Nakamichi System-One • Comprising of rack mounted 600, 610, 620 and 630 Components.

Tower Boss

Super Member
Hello Folks,

Well I finally acquired the long awaited 630 FM Tuner Preamplifier to complete a System-One Rack. It has been a long time coming, as they are very hard to come by, and especially finding one that is in good condition.

The SR-100 System One Rack was developed by Nakamichi Research to house its line of wedge shaped 600 Series components that was a popular design phase in the mid to late 70’s. All of the components could be displayed separately, housed vertically in separate WC-600 Walnut Cabinets, or for the true audiophile, housed in the SR-100 Rack.

The entire system comprised of the SR-100 Rack which included a modified DS-200 Program Timer, 600 Cassette Console, 610 Control Preamplifier, 620 Power Amplifier, and 630 FM Tuner Preamplifier. There is also an additional component that could be added, the RM-610 Remote-Control, to make use of the 610’s ability to switch between 3 sets of Speakers or Amplifiers.

You could also opt for the High Powered version, which eliminated the 610 Control Preamplifier and added an additional 620 Power Amplifier and BA-150 Bridging Adapter, which pushed the output from 100 to 350 watts. Since I have two of the SR-100 Racks, I am now going to work on completing this version as fellow Aker beemer has done, but with a 600II Cassette Console instead of the 600.

I spent the evening last night finally running everything through its paces. Except for burnt out meter bulbs in the 600/610 and tuner dial indicator light out on 630 everything works flawlessly and sounds outstanding. I never tire of listening to the 600 cassette and believe it to be one of the best 2-Head decks ever produced. I had planned to complete repair of the lamps on the others once I completed the entire system. BTW, this rack also has the additional rare Turntable Platform.

Here are a few links on information on the System-One;

Japanese product database on Nakamichi

Henk Schenk System-One writeup at Audiofriends

Henk Schenk own site both here and here

Below are some photos of the individual components and the entire rack system.

SR-100 System-One Rack


NakamichiSR-100Side-01.jpg


System-One Program Timer

NakamichiSystemOneTimerFront-01.jpg


600 Cassette Console

Nakamichi600Front-03.jpg


610 Control Preamplifier

Nakamichi610Front-03.jpg


620 Power Amplifier

Nakamichi620Front-03.jpg


630 FM Tuner Preamplifier

Nakamichi630Front-03.jpg


System-One

NakamichiSystem-OneFront-02.jpg


NakamichiSystem-OneRear-01.jpg


NakamichiSystem-OneSide-02.jpg


NakamichiSR-100SystemOneRack.jpg


Regards,
TB
 
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She's a beaut!

How's it SOUND? [edit] If only I read the entire writeup...

Awesome.
 
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That's a very cool vintage setup Tower Boss! You come up with the nicest gear. :thmbsp:
 
Wow - that is beauteous! I had completely forgotten about Nakamichi's edge styling. Verrrrry nice.
 
Wow - that is beauteous! I had completely forgotten about Nakamichi's wedge styling. Verrrrry nice.
 
Hey Folks,

Thanks for all the nice comments. I am glad I could contribute a completed example for others in the forum to appreciate this forgotten classic. They sure were special and very limited in number due to the fact that they were very expensive back in the day. A complete system cost upwards of $4000.00 dollars and I’m sure not many average consumers wanted to part with that much cash for a stereo system.

These pieces are hard to come by even when looking for as long as I have. It took awhile to get all the correct components as I passed on some due to their condition. The 600/600II Cassette Consoles and 610 Control Preamplifiers show up occasionally on most the selling venues. The SR-100 Rack, 620 Power Amplifier, 630 FM Tuner, and correct Program Timer are the really scarce items. I acquired my first SR-100 Rack from an enthusiast who gave up after 8 years trying to get just the 630 and Program Timer. In fact, I found my second SR-100 Rack in England and had it shipped over to me last year. I have seen a couple of complete systems available in the past, but they were usually selling just in their local markets due to the prohibitive size of shipping everything.

Nakamichi defiantly had some special pieces with their 600 Series.

