My Nakamichi 700II died

My "once upon a sweet" time new HU just died today while playing. It was no less than the great Nakamichi CD700II, "The Evolution of Perfection?". Its less than 1 year old so I fall into the manufacturer's warranty period.   However, I now have to go through the replacement process which was a nightmare the last time I did it with the CD400 that I owned less than 30 days. If I have to wait again for 2 or 3 months, I rather buy another one (Another make where the guaranttee works better). I am again looking for a very good HU. No inbuilt amp needed, but only 3 things I need. High SQ, high SQ and more hi SQ.. you get the message. I am right now perusing the internet and found some Eclipses that I am considering but never had any experience with them before. ANy suggestions on the Eclipses or 2 or 3 other real good HU's? Thanks, Mark

The CD700II has the best CD transport mechanism ever invented bar none.  However Nakamichi head units have never been known for reliability.  Nak amps on the other hand seem bullet-proof.  I speak as a Nak owner and I feel your pain (after going through THREE MB-100's before I got one that worked out of the box, and having it repaired now twice under warranty, and it acted up again today.)  My next HU will likely be an Eclipse, or maybe a new Denon/McIntosh when (and if) they appear.  If I was buying today, it'd be an Eclipse.  Get your CD700 repaired, it is a great HU.  When it works.Support the12volt.com

I was in the market for a Nak deck for some time, but wound up with an Eclipse. It has all the features I wanted, like no internal amp, high output pre-outs and some more than the Naks offered. However if I were you I would look into getting that unit repaired, then maybe selling it and getting a great Eclipse deck with some change left over. Or just keep it, it is a Nak after all.

Nakamichi is like a ferrari. IT's awesome WHEN it works, but they seem to break alot, and they're expensive as hell. I recommend going to top of the line Eclipse or Alpine. You will NOT notice a difference in sound quality

I am sending my Nak for repairs, hoping it will come back as good as new, some day. Meanwhile, during the wait time, I am thinking of getting the Eclipse 8053 since it is the only one on the Eclipse line I found with no internal amp and has the least amount of distortion levels. I see that it has double outputs whereby I might need an adapter, namely a Balanced Line Adapter that costs another $100 from the considerably nearby dealer that I have in the city where I live. I have a couple of questions on the Eclipse 8053. 1. Does the sound improve a lot with the use of the Balanced Line Adapter? 2. How do I connect the 4(if not using the BAL) or 2 (if using the BAL) subwoofer outputs into the single jack that I have on my Nak PA8001 Subwoofer amp? Will using just one "channel" lose half the subwoofer signals?