CD player molded in

[earlboogie]

Just wanted to see what everyone thinks of some preliminary pics of my Nakamichi cd 45z molded inton the radio surround. I still have a few things to touch up but it is in the car and working. I will take new pics of it in the car as soon as I put everything back together.

 

[JrTekSilverP5]

excuse me but that radio looks kinda worked... what was the reason for molding it... its a good idea... but on a newer HU...

 

[II-Savy]

excuse me but that radio looks kinda worked... what was the reason for molding it... its a good idea... but on a newer HU...

Holy scratches batman!(confused)

 

[mypfizzle]

it looks cool.. but i agree with jrtek.. why such an old unit?

 

[servoeyes]

umm...old or not...it *is* a Nak.

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

^^^ true dat.

 

[Matthew]

whats so good about that brand?

 

[Poseur]

Mmmm... yummy Nak. I actually was in the process of serisouly having to talk myself out of one. I'd had one previously that was unfortunately removed form my posession by some jackass who stole MY WHOLE FREAKING honda... Yet a nother reason not to rice, kids... anyway, I was just about to click buy on a cd-400 http://www.nakamichi.com/auto/CD400/ when the little mp3 id popped up on my shoulder. And ultimately I couldn't let go of mp3-ability which was prettymuch my only reason for switching decks in the first place. If they come out with something MP3 this year (which I doubt as they're prettymuch above inferior recordings) I will most likely say screw the new Eclipse 2din dvd, and spend just as much$ on a 1din plain looking nak with likely a hideaway that I'd have to find room for.

Matthew> Nakamichi's been making INCREDIBLE decks for a long time. They're one of those nothing flashy, all pure function kind of companies. As you can see, they're not much on looks, but DAMN do they sound nice. They've just got some incredible electronics, 24bit d-a converters, etc. Very clean-cut straightforward performance. So what if they look like they're the factory deck from your old '86 celica.

 

[MisterT]

Man that looks awsome. Totally agree with nakamichi. I had an amp that was a Nakamichi car amp (30wattsx2channels) a long time ago. Sure it's scratched and it may be old, but they make some kick ass s***! The only thing I have to knock Nak on is their service. It took a customer 4-6 months for a HU to come back repaired.

 

[earlboogie]

Yeah, the cd player does have some scratches that will be worked out. That's why I said these were some preliminary pictures. I will polish the plastic and repaint the volume knob, etc. The reason I used this cd player is because because it works great, has a remote control and looks like a stock unit but with all the goodies of an aftermarket unit. I could have bought a new one but didn't feel like spending the money. When you have 2 or three g's invested in stereo equip. sometimes you have to work with what you have.
Nakamichi Cd45z
Xtant 603x
Xtant 302a
Focal 136k Polykevlar
Image Dynamics IDQ12

Oz Audio 130cs components
Oz Audio 250l subs

I have all this equipment but I'm ditching the focal and image for the oz.

 

[earlboogie]

By the way if you want quality customer service you may want to stay away from Nakamichi. Waited about 6 months for that unit due to problems with production, but haven't had any problems in the three years I've owned it. The Focals on the other hand sound great but suck for quality. Paid $500 for the component set and in the first year and a half two years probably had to send them back 5 times, so i decided to switch to Oz Audio. No problems with the IDQ12.

 

[sndsgood]

yeah i'd take a couple year old scratched nak over allot of the newer more expensive stuff they have today. true sound qaulity deck there.


as for the install. looks really good from what i can see, very nice job.

 

[MisterT]

I have all this equipment but I'm ditching the focal and image for the oz.

Wow, I heard Focals are really good. Are OZ that much better?!

 

[earlboogie]

Focals do sound great. I had them in custom kickpanels that I built and the sound was wonderful. The problem with them was the "quality". I fed them power well within their capabilities but they just failed. I blew the surround on them I think 3 times and burnt two crossovers. So in the first 1 1/2, 2 years they were repaired 5 times, which leaves me w/out them for about 10 weeks. Not acceptable for the money I spent.Finally I decided to switch to the Oz components. I think they sound just as good as the Focals and with where I'm taking my install I think I can make them sound better than the Focals. As far I know Oz components were the first to score a "perfect score" in IASCA comp. There handmade products have been used in many top notch installs. I'm beginning to learn that in car audio some of the smaller companies produce a far better product,ie.smaller number produced-greater control over quality.

 

[MisterT]

^^ Is that the model you mentioned above? What do their 5 1/4s go for? ^^

 

[sndsgood]

"I'm beginning to learn that in car audio some of the smaller companies produce a far better product,ie.smaller number produced-greater control over quality."

its pretty much the truth, most of your best products out there the average joe has never heard of.

 

[earlboogie]

The Oz Audio 130CS components go for I believe $449 retail. If you get to know the dealer you can probably work with them on that price and get it down a little. When I did my first install I saved probably 6 or $700 just by getting to know the people at the shop. My OZ components I actually got for free. I work for a paint store and the dealer needed to paint his shop, so we made an even trade.