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[LG]

Taha did you do the test with pre-recorded tapes vs CD's or ones you made yourself?

Naks are rare up here, and they don't last long from what I've seen. Maybe in Toronto it would be possible to get a nice one for a bargain but not where I live. I like to look at a piece before buying if possible a lesson I learned a few years ago when I bought a receiver that smelled so bad I left it in the garage for a year with the case off to get rid of the stink of cigarette smoke. I sold it a couple months ago and almost made my money back.

 

[gguerra]

Got me to thinking about the Nak decks that are still available. Did a search on ebay and saw some for around $2500 USD.. Then I found this one which is a hell of a deal in comparison. Only $589. This is a good buy IMO.

Vintage Nakamichi 1000 3 Head Cassette System | eBay

Of course there are many more Nakamichi decks for sale. This one happens to be at or near the top of the line (I think). There are some dragons for sale as well

Nakamichi in Vintage Electronics | eBay

 

[gcczep]

Glassy...

^I'm tracking an Akai GXC-570D there. I might put in a bid if it is within reason.

Akai GXC 570D Cassette Deck Vintage | eBay

 

[LG]

^^Not bad at all George, going to take a look at the Marantz deck tomorrow hopefully, the weather here is so bad I haven't felt like driving in Edmonton at all.

GG...I looked at the Naks on ebay and they are nice to be sure but each of them is more than I want to spend on a vintage piece. I have a nice deck I bought new in 2000 which is my main cassette deck, but I want another one for back up. If I was playing cassettes daily then a splurge of $500+ for a top shelf Nak would make sense, but me I'm just mucking about for fun.

Because I don't live in the lower 48 states many sellers won't do business with me...too much of a hassle for them I guess even though my ebay ranking is 100%. So I look on my own local audiophile sites if I really want to get something badly.

 

[taha]

Taha did you do the test with pre-recorded tapes vs CD's or ones you made yourself?

Naks are rare up here, and they don't last long from what I've seen.

Mine is 20 some years old and still works perfectly, no noises or belt slippage. I make'm myself, MAXELL XLllS, that's with an s at the end, they frkn rock. Doesn't matter if it's David Benoit or Maiden being taped.
Tape is getting hard to get.

 

[Phil B.]

Thanks for all the audio tape discussions. I have been eyeballing some older decks, and all of this information is quite helpful!

 

[gcczep]

Decking One...

Thanks for all the audio tape discussions. I have been eyeballing some older decks, and all of this information is quite helpful!

Good luck Phil. It's a roll of the dice taking on decades old equipment. I hope you get one that has been well maintained and still calibrated to specs.

 

[LG]

Mine is 20 some years old and still works perfectly, no noises or belt slippage. I make'm myself, MAXELL XLllS, that's with an s at the end, they frkn rock. Doesn't matter if it's David Benoit or Maiden being taped.
Tape is getting hard to get.

I would keep it running as long as possible if it were mine. You should get the belts replaced and a tune up Taha, that's not expensive and your Nak might go another 20 years without a hitch.

Maxell "S" tape is the best I've ever used, got two boxes of brand new ones still in their wrappers, bought them before tape went extinct 12 years ago now.

TDK -SA is another of my favorites, never had a problem with them either.

George the only problem with the real old decks is the fact they don't have a Metal bias, unless you can manually adjust that to suit the tape and I don't own any FeCr tape which was never as good as Chrome or Metal and disappeared really quickly as I recall.

 

[gcczep]

It's on tape...

^I have mostly Maxells Bruce. I have some odd ones too like a Denon 76 min tape. You're right about the older decks not having metal tape capability. My Akai doesn't but I believe my Nak does. You can't find bricks of new, sealed tapes anymore. 12 years seems a long time ago...

I will be testing the unit's recording function sometime this week. I'll probably wipe one of my casual recordings on the side of caution. Really digging those lighted meters.

 

[gcczep]

On the rise...

On items up for bid on eBay, it makes me wonder sometimes if the seller has uuummm...acquaintances...that drive up the price. A relative told me that he knows people that did such things. Smarmy...

Have to buy some Deoxit cleaners for the jacks...