Head Unit ? Nak Or Pionner

[black400]

How can you tell what make the head unit is on a mk4 99 -00, i am a hifi buff and would love to hear the differance between the two, ie is the sat nav model Nakamichi .there has to be some way to identify the differant units.

[cleverdick]

I don't know about the Mk4, but both my Mk1 & 2s had Pioneer units fitted as factory equipment - clearly denoted by the logo on the cassette flap. (US or far-eastern markets may have had Nakamichi.)

I would not get too hung up about audible differences between the two brands. Each would have been designed to meet a given specification set out by Toyota.

However, it would seem that UK-market units were shipped with 75uS de-emphasis in their receivers, when in fact it should be 50 (hence the dull balance on VHF reception).

You are just as likely to hear a difference between similar systems of the same make, where - for example - wear/tear/degradation of foam-rubber speaker surrounds, or failing surface-mount electrolytic capacitors will have an effect of varying degree.

Certainly though, the early Pioneer units seem pretty reliable. (Their ability to trim the antenna length according to frequency is also impressive, even if total overkill.)