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Nakamichi...I think I got it.

jwrosenthal

jwrosenthal

Super Member
So I have poo-poo'd Nakamichi's for a while. I hate "name brands" and the undeserved cache' they garner by sheer marketing prowess (think Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Mercedes Benz-at least in the past 15 years). I have felt that the fervor surrounding Nakamichi decks was strictly an offshoot of their dominance during the 70's as "the best" and carried that moniker until the death of tape in the late 90's.

I have 2 Tascam 130 decks that I use at home, and a Sony TC-D5ProII that I use as a desk unit at work, as well as my Sony Walkman for listening on the go. I know these decks sound good...my ears tell me so!

So last week, I was prowling on ebay, and saw a Nakamichi CR-1 for sale with a "make offer" and I offered $25....and got it! I was hesitant as now I had to get the thing and see if it lived up to the hype (yes, I know this was the bottom of their line, and has garnered alot of negative print). Last night, it was was sitting on my doorstep when I got home. I unpacked it this morning and plugged it in on the floor in front of my system. Not wanting to risk a good tape on an untested deck, I pulled an early 80's vintage RCA tape from my collection (Heifetz) selected type I, engaged the Dolby B (as the tape is Dolby encoded), and let it roll. It was silent....as if nothing was playing...then the music came in from nowhere (where's the hiss???). It was dynamic, powerful, detailed, rich. I knew my Tascam's were great at recording, but their playback was less then stellar (recording with Dolby B or C sounds great on my Walkman, but the Tascams sounds dull on playback). After about 20 minutes of perfect play from the CR-1, I went with a Maxell XLII-S I recorded from CD. I selected Type II and engaged Dolby C (which I use to record) and let it go. This was amazing...it was BETTER than the CD as it had the silence and and black backround, but was powerful and rich (unlike a CD). Then I tried a recording I made of my first pressing Stones LP Let it Bleed on Maxell MX-S. This one blew me away...the details were just as dynamic as the LP, and I even heard things on the tape that I never remembered hearing on the LP.

So....this is yet one more nay-sayer saying that I think I am starting to get the Nak thing.

James R.
 
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I have yet to record with it, but only wanted it as a playback deck considering I am a 3-head snob (open reel has a way of spoiling you), but I am eager to hear how it compares to my Tascams. As I said, the Tascams do a great job at recording but thier playback electronics are marginal.

There is one hitch with this CR-1. It bogs down on rewind as the feed reel begins to load with tape (about 3/4 the way through the wind). I assume this is just a belt issue, but was this one of the units that had the idler wheel?

Weather it's idler or belt, where should I get the appropriate part (ebay is an option, but which vendor is reputable), and is it an easy intall for me to do at home with basic tools? If so, can someone walk me through the install? And, while I'm in there, is there anything else I should do (oiling and cleaning perhaps)?

Thanks,

James R.
James R.
 
I felt the same way for years. But I quickly changed my mind after I heard my first Nak sound consistently better than do many open reel machines at 7.5ips.

The only thing that has challenged my allegence since has been hearing the Tandberg 3014 series which has earned its rep as a Dragon slayer.

Regarding your winding problem, I don't think that the CR1 had an idler. I thought that it had the gear drive. So it might be that your reel-motor is weak.
 
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As mechanically strong as the Tascam pro cassette decks were, they almost certainly won't sound as good as a Nak. By the way, in case you haven't already, you'll need to make very good friends with a Nak repairman. All old tape decks will need maintenance, and Naks are no exception. The good news is that there are still so many Naks around that parts are likely to be available.

I like my Naks, and I've found there are VERY few cassette decks that sound better. $25 was an extremely good investment for a CR1.
 
Number 6 said:
As mechanically strong as the Tascam pro cassette decks were, they almost certainly won't sound as good as a Nak. By the way, in case you haven't already, you'll need to make very good friends with a Nak repairman. All old tape decks will need maintenance, and Naks are no exception. The good news is that there are still so many Naks around that parts are likely to be available.

I like my Naks, and I've found there are VERY few cassette decks that sound better. $25 was an extremely good investment for a CR1.
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I do have a decent tech who has repaired tube equipment for me and overhauled my Revox A77mkII (I provided him with the SM which made his job far easier), but he takes forever to get the gear back (he's a one man show) and sometimes it takes 2-4 times for him to get it right. I have had Terry DeWick service my Mac gear (and he did an incredible job not just on the internals, but on cosmetic restoration as well), but I had the luxury to bring him my gear as I was passing throgh TN for work. I am terrified of shipping audio equipment as I have had several disasters, not just due to inadequate packing, but shipper mishandling (UPS was able to DESTROY a MC2205 amp in OEM packing..they actually snapped the fiber-board it was mounted to!!:yikes:).

Is there still a decent Nak service tech in the Balt-DC area? I know Meyer-Emco (in DC) and Soundscape (in Balt) were once Nak dealers, but they long ago did away with their service departments as far as I know, and even if they do have service techs, they need to be "seasoned" enough to know how to work on pieces of this vintage.

James R.
 
Nakdoc is somewhere on the east coast, I believe. He's the person who I'd talk to if I were you.
 
We still service Nakamichi gear, and have the same technicians as we had when Nakamichi was THE deck to own. We sold a lot of them!
Jon Myer- Myer-Emco
 
jonmyer said:
We still service Nakamichi gear, and have the same technicians as we had when Nakamichi was THE deck to own. We sold a lot of them!
Jon Myer- Myer-Emco
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do you have a website, etc?
or should we pm you?
or ?
thanks.

edit-oh, and where are you located?
i'm in s.e. vermont.
the local audio tech guy is usually backed up by a month or so.
 
