hey everyone, so ive been trying to figure out what to do for a new head unit for my FD and i cant seem to decide on anything but the nakamichis (depite the failures ive been reading about, lack of customer service, and most importantly the lack of anywhere to buy one).

after reading every web page i can find (including nakamichis) i cant seem to figure out the ACTUAL differences between the CD400 and CD500. all i can tell is that one has more available colors, however they are not listed. someone "told me" that the 500 has 2 aux inputs, dimable lighting with the factory mazda diming switch, and you can black out the display... however i cant seem to verify this anywhere.

there seem to be a few cd400's floating around on ebay at the moment... but i dont see any 500's. if anyone knows where to score some... im looking for 2 or 3 for various cars) please let me know. and im sure people would like to know why i want to go so far out of my way for a not-so-reliable headunit with virtually no documentation and zero customer service? well its the only head unit that ive found that actually looks PLAIN.... like STOCK PLAIN ... and has amber backlighting to match the stock lights. also id like an audiophile quality head unit (which these are reported to be, when they are working ) .

if you have info or have hookups lemme know. -heath

 

what about the denon headunits

 

I sent you a pm

 

the denon ones are kinda ugly , although they are a good fallback assuming this nakamichi stuff doesnt happen.
http://cgi.ebay.com/DENON-DCT-A1-HEA...QQcmdZViewItem

anyone out there know the CD400 & CD500 differences?

anyone know a good(cheap) nak dealer that i can buy in bulk from?

 

i had a cd400 before, it worked great until it started to skip easily, and it started to not read my cds until the 3rd or 4th try! good luck on your search, i got mine from a local shop, let me see if i can dig up his number, i paid 400ish back in the day

 

If you're OK with something a little more modern looking, but not really flashy, Blaupunkt makes some pretty normal looking HUs

 

hey, can you dim the backlighting of the headunit with the dash lights?

 

the cd-400 does not have mp3 capability (the 500 does). but, do you really want to degrade the quality of your music by listening to mp3's? very little difference outside of that.

nakamichi has a 24-bit d/a converter, which creates an audiophile sound that is distinguishable from the standard 1-bit d/a that 99.9 percent of head units have (the cd-300 is a 1-bit d/a, so stay away from this one).

the fm signal has been noted to not be very good (read: average)

they also require you to clean regularly.

also a good idea to pair with quality speakers, such as mb quart, focal, etc.

 

Too bad it won't sound any where as good as a Nakamichi.

 

yes i'm pretty sure it has a wire that you hook up to a dimming switch (ie: ashtray light)

 

best sounding Nakamichi's were they're first models CD-35 CD-35Z CD-45.
CD-35z and CD-45 had 24bit D/A converter, but many made consideration that CD-35 sounded best of those. there is another model CD-700 which is monster it's true audiophile with hand choosed internal components, 6-cd's changer in the same 1-DIN unit
As for 400-500 series i would not recomend them, they do not sound like real Nakamichi's used to and they are far away from as you call hi-end, good alpine with 1-bit would sound better. my .02 would be CD-35, i was amased how they sound

 

yeah ive got a couple pairs of polk SR's to pair it with... im excited to get everything up and running.

im not to worried about whether it plays mp3's or not cause with an AUX in ill just plug in my ipod if i REALLY need some mp3's.

so i guess the last question i have is regarding the lighting differences between the CD400 and CD500. i know the CD400 will do green and amber but will it dim with the cars dimmer switch? thats my final concern.

 

not sure on that one. best bet is to do some searching on this one online and see what you can yield.

either way it goes, mg's kick ***

 

thanks, im a big MG fan myself . it reminds me alot of the FD in that its ALWAYS BROKEN !!

 

which is why I went with the fc (though I'd love to have an fd, as they truly are a work of art)

However, it seems the naks have become hard to find, unless you're willing to sell your soul to ebay. Unless you're willing to go with the p.o.s. cd-300.

 

well i "bought" 2 sets of CD400's on ebay, only to get an email saying they could no longer get them and they refunded my money. the ebay vendors are out of these things and everyone says they are discontinued.... and no i have no want to use a cd300 cause its garbage . so............. my search continues. ANYONE with info on obtaining a cd400 or cd500 please post or PM me. im bummed, heath

 

funny thing is that nakamichis website does not mention anything about them being discontinued. it seems that there are a few cd700II's still available but at 1200 a deck im not so hot to jump on it. anyone heard the 700II? impressions? it seems that it doesnt have an amp so id have to add a nice amp to the mix as well. BTW this is going to be powering polk sr6500's front and back.

 

the prevailing wind on the 700mb is they are nice, but tend to have problems after time. Such as skipping & cleaning.

See if you can find a mcintosh. the one with the dual 20-bit d/a converter is the one you want to find.

FYI - the nakamichi does site does not seem to be updated very often, so who knows on that point.

 

bump... still looking

 

go to caraudio.com and PM 3.5Max6spd i forgot his email address but im pretty sure hes a nak dealer and he will hook you up. He gave me almost 30% off my rainbow comps.

 

ok i broke down and got the cd700II ... let me tell you it wasnt a bargain to say the least but i just got it in the mail today and its one hell of a head unit! worth every penny!

 

Very nice unit. I have installed a few of these and the sound quality is just amazing.

 

RotorMotor, where did you end up buying the Nak from?

 

are you an installer? im a little nervous trying to install everything on my own cause its all expensive stuff and i know ill screw it up somehow