My two Nakamichi cassette decks recently serviced by Bowers & Wilkins service labs in UK . Restored to their original specifications they sound great !!
The bottom Nakamichi cassette deck have a definite edge when it comes to clarity considering that the top deck looks like more to have all the bells and whistles. Love the way all Nakamichi equipment was made. Solid engineering. Beautiful to look at and listening too.
did you ever looked at other good decks?nakamichi zx-9 from late 80´s is the best from nakamichi but there´s other brands with better quality in sound and much better built using better materials, it seems 1990 again in this coment section
I have a friend with a Nak Dragon. Back in the day we compared our two decks against each other both were 3 head design so we could record and hear on the fly. I had a sony at the time and we could hear no difference, and we tried. A unique deck of the day and also a fantastic underrated recorder was from BIC it could record in 2x speed not very practical but the results were fantastic.
I had a ZX-9 in the 80's when I sold Nak and a lot of other high end gear. It was a true achievement in top performance. Dare I say one would not actually hear a difference between a CD and a properly recorded Metal tape with Dolby C.
that happens with lower quality decks in a simple system,and no need for a metal tape just a good chrome tape and normally no dolby, i made that test to a lot of friends and always the tape was choosen as being the cd ,it´s only a matter of dynamic, i think ,and about the nakamichi decks ,never understood why some even say at some point in the 90´s that it was the best deck in the world(the dragon) wich was an opinion divided by it´s auto-reverse , that lead to the deck that turns the cassette outside instead of the tradicional way ,but i always considered the zx-9 or 7 much better built than the dragon,regards
not needed a nakamichi to do so, even a much cheaper deck sound and is by measuring much better in sound than a cd,this without dolby, i did never liked the doby´s they cut the songs so no dolby and a good deck
Thanks. I was just curious because I had been following a few decks on ebay and I saw a couple of Dragons go for $700-900 and a TCD go for $2,300. It looked like a mean mother but I had know idea about performance and so forth.
Thanks for your comment .I have purchased many Nakamichi decks through the years, just to found the perfect one .Also the service costs a lot of money but I think that you have to pay to keep the legend alive.
you should try better decks and not spend so much money ,one of the reasons others are better,don´t refer to brands or a war would start ,this was the theme of discution in early 90´s without youtube or internet questions and answers were given by posting in especiality magazines, there was comunication among computers but not for unknown persons, publishing was the way
I haven't heard Tandberg but I suppose that is a good deck. But Dragon is the top reproduce cassette deck ever made thanks to NAAC .And it is a great recorder too.
yes but to record cassettes is far from the best this related to the auto-reverse system ,the zx-9 is better in recording and keeping the head alignement, but theres other brands decks that have a better sound quality in recording cassettes to play it´s secondary all play them perfect ,all the best ones, this was widelly discussed in the 90´s even the auto reverse from nakamichi who pulls out the cassette and then retrieve it, it was a way of nakamichi answer to those who talked bad about the dragon simple auto-reverse
I had the opportunity of working with a Dragon and later a Tascam 122 MKII and the latter is much much better - Basically we can play with these beasts all day long for years with no problems. The Tascam also has Dolby C and HX-Pro (that can be turned off), all tapes sound great, even pre-recorded. The azimuth adjust was a problem that came from the 60s and 70s, after that all professional decks had the tapes pretty much aligned... Naks are overrated if you want my opinion...
correct but why spend a lot of money in two decks one and cheaper does the work and better tested in laboratories , i do not refer other brands to do not start a war, 90´s again ,more like 91
@Duribethin I personally would go for ZX-9 and CR-7; both don't have autoreverse which lengthen reliability plus controls are better and more interesting than in DRAGON. 660-682 also have more interesting controls than DRAGON.
