How Much Better Is The Nakamichi?

[davematthews-S4]

Just wondering how much better the Nak. stereo system is than the regular Premium system. Is it worth upgrading the stereo and sub on a SC400?

[Wizard]

As with most things dealing with audio, it all depends. If you are satisfied with the sound coming from a premium system, then the only reason to upgrade would be so you can tell other people you put in a better stereo. On the other hand, if you find the stock system unpleasing, then there are a great many choices available.

I personally find the stock Premium system to be of higher quality than most other stock systems. The Nakamichi system is only very slightly better than the premium system to my ears, but not by ANY means good enough to be called high-end audio. If you want a top notch system, be prepared to go to a specialist audio store in your area and spend a lot of time looking over their selection, listening to *your* music on what they have, and reading reviews of whichever products you narrow down as being on your 'short list'.

So, to the question of worth....it depends on how much of a critical listener you are. The SC's are pretty quiet cars most of the time, so you can more readily tell the difference in audio quality between systems. Personally, I would say that IF you upgrade the speakers, you go with something like Focal drivers. Finding a sub will be more difficult due to the cramped space between the fuel tank and the sub itself. Look around though, there are plenty of options. As for head units, Eclipse makes decent gear, but so do many other companies. You can spend several grand on an audio system in a hurry. Is that *worth it*? Only your ears and wallet can answer that.

[laxdude3622]

yeah i listened to my friends sc400 last night, he has the nak system, and i have the premium system, and it was louder but not worth the money in my opinion to spend on upgrading it. If you want louder I say just go with a more powerfull free air sub, or single sub box in the trunk. Maybe new speakers and of course a new amp.

[Vector]

My SC400 has the nak. i thinks its a nice system, just a little bit above the premium. but i think its worth it just to say that you have a nakamichi system in your car. idk it adds some showoff points. thats about it

[laxdude3622]

haha yeah, it does sound nice, Nakamichi, mmmm

[southernsc300]

the nak system is much better than the pioneer system imo. Due to the more powerful amps and better quality speakers, the nak offers a crisper sound, deeper clearer bass, and clean highs from the tweets that are not pingy like other quality sound systems. i wish my car came with the nak system that way i didnt have to spend all that money upgrading mine. its hard to tell a difference between the nak and premium speakers when listening to the radio. the systems are much different when it comes to playing cds.