Fake Radio Cover

The CD 500 is, in fact, a detachable faceplate unit.

Cheers...

Try not to flame me if this is not the case but most of the times that my
friends have decks / systems stolen, it was because they were either
bragging to someone about their new kick ass system or because they were
blasting the thing so loud you can hear it down the street.   I always turn
my system down when I get close to my house / work or wherever I am going
shopping that way people won't even know I have one.  Although it doesn't
hurt that I got a low power system, you wouldn't know I had it in the winter
time cause my windows are up, unless you are within a foot of the car and I
have it up high.  Once again though, if she wasn't telling someone at her
work or something about it or playing it loud on her way in then that is
fine, I was just throwing this out there as a warning to others.

I agree with tony and scott.  My roomate got her car broken into not too
long ago.  I had just finished putting in her system too.  It had a
kenwood (kdc x559) cd player, alpine type X 12", a mrd m501 amp.   She
had to park in the back of her work that day to make room for new
patients and when she came outside to get some paper work she noticed
the window broken and everything taken.  They couldn't get the deck out
because of the pain in the *** it is to take a deck out of a 00 civic
sedan and because I bolted it in, but they took everything else
including the faceplate and they ripped the $hi* out of the dash.  
They also ruined the deck because they were actually trying to pry it
out with something.  But anyway the point is it does happen no matter
what ya got they want it cuz the price is right.

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joemamafoo
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Last I heard, he was just dealing with Brax these days.

I don't understand, though, why someone would insist on buying a Nak even
after acknowledging that the reliability is an issue and that the support
from the manufacturer is virtually nonexistent.  Folks, these are the kinds
of companies you're supposed to stay away from.

I lived in west Philly while in college and found that any after market
or high end stock deck would be stolen if left unattended.  But so
would a few coins in the cup holder, a CD or two, or a cell phone.  I
even know of a few people how had their windows broken and there car
rummaged thought with nothing stolen because they kept it clean.  Now I
live outside the city and I really don't even worry about it. I leave
the face plate on and the doors unlocked (convertible top that if cut
would cost more then the deck so if they want it they can have it..)

Actually yes.  It's quite common.  They'll steal whatever's in your dash.

By the way, it's not so stupid to steal stock decks.  You could probably get
more on ebay for some of the newer stock Bose decks than you could from 4
Nakamichis.

Check the ebay prices.  The Nak decks are pricey.

On a side note, I've noticed my cars usually get left alone when I leave the
exterior stock, no body kit, no aftermarket rims, no tinted windows, no
neons, etc.  All that stuff is a break into me sign for theives.

I, too, am anticipating the CD-500 and have been waiting for quite a
while.

Two points - first, regarding the removable face plate. My current Nak
deck (crappy 35z) has the 'release' button in the lower right. Appears
the CD-500 has the same. Who knows, maybe bad literature and the face
does indeed remove? Is the CD-400 face removable? Looks like the same
'chassis'.

Second, where to buy. As I mentioned, I've been watching for this
release. When I saw the annoucement, I sent a note to Nak asking for
authorized distributers in my area (Dallas). Here's their reply.

"Currently, we are in the process of identifying a suitable partner in
USA to
represent Nakamichi (I.C.E - In-Car Entertainment products)in the
country so
we are not able to get you any partners contact yet. We hope to secure
the
distributorship by February 2005. Once this is done, we will inform you
on
the contact details immediately."

Bottom line on this - based on previous Nak reliability considerations,
I'm going to purhcase from an authorized dealer - once known - to make
sure it is supported properly in the event of problems with a new
deck.

I'll be curious to monitor your progress too.

Good luck!
Dave

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"regardless of what you guys think, nakamichis are plain looking decks, this
is not what theives look for"

Yes, they are plain looking decks.  I see your point, and I'm sure there is
some validity in what you're saying, but not enough to justify feeling safe
and secure that no one is going to steal it just because it looks ho-hum.

"you guys are basically saying that druggies are so stupid they would break
into any car and steal a stock deck, comeon now"

No that's not what we're saying at all.  You're telling me a thief can't
tell the difference between something that says Nakamichi on it versus Ford
or Nissan?

"And my point is if they are smart enough to know what a nak is, like an
eclipse they dont have resale value for different reasons, this being that
most people arent interested in plain looking decks, these appeal to
audiophiles who wouldnt be buying stolen gear anyway."

Most people that buy stolen car stereo equipment could care less what it
looks like.  It's cheap because it's stolen and they're buying it because
it's cheap.  It doesn't matter whether it's a flashy unit or not.  I will
agree with you that there are a lot less Nakamichi decks out there that are
stolen out of vehicles, but then again there are a lot less cars out there
with Naks in the dashes.  Thieves don't care what brand it is, they're going
to get the same $30 out of it no matter how "nice" it is, or how nice it
looks.