Do either of the devices have Nakamichi's unique, kickass carriage-style auto-reverse? I bought a lesser Nakamichi for that reason alone. So dramatic. So sweet. But then again, with the Dragon, just a glimpse is enough to see it's flagship status
Πολύ σωστό αυτό από τήν στιγμή πού τό κασετόφωνο έχει τήν δυνατότητα νά κουνά τήν κεφαλή ώστε νά βρίσκει τό κατάληλο αζιμούθιο { φτάνει βέβαια ή κασέτα νά είναι καλά ηχογραφημένη } ώστε ν'αποδίδει τά μεγιστα μέ οπιαδήποτε κασέτα σά νά ήταν ηχογραφημένη στό ίδιο τότε ένα τέτοιο κασετόφωνο θά παίζει όλες τίσ κασέτες 99% τέλεια Μεγάλη μαγκιά από τήν Nacamichi κρίμα πού δέν τήν ιυοθέτησαν οί άλλες εταιρείες προφανώς λόγω πνευματικών δικαιομάτων τής Nakamichi .
yeah the whole CDS "sound better" was a Lie many believed, this sounds Good. its one hell of a system you got there. I always just had Boom Boxes usually Dual cassette because I did a lot of dubbing back in the day 1985 - 1991
Владимир Соколов It Utube video. It depends on the recording, where he was standing, etc. Judging a cassette decks audio performance from a Utube video is asinine.
***** Hello everybody knows Revox and Nakamichi. More interesting are not known classics like NEAL - 302,Hitachi D 4500 , LoD D 4500,Toshiba (Aurex) PC-6030, Mitsubischi DT-40S, B.I.C. T-4M ,Akai GXC-65D..... Regards
Είναι γεγονός αυτό. Ωστόσο στην Αγγλία υπάρχουν εξειδικευμένοι τεχνίτες, που είναι σε θέση να συντηρήσουν σωστά τα εν λόγω αριστουργηματικά μηχανήματα!
Is there any person around who can claim to tell the difference in the sound between these decks especially on RUclips ?? Whoever owns these two NAKS is surely an avid Nakamichi aficionado and with deep pockets. Look after them well friend, for never will another cassette deck be made that could hope to come even remotely close to these two.
Can anyone help me with a nak deck ? what makes the Orange caps go bad that naks are plague with going bad . is it to much run time, getting to hot, leaving them running to long, what makes these Orange caps go bad SAD ONE OF IF NOT THE BEST RECORDING MACHINE EVER MADE AND THEY FK UP WITH THE FUCKING ORANGE CAP FALL WHAT MAKES THIS HAPPEN ??
Those decks were so expensive when they were available !... they were designed for cassette enthusiasts for sure ... and they look so complicated !! I don't know why they have so many buttons and knobs ... I have a Sony TC-K611S, and I can achieve such a good sound quality with it: in fact when I use Metal type tapes and Dolby S NR (with good calibration), I can't hear the difference with the CD, so I don't know what those decks can offer more .. For me those Nakamichis were overrated .. and overpriced !
Nice piece of hardware though ... My advice: never sell it ! This is a very good vintage machine ... A piece of history .. Its value will rise with time ..
cd´s are very bad to compare ,even a hx-1 from akai sounds better than the cd you recorded from, but all isn´t only the cd player or the deck ,theres the amplifier and speakers so why a top end deck and a bad sound to hear it, there are amplifiers and amplifiers and speakers and speakers, learn about electronics then by a system, nakamichi was never the way,since the 70´s , i had all top decks from nakamichi at home being a family business since the 60´s early ones ,it was very cheap for me to compare several high-end decks but nakamichi wasn´t one of them and i found the zx-9 the better in nakamichi ,only there´s other brands with highest quality in recording and playing and metal(except the ma-xg from tdk that surprised me in the 80´s) are not the best tapes good chrome ones are or were ,not cobalt
those measures are wrong and yes the zx-9 much better, idid measures from 2hrtz to 35 khrtz in good decks but those are not heardable the deck construction is the most important thing, and naka´s fail very bad on it
Great tools but they do not deserve thousands of euros. I have a Nakamichi CR1 bought for around 100 euros. There is no so much difference in sound quality. Ok, ok the Dragon means much more than simple sound. But these tools stay on ebay and amazon and no one buy them. So, the price is not right for them.
+mahadragon It's doing it by itself, you see the green light flashing for a few seconds when he pressed play? That's the automatic azimuth calibration. Only the Dragon has this.
Thank you very much for your answer Rey, according with the comparison video I believe that Nakamichi ZX-9 play and record cassettes better than Nakamichi Dragon, it's right or only is my believing?
