Eclipse AVN7000 Navigation/DVD/CD Receiver

Eclipse AVN7000 Navigation/DVD/CD Receiver review - All-in-one car stereo with everything but the kitchen sink—however, it’ll help you find one

June 2007 By Doug Newcomb

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Packed into the Eclipse AVN7000’s single-DIN chassis is a 20GB hard disc drive (HDD) GPS navigation system and a 7-inch widescreen touch-panel display. It can handle almost any audio/video format you can throw at it: DVDs, CDs, MP3/WMA-encoded CDs and digital music files on a Memory Stick. Plus, with optional components added to it the AVN7000 can control an iPod, a Sirius Satellite Radio or HD Radio tuner, a TV tuner, even rear-view and side-view cameras. And with dual-zone and 5.1-surround capability, the head unit can also serve as a basis for a full-blown mobile A/V system.

Since most of the AVN7000’s functions are controlled via the 7-inch touchscreen, there isn’t a need for many “hard” buttons. The bottom half of the unit has only seven controls. On the left side are a SOURCE MENU/VOL knob that displays the audio source screen when pressed or controls the volume when turned, a POWER button that switches the unit on and off and an AUDIO button that accesses the various A/V source menus. A small display in the middle functions when the screen is retracted into the unit, and to the right of the display are TRACK/TUNE buttons, a disc EJECT switch and a button to open, close and adjust the angle of the screen. On the bottom right-hand side of the motorized screen are four buttons that, left to right, adjust screen-image quality and turn off the screen (DISP), display the navigation menu (NAVI MENU), set a destination (DEST) and display the nav screen and the present location (NAVI).

Even with this minimalist approach, I found the AVN7000 easy and intuitive to use. And as someone who has tested navigation systems for over a decade, I was impressed with the AVN7000’s quick response time, which is enhanced by Eclipse’s exclusive Ultima Engine processor. While the speed at which the AVN7000’s HDD calculates routes isn’t appreciably faster than, say, a DVD-based nav system, it is noticeably quicker when re-calculating a route, such as when you make a wrong turn.

While touchscreen operation of navigation systems is no longer a novelty, the ability to input info using the AVN7000’s 7-inch screen is a major advantage over the painstaking process of entering info using other methods currently available, such as a remote. And the AVN7000’s nav section has several unique features that make it a great road companion. When a destination is chosen, for example, it automatically offers three routing options: Quick 1, Quick 2 and Short. It also has detailed graphics for tricky intersections and freeway exits. Plus, when approaching an intersection where a turn is required, a split screen view appears, with one side showing a detailed view of the required maneuver.

I got the chance to check out all of the AVN7000 nav capabilities on a two-day trip to Los Angeles. I had to drive from LAX airport to Santa Monica, from Santa Monica to inland Orange County, and from OC back to Santa Monica. Never once during this 48-hour blitz did the AVN7000 fail to help me find my way, and its screen guidance and voice prompts were nearly flawless. At one point while running an errand in West LA, I was sure I knew a better way to go, but I was surprised to find that the system knew a shortcut that I didn’t know.

Given LA’s gridlock traffic, I did have ample opportunity to listen to lots of music, with quite a few audio sources at my disposal. I brought along a few of my own favorite CDs, but I was disappointed that the system didn’t have Eclipse’s optional iPC-106 iPod interface so I could have the thousands of songs on my iPod at my disposal.

While you can buy a bunch of mobile electronics components for $2,700 that can do as much, if not more, than the Eclipse AVN7000, I doubt you can buy a single-DIN in-dash radio that can do all that this head unit can—and do it so well. yy