Tony

--
Eclipse CD8454 Head Unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475ti, ZX450 and ZX500 Amplifiers,
Phoenix Gold EQ-232 30-Band EQ, Dynaudio System 360 Tri-Amped In Front and
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On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:14:03 -0800, "Tony F"



I think Tony's right - we give thieves entirely too much credit for
having brains.  When the stereo was stolen out of my car in late 1993,
I had a top-of-the-line Kenwood CD player (a KDC-9000, I believe).
Not only did I not put screws into the side of the deck, I was even
dumb enough to accidentally leave the deck-removal keys in my glove
box.  So you'd think the thieves would have an easy time getting the
deck out, right?  Wrong - it looked like they took the dash apart with
a chain saw, and they probably trashed the CD player in the process.
I found half of the wiring harness and the trim ring left behind.
Thankfully, insurance covered everything, but it ended up being a
$4500 claim - $1500 for the stolen equipment, $1500 for a bunch of
stolen CD's, and $1500 for the damage done to the dash, window and
seats getting the stereo out.

Scott Gardner

It might be worthy to note that an accomplished thief with a regular fence
that buys the equipment and then sells it will definitely know the
difference between brands and security features.  For example, he would know
that stealing an Eclipse with ESN is a waste of time because it can't be
used...of course, most potential buyers won't know this, but the thief
wouldn't want to ruin his reputation by selling stolen head units that don't
work!  He's got to make a living!  What percentage of these types of thieves
makes up the entire car stereo thief group is I don't know.  I would think
this would be more prevalent in larger cities.  However, at least where I
live, most thefts are fueled by drug habits and the juvenile prowler that
doesn't know what he's doing.  In these cases, Nakamichi, Eclipse, I don't
care what you have...they're non discriminating.  Of course, then there's
the kind of thief that does his stealing based on "shopping lists".  The
fence gets wanted lists from his customers (or at least what he believes are
the most popular) and gives them to the thief who in turn goes shopping,
looking for specific brands and what not.  Nice, huh?

Tony

--
Eclipse CD8454 Head Unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475ti, ZX450 and ZX500 Amplifiers,
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regardless of what you guys think, nakamichis are plain looking decks,
this is not what theives look for, you guys are basically saying that
druggies are so stupid they would break into any car and steal a stock
deck, comeon now. And my point is if they are smart enough to know what
a nak is, like an eclipse they dont have resale value for different
reasons, this being that most people arent interested in plain looking
decks, these appeal to audiophiles who wouldnt be buying stolen gear
anyway.

--
teds147

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"you guys are crazy, theifs dont look for Nakamichi decks, they look for
pioneer/alpine high end decks,"

Uhhhhh okay.

"i have never removed my faceplate unless i was in a bad area for about 8
years and never had anything stolen."

You're lucky.  Neither have I come to think of it (knocking on wood).

"Btw, have a top of the line pioneer."

And according to your first sentence this makes sense HOW?

"You have to consider that they want things that people will buy quickly for
a decent amount of money and even if they know naks are good stuff, most
ordinary customers don't know this."

Neither do ordinary thieves.

"You are better off just putting screws in the side of the deck and securing
it so it doesnt slide out with keys, this makes it 10x harder to get."

So then instead if waking up and finding the stereo missing out of the dash,
you'll find half of your dash torn apart AND your stereo gone, making a $300
theft now a $1,000 repair bill AND a theft.

Tony

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Eclipse CD8454 Head Unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475ti, ZX450 and ZX500 Amplifiers,
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Focal 130HCs For Rear Fill, 2 Soundstream EXACT10s In Aperiodic Enclosure

You're actually going to tell me that thieves are picky?

By the way, making things harder to get out turns out not to be an effective
strategy.  If they can't get it out, they'll just destroy it.

you guys are crazy, theifs dont look for Nakamichi decks, they look for
pioneer/alpine high end decks, i have never removed my faceplate unless
i was in a bad area for about 8 years and never had anything stolen.
Btw, have a top of the line pioneer.

You have to consider that they want things that people will buy quickly
for a decent amount of money and even if they know naks are good stuff,
most ordinary customers don't know this. You are better off just
putting screws in the side of the deck and securing it so it doesnt
slide out with keys, this makes it 10x harder to get.

--
teds147

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are you kidding, naks look like stock decks

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I dunno about one for sale, but I disassembled the stereo in my '97 Explorer
and used just the face to make a cover over my Nak CD-700 that I used to
have.  I had to glue the buttons back on from the back because once the guts
were removed they all fell out.  From outside the car it looked good, but up
close you could easily tell it was a fake.

Tony

--
Eclipse CD8454 Head Unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475ti, ZX450 and ZX500 Amplifiers,
Phoenix Gold EQ-232 30-Band EQ, Dynaudio System 360 Tri-Amped In Front and
Focal 130HCs For Rear Fill, 2 Soundstream EXACT10s In Aperiodic Enclosure