bpjadhav

Guys,
I'm toying with the idea of changing my head unit, I've finally run out of patience trying to coax and cajole the stock head unit to play burnt CDs. I've narrowed it down to 2 players - both are slightly under $200.00 on e-bay. I can spend upto 300 bucks but I liked these two:

Kenwood Excelon KDC X791

and

Nakamichi CD-300

The Kenwood has more functionality than the Nakamichi, but I've heard really good things about Nakamichi. I'm not an audiophile and am unaware of the finer points of the technical details to look for while selecting a head unit. What are your opinions about these? I don't want anything flashy. Suggestions?
Thanks!

bpjadhav

Ooop... sorry. I didn't mean to post this under Problems and Fixes.
Can one of the mods please move this thread?

Ken1997TL

Thread moved.

Both are nice headunits from what i can tell. I've had good experiences with both brands, so its just a matter of preference.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

I would get the Nac myself.....good stuff there!

TLBaller

if you can get the nak for under 200, i say go for it. its usually not that cheap. Kenwood, I could care less for simply b/c it looks pretty ugly lol Definately the nakamichi is less flashy as opposed to kenwood but nakamichi is a rare product that not many distributors carry.

bpjadhav

Thanks for your input guys. I've decided that I'll go with the Nakamichi receiver.
What is your opinion about these Nakamichi Speakers ?

Are they easy to install? Will these be better than the stock speakers? Are there any tradeoffs involved? If I purchase them, I won't be installing them myself - probably take them to a car audio place.

Any feedback/suggestions are sincerely appreciated.
Thanks!

sushimaster

TLBaller, have you gotten your Nak deck yet ?

Mandy

Nak, all the way!

TLBaller

I can't afford a nak! Actually I could but Im already running a alpine deck. its an old model, cda 9835, but it does its job.

On a side note, youre not interested in any aftermarket parts for the TL, are you? I'm not parting it out now but would like to sometime in the future. it'd be nice to sell it locally

TLBaller

The auction ended but those are nice speakers. See if you can spot some nakamichi components. If not, you can also look into diamond audio hex, focal, or rainbow for some superb crisp sounds.

sushimaster

Not really. I'd like to help youout, but the only mods I have planned in the future for my fiance's TL, are new HID's, new shocks and new tires. I just bought a new car and I'm saving up my money to mod the hell out of it instead. We should meet up sometime. I'm curious to see what your TL looks like and see what mods you have on it.

bpjadhav

Thanks for the input TLBaller,
I've ordered the Nakamichi CD300 receiver. I'll just change the receiver for now and then consider the speakers if I'm unhappy with the setup.

sushimaster

Here's an interesting read about the current state of Nakamichi.

Evidently the head guy, Niro Nakamichi, left and started his own company. Nakamichi went into bankruptcy and was later bought up by a company based in Hong Kong. Although it is still allowed to run with most of the original management and design teams.

On the Honda S2000 board, one member reported that his Nakamichi CD400 headunit was manufactured in Malaysia.

bpjadhav, when you get your Nakamichi CD300 HU, please let us know where it is manufactured.

bpjadhav

I received the HU yesterday. The HU was manufactured in China in October 2004.

TLBaller

Just look out for a black TL with a kit (no front lip though) in the SW area