Rey Sangalang lol, excellent Ray, I have a component system since 1992. I have a pair of Sansui SX9000 speakers, Onkyo AVR (I don't remember the model, but sounds a little better that a HK 3650 AVR), Tascam 102 stereo cassette deck HXPro (don't like me so much), Behringer EQ FBQ for 15 bands, I left it in my parents' home in Peru. Now I live in Mexico and I starting to get my new component system, I started to by a Nakamichi Dragon ($800) and get Nakamichi 2-RCA stereo audio cable. I want to by a Marantz pre amplifier and a Marantz amplifier, a pair of Infinity SM150 with a marantz or technics professional turntable. Please, feel free to suggest me improvements, I love professional audio and I spending my saved money in buy a very good system components, because is my passion. For my wife it doesn't like so much ha ha ha ha.
LoveAviation Most of the buttons are for recording. Bias and Dolby level have to be set and for each channel. The reason professional reel to reel sounds so good is because of the tape width and speed. But also because you adjust the bias level for every track. Those 2 inch analog 24 tracks - The bias has to be set for all 24 tracks.
Thank goodness for MP3, to put an end to overpricing cassette players regardless of their output capabilities. Depending were you look these can go from under £100 to over a grand second hand?!
Hello my friend.Unfortunately I don"t have any technical experience on Dragon. I believe that you must contact nak talk forum.There are many experts on Nakamichi equipment to help you. Just go to this web address and be a member www.naks.com/mailman/listinfo/naktalk . Best regards !
Μάλλον έφτασε η ώρα να αποχωριστώ 5κ ευρώ για ένα Dragon, που θα κάνει παρέα στις υπόλοιπες μονάδες τής Meridian στο δικάναλό μου σύστημα... Τόσο αποτιμώνται τώρα, καλοσυντηρημένα Dragon αλλά θα είναι και ένα καλό δώρο στις 1000+ κασέτες μου...
Με 1000-1500 ευρώ παίρνεις ένα καλό . Υπολόγισε και 500 € για service στο Β&W στην Αγγλία και θα έχεις ένα τέλειο μηχάνημα για τουλάχιστον 5 χρόνια.Το δικό μου στοίχισε γύρω στα 1800 με το service αλλά είναι από τα τελευταία κομμάτια παραγωγής .s/n 32857 περίπου 4ος 1993.
Is the purpose of the video to show off the sound quality of a tape recording? Can't really tell as the sound comes from a copy of a LP to a tape then out the speakers into a microphone then downgraded further on you tube. End result probably much worse than sitting in the room where you made the video. Can't really see the tape moving on either deck so not sure the point of the video.
bigboi51707 Because this is analog sound. If you have an extensive vinyl collection and you want to listen to it on the go, any of these units will capture the full qualtiy of analog sound. Assuming you have a Sony Pro Walkman to play it back on. Sure, you can make a 24/192 rip out of it and play it back on your Pono player but it won't sound the same. Some audiophiles have albums on reel to reel tape. These were sold through out the '50's, '60's and '70's. If you want make a good 1:1 analog copy of your albums on reel to reel and want the convenience of playback and storage then cassette is your way to go. A top high end 3 head Dolby C / S deck will get you 20 - 20 000hz +-3db with Chrome tape. And wow and flutter as low as 0.04%. Again you could make a CD copy, but it wouldn't have that "analog" sound. Or you've finished recording your song on Pro Tools and you're ready to hit record and make your 24/96 master file. But instead you do an D/A conversion and mix down to a NaK Dragon or perhaps a vintage Nak 581 from 1979. I used to own one. Now your master has that analog feel. But I see your point. Look, I am running out of excuses to buy these things.
TheNewGranada You are not crazy tapes are shit vs CD. And there were mostly used to have decent sound in a car. But I think some took it to an extreme. They are sort of a fad now, cool gadgets for people wanting to remember day gone past. 8 tracks went the way of the Doo Doo bird too.
+TheNewGranada Which is funny, since my piano never produces noise that even the best tape-recorders ALWAYS add to the recording. So those self-proclaimed audiophiles have not the faintest idea of what they're talking about.
