Appearance, basic clock radio funtionality

The Lid... terrible, the worst piece of consumer electronic engineering that I've ever encountered. The Remote Control: too many functions squeezed on. The CD motor noise... if you have a name like Nakamichi and you design a product that sits a few feet from the listeners head noisy drives are NOT acceptable, leave that to the sub-£100 cheapo brigade

In my youth Nakamichi was a firm spoken of in audiophile awe, their cassette decks were up there with the Linn Sondeck at the peak of design, engineering and quality. How the mighty have fallen! I must say that I allowed myself to be blinded by the name and chose to ignore the obvious build quality and design issues that the SS3 has, more fool me. Starting with the design: The subwoofer looks like it should nicely mount on the wall, however you then find that the cables sprout out of the top of the woofer...looks just plain sloppy. Many (in fact almost all) of the functions that you want to use are only available on the really cramped and unintuitive remote control or, even worse, under the CD player lid more on that "feature" later. This means that there is a lot of half asleep fumbling around to do anything useful with the system. Strangely enough I find that the sound quality on FM radio is absolutely fine given the purpose for which the system is designed, I've not suffered any of the weird 'lost mid-range' problems that other reviewers have found maybe they fixed the problem or it could be an installation issue. Unfortunately my fit for purpose observation for the radio in no way applies to the CD operation. The lid... I am lost for words to describe the level of frustration involved in trying to open and keep open the lid. I bet that Nakamichi receive dozens of units back with lids broken off such is the fit inducing nature of the auto closing lid, the moment that it is open it tries to close! This means that sticking your hand into the unit and holding the lid open against the motor is the only way to either change the alarms or put a CD in to play. Having got the CD inside there is further disappointment. At the volume that you would expect to listen to music in bed you become extremely aware of the CD motor noise.... this is so un-Nakamichi what are they upto? Having moaned so much I must say that if you set it up as a clock-radio, never play CDs, don't change the alarms and put the subwoofer under the bed it does the job and looks good too.

Good looks Good sound (relatively) Dual clocks and alarms very useful

CD player a bit slow Remote control has limited range Excessive wires

I purchased this unit for the following reasons: 1. 2 clocks; 2. 2 alarms; and 3. decent sound from CD and radio. I would have to say that this unit performs the above 3 functions in a competent manner. I purchased this unit with some apprehension after reading the reviews posted here. In particular, the complaints that the CD lid had a mind of its own as well as the CD player not recognising discs. In fact, I was not able to demo this unit in the store as the demonstration unit refused to recognise CDs! However, with a 3 year warranty and an additional 1 year store warranty, I went ahead with the purchase anyway. The dual clocks and alarms are excellent and suit my purposes exactly. The sound quality is also very good, as long as you bear in mind that it is not a replacement for a full-sized unit. There are a lot of wires, however, if the unit is being positioned as suggested, around a bed, then the wires disappear behind the bed head. My gripes are that the CD player takes a while to play when you press the play button and that the range on the remote control is weak and you need to direct the remote at the main unit (and not the slave unit). I am used to having radio-frequency remotes that work through walls, so this is a bit of an annoyance to me, though not great, as most of the time, I am lying next the unit in any event. Some people complain the display is a bit bright, but I do not find that to be the case, and I like the way it dims when you turn the lights in the room off. In summary, the unit looks good, sounds good and functions as it is supposed to. I have not seen any other stereos that have the dual clock function, so I suppose it does not really have a direct competitor.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Wave CD/Radio; however there are no direct competitors, as I have not come across any other stereo with a dual clock function.

Looks good, sounds good.

NEUROTIC CD LID, bad design to have the alarm settings under the lid, only one side of the unit can set the alarm, although the unit is designed for two people/2 alarm times. Loud CD engine, if in bed late at night with the music low the CD engine is very audible.

The product looks good, but is a major annoyance! At first I thought it had a great design. Until I started using it, its obvious Nakamichi never User Tested It. The designer of this product most likely was straight out of college or had never designed consumer electronics. Basically I bought the product, because it looked like a really nice alarm clock (what I wanted), with a cd player and stereo which I liked. However: 1. Although it has two alarm settings, they can only be set from one side. Not very practical. I am always the one who has to set it. 2. The alarm settings are buryed under the lid of the cd player. So while its the most used function on the unit, its in the most inconvient location. This would not be so bad, except... 3. THE LID IS NEUROTIC. It is a fragile neurotic lid. I open it to change the alarm setting, it shuts on me, I open it it shuts. I try to stick my hand in it to stop if from closing it opens again. All the while I can't set the time. I dread changing the alarm time, or putting a CD in, because I have to fight with it for 3-5 minutes. How annoying, although the Neurotic lid really wouldn't be a problem if the Alarm settings were on the outside of the unit.

Similar Products Used:

None

Good sound, looks cool...seems like a good BOSE alternative....at first

miles of wires, weak door mechanism, repair nightmare

Product has fragile door mechanism, repair is a nightmare, been waiting over a month and still parts are not forthcoming from Japan. Have tried both repair facilities, they are both frustrated, too. With no unit and out $300, this unit has NO value at all to me, and Nakamich will not reply or respond to emails, letters or phone calls. This unit may be extinct, soon, and company seems to be restructuring. Buy from a more accessible company with a soul.

