looking for nakamichi cd500's with no luck

[rotormotor 10+ year member]

hey everyone... im new to the forum so first i should say hi. i live in CA and am building a 500+ HP 3rd gen rx7, and im way over my head. anyway, im doing my best to upgrade all of the components of the car (im building it from the ground up). my main goal is to keep everything looking as stock as possible while making the best possible upgrades i can for peformance/handling/styling etc.

naturally, a complete audio system upgrade is in order as well, but keep in mind i want to keep everything as stock looking as possible while maximizing performance (thats sort of my mission statement for all aspects of the car). i now have 2 sets of polk sr6500's (for front and rear), and am now looking for an head unit with the possibility of adding an amp.

the stock backlighting in the car is amber, and i would like to have my head unit amber as well, and hopefully have the option of dimming it with the factory lighting control. i dont want any flashy dolphins or silly shit, i just want a quality head unit with performance that would be on-par with my polks. the only head unit that ive come across that fits my criterion is the nakamichi cd400/cd500/ or (and i most likely could NEVER afford it) the cd700II. i already bought a couple on flea-bay only to have my paypal refunded and the sellers come up with some excuse about being out of stock. if anyone has any leads on where i could pick up these head units //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif .... please please let me know. thanks guys! heath //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

BTW i am already aware of the lack of reliability of the nakamichis, and the fact that they have a tendancy to skip, and have problems over time. even still, i cant seem to find anything i like better. ive become obsessed i suppose //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif

***One last question, i know that the cd700 and cd500 both have dimable backlighting that hooks up to the stock dimmer switch..... but i cant seem to find any info either way on the cd400.***

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[99StangGt 10+ year member]

Send Don a message on here. His name on here is 6spdcoupe. He is a dealer and will sell you any Nak deck you want.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

You, I think, are a great candidate for the DRZ9255... Clean, close to OEM, look.. Minimal controls but DAC's that rival the 700 II but processing power that SPANKS the 700 II. Assuming you're running amps, because it's a "deadhead".. preamp only.

Also external DC/DC converter ... Which I think is one big reason for the 9255's sound quality.

At full retail it's less than the 700 II

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Why do you post pics of that? Do you want me to rob a bank?

Maybe I could blame you.

drz = tits

But I am thinking Mx406 + threesixty.1 = mo betta

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/mcprod/shopdisplayproducts.asp?hid=2&id=33&cat=Control+Centers+%26+CD+Changers&prodid=1077&product=MX406

just because I can't run a 3 way active front stage

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

Oh no.... Actually the 406 is the older brother of this clarion.. The DRX and the 406 share design and components.. I think one made both for both companies... Difference here is the DRZ has the crossover and time alignment business and better EQ, etc...

Your "nice deadhead + processor" idea isn't bad though... However, I'd go 3sixty.2 for the TA capability however it's not spectacular ... increments are pretty high.

Also, it's negating the high end dac's in the head unit by converting it BACK to digital, processing then BACK to analog again. With the DRZ it's just pure 96khz / 24bit multiple dacs ONE time out to the amps. And with the price of the 3sixty units, you've already paid for a DRZ.

If you're going external processors.. better off with an Alpine DVD optical out to an H701, my opinion.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Very good point...

I saw the 360.2 in action (via palm pilot) and found it much more user friendly.

Actually....

I am thinking of doing the mp3 --> 3sixty.2 for ultimate stealth. When people walked by, all they would see is the factory HU.

--------------------

On another note, what is a good dead head for simple 3 way active. I am running a prs880 now. I am thinking, I can eek out a little more SQ without the heat buildup of internal amp. (not mention the wires that get in the way)

Sorry for the threadjack

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

I see a lot of refurb 9255's available.. I wonder if anyone has any feedback on them.. good luck or bad?

Sorry.. I've hijacked the thread away from your original question about a CD500.

Rotormotor.. Assuming you're in the US.. The reason for the supply issue is that Nak is no longer sanctioning distribution in the states... All the Nak stuff here now is GRAY market.. imported without warranty.. (I think). I actually emailed them once about finding a dealer... NONE in the US are authorized Nak dealers.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

I thought you could kill the 880 internal amp.. ?????