TheNewGranada Yea, a lot of people thought that. People would buy the cheapest cassette deck they could find, record at a low level on Normal Type 1 tape and then complain about the sound. Or worse - a lot of people had those horrible dubbing decks. They would take a tape that was bad already and then make a high speed copy (twice speed) without any noise reduction. Couldn't use the Dolby Noise Reduction system at twice speed. They were professional dubbing decks that sounded great. But they usually started at $1000 and went up. Back in the mid 80's a $300 mid price deck (using Metal tape) would sound very good. It's wierd isn't it sir....Today someone will pay $1200 for an IPhone but back in 1986 wouldn't dish out $300 for decent cassette machine. I used to plug in an equalizer to boost up the very top end on my cheapo $170 Hitachi deck. Even with this low end machine I was able to get 30 - 17 000hz +-3db (Type 4 Metal tape). And wow and flutter (speed variation) I think was 0.06% (A Weighted). And I would record at very hot levels. Anyway I had all kinds off tricks for getting better sound off my cassette deck. The machine had no bias control or Dolby HX Pro (alters the bias with high frequency content). Unfortunately My recording at hot levels with lots of high frequency eq would cause the occasional self eraser of the top end. All my copies were 1:1 (real time). The bottom line is the cassette is only going to be as good as the machine you record it on. And the tape you use.
Ewout Honig I am not sure what you are trying to say. A tape machine (as you put it) includes even a professional 1 imch analog 2 track running at 30 ips, not just cassette. Are you referring to scrape flutter?. The AFM (amplitude frequency modulation) recording system used in: VHS, S-VHS, Beta and Professional 3/4 inch HI-FI Sound has no scrape flutter. No recording system (digital or analog) can capture the full sound of a live performance. No argument there. They can get close and sound fantastic but they will always be something missing. Is this your point?....That has nothing to do with tape. As for adding things that aren't there.....Some say analog is better, some say digital. Am I guessing right that you feel that tape (even professional 2 inch 16 track) will always add something, while digital (done well) at 24/96 doesn't add anything. Keep in mind that digital can be recorded on tape as well. (Digital Dash multi-track.) Or is it just cassette?
About zx 9 . I believe is more complete cassette deck. Great Recorder and a very good player. Dragon is equal to zx9 with the advantage of NAAK.Not so good recorder compared to zx9 .
pioneer ct a9 ,akai gx f 95 or aiwa ad 6900 , just 3 decks who destroy any naka anytime........this brand is so overratted , simply because they made few good models ......i had the dragon last year , an astonishing machine but wayyyy under really big boys ....
The best hardware possible playing the worst music media ever invented. Cassette audio quality is at the bottom of the heap.......although as a broke teenager they were an awesome cheap alternative.
Technology comes up with new ways everyday, and makes peoples life better, some of us like to collect garbage, I really can't understand that. one simple cd player can do million times better and conveniently than all this bulky monsters. I like to get me pinhole camera and do a selfy, make sense?
The bottom Nakamichi cassette deck have a definite edge when it comes to clarity considering that the top deck looks like more to have all the bells and whistles. Love the way all Nakamichi equipment was made. Solid engineering. Beautiful to look at and listening too.
did you ever looked at other good decks?nakamichi zx-9 from late 80´s is the best from nakamichi but there´s other brands with better quality in sound and much better built using better materials, it seems 1990 again in this coment section
I have a friend with a Nak Dragon. Back in the day we compared our two decks against each other both were 3 head design so we could record and hear on the fly. I had a sony at the time and we could hear no difference, and we tried. A unique deck of the day and also a fantastic underrated recorder was from BIC it could record in 2x speed not very practical but the results were fantastic.
There is also Dual C844 had dual speed, it is also good alternative to BIC cassette decks.
D- Train .. good music and good audio, good old times ;)
I love these decks... You old school house caught me off guard but Im loving it I grew up on the music and the equipment. Props for a great video!
Hai 2 registratori eccellenti !
I had a ZX-9 in the 80's when I sold Nak and a lot of other high end gear. It was a true achievement in top performance. Dare I say one would not actually hear a difference between a CD and a properly recorded Metal tape with Dolby C.
that happens with lower quality decks in a simple system,and no need for a metal tape just a good chrome tape and normally no dolby, i made that test to a lot of friends and always the tape was choosen as being the cd ,it´s only a matter of dynamic, i think ,and about the nakamichi decks ,never understood why some even say at some point in the 90´s that it was the best deck in the world(the dragon) wich was an opinion divided by it´s auto-reverse , that lead to the deck that turns the cassette outside instead of the tradicional way ,but i always considered the zx-9 or 7 much better built than the dragon,regards
not needed a nakamichi to do so, even a much cheaper deck sound and is by measuring much better in sound than a cd,this without dolby, i did never liked the doby´s they cut the songs so no dolby and a good deck
The Dragon in 360p: make yourself a road dust, visitor.
