I sold my Eclipse AVN2454 and replaced it with a Kenwood 7015.
The AVN2454 is a great NAV piece but it is lacking in the audio deparment. My first issue was lack of FM presets, there are only 6. To me this is horrible oversight, most major markets have 13 or fourteen channels. The FM part was not the deal killer for me. The playback of MP3s was, switching between songs takes THREE SECONDS! To some of you this might be ok, well I suggest trying it. Also the MP3 menu is not responsive when selecting a song, there is a delay after touching the screen. Sometimes you have to make your selection twice! Plus the title display only shows the first five or six characters of the song title.
Finally, the loading mechinisim for CDs/DVD's is VERY slow. Its almost like it cant pull them in.
Ok, thats all the bad.... The best part of the radio is the NAVI, it is OUTSTANDING! Selecting routes is simple, just few touches and it caculates a three routes within seconds. The mapping is very accurate, it has roads that I know are only a year old on it.
Almost forgot... this is also a major deal killer... NO SATELLITE RADIO... NOT THIS YEAR. After the Eclipse rep told my that I opted for the Kenwood 7015.
The Kenwood has 18 fm/am presets, SIRIUS, TV tuner that is integrated in the menu system,Red and Green illumination (Eclipse is green only), EXCELLENT MP3 SUPPORT (FAST MENUS and FAST CHANGING OF SONGS). The Kenwood lacks the built in Navigation, it is sold seperatly .
The Eclipse retails for $2300, the Kenwood is $1399.00. The add on Nav is $1299.99 but can be had for $1000 and the radio can be picked up for $1000 online as well.
The Kenwood OUTPERFORMS the Eclipse handsdown in the audio department.
I think next year would be the time to get the Eclipse when the new model comes out. Right now the unit is lacking in some very important areas.
Lawrence
BTW, I tried two other NAV2454's and both behaved the same as mine.

 

the mp3 problem: you burned in mode 2, if you burn in mode 1 it works just perfectly! ...user error here

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I burned a standard MP3 disc.. There is no user error on my end.
I have two friends with the same radio and both have the same issues. The AVN is over rated, it is seriously lacking audio features.

 

So you are staying function wise Kenwood wins hands down...

But Audio Quality? I think Eclipse has the edge in SQ...

They made some of the best deck out there....

G35c, 5AT, NAV
INJEN CAI, Borla TD Exhaust, Grounding Kit
Kinetix Plenum, Hi-Flow CAT, Front Lip Spoiler
8000K HID, PIAA 7500K SPARK BLUE
Focal 165K2P, E10A.22, Eclipse HU, Nav-Tuner

 

I agree, Eclipse has some of the best sounding decks out there. I have owned many of their products, and have always been satisfied. This time the AVN is an exception, it just lacks too many things to make a good buy. Sound quality wise the Kenwood sounds better. Now if I had one of the high end single Din 8volt Eclipse units I doubt Id be saying the Kewood sounds better.
The long and the short of it is the AVN is mainly a NAV piece, audio and the feature set fall WAY short.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by lorinserbenz on 06/10/04 07:49 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

post some pics!

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dang, now you got me thinking of switching to the Kenwood... what about DVD viewing?? any difference?

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274817-DSC00620.jpg

 

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No difference at all...
The big selling point for me was not having Sirius... The rep told me Eclipse is not releasing it till next summer.
Sat radio is something once you have it you cant live without it.

 

If you look at the last picture I posted you will see the song and station id info. The Kenwood displays the information, the Eclipse does not. Having the radio text is cool feature in IMHO, especially for those new songs you dont know who the artist is.

 

The Kenwood comes with a nice trim ring as well. I had to drill new holes for the radio to sit correctly in the dash. If you look at this picture of the Eclipse it stuck out more, plus I had to make my own trim ring which was not as nice as the Kenwoods.



274823-236265-DSC00446.JPG

 

actually the MAJOR factor is the mp3 problem with the eclipse (this is one of the reasons i opted to get a new head unit).
the eclipse looks stock, the kenwood doesnt.
i can go without navi!
and the kenwood also has cell-phone muting, does it work fine??

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I didnt hook up the cell phone muting.. However the interface of the radio is the same as the KVT-815 which I did have cell muting hooked up on and it work fine.
I like the look of the Eclipse better than the Kenwood as well, but the everyone that I have asked says the Kenwood looks better in my dash than the Eclipse.
The Eclipse is essentially a factory Lexus/Toyota radio, heck the plugs are even Toyota plugs. This leads me to believe that the user interface was designed to be VERY simplistic and not loaded with features that the average auto buyer couldnt understand.
I just think the Eclipse needs to some minor improvements to make it the perfect radio. As it stands now its one heck of Nav piece but not so hot in the audio department.
If you havent put yours in yet then Id recommend playing with both radios. I didnt give the AVN a complete testing before buying it, I wish I had since it would have saved me the hassle of removing it.

 

i have the AVN, waiting on the dash-kit... a professional installer in putting the headunits in, so i really cant play around with them... i need to decide before my dash kit comes in, which one i really want. and the kenwood is much cheaper also... $#!T!!! what to do????

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