Nakamichi MB-75

Price Paid:  $530.00 from Hi-Fi Corporation

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2002

Summary:
When I bought my VW Jetta, I was not very happy with the radio/tape player installed. It was only stereo and the VW CD shuttle is very expensive. I decided to buy a new CD/Radio unit to replace the factory unit. I looked at front load CD units, but most look like they came out of the disco era with flasing lights and silver finish. I decided on the Nakamichi because of its clean design and the good reputation of Nakamichi amps. So far I am very happy with the unit. It has all the features you need, plenty room for expansion (plenty inputs) plus superb sound quality. The only draw back was that the backlights (green) did not match my car dashboard lights (red&blue), but I replaced the backlight LEDs. The buttons now have a red colour and the LCD display a light blue.

Strengths:
Sound quality. Simple, clean, black design.

Weaknesses:
A little slow and noisy (only because it is in-dash not hidden in the boot). A little expensive, but worth it.

Similar Products Used:
Alpine Radio/Tape with CD Shuttle (Excellent - Alpine shuttle NEVER skipped in five years) VW Beta Radio/Tape (Disapointing - only stereo, expensive to add CD shuttle)

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have two of these animals in two VW's. Both have superb sound quality, classy very underdtated appearence, which I personaly like, without all current fireworks and jumping fishes you find in other systems. CD player has super sound quality, though cd changing mechanism is both noisy and slow. I also had bad reliability history with the older unit which is made in Japan while the newer one is made in China. Contrlos are rather small and volume control should have been a large rotary knob and not those tiny bars, hardly found. Remote is also useless being funny in shape and cannot be attached to steering.

Strengths:
Super sound, classy look, in unit changer, super idea.

Weaknesses:
Noisy slow cd changer. Not the most reliable also. Knobs tiny hard to find.

Price Paid:  $550.00

Summary:
Sound quality on this unit is excellent. Like many other reviewers I have had to have a second unit installed after issues with the first unit. Hooked up to two amps and a sub it really pumps. It plays CD-R okay from my experience but seems to have issues with long CD's (those over 70 mins). If you are looking for a good unit that will give you great sound reproduction in your vehicle then this would have to be one of the best. Having the 6 disc changer in the dash is really handy, and though it is slow to change discs, it is not unbearable. This unit is designed for people who want sound, not a light show on the dash.

Strengths:
Six disc changer in dash is very useful. Sound quality is superb.

Weaknesses:
Has trouble with long discs, both units I've had will read them intermittently, and seem most happy to read these discs when the unit is warm. Making a CD-R of the same disc but deleting some of the tracks seems to solve the problem. No dimmer control on the display.

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood, Sony, Alpine

Summary:
As others have described, this unit is very sensitive to how it is installed. If not done correctly it WILL jam up. I had to go back to the installer twice before they got it in right and even then they had to stick in a new unit 'cause they couldn't get my CD's out. It is an awesome unit though. The ability to load 6 discs in the unit is better than sliced bread. Sleek, no frills. I want to listen to music not watch a side-show. It's got plenty of power for 4 speakers though I am putting in an amp to power a sub. If you're looking for flash and a cheap unit don't even consider this one.

Strengths:
FM sensitivity (One of the main reasons I bought it)
6 disc capacity
Sleek appearance
Sound quality
Doesn't skip, even with CD-R's. You'd have to give it a Bruce Lee kick to get it to skip.
Plays CD-R's. The manual says it won't but it does. Wouldn't have bought it if it wouldn't. A Nak rep recommended recording at 1x speed but I play CD-R's recorded at 4x.

Weaknesses:
Can't random play with one disc.
Kinda slow in changing disc's.
Volume controls are buttons instead of a knob
It'd be nice to tone down the brightness of the display

Similar Products Used:
Was an MD freak before so nothing compares to CD quality.

Price Paid:  $550.00

Summary:
I looked long and hard before choosing a replacement for the stock unit in my Cougar. Besides the convenience being able to load 6 disc's in the dash I also chose this unit for it's FM sensitivity. I live 50 miles from Richmond and 50 miles from DC and all I could get with the stock unit is local crap.
The MB-75 is sleek and no frills. I used to live in Japan where all this disco light front panel crap originated and hated it. I want to listen to music not see a side-show. So if you're looking for a multi-colored light display don't buy this unit. If you're serious about sound quality then yes, buy this unit.
Now I have had some problems. I got my first unit installed two days ago. Radio was fine. I received stations half again as far as my stock radio. At 15db you gotta be able to pull in some distant stations. Then I kept getting the E-MECHA error when switching discs. By the time I got home from the installer the unit was completely jammed. I tried all the fixes, nothing worked. Next morning it worked just fine but jammed 3 more times later in the day so I went back to the installer. They couldn't get my disc's out so they installed another unit. On this one the CD's work fine but now my reception is crap. Yep, going back tomorrow.

Strengths:
6 disc's in dash
FM Reception
Sleek design
No need for amp

Weaknesses:
As mentioned before: Slow disc change. Noisy disc change. No choice for random play (selects from all the discs). Must be installed specifically by the flyer in the box. CANNOT have any pressure exerted on the unit. chassis.

Similar Products Used:
None. Used to be and MD freak