long way in giving you a radio set up for your preferences and not the mass's. The dual pre-amp set ups gives you the ability to hook to amps with ease. The Eclipse CD5405 has extremely low 55 impedance (ohms) with the 5 volts of output power at the pre-amp. This gives the audiophile a cleaner signal to the amps and reduces the signal to noise ratio that causes distortion at higher volumes. Add to this the fact that the CD5405 is the only unit is this market with MOSFET power amplification and you have a very affordable potential monster (a good one) on your hands.
Eclipse had a face lift since their last line up. They updated their look to keep on the leading edge of design and styling. The CD5405 was not left out. Looking at Eclipse's stable from the high end to the low end you would be hard pressed to tell any difference model to model by looks. They all carry a very sleek and modern layout. The CD5405 has the smallest display and unlike the others in the line up you are stuck with red backlit buttons and a blue LCD display. The soft satin finish of the head unit makes for a nice look even with the competing colors.
The Eclipse is easy to use with rotary buttons controlling both the volume and tuning. You will find three sets of six FM presets and one group of six AM on the removable face plate. The preset buttons double up as CD controls as well. There is also a menu button that controls all the functions of the radio from the clock to the brightness of the display. There is an equalizer control that takes you through three preset bands. You can also choose to customize the sound and save the preference on the fourth selection of the equalizer control. The size one DIN (7x2 inches) radio is has levels of customization that is not commonly found in radios under $200. You can not only tweak the treble and bass like ever other radio out there but you can also play with the mid range tones giving you the best possible sound. This is perfect for me because the trucks only have a single pair of 6.5 inch speakers and the mid range is about all they have.
The display is crisp and easy to read. The display is bright blue with white lettering. There is also a small graphic on the left side of the display that bounces to the beat. This is fun for some but is pointless for me. The CD5405 does push out incredibly rich sounds for the display to dance to though. The 1 bit DAC scanner gives you perfectly clear quality off the disk. You will be hard pressed to find a better sounding CD player no matter how much you spend.
Packaged with the head unit Eclipse provides an extremely detailed manual. There was a phone number included with the manual but it did not specifically say it was a technical support line. I am sure if you called it they would be able to lead you to the right person though. There was also the wiring harness that was well marked and all ready spliced for installation. The Eclipse CD5405 does not come with a remote but is capable of supporting one. The CD5405 is not satellite radio ready either.
Personal Impressions
This is the most expensive CD player I have bought yet for my little impromptu comparison shopping spree. I have never personally owned an Eclipse product before and I jumped at the chance to throw one in our truck.
Having already mentioned what I was personally looking for in the radio let me jump right into it. This radio rocks. There is no way around it. I am not building a thumper so the pre-amp stuff is lost on me but the simple quality of the radio and especially the CD sound is what makes this radio so solid. The CD5405 only puts out 14 watts RMS power and peaks out at 50 watts but because the 1 bit DAC picks up so much off the disk and the MOSFET amplification gives the speakers pure and rich sound the unit doesn't need to be cranked all the way up to be heard or felt.
The drivers have been fond of how well the CD5405 grabs radio signal too. Eclipse uses a neat little two stage signal booster. When close to the radio signal like when you are in town the radio uses just a little power to grab the signal (low power means less interference and a higher quality sound). When you leave town and the signal weakens the CD5405 pumps up the power to continue to hold the station for you. My guys love that. I was fond with how easy it was to install. The wiring harness was already spliced saving me at least 15 minutes of time. Start to finish on the install was only 35 minutes.
I can whole heartedly recommend the Eclipse CD5405. It sounds great in the truck. It takes the bounces of the truck without skipping a beat or breaking and the CD5405 fits within my budget all though it stretched it to the maximum. I can say that I have the best sounding truck in Omaha right now!
Stats on the Eclipse CD5405 CD Player:
DIN Size: 1
FM sensitivity: 13 dBf
CD signal-to-noise ratio: 95 dB
Power Output: 14 watts RMS/50 watts peak x 4 channels
CD Formats Supported: CD, CD-R, CD-RW
Warranty: 1-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
MSRP: $220
Street: $179-$219.99
Company Website
www.eclipse-web.com
Other Car Audio Reviews:
Alpine CDE-9841 in dash CD Player
JVC Arsenal AR260 in dash CD player
Kicker DS60 6.5 inch speakers
Thanks for reading,
Christian921
Thanks to symbiosis for his help. A special thank you to dkozin for getting this listed so quickly for me to review. Thanks!
The Basics
Eclipse radios are made by Fufitsu Ten out of Japan. This is a company that has been well known for making high end car audio equipment for a while now. The Eclipse name is among the elites in car audio so to find a CD player meeting my short but important list of requirements was, well, surprising.
