Nakamich RX-505 Cassette Deck

[Asit]

Vinod, you are late; Venkat and I are already in line for that deck, although it's not clear who is ahead at the moment. Hard luck but good try . But I do not think Dinyaar is going to part with his deck now, because he has been saying that he is now listening to it quite regularly.

 

[vinod_david]

In fact, i should be the first person in Dinyaar's 'would-be' buyers of his Naka. My interaction with Dinyaar regarding decks is history, even before you started to show interest in HIS Naka . Now, please read the following link and i'll let you decide who wants what ....

http://www.hifivision.com/cassette-tape-decks/3396-naka-2.html

A comment from Dinyaar in the above thread "Vinod you seem to really want a Nak as u have asked me similar earlier too. I will check if any of my fellow Nak owners want to sell and if yes i will PM u and Venkatcr as he seemed to be interested too. Actually with the minimal I listen i too am tempted to sell but i know if i Do i will never get something similar again and am hence refraining and run it at least once a month for a few hours."


Or should i say, better luck next time, mate ?

 

[Asit]

Looks like a World War III may start from Nakamichi decks. Well, Vinod, I already have a Nakamichi deck now, and one of the classic ones from them. Just wish me good luck with this deck so that I do not need another one in the next few years.

Regards.

 

[vinod_david]

Dinyaar told a couple of days back that he is not selling his deck, but still i wanted to divert his attention here and make him sell his deck. Asit, you've got a great deck i know, i've read your thread about it before.

Dinyaar told me I can get as-new Nakas in TC road if i shop around, and am really counting on it. Anyone here know where in UK i can get good used decks cheap ?

 

[dinyaar]

HAHAHA
Congratulations Asit. May the machine last for ages.

Vinod i promise u i will look for a decent deck for u. A few friends have some Naks, technics decks and i will ask each one if they are willing to sell. If u just dont get anything from UK nor here i will seriously consider your offer.
I wanted a Nakamichi in the 80s but never could get one that fit the bill(Budget too) and now that i own one for a few years that craze/desire is almost gone!!!!!
Rgds

 

[vinod_david]

Thank u, thank u, dinyaar.

 

[Asit]

Congratulations Asit. May the machine last for ages.

Thanks Dinyaar. I like to specially mention that the VDH IC you gifted to me is now in great company, that is the one I am currently using to commect the Nakamichi RX-505 with the Leben amp. I am really enjoying it. Now that the Audio Art IC-3 cable is also fully burnt in and is currently connecting my amp and the CA740c CDP, one of these days I want to try swapping the ICs and see if I get even better results. Only problem is that if I want to do that I may have to swap the CDP and tape deck also, because the shelf separations in my rack are asymmetrical, and your VDH cable being a very short one may not be usable from all shelves. However, the Nakamichi deck weighing some 10kg is not making a very welcome prospect for me. I wonder what they put in these decks to make them so heavy.

Regards.

 

[aks07]

Asit-ji, Naks are all metal build.

Here are pics of the Nak 600 with me.

It was made about 1977. No plastics. All aluminium pressure die casting and solid metal construction. The Cassete tape compartment seems to be milled out of single piece of aluminium ingot. Closes and opens like a Mercedes door with a solid thunk. The Keys are solid Aluminium. They help to dampen the travel mechanism. Its got two massive motors for operation. And it was possibly the first cassette deck to offer a flat 20Hz-20kHz response on standard tape at 0.09%.

It can generate a 400Hz tone for accurate bias, rec level and IM elimination. I like its fine and musical character and a warm sound presentation.

The only drawback I think is the lack of Azimuth adjustment. The Head is solid attached to the mechanism. Some non aligned tapes can sound awful.

This was the ultimate machine for recording and playback and represents the heyday of Nakamichi.

I need to clean it proper, demagnetise the head and run a few of my fav tapes this week.

Solid chunk of machinery

Pretty comprehensive set of controls.

Love these VU !

 

[vinod_david]

Simply stunning!

