new head unit

[placey]

those that know me will know by now that my photography is rubbish - but i did bother to take some pictures anyway.

the old alpine is now at home:


and replaced by:


first impressions are that the nakamichi sounds very much clearer, especially at high volumes. it will not play computer recorded cds however, so for this reason it might have to go. seeing as i use a confuser to record mixes for the car i'll put some time in trying to find cds that i can record with that it will play, otherwise anyone fancy a nakamichi?

the alpine is a 9813r with 3 4v pre-outs. i bought it new for 400 and it's totally unmarked as new with boxing, instructions, remote etc. twi66y has first dibs.

paul

[Jon_Bmw]

Placey is this the head unit that looks so underated but is actually amazing. Is this the one that has a hard disk and other cool little functions. I remember this being sold for £600+ a few years back if its the one i think it is. Very nice

[placey]

twi66y - it works perfectly. i've never used the internal amp it's always been switched off. if you find it doesn't work and you haven't blown it by wiring it incorrectly i'll give you your money back. i look after my things and this head unit is no exception.

jon_bmw - no hard disk or anything like that with the nakamichi. there's very little functionality at all in fact - it just plays cds and the radio and does it very well indeed. proper audiophile unit and that's why i wanted one. the alpine is great but all i ever did was turn it on and adjust the volume - i kept the display and internal amp and graphic etc all switched off - so the nakamichi suits me a lot better. i've just got to overcome its inability to play computer disks - that's where the alpine is great it plays anything that is fed to it. i figure i'll try using a recordable audio cd and see if the nakamichi plays that.

paul

[TW166Y]

the internal amp powers the 4x chanel for speakers mate... if this is fooked then the speakers dont perform propperly. they sound muffled a bit anyway ive pm'd you dude and await your response

[placey]

i've never used the internal amp - i have other amps in the boot, hence it has always been switched off.

paul

[placey]

good news if you are considering a nakamichi - it will play computer recorded disks so long as 'audio' cd blanks are used. they work out at around 9 quid for 10 disks so not the cheapest by any means but since when was high quality cheap?

paul

[TW166Y]

you have pm mate

[placey]

this nakamichi cd400 - i've had it a good few weeks now and all the comments i've made above stand - when it plays it sounds truly amazing. but - it will not pick up from where it left off after i switch it off. seeing as i listen to my mix cds that are an hour or so long this is really frustrating. turn the unit off for any reason and i have to eject the disk and start playing from the start.

it gets hot too - worryingly hot.

my ice guru (ant) warned me about nakamichi head units when i bought my alpine - he said that reliability and build quality weren't all that. i seem to proving him right (again)

having searched the internet i'm not the only owner to have come up against issues such as these. a couple of forum posts indicated that these things get hot and just die! so be warned - nakamichi head units appear to sound great when working but are variable in quality. the internet says so and so does my experience.

nakamichi cd400 anyone?

recommendations for replacement? i'm after clean/non-clipped high voltage pre-out signals from a unit that will play computer recorded disks. no other features necessary or required. (ok i need a volume control too and forward track skip maybe but that really is it)

paul

[Jhonno]

that is odd that it doesnt pick up from where it was turned off!!


the heat issue sounds worrying also

Top end Kenwoods are normally excellent also