# Nakamichi CD-300



## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

Well, I thought I'd post up a bit of something since I got the Nakamichi CD-300 off one of the "Hot Deals" threads. I'd post pictures, but I'm tech challenged right now and having to deal with the gov't blocking all picture hosting sites. Here's a couple of links for pictures specs and prices:

http://www.nakamichi.com/pfv/ICE/CDPlayer/CD300.htm
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=15580
http://www.millionbuy.com/nakcd300.html

The car it went into is a 1999 Mazda Miata with a factory Bose system. I pulled out all the Bose crap. In its place went this HU, a Blaupunkt VA2100, and a set of Focal Access 165 A1's w/ passive crossover. The goal of the car was decent sound that could play music for my bro and sis-in-law that have no concern for anything other than decent music that can be turned up with the top down. This HU seemed to be an appropriate fit for this project. 

Hopefully, you can see the specs easy enough. This is a pretty simple head unit. It seems to be one of those that just functions. I don't consider myself very qualified to speak to the music quality except to say tht it sounds fine even with the top down. It's definitely not perfect, but it is a step up from the factory system. I had to set the tweeters at -6db on the passive xover just to save my ears from as y'all say, being fatigued, within about 5 minutes. 

So, beyond "this works if you're on a budget and want a factory look", here's comments i wanted to share... 
-- There are *two versions of the CD-300*... with RDS, and without RDS. Onlinecarstereo.com is $155 shipped (w/o RDS version), while millionbuy/com has the RDS for $169.95. Personally, I would've paid the extra $15 for it if i'd known there were two versions. 
-- There is no way to change the *illumination* at all. You get red/blue at a constant brightness and that's it. There's no dimming when you turn the headlights on, nothing. After being around it at all hours, I'm ok with it though. It's not too in your face, even for a car with factory green illumination for all the dash lights.
-- I bought this for a factory look. A *removable face* forces the HU to stick out another half to three quarters of an inch. I'm not a fan, as I've never removed the face in the first place, but I guess it's just something to deal with. The wasn't enough room in the vehicle to find a way to flucsh mount it either. (I looked)
-- The *tolerances *on the way the faceplate attaches allows it to move in and out when pressed on. It's not much, but it's enough to be pretty annoying considering the volume knob must be pressed to get to the various menu items (balance, fade, etc.) That makes things move more than they should and it just doesn't feel solid like that. If I could fix one thing with this HU, this would be it. 
-- I like the mute button. very handy. 
-- This has several *DSP modes *that I choose not to use, but I find it interesting that when one of these is chosen, you lose the option of adjusting bass and treble (yes, this unit only has bass and treble). 
-- There are *2 seek modes*. You press and hold the Tune buttons for a moment and it triggers the seek. You can choose one of two methods of seeking. SEEK1 goes to the next station it finds. SEEK2 doesn't look for the next station until you release the seek button. This would be handy in a signal rich environment and you want to cover some RF ground. The only problem is this thing seeks at lightspeed. If you hold the button for more than half a second after it starts seeking, then you've no joke covered more than half the FM range... SEEK2, though potentially useful, is useless due to the speed it searches. 
-- There are *2 volume modes*. When you turn off the unit, the HU will either return to the same volume it was at when turned off or you can set a preset volume for the unit to always turn on at. This worked very well for me since I tend to listen to music loud then just turn it off as I jump out of the car. The volume goes from 0 - 47. 
-- The unit can beep when you press buttons or the beep can be turned off. I've never heard the beep whther it was turned on or off...
-- *CD Play *-- I couldn't support this unit from the rear due to the mounting kit moving things around too much (there's not much room in a miata), but it actually doens't skip much. Sure, when i hit a good bump it'll pause momentarily, but it isn't enough to be a nuisance. I can go over some pretty rough railroad track with no issues, but hitting a bumpy manhole cover can jar it just enough.
-- *MP3 Play *-- sadly, I haven't tried yet. I'll be trying that today and edit this to let you know if there are any issues since people have been worried. 

I'll also post pictures this evening of what it looks like installed. 
Overall, so far I'm pleased. It's a simple HU that is well thought out. all the controls are very intuitive. If you just want a simple, factory look for you or someone that doens't care about 24bit D/A converters (This one only has 1bit) then i'd definitely pick this unit up (with RDS).


feel free to critique my review and ask questions i haven't answered... I'd like to become a more contributing member, so i'll definitely take any suggestions to improve. thanks.