 

[brejeshvarma]

Hats off....NAK 600

I know one of my friends owned this machine.He later sold them,but still shower tons of praises when speaks about it.:clapping:http://www.hifivision.com/images/sm...ww.hifivision.com/images/smilies/clapping.gif

 

[Asit]

Hi aks07,

Thanks a lot for posting the picture of your Nakamichi 600 deck. An imposing piece of machinary. I must say it looks visibly very very good, irrespective of its age.

I see that the cassette loading compartment has no transparent cover. Is it true? Or I did not see it properly. I wonder if that was the style for decks made in 70's and early 80's, because I have seen in the early 80's a Nad cassette deck which also did not have any transparent cover of the transport area so that even after the tape was loaded you could physicially touch it.

Would you kindly elaborate how you plan to demagnetize the head? I used to have a TDK demagnetizing cassette for that purpose, I do not have it any more. Although some people say that unless the head is demagnetized the recording quality only suffers, but I have read somewhere that even the playback quality may suffer especially at higher frequencies. Can you or somebody else confirm?

Regards.

 

[aks07]

Yes that Nak is made like a tank. And you are right; there is not plastic cover for the cassette compartment. I really dont know the reason, but I guess its best that way. I think it is to avoids resonance etc in that place.

Demagnetising the head does improve the performance dramatically. I used to demagnetise the head typically at every 20 hours of recording or 100 hours of playback. Not just the playback and erase head but also the capstan and other steel parts nearby. I have a Technics 3 head machine as well, but the effects of magnetising was less on that IIRC.

I use a proper electrical Tape Head Demagnetiser for the job. Those cassette tape demagnetiser are a sham. You can possibly still get it in the shops at Chandni, etc. Do ask around. If not we shall see how it can be lent to you for a few days. Mine is ProX brand bought in year 2000 for about Rs. 200. Attached pic.

 

[suri]

HELL and damnation,

I never knew that cassette tapes and decks had a frequency response till 20 khz.

i thought they topped off at 16,000 hz, and on that belief gave off my entire collection of high quality tapes (about 500 of them, just like asit had.)
And just as asit did, I had painstakingly built up my collection using only the best of chrome and metal. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh

and gave it all off:sad:

and all because i was not aware that tape decks could output till 20,000Hz.


hell hell hell

and to think that a masterpiece of engineering is within the grasp of ordinary mortals!

hell hell hell

 

[Asit]

Hi aks07,

Thanks a lot for the picture and some information on the demagnetizer. Would you be able to remember any particular store(s) in Chandni? I do not know if you are from Kolkata, but seem to know about Kolkata. Also the newspaper on which you have placed your demagnetizer may be a Kolkata edition, because the prominent ad at the bottom mentions Kolkata. What would you say, Watson?

I had a Aiwa 3 head cassette deck before (bought in 1989) and there was not much of a difference after demagnetization in the playback quality, but there was noticeable improvement with recording. Then I bought a small deck from Onkyo (K 505 TX) (in 2005) which I never demagnetized. I got the heads cleaned though. I have never listened to this deck a lot. I still have it.

Suri,

I cannot believe you gave away all of your vast cassette collection just because of those 4 KHz. Really unfortunate! What else I can say.

 

[brejeshvarma]

Suriji,

Its shocking.I still tell my friends to remember me ,whenever they feel like throwing their precious cassettes away.Not only the high quality recordings,but,many "long sought...not available anywhere " stuffs which you love for their contents, you may get from these old tapes.

Asitji,

If you are buying a demagnetiser for yourself,please buy one for me as well.You can send me a "pm" and we can contact & I can send you the amount.Kindly consider...

 

[aks07]

Suri ji

To be fair the Nakamichi 600 manual that I have claims only 40hz-18khz using normal tape. So you can take heart

However, many years ago when I was investigating its pedigree on internet ( I think either at AA or AK), I came across a detailed post whereas a hifi mag had run some tests and reported a freq response approaching 20hz 20Khz (3db) and an amazing THD of 0.09% at 400Hz, 9dB. In any case these are absolutely stunning ratings for a product made in 70s and using only discreet components. I have myself run the output thro software FFT analyser. As for wow & flutter it was an unbelievable low 0.05%.

My failing ears can hardly hear beyond 14Khz, so I wouldnt be bothered if it can really deliver 20Khz or not

Asit-ji

Good detective work. But I bought that demag at a shop in Jamshedpur. That newspaper is todays Telegraph Jharkhand edition.

