Attitude sound systems?

Great, now, after doing a little searching online, it appears the head unit I have was discontinued BEFORE I even ordered the trailer in June, 2013. So this was an "upgrade" or a "deluxe" model? Found a little info here: http://www.americantrailersupply.com/jensen-amfm-cd-dvd-wall-mount-srereo--awm970.html

Jensen has a new model, the AWM968, that has other things you'd likely want - including Bluetooth... http://www.jensenrvdirect.com/coming-soon-am-fm-dvd-cd-usb-bluetooth-stereo.html

But my frustration after looking behind the TV & at the cables they installed is that even the cheap little TV they include has an HDMI interface, but the head unit does not. A quick search of RV-specific head units shows that Jensen has had the AWM975 available for a while & certainly was available prior to ordering my RV.

Most people cant perceive the difference in sound quality between a low end and high end head unit. THe key to a good sound system is adequate power which typically requires a separate amp, quality speakers and quality wiring.

I'm going to assume the standard sound system just uses what power is available from the head unit which typically isn't much. Looking at the specs on the Jensen its about 20W per channel. I agree you could probably build something your own for less money however if Eclipse upgrades the wiring during manufacturing then it might be worth it. Trying to upgrade the wiring on a fully constructed trailer would be a complete PITA.

That is the same head unit I have. Not impressed in the least. For a grand you can build out a much, much nicer system than that thing. If music is important to you I would pass.

The head unit looks to be the same as the standard stereo. Looks like the upgrade consists of amp (how many watts/channels?), upgraded speakers and sub.

What about wiring? Do they upgrade?

Oh yeah, which model are you ordering? Getting the new grey exterior color with black trim? I was told the price difference was under $1k & it would take some extra time to source the black trim since it was new at the time. Overall, I'm pretty happy with mine, but QC is pretty worthless. I had a list of about 30 issues to correct first time there, and another few issues the second time I went to PDI. Third time was the charm, but the outlet under the cabinet in the galley doesn't appear to have even been hooked up... I'm sure I'll find more issues, but I've been told that's the way with all of them.

Thanks for the info. I did catch a glimpse of the Eclipse rep's post before the mod's deleted it, so that was helpful as well. Considering all of the above, I'll probably go ahead and go with the upgrade.

Here's the stereo head unit it comes with:



Here's the subwoofer:



Here's the amplifier:



You should be able to click on any pic to see the whole set of pics where I posted a little more detail about what came with my system.

Hope this helps you make a decision.

The stock sound system that came with my Eclipse is a huge POS. Beware.

Thanks. I'm not too concerned about the overall build cost (I've already decided on just about every other option), but it would drive me nuts if I paid big-$ for some low-cost chinese system. So its good to hear they at least use Sony Speakers.

I don't really have a bunch of free time to spare at a dealer, so I'm trying to have all my howework done before I head in :)

I have the "deluxe" system. It's an amp above the cabinet that drives a subwoofer, and they upgrade from whatever speakers they otherwise would have used to all Sony speakers... but I don't know what comes with the basic system. I figured, if I'm ordering a new trailer, I might as well amortize the cost of all the stuff I wanted into the financed total. I don't know if they use a different model of stereo, but the stereo in mine has AM/FM, DVD, and you can select each of 3 speaker areas independently (or enable them all) for the main cabin area, the front bedroom, and the outside speakers under the awning.

I think if you're watching an antenna TV feed, the audio is, by default, just coming from the TV speakers (I'll have to look again at the wiring from the TV). If you're watching a DVD or other input to the TV that goes through the stereo head unit first, you'll get the audio from the stereo, thereby playing through whatever speakers you have selected to be active.

As far as Eclipse making it easy to get to all the wiring... I'll have to look closer, because, while they could have just installed easily removable panels with quick fasteners, instead they try to hide the fasteners & access & make it look like it's not a trailer... I might replace some of this stuff with quarter-turn fasteners (like Dzus fasteners) to make it easier to get to wiring & change things up down the road.

I'll take a few pics of mine this evening & post them up for you to see if you can tell the difference between "deluxe" and whatever they offer as standard equipment.