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Old 05-26-2005, 05:08 PM   #1
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Nakamichi CD player upgrade.....

Aloha all,
I've been thinking about upgrading my stereo system a bit in my '98, have an installer out here who has speakers which will fit the stock dash and door panel speakers (MB Quart RCE 210 in the dash, and Focal 5WS for the doors), but I am having a ******************** of a time finding the Nakamichi CD400 CD Receiver anywhere.....Tried online at 3 places, 2 are out of stock, and the 3rd has a month or 2 back order wait....Any ideas where I can find one of these babies? The Nak is supposed to have great sound and a very nice old school faceplate which would go great with the Porsche interior.....I hate those decks that look like a carnival ....

Lou

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1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced
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Old 05-26-2005, 11:25 PM   #2
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I had a CD-400 in my Eclipse. It broke after a few months--started playing very erratically.

I had been warned by my friends that Nakamichis are fragile, that they are known to break. But I figured that after the reorganization of the company, maybe they'd learned their lessons. So I never had a CD-45z but when the CD-400 was released I was all excited and bought it. I like the look of the Nakamichis a lot.

The real kicker with Nakamichi is that if you don't buy through one of their authorized dealers, they won't take the unit for warranty service. I had to try to track down the eBay seller that sold it to me and get warranty service through him.

So, personally, I would recommend against Nakamichi. I doubt they'd hold up well in any sports car.
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Old 05-27-2005, 05:55 AM   #3
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Talking

The NAKS are very un Japanese in nature. Erratic but nice sound.

I would stay away myself.
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Old 05-27-2005, 05:26 PM   #4
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Hmmm....

Looks like reliability might be a problem then....Really don't want to go down that road ......Heard lots of good things about the sound quality tho. Did find someone selling the CD400, but they are NOT an authorized dealer, so I think I may look at Alpine....Have had good luck with them in the past, and not TOO flashy either...

Go in Monday for an overall look at the speaker options and sizes, looks like Focal or MB Quart will be the best options....

Thanks for the advice!

Lou
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1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced
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Old 05-27-2005, 06:28 PM   #5
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Best of luck, keep us posted on what you do!!!!!\\

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Old 05-27-2005, 06:54 PM   #6
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I don't get the Nakamichi love. Most all CD players now have good A/D converters and great s/n ratio. You'd be hard pressed to hear the difference, especially in a convertible. I wouldn't waste my money on a headunit over $500. I think Blaupunkt has some old skool looking headunits.

Speakers are the most important thing. Second in line is amplifier. BTW, have you listened to MB Quart? Their highs are very harsh sounding to me. I actually prefer the mid-line JL Audio components with the silk tweets.


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Old 05-27-2005, 07:24 PM   #7
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I'll update....

in the near future for sure
Going in Monday to look over the options, I believe they carry JL products as well, so I'll take a look at those too Lux....I did have MB Quart tweeters before actually, they are quite up there as far as high frequencies go, will definitely check everything out.....

Never heard the Focal before, but they seem to be rated highly as well...Heres a link to the setup I saw which motivated me to look at the Nak and Focal speakers...

http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/installations.htm

You have to click on the column on the left which says "Installations in Porsche" , and then click on the 2000 Boxster S to see it.....

Lou
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1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced
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Old 06-02-2005, 10:23 AM   #8
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Purchase update....

Well, I took the plunge and decided on some speakers and amp the other day....I decided on the Focal 4" component speakers for the dash, Focal 5WS 5 3/8" subs for the door speakers(just like the 2000 Box in the previous link), an Audison 4 channel amp, and......I was able to find an authorized Nakamichi dealer on the mainland who got me a CD400.....I wouldn't have ordered it if I couldn't get it backed up with a warranty! So things are moving along, and should be installing it next week

French speakers, Italian amp, Japanese head unit....in a German car! International to say the least!


Lou
__________________
1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced
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Old 06-02-2005, 10:26 AM   #9
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Oh you bought it anyways? Good luck with that! I have one sitting around my garage in the junk pile. Let me know if you need spare parts!
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Old 06-02-2005, 11:50 AM   #10
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Yeah eslai, I feel as tho there have been some issues with them in the past, skipping tracks, don't like to play CDR's, sensitive to extreme temps......but some people have had good luck with them as well....Hopefully I'll be one of the luckier ones! The dealer I went thru backs them up, and I feel I can trust him as well.....The raves about the sound quality and looks sold me too......