I am also having problems with the main door opening and closing at anytime or when it is bumped. I am very disapointed with this product and would never buy from this company again!

None, or only the design. They are a kind of Poor Man´s Bang and Olufsen.

All. Unreliable, fragile, tiny sound. Bad service, disrespect to the consumer.

I am very disappointed with this upscale, high profile, big mouth firm of Nakamichi. I bought a Sound Space 3 stereo system, based on information available on your site, at the Sharper Image store in san Francisco, near Union Square, around may of this year. After two months only, the system has gone crazy, the supposedly modernist top door goes on forever, opening, closing, opening again, unable to stop. When, by chance, it stops for a while it won´t read any of my CDs. It only can function as a radio, a very expensive at that, at 300 dollars. Sharper Image was of no use, saying after a month they couldn´t do nothing. I wrote a very long and detailed fax to Kakamichi, I´m sorry Nakamichi and they never answered. I am getting to the point of giving up my rights, but all I can say is NEVER BUY NAKAMICHI. Their are Japanese only in name, they do not have Sony´s quality and service. And NEVER BUY AT SHARPER IMAGE, but their business practices are rather fuzzy. Felipe Motta

Similar Products Used:

Sony mini system (excelent). Marantz Cd player, Sony SACD player, Cambridge Audio Amplifier, B and W speakers.

The unit looks good. Plays music well

The lights on the numbers and clock are very bright and bad for bedside. The unit hums when you want to play music or news quietly (which is essential in a bedside unit). The CD lid automatically opens and closes.

The radio looks nice in the bedroom and is a major step up from the tin radio sound of cheaper units. When you want to play a CD and crank tunes in the bedroom the Soundspace does a good job. However, the problem with the Soundspace is a the quite end. The unit is very noisy. There is a constant high pitch humm when you want to listen to some news as you fall off to sleep. The worst problem is the CD lid that wants to open and close at random times! The unit is sensitive to motion so if you bump the night table while you sleep the CD door starts opening and closing. It is a nightmare. I have finally stacked a load of books on top of the unit. (so much for good looks) I called the company to complain but they said it was no longer covered so I should expect $100 service charge plus shipping costs. I would be glad to disable (break) the CD lid but when the unit is in the open or close mode it will not continue playing CD or Radio. It is supposed to be designed for bed but the hum of the main unit is to loud for keeping next to your head(within reach for snooze button) and the CD door auto opens to wake the family. Never buy a SoundSpace

Looks great, sounds much better than many of these other reviewers would have you believe. Remember folks, it''s a clock radio.

Yeah, there are alot of cables... The lid on the main unit won''t open without a little assistance, so it may have to go in for service to correct this minor problem.

I was extremely fortunate to find one of the few remaining ''new'' units at E-Cost for only $249 (from what I hear, Nakamichi no longer makes this product). It arrived in 3 days an set-up was fairly straightforward (you don''t even need the instructions despite all the cables). I''ve used Nakamichi products for years, and have always found their products somewhat quirky. The SS3 is no exception. For instance, the buttons insided the main unit aren''t as intuitive as other japanese electronics, and the remotes probably more complicated than it needs to be. However, for a clock radio it sounds much ''bigger'' than it really is, and the looks are far superior to anything else on the market. Don''t expect it to sound like an expensive home system and you won''t be disappointed. It does, however, sound incredible given the small size of the chassis and the drivers. If you''re looking for the absolute best clock radio/alarm you can buy, I can''t imagine a better choice.

Similar Products Used:

Cheapo bedside radios, and I''ve played with the Bose Wave Radio (crap).

Styling, sound quality.

The lid!

Bought this to replace an old Nakamichi stereo clock radio that gave me no problems in 13 years. SoundSpace 3 has great styling, decent sound quality for the bedroom. Good radio reception *after* I hooked it up to my rooftop antenna! Amazing number of cables but they''re all under my bed. Controls could certainly be more intuitive. But my big problem with it has been the lid, which has to be opened to program alarm or radio presets, as well as to access CD. After about 6 months my first unit decided to open at random - which also turns on sound, who knows why. Pretty annoying when it happens in the middle of the night! So I bundled up the whole thing & sent it to Nakamichi service. It took them a month to send me a replacement, & the replacment unit''s lid closes immediately as soon as I open it. 2 1/2 weeks later I''m still waiting for my 2nd replacement. Can''t wait to see what it will do!

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi''s old clock radio w/stereo companion

Sound, compact, ease of use

too many cables and wires

I bought this unit as a travel stereo. I needed a compact unit with great sound, and believe I found exactly what I was looking for. Due to the separate subwoofer, it sounds better than any other travel unit I've used, and used many. The boom boxes just don't cut it, and little stereos don't pack or travel well. Additionaly it can serve as a clock radio,( with excellent FM reception) and has an input for an additional audio source.