which eclipse deck?

What do you personally look for in a hu then? I've got a cd8443 and I wouldn't trade it for the world, it's been and still is a wonderful unit... still trying to learn how to use it.. hahaha

It's a typo. Even though on page 18 it displays the 5V and 8V above the HU and in the descriptions below the HU. In person, look at the HUs. It's silk screened right on the face plate of the HU. The 7000 is 8V and the 5000 is 5V.

If you're in the boat I'm in, then you'll need the 8V. I run a Phoenix Gold ZPA0.3 and a ZPA0.5 which require an 8V signal for optimum performance. That's why I got the CD8455.

You'll want to look at the impeadance of the RCA outs on the HU. That's where the secret lies. The lower the better.

Brand reputation

Subwoofer output with volume control

I despise the sound of  the head units amplifiers, so one with no built in amplification is a plus

Low output impedance and a good set of DAC's

Ergonomic controls.  I prefer Eclipse's old dual knob design over the new joystick style.  I really like the old thumber remote on my Sony deck.  I can control my stereo by touch.

Features I will use regularly.  I like the idea of a built in hard drive and would like to see it on more decks.  Or I would like to see more companies get into an add-on hard drive setup.  I really like the USB inputs on newer decks to use thumb drives or give the option of adding an outboard computer hard drive.  I also like built in bluetooth.