Nakamichi knew how to build Quality tape decks for the discerning Audiophile.
for richer audiophiles if quality you seek nakamichi you will not find, find the force or the souce
Yes I installed it myself just to protect it from dust.It´s a piece of plastic glued with hot silicone! Very easy to instal and makes a great job!
Even ZX-7 LX-5 LX-3 do not have the protective window for such high end decks. :(
Be careful do not let it run too hot!!!
@@4132ize I know it and thank you. They operate for a very short time, about 2 hours every 2-3 days.
I can only dream of one of them decks and you have both you lucky person!!
Superb taste in music! D-train Williams
Wow, awesome decks...congrats!:)
Thanks. I was just curious because I had been following a few decks on ebay and I saw a couple of Dragons go for $700-900 and a TCD go for $2,300. It looked like a mean mother but I had know idea about performance and so forth.
Mine was basic model even so it's still a legendary brand BX-1 my brother in law use the BX-2 with Dolby B-C
Nakamichi is the pinnacle of cassette deck technology.
Very good Decks, But i think you have to listen to Tandberg. Nothing can beat that.
Still prefer electric doors, manual doors are still a bit like manual car window winders to me. See the SONY TC KA7ES
Thanks for your comment .I have purchased many Nakamichi decks through the years, just to found the perfect one .Also the service costs a lot of money but I think that you have to pay to keep the legend alive.
you should try better decks and not spend so much money ,one of the reasons others are better,don´t refer to brands or a war would start ,this was the theme of discution in early 90´s without youtube or internet questions and answers were given by posting in especiality magazines, there was comunication among computers but not for unknown persons, publishing was the way
Interesting, your ZX9 has a plastic window in the cassette well!! Not seen this on any of my ZX's
Shame these do not come in more protections than even 660/670/680 ZX series.
I haven't heard Tandberg but I suppose that is a good deck. But Dragon is the top reproduce cassette deck ever made thanks to NAAC .And it is a great recorder too.
yes but to record cassettes is far from the best this related to the auto-reverse system ,the zx-9 is better in recording and keeping the head alignement, but theres other brands decks that have a better sound quality in recording cassettes to play it´s secondary all play them perfect ,all the best ones, this was widelly discussed in the 90´s even the auto reverse from nakamichi who pulls out the cassette and then retrieve it, it was a way of nakamichi answer to those who talked bad about the dragon simple auto-reverse
I want this in my life...!
Hi ive
Nakamichi dragon.email me i can sell it for you.Also i ve put it on ebay. moy email ishiq@box.az
D 🚆 Train! 😃 I love it. Love the tape decks. Needs a little bass & treble other wise 👍 great!
I had the opportunity of working with a Dragon and later a Tascam 122 MKII and the latter is much much better - Basically we can play with these beasts all day long for years with no problems. The Tascam also has Dolby C and HX-Pro (that can be turned off), all tapes sound great, even pre-recorded. The azimuth adjust was a problem that came from the 60s and 70s, after that all professional decks had the tapes pretty much aligned... Naks are overrated if you want my opinion...
I want this deck
Πατριωτη,μολις χθες ειδα ενα ZX 9 σε μαγαζι στην Καλαματα.
Ωραιο βιντεο και το τραγουδι !
Yes you are right about the sound quality but I couldn't do that with my camera.
lucky man to have both
... and to have Bowers & Wilkins service labs. :)
Great choice supreme collection.
Mahmood Bhai thank you my friend!!
ZX-9 for cord/record, DRAGON for play/replay.
correct but why spend a lot of money in two decks one and cheaper does the work and better tested in laboratories , i do not refer other brands to do not start a war, 90´s again ,more like 91
@Duribethin I personally would go for ZX-9 and CR-7; both don't have autoreverse which lengthen reliability plus controls are better and more interesting than in DRAGON. 660-682 also have more interesting controls than DRAGON.
Do either of the devices have Nakamichi's unique, kickass carriage-style auto-reverse? I bought a lesser Nakamichi for that reason alone. So dramatic. So sweet. But then again, with the Dragon, just a glimpse is enough to see it's flagship status
Forget that question. It's obvious that they don't have the carriage assembly. Hence...
Is that the best music you could find to demo these things?
Beautiful equipment!👍👂👂👂👂👂
They just did my BX 300 and I cant recommend them highly enough.
Why did even flagship naks don't incorporate auto eject and close feature.
More things to go wrong or fail.
