R U Nakamichi Dragon Owner?

[madpioneer]

R U A Nakamichi Dragon Owner?

Does anyone own or had in the past or have any experience with the Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck? I see a few on Ebay and I know the PIONEER CT-F1250 was a contender of the Dragon.
Not planning on slaying the dragon right at this time,but would love to hear your comments and two cents worth on that beast!
Gimme some details on it if you have any,breath some fire my way!

 

[hotgas]

I doubt if the Pioneer CTF1250 is the dragon's contender. A used dragon still cost ~$900 while it is only ~$60 for a used 1250.

I am thinking in terms of how much it's worth now not sound which is too subjective.

 

[grumpy]

Hell My guess is the CT-F1000 is a better deck then the 1250. A nak dragon ? I cant say since I never heard one but my guess is they are not in the same league

Grumpy

 

[Lefty]

Only Nak I've owned was a 580 that I picked up for $25 some years ago. Very solid unit and I was impressed with NAK quality. I suspect that the Nak drives of the 70s and 80s were the best in the market. For a long time that is all they made, cassette drives, so it only make sense to me that they would be the brand to check out first if one wanted a TOTL unit. I suspect there are better values in their other models as the Dragon certainly carries a collectors surcharge...

Lefty

 

[THOR]

Looks quite substantial!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/ebayISAPI.dll...&item=804301484&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2

 

[THOR]

Nicer pics

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1943744129

 

[grumpy]

Ive had a couple of Naks. Most are fickle as all hell. But they sound good even for a Cassette deck. You can see most of the famous Naks here.

http://www.naks.com/home.html

 

[wjahn5]

I was at a yard sale about 3 months ago and the guy had some cassette tapes I was looking at. He asked if I wanted a cassette deck. I told him I had several but said I would be interested. He then showed me his dragon (yes, a Nakamichi - don't let your minds go in the gutter!). I got it, the original box and original manual for $275. It sounds great to me but not where I would say you had to get one no matter what the price.

 

[madpioneer]

I think the PIONEER CT-F1250 is said to be the Dragon's contender due to its features and not price.I really could care less! If it is are not. The 1250 has more bells and whistles than it has too,I doubt the Dragon could improve too much on those.I know the Dragons advantage is reverse play.
I would not pay $2500.00 or even a $1000.00 for any cassette player for the most part no matter what brand or features.

"But wait this model here for a mere $3000.00 will go to work for you and pay your bills,clean your house and groom the lawn and when its done it will play your favorite cassettes without a peep of a complaint!"

But I do appreciate the input.I doubt I will have a chance to play with a Dragon so I just wanted to hear some lucky few that have had some experience with it.
I think wjahn5 will have the most input here,and by the way I think that was a great deal at the yard sell! There is one for sell locally I think the price is around $1000 to $1200,not real interested so I have not inquired of the exact price.Unreasonable price in my opinion.

 

[ProAc_Fan]

Yeah the Pioneer isn't in the same class as the Nak. Sort of like comparing a Chevy to a Rolls Royce. ( sorry madpioneer) I do agree with you though. No matter how great the Nak is ( and it really has no rivals) its still a cassette deck. The audio limitations of a cassette deck make it a silly purchase at >$1,000. You'd be much better off to buy a nice TT or a RtR before dropping major coin on a Dragon.


Mike

 

[michael w]

Haven't owned Dragon but have used a couple and they are damn good !

Build quality and reliability were excellent.

It's strange that they always seem to carry a premium price because, while a very cool machine, the Dragon was made in large numbers and wasn't even Nakamichi's best deck.

The ZX-7/ZX-9 were very close in sound quality to a Dragon, without the Dragon's complex auto-azimuth and auto-reverse systems.

The CR-7 used superior electronics to the Dragon and coupled better sound quality with a much easier to use interface.

The only Pioneer to even get close was the CT-95 from 1993/94 which also used a sophisticated auto-setup sysetm.

But all of the above were mere toys compared with the king of the monster Naks; the 1000ZXL.

At a demo I attended in Tokyo ~1990 , the 1000ZXL was shown to be audibly superior to Nak's then new professional digital recording system and on a par with a Stellavox RTR running at 15ips.

As to the worth of a $1000 cassette deck, well if you are a serious home recordist who wants the best sound quality in an easy to use package, it's hard to beat a TOTL Nak.

Mini Disc is a joke.
CDR ? Much more expensive to get comparable or better sound plus for me there are more limitations to home digital recording than analog.
RTR...a good one with top grade tape...yes but finicky to use and not as portable.


cheerio

The pic is of Oscar Peterson posing with a 1000ZXL Ltd. Edition that Nakamichi gifted to him.

 

[madpioneer]

More info than I expected! WOW!
Very cool! I had not heard of Nak till around '84.DId not know that they dedicated some much effort to drives.
Also gotta get one of them 1000ZXLs too cool for school!!
But I seriously doubt that!