The 600 Cassette Console had some special features - SX/EX Tape capability with 2 Position Equalization, Dolby B Noise Reduction, MPX Filter, Bias Calibration Controls, Built-In Tone Generator (400Hz), Adjustable I.M. Suppressor Circuit and Tape Start Memory.

Nakamichi600CassetteConsole.jpg


The 610 Control Preamplifier added special mixing and testing features - Built-in low distortion Sine Wave Oscillator (1K/3,16K/4.16K/10K/11K/13.16K/14.16K), Pink Noise Generator, Level Matching, Speaker and Phono Phasing and Tape Source/Phono Cartridge Comparison.

Nakamichi610ControlPreamplifier.jpg


The 620 Power Amplifier provides 100 Watts of vintage power through - Toroidal Power Transformer feeding two 39,000uF 63V Electrolytic Capacitors with the ability to select between 3 Low & High Threshold Power levels for the front indicators.

Nakamichi620PowerAmplifier.jpg


The 630 FM Tuner Preamplifier added – Exceptional FM Tuning and Full Preamplifier capabilities.

Nakamichi630FMTunerPreamplifier.jpg


On a side note, I have found another SR-100 Rack recently. It is in very rough shape, as it is heavily scratched, but all the pieces are intact. I have toyed with the idea to acquire this third one and bead blast completely and Powder Coat it in silver. My plans would be to get the silver version of the 600 Series over time to mount in this one off rack. I have only seen one 630 in silver and never a 620, but I could always strip the 620 easy enough and anodize clear without worry since there are no markings on the face of it. I think it would look exceptional in the silver. Let’s just say this would be a long-term project.

Regards,
TB
 
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Wow! Very nice stereo equipment you got there TB!

I've never seen a stereo system like that.

That is one way cool system you got there and congrats on getting it!
 
I have got a 600 Deck in silver and recently found an ad of a pre-amp 610 in silver. I am thinking of getting it, but the radio only did came in black?

Can anyone confirm this?

Worthless getting to silver units when all the others are black.

Best regards

Filip
 
Nice to see it all at once in clean condition.
I once had the deck (in need of a new motor) and never found any other component so it was "purged" to the dumpster, right where I found it.:tears:
 
Hello 1ha1992 & barebones,

Thanks for the comments. I am glad to finally have the system completed. Save for some minor bulb replacements, it is performing superbly.

BTW, so sad to hear of that 600’s demise. I hope another AKer came behind you and scooped it back out of the dumpster!

I have got a 600 Deck in silver and recently found an ad of a pre-amp 610 in silver. I am thinking of getting it, but the radio only did came in black?

Can anyone confirm this?

Worthless getting to silver units when all the others are black.

Best regards

Filip

Hello Filip,

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, the 600S & 610S do show up on occasion. I have seen a 630 in silver, but do not know if it was a one off someone had done. I however have never seen a 620 other than in the black, but it would be simple enough to strip and re-anodize the handles and heat sinks in clear.

It would be nice to get a translation of this page in to English that I had linked to earlier. That might help to clarify the issue. Any Takers?

Regards,
TB
 
This makes me want to reassemble mine. Nice system.

As far as a silver version goes. Silver has it's place, but I don't think I would want a system one in anything but black.
 
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Congrats TB! You have one of the finest Monster Receiver collections and now your separates collection is really taking shape!!

I've never seen any 600 series NAK's at my hunting grounds, they must be very rare. The near 2-dimensional look is fascinating, trading depth for height. Can you post a nudie of the power amp?
 
never knew anything that superb even existed! Damn, I could really enjoy re-stringing that tuner. Cogratlations to you. It must be satisfying to own he ultimate system......:banana:, Chuck
 
I still have my Nakamichi cassette deck I have owned since the 70's and until I read this, I didn't know Nakamichi made the "System One" rack components. I hate to ask but what is the value of this???

Thanks for posting this!!! Gary
 
I still have my Nakamichi cassette deck I have owned since the 70's and until I read this, I didn't know Nakamichi made the "System One" rack components. I hate to ask but what is the value of this???

Thanks for posting this!!! Gary

Value seems to not match the exclusiveness. 600-800.00 can get you the entire system with a bit of luck on your side.
 
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