Yes, originally there should be just an opening without any plastic.
Plastic builds up heat inside the deck - without it allows it to run cooler
You can't say which is the best I think Zx 9 is best for recording and Dragon for reproduce a cassette tape thanks to NAAC.
Πολύ σωστό αυτό από τήν στιγμή πού τό κασετόφωνο έχει τήν δυνατότητα νά κουνά τήν κεφαλή ώστε νά βρίσκει τό κατάληλο αζιμούθιο { φτάνει βέβαια ή κασέτα νά είναι καλά ηχογραφημένη } ώστε ν'αποδίδει τά μεγιστα μέ οπιαδήποτε κασέτα σά νά ήταν ηχογραφημένη στό ίδιο τότε ένα τέτοιο κασετόφωνο θά παίζει όλες τίσ κασέτες 99% τέλεια
Μεγάλη μαγκιά από τήν Nacamichi κρίμα πού δέν τήν ιυοθέτησαν οί άλλες εταιρείες προφανώς λόγω πνευματικών δικαιομάτων τής Nakamichi .
yeah the whole CDS "sound better" was a Lie many believed, this sounds Good. its one hell of a system you got there. I always just had Boom Boxes usually Dual cassette because I did a lot of dubbing back in the day 1985 - 1991
2 legendary decks, but a Nakamichi 680ZX has deeper bass, and better soundstage. Ps Dragon here sounds like it needs recapping.
Very jealous. Excellent video.
Wonderful
You can hear the Dragon is more stable immediately. Zx-9 is richer though.
Где высокие частоты? Where is a high frequencies?
Владимир Соколов It Utube video. It depends on the recording, where he was standing, etc. Judging a cassette decks audio performance from a Utube video is asinine.
,the highest grade. crowning achievement of a cassette deck.I like English classic Neal 302
no....i think revox is much better, just like BENZ is much better than LEXU!!!
I am interested in the unknown audio classics
***** Hello everybody knows Revox and Nakamichi. More interesting are not known classics like NEAL - 302,Hitachi D 4500 , LoD D 4500,Toshiba (Aurex) PC-6030,
Mitsubischi DT-40S, B.I.C. T-4M ,Akai GXC-65D.....
Regards
ΕΛ:Πολύ τυχερός που έχεις αυτά τα 2 εκπληκτικά κασσετόφωνα!
UK:Very lucky owner of these 2 high end cassete decks!
Σε ευχαριστώ αλλά η συντήρηση τους κοστίζει αρκετά , και δυστυχώς δεν γίνεται στην Ελλάδα.
Είναι γεγονός αυτό. Ωστόσο στην Αγγλία υπάρχουν εξειδικευμένοι τεχνίτες, που είναι σε θέση να συντηρήσουν σωστά τα εν λόγω αριστουργηματικά μηχανήματα!
Is there any person around who can claim to tell the difference in the sound between these decks especially on RUclips ??
Whoever owns these two NAKS is surely an avid Nakamichi aficionado and with deep pockets.
Look after them well friend, for never will another cassette deck be made that could hope to come even remotely close to these two.
Серьезная техника!
Beautiful pieces my friend! Congrats!
Zx9 is more raw sounding.... Dragon has a little more separation but doesn't sound as analogue
Can anyone help me with a nak deck ? what makes the Orange caps go bad that naks are plague with going bad . is it to much run time, getting to hot, leaving them running to long, what makes these Orange caps go bad SAD ONE OF IF NOT THE BEST RECORDING MACHINE EVER MADE AND THEY FK UP WITH THE FUCKING ORANGE CAP FALL WHAT MAKES THIS HAPPEN ??
Those decks were so expensive when they were available !... they were designed for cassette enthusiasts for sure ... and they look so complicated !! I don't know why they have so many buttons and knobs ... I have a Sony TC-K611S, and I can achieve such a good sound quality with it: in fact when I use Metal type tapes and Dolby S NR (with good calibration), I can't hear the difference with the CD, so I don't know what those decks can offer more .. For me those Nakamichis were overrated .. and overpriced !
Nice piece of hardware though ... My advice: never sell it ! This is a very good vintage machine ... A piece of history .. Its value will rise with time ..
I will tell you what they offer more, they offer analog warm sound stage instead of 90s cassette deck with Dolby S that sounds more like cd.
