Nakamichi vs Pioneer construction

[haggy38]

Still don't understand the hush about this Nakamichi decks, everyone says its the best of the best, but why??

I got a Nakamichi dragon, 700 tri racer and Pioneer CT F 1250 and 1000, comparing the construction and quality there's no doubt the pioneer is superior than Naks, very few plastic parts, instead the Naks are crowded with plastic parts, even the post supports are plastic, yes they has lots of features but the transport looks pretty delicate, .......... What do you thing guys??



Gustavo

 

[Wilhem]

The head technology distinguishes Nakamichi decks from all others. They had the smallest playback gaps for the widest response, and the best shapes of both playback and record heads for best performance. The designs also meant the potential introduction of more noise, but they took extra care in keeping amplifier noise low. Almost every other manufacturer relied on OEM heads from other manufacturers; and although these other heads could be excellent, they did not achieve the refinement--and expense--of the heads Nakamichi manufactured. The differences you see between Pioneer and Nakamichi construction represent the distribution of attention and cost of the two different design approaches.

 

[tapetech]

Also most NAK decks have superior tape-path alignment abilities which means they can be more accurately tuned. For instance, a single screw adjustment for head height for each individual head (record and play). As well as separate azimuth adjustment for each head. NAKs have better transports, heads and alignment capabilities.

 

[haggy38]

Thanks guys,

I got a dilema with my recently purchase, Nakamichi dragon, Sn# 11520, powers up, hates Maxell XLII, it crunchs the tape but yessss she loves cheap, contrary to my girlfriend, the basic cassettes from 1 dollar, Bias works some times like my cousin, some times not it sounds normal, nothing espectacular, I already ordered the belts and idler wheel from Joe hope it works, Im stuck regarding a good technician in my country, Bogota-Colombia so I got to do it my self, any tips?? for basic repair?

Anyway I just paid $100


Gustavo

 

[dksp]

Eating tapes comes from the mechanics, the transport needs to be taken apart and to be cleaned. If you don't find a tech, you'll have to do it yourself. The problem is, you will need special tools to align everything correctly. Given the price you paid, I would consider buying those. Knowing that you can easily sell those tools afterwards. Or you could try the 'quick and dirty' method, by applying penetrating oil locally with a seringue. You will also have to replace the "orange caps", in order to prevent bigger failures.

 

[haggy38]

Thanks for the tips, the level and bias is erratic, sometimes there's a tone when moving the knobs, it seems dirty but pretty sure is something else. Where can I buy the special tools and what's the aprox budget?



Gustavo

 

[JEMS]

I have owned several Naks and the 700 Tri Tracer was by far the most problematic. I wouldn't vouch for it. Nak abandoned that design, moved away from solenoids for example, etc. So I wouldn't use that as the comparable for a Pioneer deck which are built solid. But sound quality wise, a deck like a CR-7A is the best I have ever used.

 

[tapetech]

Where can I buy the special tools and what's the aprox budget?

Cost for test tapes, gauges and test equipment for that deck would be very, very high. And that assumes you know how to fix the Dragon. You don't, and to teach you that skill would be impracticable. It is a difficult deck to fix even for professionals. As a result, you will never get it 100% meeting spec and reliable.

If I were you, I would sell the Dragon and buy a NAK that is more serviceable and basic in design. Like a 2-head model. BX-100 for instance. A fully and correctly serviced BX-100 will work better, sound better and be more reliable than a semi-fixed Dragon.

Or buy a fully serviced, warrantied Dragon from a known NAK repair person.

 

[haggy38]

Well, I restored my Pioneer CT F1250 and my Nakamichi 700 tri Tracer, both sounds spectacular, but the Dragon its a different animal, probably I will invest on align tapes for now.

I will keep it for sure, thanks for your replies guys.


Gustavo

 

[tapetech]

Well, to start, you need an M300 gauge, a NAK track registration tape, azimuth tape and Dolby level tape.

However, to use those items you need test equipment: AC millivolt meter (dB meter), a DMM with cap meter and counter, A dual trace oscilloscope and an audio oscillator.

 

[haggy38]

HI I got the oscilloscope Rigol DS1102E, DMM Agilent U1272A, I guess I have invest in the other things, like the dB meter and audio oscillator(Cheap) and tapes, the M300 gauge impossible! Budget. I will try with what I got.........

Thanks for the info.



Gustavo

 

[zedex]

You can buy an m300 guage from Willie Herman(nak tech) in the US. I believe they are approx $150 US. The tapes you can get from Gennlab or A.N.T audio (Alex Nikitin) in the UK. The best belts are from marrs communication a bit pricey but the best around. The millivolt meter should be a tube type with needles otherwise measurement is not accurate.

 

[haggy38]

Thanks for the info, The budget is tight, so I will try first the belts, tapes and Millivolt.

 

[Ricktptman]

Loss Leader Pioneers might've had some alignment problems (I haven't encountered any), but the TOTL's (CT-1250, CT-95, CT-93, CT-43) are pretty much World Beaters in terms of imaging and overall audio quality. But (I say this everywhere I see this never-ending food fight, and I believe it is objectively true) there is NO ultimate cassette deck. The Naks lack Dolby S and many lack speed control. But the Pioneers lack on the fly azimuth and independent head adjustment. (I've had machines where it could have made a difference but for most, it doesn't.) Pioneers are by far the most finicky to work on, SHORT of what's been stated about the PVC content in the Nak Decks. I own and have restored four 1250's, A CT-93, CT-43, a Nak Dragon, RX-505, DR-1, and BX-300. (And I've worked on traded/flipped countless others, some of which were very good decks as well.) The last-gen Pioneer's SQ (if that's your priority) takes the "gold", but God help you when it's time to change the belts because of the automatic door feature and the SM has no pertinent advice about the positioning of the cam. (I've done it twice. I hope this time these belts outlast me-I've got one last set sealed up in storage) Nak (like Mac for Tuners with the MR-78) set the standards that Pioneer (very successfully) plinked away at, so they both should get all the respect they've earned, but it doesn't make Pioneer "next best". Closer to "different" best. It depends on one's priorities. The other (small) issue is that back in the day, Pioneer shipped a TON of those machines to Long Beach and oftentimes either owing to the trip over or the sheer production run pace, they didn't always arrive on our shores the way they left Japan. The 1250's, in particular, had problems with electrical alignment "out of the box". Once set-up, they're a pretty fearsome beast, if not in S/N ratio (Dolby B, is what it is) then in the way they throw a very specific stereo image. VERY un-1 7/8 ips like.