At Chandni if someone wants he can get milk of a tigress. I dont see any reasons why a tape demagnetiser should not be available. Good luck

 

[suri]

Suri ji

To be fair the Nakamichi 600 manual that I have claims only 40hz-18khz using normal tape. So you can take heart

However, many years ago when I was investigating its pedigree on internet ( I think either at AA or AK), I came across a detailed post whereas a hifi mag had run some tests and reported a freq response approaching 20hz 20Khz (3db) and an amazing THD of 0.09% at 400Hz, 9dB. In any case these are absolutely stunning ratings for a product made in 70s and using only discreet components. I have myself run the output thro software FFT analyser. As for wow & flutter it was an unbelievable low 0.05%.

My failing ears can hardly hear beyond 14Khz, so I wouldnt be bothered if it can really deliver 20Khz or not

Asit-ji

Good detective work. But I bought that demag at a shop in Jamshedpur. That newspaper is todays Telegraph Jharkhand edition.

At Chandni if someone wants he can get milk of a tigress. I dont see any reasons why a tape demagnetiser should not be available. Good luck

Hi aks07,

but look at this-

Nakamichi CR-5, Cassette Tape Deck, very rare!!!

Specifications:

Manufacturer: Nakamichi, Tokyo Japan

Heads: 3 (erase head x 1, Recording x 1 header, playback head x 1)

Motors: Belt Drive: brush less, schliz-free, nuclear-free DD FG Servo Motor (Capstan Drive) x 1, Mechanics: DC motor (cam driven) x 1 DC-motor

Voltage and frequency.: 100, 120, 120/220-240, 220 or 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz

Power consumption: max. 45 W

Tape speed: 4.8 cm / sec. + 0.5%

And flutter: less than + 0048% peak less than 0027% (RMS)

Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20000 Hz + 3 dB

Dolby: B, C

Total Harmonic Distortion: less than 0.8%

Dimensions: 435 x 135 x 306 mm

Weight: 8.5 kg

Retail price in Germany in 1988 was: 2500,- DM

amazing, specs are unbelievable!


hell, hell,hell and all damnation be poured on me, and to add insult to injury i gave the cassette collection to snotty children who would not have known the difference between cassettes and their backsides!

update : as of today i have made my peace with god, and god bless all those little children and their backsides!
i am going to leave the past behind and hopefully SACD will be a good thing

 

[aks07]

Suri-ji

I think CR-5 is the famous Dragon series Nak


I post some pics of the Nak innards.

No fancy components, no fancy opamps, no boutique capacitors. Heck not even those 0.0000001% MFRs

Plain old carbon resistors, tantalum and ceramic capacitors. And horror of horrors, those lowly electrolytic all over. Even the PCB is hand soldered and hard wired. Molex was probably not around those days or was not able to convince the Japs about their plug n play solutions.

Despite all those so called cheap components a result that is hard to match even today. In measurement and in listening satisfaction.

No wonder it is often claimed that audio electronics reached their zenith in 1970s.

 

[grubyhalo]

Nice! The innards look almost new!

 

[keith_correa]

Asit-ji, Naks are all metal build.

Here are pics of the Nak 600 with me.

It was made about 1977. No plastics. All aluminium pressure die casting and solid metal construction. The Cassete tape compartment seems to be milled out of single piece of aluminium ingot. Closes and opens like a Mercedes door with a solid thunk. The Keys are solid Aluminium. They help to dampen the travel mechanism. Its got two massive motors for operation. And it was possibly the first cassette deck to offer a flat 20Hz-20kHz response on standard tape at 0.09%.

It can generate a 400Hz tone for accurate bias, rec level and IM elimination. I like its fine and musical character and a warm sound presentation.

The only drawback I think is the lack of Azimuth adjustment. The Head is solid attached to the mechanism. Some non aligned tapes can sound awful.

This was the ultimate machine for recording and playback and represents the heyday of Nakamichi.

I need to clean it proper, demagnetise the head and run a few of my fav tapes this week.

What a brute! I lurrrrrve those old machines. They knew a thing or TEN back then didn't they.