Should take a peek inside like a 747!
cd´s are very bad to compare ,even a hx-1 from akai sounds better than the cd you recorded from, but all isn´t only the cd player or the deck ,theres the amplifier and speakers so why a top end deck and a bad sound to hear it, there are amplifiers and amplifiers and speakers and speakers, learn about electronics then by a system, nakamichi was never the way,since the 70´s , i had all top decks from nakamichi at home being a family business since the 60´s early ones ,it was very cheap for me to compare several high-end decks but nakamichi wasn´t one of them and i found the zx-9 the better in nakamichi ,only there´s other brands with highest quality in recording and playing and metal(except the ma-xg from tdk that surprised me in the 80´s) are not the best tapes good chrome ones are or were ,not cobalt
How would you compare the Dragon to the Tandberg TCD-3014A?
see ,there are better ,much better!!!
Dragon and ZX-9 have the same velocity? Dragon a bit slow?
see other thing that doesn´t work on naka´s, both are rapid but with use they get slow and hard to handle, again the zx-9 was the best naka ever
ナカミチの純正カセットテープをお持ちですね。ソニーとは
すこしバイアスが異なります。本当のナカミチのサウンドです。
What the best(in your opinion)?
i like the look of the dragon but too bad they had to make it auto reverse
Why? It’s a 3-head nonetheless!
ZX-9:
20hz to 21khz
Dragon:
20hz to 22khz
I prefer ZX-9 over Dragon.
If you can hear anything near either of those extremes, you need to contact the Smithsonian ;)
Arthur Watts Doesn’t matter if you can hear them. If those frequencies go missing a well trained ear can still detect it.
@@arthurwatts1680
Well said dude
Good alternatives to these are CR-7 and 682ZX too.
those measures are wrong and yes the zx-9 much better, idid measures from 2hrtz to 35 khrtz in good decks but those are not heardable the deck construction is the most important thing, and naka´s fail very bad on it
Great tools but they do not deserve thousands of euros. I have a Nakamichi CR1 bought for around 100 euros. There is no so much difference in sound quality. Ok, ok the Dragon means much more than simple sound. But these tools stay on ebay and amazon and no one buy them. So, the price is not right for them.
So you want to show off a fantastic deck and record the sound thru a videocamera...?
+Leo Berger Yes I know how to do it but this was not a videocamera , it was a pic camera
ok. should be interesting otherwise to really compare cassettdecks sonicly. A/B switch
+Leo Berger Who cares. It's a cassette player for crying out loud. 1986 called. They want their 'Hi-End' stuff back.
***** Actually... I own a RX-505.
It's collecting dust. Because cassette tape
***** Well it's for sale. Buy me a beer :D
You didn't do azimuth correction on the dragon before playing it!
+mahadragon It's doing it by itself, you see the green light flashing for a few seconds when he pressed play? That's the automatic azimuth calibration. Only the Dragon has this.
mahadragon It is only on CR-7 that you do the azimuth correction.
@@symphony137 so wrong ,there are pioneers that do the same better and aren´t the best
진짜로 써보고 싶었던 기계네요^^
AIWA XK-009 EXCELIA "killer Nakamichi Dragon".
Not in a million years.
B&Wでメンテナンス可能なんですね。1980年代ナカミチはB&Wの日本の代理店だったから?
#LOVENAK
Hello my friend, please help me choose between with those naks models ZX9, CR-7, Dragon or DR-10 which is the best?. Thank you so much
Thank you very much for your answer Rey, according with the comparison video I believe that Nakamichi ZX-9 play and record cassettes better than Nakamichi Dragon, it's right or only is my believing?
Rey Sangalang lol, excellent Ray, I have a component system since 1992. I have a pair of Sansui SX9000 speakers, Onkyo AVR (I don't remember the model, but sounds a little better that a HK 3650 AVR), Tascam 102 stereo cassette deck HXPro (don't like me so much), Behringer EQ FBQ for 15 bands, I left it in my parents' home in Peru. Now I live in Mexico and I starting to get my new component system, I started to by a Nakamichi Dragon ($800) and get Nakamichi 2-RCA stereo audio cable. I want to by a Marantz pre amplifier and a Marantz amplifier, a pair of Infinity SM150 with a marantz or technics professional turntable. Please, feel free to suggest me improvements, I love professional audio and I spending my saved money in buy a very good system components, because is my passion. For my wife it doesn't like so much ha ha ha ha.
