Nakamichi CD-45Z Car CD Player
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- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: CD Changer
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Understatement: It's good.
Pros
In a word: elegant. Has the sound quality of units twice as expensive.
Cons
Not many features, perhaps annoying to access what is there.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
To reject this, you need to be two things: comfortable sacrificing a few century notes for equivalent sound quality, and compelled to impress your friends with the glitziest possessions.
If you don't know much about the Nakamichi CD-45z yet, you should at least know that it has a 20 bit DAC with 8x oversampling, has input/output options beyond what I can figure out what to do with, yet maintains a simple look. The most amazing thing about this unit is its price: even at its MSRP in the $500 bracket, it favorably competes with those that MSRP in the $700 range. But you probably already knew that.
Here's why it favorably competes: the sound quality is there (function), and it in no way resembles a video game machine (form).
The former argument, I believe, will be sustained with a fairly cursory internet search. To add my own two cents, upgrading from a Clarion DRX6675z ("ProAudio" model) to the Nakamichi CD-45z--with midline MB Quart DSD-216 separates in common between the two--contrasted like listening to good speakers and then good headphones. I found myself enjoying the entire range of a Hovanhess orchestral album without having to occasionally adjust the volume to clearly enjoy the music. I am moreover pleased because with the Clarion, the MB Quart tweeters were overly bright even with treble down; now, with similar treble adjustments in the Nakamichi, I do not notice my tweeters unless I specifically listen for them.
The latter argument--that the simplistic approach Nakamichi takes is better--is purely opinion. Well, okay, not entirely: if the sound quality isn't there in the first place, I am not convinced that processing it further will help any, ergo five different 'Loudness' settings are undesirable; screen savers and motorized face plates are both units of additional cost as well as additional points to break, so minimizing unnecessary "features" is, itself, a feature. Another consideration that may not enter into your equation is that I want to minimize the risk of theft, and so if my CD player looks like a plain, minimal replacement for the stock tape deck so much the better; while I may not want to impress thieves, you may value impressing friends with neat tricks, so do as you will. (For what it's worth, I impress my friends by telling them it's a Nakamichi deck. Oh, you haven't heard of Nakamichi? Well, let me tell you...)
There are a few downsides to the CD-45z, however. The first is that, in the name of simplicity, all of the buttons are similarly designed, although in varying sizes. After owning the deck for a few weeks, I find myself fluent in its operation, but there was a bit of a learning curve. Additionally, there is a single button to access the bass-mid-treble-balance-fader adjustments, which can lead to a bit of awkwardness if one attempts to fine tune while driving. One thing that struck me is that the display is always on the same way--black letters on an amber display as can be optioned, although black-on-green is typical of the deck--not changing with head light use, but I have found the display clear in direct sunlight and not at all bright at night. Notably, there are a ton of cords hanging out the back of this unit, which forced me to modify the internals of my car--no big sacrifice. Lastly, the optical CD reader needs to warm up before dealing with subpar discs, including both scratched CDs and all CD-Rs I have encountered: an old Metallica album, scratched as Metallica albums are wont to be, was nearly discarded due to my computer's (recently purchased) CD-ROM drive failing to play it without skipping, plays fine in the 45z if it has warmed up for an hour or so; likewise with CD-Rs, the deck is obviously befuddled and refuses to function unless I massage it with a commercially printed disc for a while. It may work fine after warming up simply listening to the radio; I have not attempted this, however.
I purchased this deck to be the end-all of my car audio system. There are better units out there--Nakamichi's own CD-700 comes to mind--but this is as good as I need, and considerably cheaper than others which met my sound quality requirements. With it, I am pleased. If you have any particular questions, feel free to drop me a note, but don't expect any negative comments from this happy consumer.
Here's why it favorably competes: the sound quality is there (function), and it in no way resembles a video game machine (form).
The former argument, I believe, will be sustained with a fairly cursory internet search. To add my own two cents, upgrading from a Clarion DRX6675z ("ProAudio" model) to the Nakamichi CD-45z--with midline MB Quart DSD-216 separates in common between the two--contrasted like listening to good speakers and then good headphones. I found myself enjoying the entire range of a Hovanhess orchestral album without having to occasionally adjust the volume to clearly enjoy the music. I am moreover pleased because with the Clarion, the MB Quart tweeters were overly bright even with treble down; now, with similar treble adjustments in the Nakamichi, I do not notice my tweeters unless I specifically listen for them.
The latter argument--that the simplistic approach Nakamichi takes is better--is purely opinion. Well, okay, not entirely: if the sound quality isn't there in the first place, I am not convinced that processing it further will help any, ergo five different 'Loudness' settings are undesirable; screen savers and motorized face plates are both units of additional cost as well as additional points to break, so minimizing unnecessary "features" is, itself, a feature. Another consideration that may not enter into your equation is that I want to minimize the risk of theft, and so if my CD player looks like a plain, minimal replacement for the stock tape deck so much the better; while I may not want to impress thieves, you may value impressing friends with neat tricks, so do as you will. (For what it's worth, I impress my friends by telling them it's a Nakamichi deck. Oh, you haven't heard of Nakamichi? Well, let me tell you...)
There are a few downsides to the CD-45z, however. The first is that, in the name of simplicity, all of the buttons are similarly designed, although in varying sizes. After owning the deck for a few weeks, I find myself fluent in its operation, but there was a bit of a learning curve. Additionally, there is a single button to access the bass-mid-treble-balance-fader adjustments, which can lead to a bit of awkwardness if one attempts to fine tune while driving. One thing that struck me is that the display is always on the same way--black letters on an amber display as can be optioned, although black-on-green is typical of the deck--not changing with head light use, but I have found the display clear in direct sunlight and not at all bright at night. Notably, there are a ton of cords hanging out the back of this unit, which forced me to modify the internals of my car--no big sacrifice. Lastly, the optical CD reader needs to warm up before dealing with subpar discs, including both scratched CDs and all CD-Rs I have encountered: an old Metallica album, scratched as Metallica albums are wont to be, was nearly discarded due to my computer's (recently purchased) CD-ROM drive failing to play it without skipping, plays fine in the 45z if it has warmed up for an hour or so; likewise with CD-Rs, the deck is obviously befuddled and refuses to function unless I massage it with a commercially printed disc for a while. It may work fine after warming up simply listening to the radio; I have not attempted this, however.
I purchased this deck to be the end-all of my car audio system. There are better units out there--Nakamichi's own CD-700 comes to mind--but this is as good as I need, and considerably cheaper than others which met my sound quality requirements. With it, I am pleased. If you have any particular questions, feel free to drop me a note, but don't expect any negative comments from this happy consumer.