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## 300Z (Mar 20, 2005)

Good review man. I just have one question and a request...  
Do you know what's the pre-out voltage?
Any chance you could take a angle picture showing how much the faceplate sticks out?

Thanks.

Leo


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

does the unit come with a remote?

is it compatible with a remote?


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

I'll load up the pictures this evening and see if i can get some pre-out readings on the DMM. The specs don't list the output. 

There is no remote. I highly doubt this unit is compatible, but i'll double check for an IR sensor and check the manual just in case.


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

Here are a few pictures. Sorry for the quality. I tried to measure how much the faceplate sticks out in front, and I think I measuresd around 5/8" but, for this car at least, i don't have a problem with it. It's definitely less than 3/4", but easily ½", so somewhere in there. mp3 playing coming up shortly.


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## 300Z (Mar 20, 2005)

Thanks a lot for the pics man. Unfortunately that thing sticks out way too much for my application. Damn it.   
Guess I'll just have to settle for one of the JVC Arsenal units which is probably a better route anyway giving me a little more flexibility.


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

i know what you mean.. i was kinda pissed when i saw it at first too, but honestly it doesn't really make a difference. I'm not trying to get you to buy this one or anything, just letting you know. I don't even notice it sticking out at all really at this point. good luck with your project though.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

why didnt you just remount the radio deeper in the dash? If you arent able to, thats a car problem, not a radio problem.

This actually works better than the older radios for two reasons. the old radios trim was oversized, leaving a gappy radio faceplate. not attractive! The second problem was a textured and off color face that didnt match a dashboard in contour nor color. This is flat and dark black, easily matching most OEM dashboards.

Just takes some work to sit flush.

This is the #1 reason to buy a new nak rather than old, in my opinion.

I'll bet you can get that sucker flat!


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

As much as I wish I could, I'm not sure it's possible in this application. I tried to think of ways to mount the nak to the metra install kit to make it more flush, but struck a blank for what I am capable of acheiving. Also, the miata has everything packed in pretty tight. There is max about a half inch behind the HU before I hit the metal bracing. Granted, pushing the unit all the way back to that would definitely seat it much closer to flush, it just eludes me how to accomplish this. If you have any ideas, i'm definitely up for them! 

Ahh yes, the nak does do nicely in that the trim ring comes out to cover the entire faceplate, where often the trim ring only conceals the line between the unit and removeable faceplate on other aftermarket HU's. I have to say I like that difference.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

These problems were touted as nak problems, but they are install problems. People are just looking for reasons to "hate on" Nakamichi, and care should be taken to avoid undue disaproval from armchair installers. Their radios are not perfect, but they should be exposed for real problems, not supposed ones.

This tool will cost you less than $10 and allow you to push the radio as far back as is physically possible.

http://www.provantage.com/CBTG05L.GIF


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

I agree with you 100%. I had no idea it could be installed any other way than how the kit was supplied. I don't have a problem with the way it ended up, but people always find reason to dislike something. I was trying to just state how mine ended up. If there's a way to flush mount this thing, i'm defintiely all for trying it. Can you give me a link to that tool besides just the picture or the name of the tool? I'd love to see what I can do... 

I love learning new stuff, this is exactly why i joined this site.


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## khail19 (Oct 27, 2006)

AUr6 said:


> Can you give me a link to that tool besides just the picture or the name of the tool? I'd love to see what I can do...


I've seen it called a sheet metal nibbler, they usually have them at Radio Shack.


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

khail19 said:


> I've seen it called a sheet metal nibbler, they usually have them at Radio Shack.



Thanks!! Found it!
http://www.provantage.com/cables-go-29524~7CBTG05L.htm


Only problem is i'm not creative enough to have any idea how to use this to get this thing flush mounted...  I swear i'm not tryin gto be a dick or anything, i just have no vision for how to accomplish the flush mount idea... Seriously, I'd love to find a way to flushmount this HU. That would make it so much better looking, even though I'm fine the way it is, but i'm willing to put the extra effort to accomplish this. I just don't have any experience in how to do this modification.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

the only problem is, if you nib it out then you are shot at installing a "normal" unit. And with problems nak has with reliability....... I dunno


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## kknack (May 21, 2007)

I think I would consider an as-designed protrusion like that as an aesthetic "flaw" so to speak. It looks like the trim ring forces it to stick out that way in any standard DIN install, which I agree seems pretty excessive, at least with the boxy shape to it. It's probably less noticeable on other HUs due to angled trim rings and rounded faceplates. I hate how far my D310 sticks out but its truly impossible for me to flush mount it w/o fabricating completely new air ducting.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

the nibbler is used to move the ISO mounting holes on the OEM mounting plate.