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jonmyer said:
We still service Nakamichi gear, and have the same technicians as we had when Nakamichi was THE deck to own. We sold a lot of them!
Jon Myer- Myer-Emco
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Good to know, and thanks for weighing in Jon! For those that don't know, Myer-Emco is and has been a legend of local hi-fi in the DC area. They've been around forever and have a good reputation.

I didn't know you guys still had a service department...I thought that had gone the way of the do-do!

Do your techs do more involved repairs like recapping, motor rebuilds, etc? Just curious as to what extent you guys can tear gear apart, as it's getting harder and harder to find a one-stop shop for vintage high-end gear.

James R.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! You will find this a very friendly and lively group. There are many here who are do-it-yourself-ers, many who are veterans of the pro-world like yourself, and those of us, like me, that love vintage audio but can't turn a screw-driver to save our lives....we rely on the advise and help of the former to keep us going!
 
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jayk- our service department can be contacted via our website myer-emco.com
James- thanks for the welcome. I lurk here every now and then just to see what is going on with the true audio fans. I will talk to our techs to see what level they will/can go to in deck rebuilds. They certainly have a background to do anything, parts is our only real limitation. We still have quite a deep inventory of older parts, but of course it is potluck on whether we have what is needed for a particular job. The key is a little patience on the older gear, as we can usually track down what we need.
I have enjoyed reading the posts, as it brings back a lot of great memories. With the push into flat panel TV, it has become much more difficult to communicate to customers that the audio piece is as or more important than the video piece. People will spend tons on a TV, and skimp on the audio. Balance is the key, and there are a lot of great products still being made that are affordable. Unfortunately, many manufacturers have chased the processor wars, and features, multi-channel etc., and have lost their way in terms of building gear that actually sounds good.
 
As a former disbeliever myself, I say "Welcome to the club":banana::banana:
With the right recordings, my Nak rivals my cd player for sound quality. I never thought it possible that one deck could sound so much better than another.


jonmyer said:
and have lost their way in terms of building gear that actually sounds good.
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True that
 
jonmyer said:
jayk- our service department can be contacted via our website myer-emco.com
James- thanks for the welcome. I lurk here every now and then just to see what is going on with the true audio fans. I will talk to our techs to see what level they will/can go to in deck rebuilds. They certainly have a background to do anything, parts is our only real limitation. We still have quite a deep inventory of older parts, but of course it is potluck on whether we have what is needed for a particular job. The key is a little patience on the older gear, as we can usually track down what we need.
I have enjoyed reading the posts, as it brings back a lot of great memories. With the push into flat panel TV, it has become much more difficult to communicate to customers that the audio piece is as or more important than the video piece. People will spend tons on a TV, and skimp on the audio. Balance is the key, and there are a lot of great products still being made that are affordable. Unfortunately, many manufacturers have chased the processor wars, and features, multi-channel etc., and have lost their way in terms of building gear that actually sounds good.
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Hey Jon,

Which of your locations is the home to your service department? I'm sure they all have one, but which one has THE guys who can do the vintage stuff. Also, at which one do you spend the most time? I may pop by and pay a visit...especially if you guys ever get vintage gear (got any old Nak's or ReVox's lying around collecting dust???:banana:)

James R.
 
Welcome to Naks-R-US....don't get me wrong, they WERE (and are, even at todays prices) overpriced, it's not like they are built so incredibly well, way way above average, but not like a Revox, let's say. You did pay for the hype and exclusivity, in the old days, and for the "cutting edge" research they did to get the most out of cassettes, (and today, it's just supply and demand), but even with all that, they were still very overpriced. I think that's why I like the unique models best, the Dragon and RX-505, and why I want a CR-7A and a ZX-9. I don't need any more decks, I can't even use all the ones I have, and I don't own, just to own, but the landmark machines are special and represent the pinnacles of what they could squeeze out at the time. I'm sure I'd consider a 3014a, for the same reason, but I'm not dying to get one, especially at the prices they fetch!
 
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James-
We have a centralized service department, so regardless of what store you drop EQ off, it comes to our facility in Gaithersburg to be repaired. We have three audio techs- all have been with us for many years. One I believe is going on 25+ years in the service dept. No cool stuff like Nak or Revox laying around- it gets picked off pretty quickly when they show up from time to time. I sure wish I had collected gear for a little museum in one of the stores. When I think of all the classic gear, it kills me. So many brands and memories- Ampzilla! GAS, Crown, NY Audio, Audio Research, Magnaplanars, it goes on and on.
I circulate through all the stores, with no particular one more than another. If you are in a store, please ask for me- we may cross paths.
Jon
 
jonmyer said:
James-
We have a centralized service department, so regardless of what store you drop EQ off, it comes to our facility in Gaithersburg to be repaired. We have three audio techs- all have been with us for many years. One I believe is going on 25+ years in the service dept. No cool stuff like Nak or Revox laying around- it gets picked off pretty quickly when they show up from time to time. I sure wish I had collected gear for a little museum in one of the stores. When I think of all the classic gear, it kills me. So many brands and memories- Ampzilla! GAS, Crown, NY Audio, Audio Research, Magnaplanars, it goes on and on.
I circulate through all the stores, with no particular one more than another. If you are in a store, please ask for me- we may cross paths.
Jon
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Good to know Jon. After next week I will have 3 Nak's....I'm hoping none will need immediate service, but it's nice to know someone will be in the area who knows what these machines need!

James
 
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