HU for a mazda3......

[NE14MX 10+ year member]

How many HU's out there have an ornage or amber lighting to them? I need a new HU but I'd like to have this color if possible. I like some of the old Alpines but they're hard to find. The Eclipse CD 3000 looks like it would be a decent match and has most of the features I want. The CD 7000 looks great and can be changed to the right color but I don't want to spend $700 just for the color. If worse came to worse, I could deal with any color. I considered the Alpine 9855 but costs more than the Eclipse. I wish I could just find a good older Alpine or could bring myself to part with $700. Just not sure I could take advantage of what the CD7000 offers. I'll be running 1 pair of comps, 1 or 2 subs and 1 or 2 amps. Just thinking out loud on this forum I guess. Somebody chime in.

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[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

I believe the older Clarion decks have the 512 color customization.

 

[alphakenny1 10+ year member]

if you run active then you can fully utilize the capabilities of the CD7000. if you are running a passive setup and want an eclipse, look into the eclipse 8445 or eclipse CD5000. Also maybe the alpine 9835 if you can find used. thats an awesome HU and it does have that orange amber color that you want.

 

[NE14MX 10+ year member]

i had one of the older Clarion decks in my BMW to get that amber color but it never did quite match. It had a red, blue and green adjustment but no yellow so the closest you could get was blood red. Plus it looked like it was made of chrome and stuck out so ugly. Thanks for the idea Fox.

AlpKenny, I'd love to find a 9835 that was in like new shape but I never see any. I'm probably not advanced enough to run active. To be honest, I never have and not sure what it all entails so I better keep it as simple as I can. Th3 8445 won;t match my interior which is why i sold my 8545. I didn;t see all that much differnce in the CD 5000 and 3000. Seemed like the display was the main difference and cost $300 more. I probably should reearch those 2 HU's some more. Is the 5000 worth the extra $300?

Thanks for the good suggestions so far

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

keep in mind that the Eclipse dont have a full amber display either...you'd have the amber buttons with the backlit blue rotaries...

 

[NE14MX 10+ year member]

Alright, then screw the color. I've yet to see one of the Eclipse's in person, just pics. The CD 7000 had amber rotary but i think it's overkill for me. I'll just have to pick something based on features. The Eclipse CD 3000 seems to compare fairly well to the Alpine 9855 and is quite a bit cheaper. Probably be something liek one of those 2 that i get. I really don't feel like buying a new Alpine. the Eclipse has a 3 year warranty if I pay teh dealer an assload to install it. Suggestions with a max budget of $450?

 

[Dr. Dan 10+ year member]

If your not running active, then how about the Nakamichi CD500? All Amber lighting(+ other colors), 24 bit D/A, Mp3, 3 sets of pre outs. Might run a little high for your budget....I think around $500.

 

[NE14MX 10+ year member]

I thought the CD500 had solely green lighting? So you can adjust color on them? They are kinda basic looking which is ok is the SQ is good. I've heard SQ is good on teh Nak's but not sure I woul dbe able to tell a differnce just between brands. I've never even seen any of these for sale. I can do $500 if it's worth it. I don;t even know where to buy one at though. The HU is one thing I do not mind buying new since I am less likely to change it out while i own the car.

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

I thought the CD500 had solely green lighting? So you can adjust color on them? They are kinda basic looking which is ok is the SQ is good. I've heard SQ is good on teh Nak's but not sure I woul dbe able to tell a differnce just between brands. I've never even seen any of these for sale. I can do $500 if it's worth it. I don;t even know where to buy one at though. The HU is one thing I do not mind buying new since I am less likely to change it out while i own the car.

Reliability on the CD500 is questionable. The unit to my knowledge is still not available in the US, as it was not released as it was supposed to last year due quality issues. Do some searching if you are going to consider that unit.

I was heavily looking into that unit as well last year because of its illumination options.

Heres a pic installed i dug up..

http://www.alexminassian.com/install_images/todayz/cd500_z3s.jpg

 

[Dr. Dan 10+ year member]

I heard about a number of reliability issues with the CD400, which I was about to buy and then chickened out after hearing the stories. But I was under the impression that the CD300 and CD500 were the replacements for that unit and the reliability issues were addressed, but that's just hearsay. Like 3.5Max6spd says, do some research on it and you should probably buy from an authorized dealer if you decide to go for it.

There's one on Ebay right now from Asia, lit up all in Amber BTW.

 

[then00b 10+ year member]

I have a cheap JVC headunit that matches the interior perfectly with my 3.

 

[NE14MX 10+ year member]

My searching skills must **** because I couldn't find much on the Nak CD500. I like the way it looks in amber and it's pretty unique in that you see very few around which is a plus for me. Still they seem to be a little overpriced for what you get, now with people citing reliability problems, I'm striking it out

I wish my dealer would get the new Eclipses in. He only has the CD2000 and it's not wired up. Once I can see and play with them i will know what to get and it's looking like it's gonna be another Eclipse. I've always thought Alpines were the coolest looking HU's but I just don't like the way they've been going with their receivers.

If I pay the dealer a lot of $ to install the eclipse, it will have a 3 year warranty which is dmn good. Here's teh problem. i will go in to look at the CD3000, see the CD5000 is a little more but like it better and then see the CD7000 is just a bit more than that and like that, pow, I walk out of there with a $700 HU as opposed to a $250 HU lol.