To call that protrusion Nakamichi's fault makes as much sense as blaming the car manufacturer, kknack!

Or you can blame the dashkit manufactuer for not keeping nak in mind when designing kits!

nibble the OEM isomount plate, the OEM radio still fits. Any will, actually.
nibble the dashkit or otherwise modify it to hold the nak, its only $15.
nibble the nakamichi cage or modify so it sits deeper, its just a cage, easily available.

I understand everyone here realizes that there is no such thing as "universal" when it comes to cars! so when the radio doesnt sit flush, make it!

'Cause a flat faced radio that sits flush is WAY more attractive than a round radio that never will!
http://semi.noobing.com/DSC00874.jpg


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

so I was playing around today and threw this together in about 30 minutes. (getting it into the dash took a little longer but assembling the whole console took 30).

Note that even though the dashkit is broken (I cut it and sanded it three years ago and its been collecting dust since I never throw anything away) it's still better than having the radio stick out a mile.

my dash can use the isomount system to hold the radio. I literally nibbled the existing holes wider to put them where I wanted them. This allowed me incredible freedom of movement to line up the radio any way I wanted.

all I have to do at this point is buy a new 2-din dashkit and pop it in, and this is finished.

http://semi.noobing.com/Dash1.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash2.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash3.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash4.JPG

And this is something you can more easily do with your CD-300 than I did with my MB-100


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Whiterabbit said:


> so I was playing around today and threw this together in about 30 minutes. (getting it into the dash took a little longer but assembling the whole console took 30).
> 
> Note that even though the dashkit is broken (I cut it and sanded it three years ago and its been collecting dust since I never throw anything away) it's still better than having the radio stick out a mile.
> 
> ...


Which civic is that? it looks like we use the same dash kit. I take it you re drilled the stock mounting to ISO mount yours? (the only way to go IMHO!)



















Chad


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

Certainly no offense to you whiterabbit, I enjoy the possibilities you've opened my eyes to, but i still have no visual concept in my head of how to achieve a flush mounted nak. I realize now I could nibble the rear support column to extend the hole so that the nak can be rear supported finally (The dash kit moved the nak down just enough so I can't use the stock rear support hole). 

I don't really see a problem with moving things so that the nak can slide deeper into the dash kit. The problem comes from figuring out how to secure the cage to the dash kit once it's positioned deeper... I just can't picture a way to mount it deeper and still have it secured in the dash somehow... I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm sure it can. I just can't see it right now. 

Edit: Wait, ISO mounting? am I missing something here? is ISO mounting the way the stock stereo was mounted and the kit provides for something other than ISO? Ugh, i'm such a noob sometimes... 

This standard installation works just fine. The unit sticks out just like any other removable faceplate aftermarket HU does. No big deal really. I may still get a nibbler just so I can give this unit some rear support. No power tools will get back there without removnig the whole dash...


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

AUr6 said:


> Edit: Wait, ISO mounting? am I missing something here? is ISO mounting the way the stock stereo was mounted and the kit provides for something other than ISO? Ugh, i'm such a noob sometimes...
> 
> This standard installation works just fine. The unit sticks out just like any other removable faceplate aftermarket HU does. No big deal really. I may still get a nibbler just so I can give this unit some rear support. No power tools will get back there without removnig the whole dash...


Throw away the ghey cage, put the stereo in and mount it up like the stock one. 

In the pics above..... mine is reemovable AND motorized flip down!

Now.... My stock mounting rails would not make it look right, I carefully taped it in, measured and marked new holes in the stock suport, then pulled it out, re-measured, re marked and repeated till I was blue in the face. After I was certain I had it the way I wanted it was off to the drill press and I SCREWED the radio in *not flipped tabs up*. That ****er ain't going nowhere!


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

ok, get rid of cage. Got it... ony problem is this HU is pretty much suspended in space with no real support anywhere nearby to attach anything to except the dash kit... anything else (once again) requires removing the entire dash. Sadly, I can't view your pics until i get home tonight (photobucket blocked by gov't), and i'll look at everything again and see if an idea pops into my head. I still have one more door to deaden too...

