About a year ago I started looking at alternatives for my OEM stereo. Originally my R1 just came with the AM/FM/Cassette but a few years ago I located a non-bose OEM CD head unit and had been running that until last week. For unknown reasons the OEM AM/FM went south, literally in a puff of smoke, and since the stock CD player tended to skip alot and didn't play CD-Rs, I figured it was time. Searching here the NAKAMICHI units kept coming up as choices and I chose the CD-400. So far, couldn't be happier. Sound is terrific, simple, understated, no annoying flashing LED and the back-light matches the OEM dash very well.
Though many others had endorsed NAKAMICHI, I had trouble finding any pictures, so here are a few for anybody else contemplating a change.


General picture of how it looks now. Fortunately I kept my OEM din box, which was reinstalled.


A couple for comparison from day to night. Not exact, but it really looks closer than than it appears in the picture, including the DEFI boost and temp gauges. Sorry, alittle hard to focus in the dark.

 

Great choice. I plan on one of those myself.

 

Glad to see another Nak user. :-D

The cd-400 is the one I plan on going with for my vert (since 1200 for the dvd in dash is outside my price range).

How is the skipping though on the 400? Read a couple bad reviews, so curious.

 

Well, I'm running some stiff coilovers and occasionally with a very bad bump, it will still skip. Still, it's WAY better than my OEM CD player. I'd assume that with anything approaching stock suspension, it wouldn't be an issue at all.
I'm toying with ideas of trying to cushion the unit further from road shock/vibration, like with piece of dense foam or one of those jell shoe inserts. But I don't want to risk air not being able to circulate around the unit. I don't know, just thinking at this point.

 

On a side note, along with the Nakamichi.....the center channel speaker in the dash always seemed to be pretty worthless. I never heard much out if if and the old 2" paper cone was pretty toasted anyway. At the suggestion of a local stereo shop I replaced it with two Eclipse tweeters aimed up at the windshield. They both fit under the OEM grille so everything appears normal. And now they actually contribute a little. I'm not big into audio, but think it sounds pretty good. Just in case someone else has the same problem.

 

ya i had this nak unit in my old car, sounded great but wasn't a fan of its limited playback ability: no mp3 cds, no ipod integration

 

I mentioned this in another post: why would you want mp3 & ipod in your car? the whole point of having a nak is to listen to the music at full quality, not a digitally raped version of it.

You can tell the difference in quality just by going to an inferior deck (got a panasonic in the vert, and a cd-35z in the coupe, which I am tempted to switch in).

 

Reason is: not everyone is a hard core audiophile. The Nakamichi is a nice normal headunit that matches the stock interior, is simple to use and has great sound. Some people (including myself) dont like having a giant CD holder in the car to store all the audio cds or dont want a CD changer. Having mp3 and ipod capabilities makes it more convenient to enjoy your favorite songs without swapping discs just to hear them. I doubt the "unraped" version will be appreciated with the noise coming from the car and the road.

 

NAK offers the CD-300 which was MP3 capable and actually a little cheaper. But I didn't like the look of that unit, (IIRC) it has slightly less power and had two separate display colors, countering my effort to keep the car looking stock. Go a step above the CD-400 and your paying another $150, and for me, it just wasn't worth it. Personal taste. CD case fits fine in the rear storage compartment. Hell, I'm old enough to remember 8-tracks, so CDs don't seem like much trouble.

 

If you are looking for a system without annoying LED lights, or display, and lighting that matches the OEM colors of the FD and all the features the Nak doesn't have like CDR, MP3 or Sat, IPOD and Bluetooth support then the unit for you is the Alpine CDA9835. About a year out of production but I'm sure you can find one on EBAY. I did

 

How much did this cost?

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-OUVr1BX...display=XL#Tab

The colors of the buttons can be changed to AMBER to match the interior dash lighting.

 

Nakamichi CD-400 for those who prefer OEM look w/pics
Wow very nice ... fits in perfect!!!

For you that are into all the LED lights and Gadgetry.
My Ice:
Customized (2/2005):
JVC SHX850 Head unit 35 Watts RMS,
Infinity Kappa speakers, front (2way) 5¼”, rear (3way) 6½”
MTX TA5601 Mono Amp Class D 300 Watts RMS
MTX T7512-04 12” Subwoofer 400 Watts Peak

The JVC (Love Alpines also) Head Unit is fantastic, plenty
of power to drive the front and rear speakers

 

^ Can you make a post every once in a while without pics of your system? Besides, nothing will sound any better than the boosted set of 6x9's in my car.

 

nakamichi is good stuff
ive always liked their oem style look

 

LOL ... sorry you must surf this threads alot !!!

Yeah..I m sure your system sounds better,
but the question is "the best value for the $".

 

Nice, matches nicely. clarion makes headunits that matches our cars too.

clarion ftw!

 

Anyone ever upgrade their bose unit to use an aftermarket head, but still utilize the bose speakers?

 

Nevermind, I found the sticky. HAHA!

 

ok how much did it cost for the second time?!

 

OK, wasn't sure WHOSE head unit you were talking about.
If you were talking about mine, it was just over $300.

 

The cd-500 gives the multi-function head you may want.

stay away from the cd-300 nak, it only has the 1 bit d/a converter, instead of the 24 in the 400 & 500.

P.S. if you want speakers to match the quality of the unit, go mb quart. it's reasonably priced, unlike the focals.

 

sorry how much did the thread maker pay for the unit?