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Nakamichi PA 7 - PA 5 - ST 7

richersounds

richersounds

I
Endgame? For me possibly..
Picked up just today
Nakamichi PA 7
Nakamichi CA 5
Nakamichi ST 7
Also picked up JBL 950's last week

Proud long time Sansui fan. On my third AU 717
Beautiful example. Mint condition. Sounds like liquid. Incredibly transparent, runs the jbls without a problem.
However the jbl's are 6ohm 250w and i was like hmmm. Maybe need more power?
Then i found the naks... i am yet to set up properly. Yes! i know that power amp is class A and will probably heat the room during winter and the pre should most certainly should not be on top of it...
I am waiting on a new component stand should get it thursday.

Very first quick impression... i need tone controls...20210223_213949.jpg20210223_214157.jpg
 
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Wow, looks sweet. I have a couple of the smaller Nak stasis recievers and they do sound great.
 
:thumbsup: Great purchase ... I have a PA-5 it gets warm not as hot as my 25 watt DIY Pass class A amps though. Best to give it air though if you drive it hard ,they sound better as they get hotter... That pre is supposed to be the better one too.cheers
 
mad shadows said:
Nice gear. Now get the preamp and tuner of the amp, heat kills.
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That amp is also throwing EMF fields ....
Learned long ago ... multiple times ...
Set nothing on a big amp .. then I do it again ..:boring:

Tell us what it sounds like once it''s hooked up ...
 
I have a nak pa 5 / ca 5. It gets warm but I wouldn't say it's class true A. A true 100 watts of class A would heat the house. What class of amplification are these amps? My vti stereo stand with nak / nad gear.

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The PA-7A is a stasis A/B amps designed by Nelson Pass. That said the first 10-15 watts or so are in pure class A. Take the time to readjust bias and offset on the amp (to spec, don't push it) and all the sources on the per-amp. Don't forget they are 32+ years old and need some TLC. Great find, you'll enjoy them immensely.
 
mad shadows said:
If they are biased like Threshold amps they are 20 % class a
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The PA-7A is rated @ 200 watts per channel and 20% of that is 40 watts. Keep in mind it's based on a Threshold/NP design but it's not a Threshold. I'm quite sure that the biasing is not as aggressive as on a Threshold.
FYI 40 mV bias for PA-7 and 100 mV for Threshold s500 (the PA-7 stasis design is based on this Threshold model)
 
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20210226_191653.jpg
Akustic said:
That amp is also throwing EMF fields ....
Learned long ago ... multiple times ...
Set nothing on a big amp .. then I do it again ..:boring:

Tell us what it sounds like once it''s hooked up ...
Click to expand...
First chance to really listen to them today.
Have switched between the naks and my au 717.
The naks are much clearer and concise, the sound being rounder and well...just markedly better then the sansui. Its also more revealing, bad recordings sound bad...lol
I am certainly missing the tone controls from the sansui however. I dont consider myself an audiophile and have no problem with tuning an amp to suite my taste a little.
I listen to various genres. 90s indie rock. Rock (pink floyd, jimi hendrix. Etc.) I enjoy female singers. Lana del rey, Amy winehouse and Adele. And also some classical.
Much of the time i listen to 90's underground dance music from the UK and i am missing a little extra bass tweak

This leads to a question. Is it possible to send a signal from the nakamichi pre amp to a powered subwoofer? I remember doing this using the au 717 i have just forgotten how i did it.
 
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richersounds said:
View attachment 2145512
First chance to really listen to them today.
Have switched between the naks and my au 717.
The naks are much clearer and concise, the sound being rounder and well...just markedly better then the sansui. Its also more revealing, bad recordings sound bad...lol
I am certainly missing the tone controls from the sansui however. I dont consider myself an audiophile and have no problem with tuning an amp to suite my taste a little.
I listen to various genres. 90s indie rock. Rock (pink floyd, jimi hendrix. Etc.) I enjoy female singers. Lana del rey, Amy winehouse and Adele. And also some classical.
Much of the time i listen to 90's underground dance music from the UK and i am missing a little extra bass tweak

This leads to a question. Is it possible to send a signal from the nakamichi pre amp to a powered subwoofer? I remember doing this using the au 717 i have just forgotten how i did it.
Click to expand...

That looks more like the right arrangement .. big amps up top or on the floor .. they vibrate and throw EMF fields

The Nak has 2 line outs ... use one for the amp, and one for the subwoofer ..

The NAKs are batting in a league above any Sansui that was ever available in the States.. not too surprising that they sound better ..
 
Akustic said:
That looks more like the right arrangement .. big amps up top or on the floor .. they vibrate and throw EMF fields

The Nak has 2 line outs ... use one for the amp, and one for the subwoofer ..

The NAKs are batting in a league above any Sansui that was ever available in the States.. not too surprising that they sound better ..
Click to expand...

Perfect thanks!
 
If you need tone controls, the CA-5 MK 2 has them. It’s big brother CA-7 does as well, along with having very sophisticated (for 1985) system remote capabilities. Both are also supposed to sound better than the CA-5. I have a CA-7 along with the PA-7 and ST-7, and agree that they’re outstanding gear.
 
bobschneider said:
If you need tone controls, the CA-5 MK 2 has them. It’s big brother CA-7 does as well, along with having very sophisticated (for 1985) system remote capabilities. Both are also supposed to sound better than the CA-5. I have a CA-7 along with the PA-7 and ST-7, and agree that they’re outstanding gear.
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The power amp needs a new power cable. Can someone chine in on where to pick up a good replacment or will any old power cable do?
 
The power amp originally came with a heavy gauge generic IEC (computer style) power cable, which will work fine. 12 or 14 gauge would be good, and even 16 gauge would likely be fine. Or you could spend $1000 on an “audiophile” power cord if that’s what you want. I just use a generic power cable with mine.
 
bobschneider said:
The power amp originally came with a heavy gauge generic IEC (computer style) power cable, which will work fine. 12 or 14 gauge would be good, and even 16 gauge would likely be fine. Or you could spend $1000 on an “audiophile” power cord if that’s what you want. I just use a generic power cable with mine.
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Not looking to spend huge amounts on cables ill go for a good generic. Thanks, and thanks to all for your comments/help
 
bobschneider said:
The power amp originally came with a heavy gauge generic IEC (computer style) power cable, which will work fine. 12 or 14 gauge would be good, and even 16 gauge would likely be fine. Or you could spend $1000 on an “audiophile” power cord if that’s what you want. I just use a generic power cable with mine.
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Actually just found one i had laying around. Pretty thick gauge 16 i think 300v 105c temp. Would that be ok?
I think on the back of the amp it says 200v
 
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The 16 gauge cable I found on Amazon was rated at 1625 watts. The PA-7 is rated to draw 700 watts. You should be fine
 
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