I really do appreciate the spoon feeding on this one guys. thanks.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

How does the stock radio attach in there? Are there screws on the side of it?


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

the stock unit is held in by spring retainer clips that brace against the front of the console. It's the same way male/female connectors clip in to each other in any auto application. You use the U-shaped metal rod on either side to release the springs and remove the stock unit. Then the rear is supported by a rubber bushing that sits in the oval hole in the dash bracing... Other than that, just open air all around for a few inches. The dash kit adds a pocket where the 2nd DIN would be if it existed, and that provides support from the bottom for the nak. 

Ah ha! pictures found... this is the factory radio. 









sorry for the size of the pic, but hopefully you can see the retainer clips on the side of the stock radio (not the exact same radio, but clips are the same)...









this is the empty hole I have to work with... the spring retainers held on to the sides you see here (It's covered by a trim ring when everything is put back together.) The metal you see on the left and right sides actually has a couple of inches between it an dthe radio when installed, and i can't get to it at all without removing the entire dash...


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, I'm speechless, that really sucks!

The only thing I can thik to do is to fab up a custom "pod" that snaps in like the stock unit and houses the new unit. I would start with going to a junkyard and getting 2 stock units to hack up because you will jack one up, it's murphy's law.

On the way home get a bottle of burbon, put everything on the bench and just stare at it till your head is humming from the burbon. I'm certain you will come up with an idea 

I did that with my caddy back a long time ago, it had a shaft style radio that held the dash facia on! I ended up hacking up a stock one (radio) fabbing up a "cage" to ISO mount it inside the stock housing. It sucked. But with a little liquid courage and persistance, anything is possible


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## durwood (Mar 7, 2007)

Damn I'm racking my brain to help you here. The bottom part is easy. They make universal pockets that snap into the dash so that would take care of filling up the bottom. Try Metraonline. or just fill it in with a sheet of ABS plastic.

The second part could be tricky. Maybe you come construct some type of "new" mounting out of metal backstrap. Can you access any of the metal bracing inside the dash via the glove box and underaneath the drivers side dash area?


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

I was thinking of the universal pocket too. I've seen it (the kit I currently have is a Metra one).

There are a couple of screws that i can remove to give a little flexibility to the sides of the central console area, but not so much to that you can readily get to the metal from those sides... that plastic is part of the 1-piece dash. 

I keep trying to imagine a way to mount the DIN cage deeper in the dash, but i'm drawing a blank. Thanks for trying to help out, though. I know that if I scrapped the curent dash kit and used the universal pocket that i'd be able to use the rear support bracet without any mods. I should take things apart tonight and see just how close to flush I could get if I did that... maybe then some idea will come to mind... maybe I could pseudo-secure the cage to the universal pocket and bend enough metal to hold it from side to side... 

Where's maharashii when you need him? I know he put a nak in his miata before he went to the double-DIN, but I don't know if he found a way to flushmount it...


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

That is far less encouraging. But it's still possible! At this point I would be looking at alternatives that allow you to push the cage farther back.

FYI iso mounting means using four screws on the side of the radio itself to mount it. As opposed to using the cage.

I suspect there will be a way to mount backstrapping to the dashkit to give you a mount point for the radio to push it farther back.

Where there is a will there is a way!


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## DeconIV (Jul 14, 2007)

A buddy and I just installed the Nak yesterday and so far I haven't had any issues with it. It isn't as clean an install as I'd like as far as flush mounting is concerned, but I'm a newb, so just being able to install the HU myself is an accomplishment.

Burned CDs do work on the system. I played 1 or 2 burned CDs on there, MP3 format. Reading the burned CDs does take a little bit of patience; the read time takes at least until you can cound to 30. One of the other cons, it may be that I didn't read the manual fully, but you only have the option of changing from up and down one song to the next on your burned CD, not folder to folder or group to group like some other HUs. Personally I hardly play burned CDs, so not really an issue for me. Everything else AUr6 looks like he covered in his walk-through.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

Im glad someone upped this, I didnt want to just repost old issues for no reason.

But I think these are great pictures because they demonstrate the potential of both a "flat" "non-removable" faceplate radio and of a radio with a face that is both contoured and removable.

by being careful where I selected my mount points (which I had to nibble out) I was able to get them where they would look best in the dash.

The dash kit also took large amounts of modification to the mounting tabs to get it to sit right.

