Stereo head unit recommendations.

I'm in the market for a headunit for my car and was wondering what you guys may recommend. I keep hearing that older units that were made in japan from back in the 90s has superior sound quality.

Ive also considered that double din panasonic tube until that usually goes for around 700 bucks these days, but does the sound really sound that much better? I current have a slim pioneer sub in my trunk, 2 door speakers powered by a 3 way alpine( i think ) amp.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Depends on your budget and your current setup. If you have an amp you’re near enough there. Personally I’d get good speakers and a good amp, the head unit would be whatever suits the car (think Retrosound). I’d keep my headrest speakers though, they work wonders.

In the end though, if the roof goes down it’s all moot anyway. You can’t hear a damn thing in a convertible :lol:

Nakamichi makes a variety of units that look more conservative (OEM-ish). There are a couple older models that are popular with these cars for their simple aesthetic and green lighting, the CD400 being one.

I bought a Nakamichi NA350iBTR for similar reasons. It also offers different illumination (red, green, white) so if I change my interior lighting or gauges it will all match.

I know it's not much, but that's my two cents!

-Matt

I think Hammerhead has the Panasonic Tube radio in his 93LE maybe he can chime in..........

I sort go for the "it's a Miata, it's never going to sound great" expectation.

I like the JVC mech-less headunits for price, features, and space behind them. I prefer lighting color options so I can match to the instrumentation. Bluetooth, handsfree call, connectivity options, expandability (like your amp and sub).

I have a Retromodern Model 2 (I think) which matches my retro theme, has modern features etc. if I was going for a more subtle look, definitely something from Nakamichi


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I love my modified OEM unit, but it'll be replaced with a Retrosound, if and when it gets replaced.

Over the years, I've tried to make my Miata more Cadillac-like. I've tried vibration mitigation with some success but at the cost of weight. In the end, great sound can be had with a Miata using great components but there will always, always be the sound of the outside creeping in and that's not such a bad thing.

In the end, you only need a good head, block the tunnels and have some great amplified speakers to overcome the road noise and that's as good as it's ever going to get which is not so bad actually.

I found that I have 2 vintage head units from the 1990's both in excellent condition, ill get some photos posted in my for sale thread in case you or others are interested.

God, I swear you still have a 19" Curtis Mathis TV color with an antennae in your living room...

lemme go check ..........

If you don't have what's called a "remote control" in your hand, yeah, you're pretty much a Curtis Mathis guy... Don't you hate how the manual, UHF dial takes 90 turns just to get to the next channel?