 

[michael w]

Hi madmark/pioneer,

This is still the best site for Nak info

http://www.naks.com/home.html


They made some other interesting stuff too.
Such as turntables that self corrected for off-center spindle holes, probably the best CD changers around... the MB music bank series and also tape drives for use in missile guidance systems.

Nak also had a great facility in Japan that included their own full sized concert hall.

Such a shame to see them reduced to making crappy lifestyle systems now.

:cry:


Niro Nakamichi (one of the company's founders) has gone on to form Mechanical Research Corporation, making some way out looking amplifiers.

Check these out;

http://www.stereotimes.com/amp051502.shtm

http://216.87.12.168/enf/nirotek/control.html



cheerio

PS...one of those gold Nak 1000ZXL's was going for 4000UKP about a year ago.

 

[hotgas]

I just bought a used NAK Player 3 from Goodwill for $40. Unforrtunately the changer doesn't work well for me. I can only use single disk not the whole 6 Anyway the musicbank is an excellent technology. I think I am not lucky enough/ ... :

 

[VinylHanger]

Any idea on the quality of the RX series of decks? RX-202-505. I love the way the whole tape flips, just wondering where they are on the Nak food chain?

 

[michael w]

Hi Vinyl Hanger,

This guy loves his RX-505

http://www.angelfire.com/wi/blueswapper/bluesnak99.html


But I would put the RX series in the lower half of the Nak food chain.

According to ...

http://www.sonicsense.com/nakfaq42.htm#newold

...the RX series was one of the first to start using a cheaper, lightweight transport that was prone to having the idler wheel wear out every 2-3 years.


If I was in the market for a Nak I would avoid any of the current models (post 1990) and go for one of the following:

480 series ...very basic but excellent performance

680 series ...superb transports but tape adjustments a bit fiddly

LX series ...heavy duty, basic controls

ZX series ...superb in every area, all manual controls, many Nak users prefer this series to the Dragon as the ZX had a fixed playback head. I've got a ZX-7 at home

The LX/ZX series were the last lines that were entirely made in Japan. Later models were made elsewhere in Asia, with select models made in Japan.

CR7 ... fully automatic everything, push button setup


The big 1000/700 ZXL's/Dragon are also superb but too pricey to be a realistic purchase.

More Nak info here...

http://www.naks.com/home.html



cheerio

 

[jeskibuff]

I've got a 1000ZXL...

...that I plan to auction on eBay sometime soon. I've got to find the outboard Dolby C processor for it though before I do so. It's hidden somewhere in a 20'x20' climate-controlled storage area.

Purdy monster, ain't it?

 

[madpioneer]

jeskibuff

What kind of $$ or you looking to get for that Nak? What did you pay for it? What is your take on the performance when you used it? Is it all its cracked up to be?

 

[jeskibuff]

I haven't looked into what the market price is and won't bother until I find the Dolby C unit. I'm sure the unit will need to be serviced with new belts and other rubber parts (idler pulley, etc.). As I remember, there was a slight problem with the azimuth alignment that needed correction as well. I'd probably hope to get two or three hundred below market for it, selling it "as is".

It's a phenomenal tape deck and more than you could expect. The fact that it will optimize the tape head angle automatically for playback and recording is amazing. It weighs about 50 pounds, so it's a bear to lug around. When you take the cover off, you're astounded with the bulk of the innards. It takes up nearly every bit of interior volume within the cabinet. The picture doesn't do justice with that glossy case - it's a great tape deck and a work of art at the same time! It definitely grabs the spotlight in any setup for its imposing looks. I don't know if you can see it or not, but even the buttons (play, pause, etc.) illuminate on their perimeters, so the play button looks like a glowing triangle.

I went through several cassette decks in the late 1970s - JVC, Pioneer, etc. before buying my first Nak - a used 550 (portable). I never considered anything else after that, having a 680ZX and buying other cheaper decks (BX-125, etc.) for family members. I might have had a ZX-7 too...can't remember. This one I got for about $2K as I remember. I forgot what the Dolby C unit ran, but I still have purchase records stashed away - 1984 I think. For a cassette deck, I don't think there has been any better - with the "signature" edition being the exception for its beauty - but you sure pay the price for that (unless you're Oscar Peterson, of course).

 

[jt1stcav]

I bought my DRAGON back in '83, but like a fool sold it in the early '90s when I lost interest in cassettes. Now own a DR-1, and sounds just as crisp and clear as my DRAGON did. Although I never had a single problem with my DRAGON, I would suspect there could be transport problems later on due to its complex auto-reverse feature, etc. Thought about searching for a used DRAGON or an even nicer (and older) ZX-9 or a vintage 680ZX, but as little as I use my DR-1 (recently sold a DR-2 due to not dubbing cassettes in years), I might as well just keep what I have while it's still in flawless condition!