All cutting was internal which I am comfortable with.

I think AURA6 with some extreeme creativity with backstrapping, adhesive, maybe a couple sacrificial radio cages, you can achieve superior aesthetic performance from your radio as well. The way your dash looks would look SO GOOD with that CD-300 truly flush mounted. Even better if you took the existing trim ring, epoxied it in place in the dash kit so it was flush, then went over it with some sandable primer then a paint such as home depot's chalkboard paint.

The only seam would be around the radio itself! would be just sweet. 

http://semi.noobing.com/Dash1.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash2.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash3.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash4.JPG
http://semi.noobing.com/Dash5.JPG


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

is that a black RFX-8250/8240 faceplate on your dash?


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

it sure is. The next experiment in a more attractive faceplate. Notice the DIN sized square edges of said faceplate?


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

as much as I'd love to work on flushmounting the HU, I have to give back the car this weekend, so I'm out of time, but also, the folks getting it don't mind that it sticks out, so it's all good. We'll consider it a learning experience that can be built upon the next time around. 

Oh yes, thanks for providing another review!! To chime in on the wait time, even with regular cd's there are times when it takes longer than expected to search to other tracks of a cd, but it still gets there and starts playing. I don't see it as a functionality issue, but maybe a bit of inconvenience since it takes longer than what you might expect (upwarrds of 5-10 seconds occasionally)

I haven't forgotten about the person wanting me to get pre-out measurements, and i swear i'll try and get those tonight.


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## 300Z (Mar 20, 2005)

AUr6 said:


> I haven't forgotten about the person wanting me to get pre-out measurements, and i swear i'll try and get those tonight.


Don't sweat it man... it's not a big deal.


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## AUr6 (Apr 10, 2007)

So I _finally_ got around to measuring the output of the radio pre-outs. I probably did it horribly wrong, but i'll let you know what i did and I'm sure someone will chime in to educate me on a better or more accurate way. 

I unplugged the RCA's (12ft long) from the amp, threw on a CD with a song with heavy bass that I figured would peak the output, cranked the volume to max, then put one lead of my DMM to the center pin of the RCA, and the other lead to the outer ring. I thought I was suppsed to measure V(dc) first, but after seeing nothing more than about 8 mV, i switched over to V(ac). The highest output I got was 2.3 volts. Of course, this thing only update every half second to every second, so I'm not sure how accurate it is. I sure hope V(ac) was the correct measurement selection.

I hope someone will chime in as to what output voltage this thing may be, since this is my first time attempting this measurement and I'm not sure where 2.3 V puts this thing...


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## its_bacon12 (Aug 16, 2007)

anyone looking at this unit, i have it as well. it is outstanding and will beat anything in its price range for SQ

i love it and im going to stick with nakamichi from now on 

cd-500 is in store for my next install


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

its_bacon12 said:


> anyone looking at this unit, i have it as well. it is outstanding and will beat anything in its price range for SQ
> 
> i love it and im going to stick with nakamichi from now on
> 
> cd-500 is in store for my next install


any problems with skipping or reading scratched/burnt CDs?


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## its_bacon12 (Aug 16, 2007)

azngotskills said:


> any problems with skipping or reading scratched/burnt CDs?


lightly scratched cds, no.

medium scratched cds it makes some noise kinda like a clicking 

really scratched cds it skips alot

if the burnt cd is in decent condition it will be fine. mine reads them no problem.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

welcome to the fan club


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## drake78 (May 27, 2007)

I 've own the cd-760, cd45z, and mb100. Nak has a easy to listen sound. It's a bit rolled off in the highs. Wich tames tweets on the bright side.


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## The Dude (Mar 24, 2007)

Sorry to drag this one up from the dead, but I recently purchased a CD300 for my parents, as their factory Toyota c.d. player died, and they needed a simple deck without tons of tiny buttons to deal with. I thought that people might want to know that whenever you shut off the vehicle, then start it up again the c.d. player starts the track off from the beginning. I was surprised at this. In the 20 years that I have been using aftermarket c.d. players in vehicles the only other deck I ever saw that worked this way was a cheap Jensen, circa 2001. Everything else about the deck seems decent. Thought I would mention this, as I bought mine off of Ebay a month ago, and there are still quite a few up for sale on there.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up, and I still love the look or stance of your car.....


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## The Dude (Mar 24, 2007)

Thanks Coppertone, you are too kind!


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