Thanks for the parts offer! Hopefully I won't need them tho

Lou
__________________
1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced

Last edited by bigislandboxster; 06-02-2005 at 11:52 AM.
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Old 06-02-2005, 12:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigislandboxster
Yeah eslai, I feel as tho there have been some issues with them in the past, skipping tracks, don't like to play CDR's, sensitive to extreme temps......but some people have had good luck with them as well....Hopefully I'll be one of the luckier ones! The dealer I went thru backs them up, and I feel I can trust him as well.....The raves about the sound quality and looks sold me too......

Thanks for the parts offer! Hopefully I won't need them tho

Lou
Just make sure you can RETURN it if there's a problem. Just because they warrant it doesn't mean it will stand the test of time, y'know what I mean? Return it at the first sign of any problems!
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Old 06-02-2005, 01:23 PM   #12
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Just make sure you can RETURN it if there's a problem. Just because they warrant it doesn't mean it will stand the test of time, y'know what I mean? Return it at the first sign of any problems!

I know EXACTLY what you mean! He has assured me that they will handle all returns if needed! I discussed with him Naks reliability, and he says they have had some issues, but generally in the past, not so much in recent times....

Thanks for the concern,
Lou
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1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced
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Old 06-02-2005, 02:54 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigislandboxster
Well, I took the plunge and decided on some speakers and amp the other day....I decided on the Focal 4" component speakers for the dash, Focal 5WS 5 3/8" subs for the door speakers(just like the 2000 Box in the previous link), an Audison 4 channel amp, and......I was able to find an authorized Nakamichi dealer on the mainland who got me a CD400.....I wouldn't have ordered it if I couldn't get it backed up with a warranty! So things are moving along, and should be installing it next week

French speakers, Italian amp, Japanese head unit....in a German car! International to say the least!


Lou
I have heard some great things about the Audison 4 channel amp; after the install you have to give us your impression on the sound, like at 70-80 MPH......
just kidding.

Mike
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Old 07-02-2005, 05:50 PM   #14
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Well, a little update.....Its been a lot longer because some stuff was backordered, and I was missing a few smaller items as well......This was the first time I ever installed on any car, and I have to tip my hat to Rod Birch at Car Audio Innovations in California .....He gave me pretty detailed instructions on how to do this, and it helped a lot. Thanks bud!

I wanted to keep things pretty stealthy.....The speakers in the doors were the 5 3/8" Focal subs, they were a tight fit, and I had to trim a little of the plastic surround on the door to fit the metal frame supporting the speakers, but other than that, pretty easy. Same went for the dash speakers, although I had Rod premount these as they needed a little customizing to get them to fit in the existing mounts. The stock Boxster grilles were used so things remain stock looking(tho not sounding!) Focal Polyglass 2 way components there 4" bass/mid and 1" tweeter.....These babies sound sweet! They handle the power well also....

The Nakamichi CD400 looks sweet in the dash, very understated by todays standards. Very user friendly too, I had it figured out real quick...Not too many buttons to use, very simplified. Controls for bass, mid, treble, AND subs, I really like the sound on CD with this deck. A nice option on this deck is the ability to turn on or off the 47 w x 4 power from the head unit....The head unit was easy to install. A shot of it is in the first pic.....

The Audison SRX4 amp puts out 60w x 4 in a 4ohm setup, with options for a 2 or 3 channel system.....I went with the 4 channel of course, low bypasses in the doors for the subs, full sound in the dash speaks. A pic of it is below before I ran the pre outs from the head unit under the carpet....All that is needed is a surround with cutouts for the wires leading from the amp, and a top with hinges to close up the amp area so I can still use it to put stuff in .....and a little grey carpet, and voila!

All in all it was a learning experience for sure!

__________________
1998 Guards Red Black/Black 5 sp.

Work done '06 :Replaced bad hose and clamps from reservoir tank
oil change and filter
replaced seals on both cam covers
brakes bled and refilled
Replaced bent rear right lower control arm
Front air dams and 3 underbody panels replaced
Halogen headlamps replaced

Last edited by bigislandboxster; 07-02-2005 at 06:52 PM.
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