Nakamichi 3 Head Cassette Decks
- Thread starter jay
- Start date
reubensm
Well-Known Member
The DR1 and DR3 are pretty good if you can find them (usually owners don't part with them). With cassette decks its always safe to follow the logic, the younger the date of manufacturer, the more miles of tape it will play without strife. Having said that, NAKs were very expensive back in the day and it was common for people back then, to perceive NAKs to be built like tanks and they usually ran them to death. NAKS are delicate and precision instruments and if you manage to get one that's coming from an owner who took great care of it, then you've hit the jackpot.
The debate of the older NAKs vs the newer NAKs is an old one which has evolved through the years. Its much like the debate on whether the Garrard 301 is better than the Garrard 401. The key is the condition in which you get your deck.
The debate of the older NAKs vs the newer NAKs is an old one which has evolved through the years. Its much like the debate on whether the Garrard 301 is better than the Garrard 401. The key is the condition in which you get your deck.
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Perfectly agree with Manoj. The 3 head machine is complex because it gives provision to align height, tilt, stroke and azimuth. In 2 head models many of these are fixed. Now that being said, if a 3 head model is misaligned, that would sound bad. But what is the meaning in comparing an impaired 3 head unit to a good 2 head unit. Whether it is a 2 head or 3 head, the owners have to take good care and maintain them. Else they go bad anyway.
To do an honest comparison, all the units have to perform to factory speks, then the 3 head units will outperform the 2 heads in technical performance parameters as well as the listening tests. The difference in playback require good amps and speakers to be evident, but the recording performance can be easily noticed. In addition, the 3 head ones have a lot of features added in like record cal, bias cal that makes a lot of difference to the quality of recordings. Also the head life is much longer for 3 head than 2 heads.
To do an honest comparison, all the units have to perform to factory speks, then the 3 head units will outperform the 2 heads in technical performance parameters as well as the listening tests. The difference in playback require good amps and speakers to be evident, but the recording performance can be easily noticed. In addition, the 3 head ones have a lot of features added in like record cal, bias cal that makes a lot of difference to the quality of recordings. Also the head life is much longer for 3 head than 2 heads.
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