That's supposed to be a head unit that's hard to beat in it's price-point I thought.

Yep... Page 74.. Setting internal power amp.. Use MULTI-CONTROL to select Internal amp and toggle it on/off.

If you're running ext amps with the internal on, that's hurting your SQ.

Not too many deadheads out these days.. the drz, the p9 pioneer, F1 alpine.. and any slew of DVD combo's running the H701, which isn't really a deadhead but has external processing.

I'm considering a "steath" 3sixty.2 or similar install as well...

Maybe the PXE-H650 tagged off my oem IF alpine ever gets the silly thing to market.

Maybe the JBL MS-8 tagged off my oem IF Harmann ever gets the silly thing to market.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

But again those defy my purist statement above about the extra DADA conversion.

How'd the 3Sixty sound??? I don't read much about how they actually PERFORM.....

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I see a lot of refurb 9255's available.. I wonder if anyone has any feedback on them.. good luck or bad?
Sorry.. I've hijacked the thread away from your original question about a CD500.

Rotormotor.. Assuming you're in the US.. The reason for the supply issue is that Nak is no longer sanctioning distribution in the states... All the Nak stuff here now is GRAY market.. imported without warranty.. (I think). I actually emailed them once about finding a dealer... NONE in the US are authorized Nak dealers.

So...even Don is not authorized? That sounds odd of him to sell stuff on the gray market like that....

I thought you could kill the 880 internal amp.. ????? That's supposed to be a head unit that's hard to beat in it's price-point I thought.

Yep... Page 74.. Setting internal power amp.. Use MULTI-CONTROL to select Internal amp and toggle it on/off.

If you're running ext amps with the internal on, that's hurting your SQ.

Not too many deadheads out these days.. the drz, the p9 pioneer, F1 alpine.. and any slew of DVD combo's running the H701.

I'm considering a "steath" 3sixty.2 or similar install as well...

Maybe the PXE-H650 tagged off my oem IF alpine ever gets the silly thing to market.

Maybe the JBL MS-8 tagged off my oem IF Harmann ever gets the silly thing to market.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

But again those defy my purist statement above about the extra DADA conversion.

How'd the 3Sixty sound??? I don't read much about how they actually PERFORM.....

Considering I would be using an mp3 player as an input device, I already know sound quality will suffer.

It sounds decent. I talked to the guy at USACi finals...it was a red car with lambo doors. Forget the guys name completely....He played rock and roll, but I don't really enjoy that kind of music so it is hard to appreciate the SQ.

 

[Babs 10+ year member]

So...even Don is not authorized? That sounds odd of him to sell stuff on the gray market like that....

.. No insult intended.. I could be wrong.. It's happened on occassion. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif If infact Nak has authorized dealers in the US.. I'd love to know of a few actually. Their amps look interesting.... by gray market I mean basically just sourced outside typical dealer distribution but carrying no manufacturer warranty. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif

 

[rotormotor 10+ year member]

well grey market or not, i just want to get one NEW //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif . its strange to me that these are not available to be BOUGHT in the US and any means to acquire them requires me to jump through stupid hoops to try and source them and void the warranty in the process. if nak. is having hard times, i can certainly understand why. they have no business sense.

so..... anyone have any other suggestions? also, does the cd400 have dimable backlighting with a factory car dimmer like the cd500???

 

[rotormotor 10+ year member]

/\

 

[cougarsd 10+ year member]

you can get Nakamichi CD-300 at:

onlinecarstereo.com $155 shipped

techronics.com $168.35 shipped

I realize you are looking for the CD-500 and it also shows at Techronics at $438.25 shipped, they also have other Nakamichi models

http://www.techronics.com/index.cfm?currentpage=7&fuseaction=category.display&category_id=21&sort=account_name

 

[rotormotor 10+ year member]

thanks for the links.

****Can anyone here tell me about the dimming control with the cd400??? again, cd500/cd700 has it.... but is there a hookup for cd400 so i can dim it with the rest of the factory lighting??? *****

thanks very much guys, i really appreciate your help!!

 

[rotormotor 10+ year member]

up //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif