Pros: This unit is great. The preamp has enough to power to really make my speakers boom, and I'm only running a pair of Infinity 5 1/4" in the front and a pair of JBL 5"x7". The display on the unit is ultra bright and very cool looking, but for those with muted tastes, you can set the contrast, thus reducing the effects of the brilliant display. The supplied credit card style remote comes in very handy I must say. The tuner on the MX3000 works great and can pull in stations my old head unit could never have. At first, it was a little difficult getting used to inserting the minidisc because the unit tries to grab it the second you put it near the opening, but I learned how to aim better. The minidisc play function sounds terrific as does the cd player. I don't know what I'd have to do to make the md player skip short of rolling my car down an embankment. I must admit, this is the best car stereo I have ever purchased.

Cons: The only problem I have with the unit is a minor one in that I don't like the cross-carbon finish put on the stereo, but I have to admit, it's beginning to grow on me. However, I'd much prefer the traditional glossy black or the kewl silver that comes on the Canadian version of this head unit. The next problem with the unit is the price. With a list price of $750, this unit is far out of the reach of many would-be car md buyers, but it can be had for around $505 at autotoys.com. The way I figured it, the cost of a md head unit with cd changer controls and a 10 disc cd changer would've been beyond the $505 range, so I guess I came out okay.

All in all: If you have the money to buy one of these babies, then go for it. I feel it is far superior to any of the other car md units on the market today. The only exception may be the Sony Mobile ES MDX-C8900 which has some great features. But for me, the convenience of cd and md all in a single DIN was just too much to let pass me by. While in Japan (Tokyo) 6 months ago I was in a desparate search for a unit that held both MD and CD without the need for a changer stashed somwhere in the car. This unit was the ONLY answer I found...and I'm not dissapointed one little bit.

Granted, if you are a little conservative when it comes to appearance, the MX3000 may err on the cheesy side, but it seemed tame compared to the other options available aty the time. Perhaps the most novel feature of the unit is a funtion that reads the output of your alternator and adjust the volume of the unit accordingly (assuming that the noise level with rise in such a situation).

It took a while to get used to the placement of the minidisc for the player to recieve it, but in time this becomes second nature. It has NEVER skipped on me, though the cd player has on the odd occasion. It drives my system very well and the tuner reception is crisp. It's nice to be able to name your radio stations as you see fit with an alpha-numeric funtion.

Great unit, a little pricy, but worth it in the end. We recently purchased a new VW GLX New Beetle. It came with tape deck and the only option (from VW) was a trunk mounted CD player for ~$450. We already own 2 portable and 2 home deck units (including a Sony MXD-D3). It only made sense to buy an in dash MD player.

Using the Crutchfield website to help locate a suitable unit for this vehicle, we came across the JVC KD-MX3000 unit. It was the first MD/CD in dash player. The head flips down and the combination slot will accept either a CD or MD. Very slick! Crutchfield included installation instructions, an adapter for the antenna plug (VW isn't standard), an adapter for the power/speaker plug, removal tools to pull the stock head, and a bezel to fit the curved dash in the New Beetle.

The unit works very well and sounds great, even with the stock speakers. Finding the volume knob while driving is a simple matter since the knob is raised, rather than hunting for buttons on other stereos. The controls are well laid out and it is easy to use. We are very pleased with it and would recommed it.

One other note. I searched the Crutchfield website and it is no longer available through them. This JVC deck is the ultimate choice for convience and compact. Not wanting alot of wiring or extra equipement in my company truck this deck was the only choice! It powered the factory speakers (and then some) just fine, and has the flexability to play a mainstream CD and my choice of MD's, easy to use great cruise function for a sometimes noisey Ford truck, to automatically increase the stereo volume with the increased engine noise.

A major problem with the unit was when the MD player decided it wasen't going to play one -30C day. I took it to get fixed, the Tech. had some trouble remedying the problem and contacted JVC for technical assistance, JVC tech. support informed him that the KD-MX3000 "was never designed to play recorded MD's not made by a JVC recorder" up until that fatefull day however, the deck handled them just fine. After replacing the chip without satisfactory results my money was refunded by the retailer after using the deck 6 months, and I was left deckless! I would just the same , buy another and take my chances, if I could find one!