The CD5405 carries a lot of punch in such a little package. When looking at CD players in this price range it seems that nearly all the radios carry the same essential features. You will find that most of the players can read CD's as well as CD/R and CD/R-W's. For a company to stand out in the crowd of affordable head units they need to offer something extra. For the CD5405 it is their detailed interface and the dual pre-amp outputs. The interface goes a long way in giving you a radio set up for your preferences and not the mass's. The dual pre-amp set ups gives you the ability to hook to amps with ease. The Eclipse CD5405 has extremely low 55 impedance (ohms) with the 5 volts of output power at the pre-amp. This gives the audiophile a cleaner signal to the amps and reduces the signal to noise ratio that causes distortion at higher volumes. Add to this the fact that the CD5405 is the only unit is this market with MOSFET power amplification and you have a very affordable potential monster (a good one) on your hands.
Eclipse had a face lift since their last line up. They updated their look to keep on the leading edge of design and styling. The CD5405 was not left out. Looking at Eclipse's stable from the high end to the low end you would be hard pressed to tell any difference model to model by looks. They all carry a very sleek and modern layout. The CD5405 has the smallest display and unlike the others in the line up you are stuck with red backlit buttons and a blue LCD display. The soft satin finish of the head unit makes for a nice look even with the competing colors.
The Eclipse is easy to use with rotary buttons controlling both the volume and tuning. You will find three sets of six FM presets and one group of six AM on the removable face plate. The preset buttons double up as CD controls as well. There is also a menu button that controls all the functions of the radio from the clock to the brightness of the display. There is an equalizer control that takes you through three preset bands. You can also choose to customize the sound and save the preference on the fourth selection of the equalizer control. The size one DIN (7x2 inches) radio is has levels of customization that is not commonly found in radios under $200. You can not only tweak the treble and bass like ever other radio out there but you can also play with the mid range tones giving you the best possible sound. This is perfect for me because the trucks only have a single pair of 6.5 inch speakers and the mid range is about all they have.
The display is crisp and easy to read. The display is bright blue with white lettering. There is also a small graphic on the left side of the display that bounces to the beat. This is fun for some but is pointless for me. The CD5405 does push out incredibly rich sounds for the display to dance to though. The 1 bit DAC scanner gives you perfectly clear quality off the disk. You will be hard pressed to find a better sounding CD player no matter how much you spend.
Packaged with the head unit Eclipse provides an extremely detailed manual. There was a phone number included with the manual but it did not specifically say it was a technical support line. I am sure if you called it they would be able to lead you to the right person though. There was also the wiring harness that was well marked and all ready spliced for installation. The Eclipse CD5405 does not come with a remote but is capable of supporting one. The CD5405 is not satellite radio ready either.
Personal Impressions
This is the most expensive CD player I have bought yet for my little impromptu comparison shopping spree. I have never personally owned an Eclipse product before and I jumped at the chance to throw one in our truck.
Having already mentioned what I was personally looking for in the radio let me jump right into it. This radio rocks. There is no way around it. I am not building a thumper so the pre-amp stuff is lost on me but the simple quality of the radio and especially the CD sound is what makes this radio so solid. The CD5405 only puts out 14 watts RMS power and peaks out at 50 watts but because the 1 bit DAC picks up so much off the disk and the MOSFET amplification gives the speakers pure and rich sound the unit doesn't need to be cranked all the way up to be heard or felt.
The drivers have been fond of how well the CD5405 grabs radio signal too. Eclipse uses a neat little two stage signal booster. When close to the radio signal like when you are in town the radio uses just a little power to grab the signal (low power means less interference and a higher quality sound). When you leave town and the signal weakens the CD5405 pumps up the power to continue to hold the station for you. My guys love that. I was fond with how easy it was to install. The wiring harness was already spliced saving me at least 15 minutes of time. Start to finish on the install was only 35 minutes.
I can whole heartedly recommend the Eclipse CD5405. It sounds great in the truck. It takes the bounces of the truck without skipping a beat or breaking and the CD5405 fits within my budget all though it stretched it to the maximum. I can say that I have the best sounding truck in Omaha right now!
Stats on the Eclipse CD5405 CD Player:
DIN Size: 1
FM sensitivity: 13 dBf
CD signal-to-noise ratio: 95 dB
Power Output: 14 watts RMS/50 watts peak x 4 channels
CD Formats Supported: CD, CD-R, CD-RW
Warranty: 1-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
MSRP: $220
Street: $179-$219.99
Company Website
www.eclipse-web.com
Other Car Audio Reviews:
Alpine CDE-9841 in dash CD Player
JVC Arsenal AR260 in dash CD player
Kicker DS60 6.5 inch speakers
Thanks for reading,
Christian921
Thanks to symbiosis for his help. A special thank you to dkozin for getting this listed so quickly for me to review. Thanks!