Rey Sangalang You can take a video and load it in youtube, many audiophiles like me will be happy :D
Rey Sangalang great, my email is aibanezw@gmail.com Thank you very much my friend
1st: ZX-9
2nd: CR-7
3rd: DRAGON
4th: DR-10
видео жесть :)
Same
is the acoustics so bad or so it seems to me ??? )
The acoustic is great .Bad acoustic is camera's fault.
@@stkast well, I get it, THANKS! tape decks are good! )
So many knobs and buttons just to play a cassette tape.
LoveAviation Most of the buttons are for recording. Bias and Dolby level have to be set and for each channel. The reason professional reel to reel sounds so good is because of the tape width and speed. But also because you adjust the bias level for every track. Those 2 inch analog 24 tracks - The bias has to be set for all 24 tracks.
que maquinas la ferrari de las deks
когда будет видео с реальным звуком на выходе а не через нокиа 3210
Why do you have 2 cassette players?
I'm a Nakamichi Collector . I've also have a 670zx, RX505 , CR7 and 3 car decks TD-700 TD-1000 and a Mobile Tuner Deck 1.
今もこの2台維持していますか?
Dragon was it repair?
Techoldie Yes it was and still sounds great..
Thank goodness for MP3, to put an end to overpricing cassette players regardless of their output capabilities. Depending were you look these can go from under £100 to over a grand second hand?!
need service all the time!
D-Train!
zx9 sounded alot better to me.
Me too
The ZX-9 is better!!! In every way!!!
when you say in action do you mean playing a fekkin cassette tape?
Cause this is what decks do maybe?
zx9 sounds clearer
да здесь вообще не разберёшь, что за звук. Мои более дешёвые деки звучат лучше. :)
i totally agree with you ,in my opinion is the best nakamichi built
increíble lastima q todo eso ya se acabó sólo para conosedores
Hello my friend.Unfortunately I don"t have any technical experience on Dragon. I believe that you must contact nak talk forum.There are many experts on Nakamichi equipment to help you. Just go to this web address and be a member www.naks.com/mailman/listinfo/naktalk . Best regards !
Μάλλον έφτασε η ώρα να αποχωριστώ 5κ ευρώ για ένα Dragon, που θα κάνει παρέα στις υπόλοιπες μονάδες τής Meridian στο δικάναλό μου σύστημα... Τόσο αποτιμώνται τώρα, καλοσυντηρημένα Dragon αλλά θα είναι και ένα καλό δώρο στις 1000+ κασέτες μου...
Με 1000-1500 ευρώ παίρνεις ένα καλό . Υπολόγισε και 500 € για service στο Β&W στην Αγγλία και θα έχεις ένα τέλειο μηχάνημα για τουλάχιστον 5 χρόνια.Το δικό μου στοίχισε γύρω στα 1800 με το service αλλά είναι από τα τελευταία κομμάτια παραγωγής .s/n 32857 περίπου 4ος 1993.
@@stkast Σάς ευχαριστώ θερμά για τις πληροφορίες!
Is the purpose of the video to show off the sound quality of a tape recording?
Can't really tell as the sound comes from a copy of a LP to a tape then out the speakers into a microphone then downgraded further on you tube. End result probably much worse than sitting in the room where you made the video.
Can't really see the tape moving on either deck so not sure the point of the video.
すごいですね。
i'll trade you a bologna sandwich for them.
사고 싶어요.
For sale?
No There are not for sale.Sorry!
st Kast ok^^
Why would anybody spend so much for something that achieves the ordinary
bigboi51707 Because this is analog sound. If you have an extensive vinyl collection and you want to listen to it on the go, any of these units will capture the full qualtiy of analog sound. Assuming you have a Sony Pro Walkman to play it back on. Sure, you can make a 24/192 rip out of it and play it back on your Pono player but it won't sound the same. Some audiophiles have albums on reel to reel tape. These were sold through out the '50's, '60's and '70's. If you want make a good 1:1 analog copy of your albums on reel to reel and want the convenience of playback and storage then cassette is your way to go. A top high end 3 head Dolby C / S deck will get you
20 - 20 000hz +-3db with Chrome tape. And wow and flutter as low as 0.04%. Again you could make a CD copy, but it wouldn't have that "analog" sound. Or you've finished recording your song on Pro Tools and you're ready to hit record and make your 24/96 master file. But instead you do an D/A conversion and mix down to a NaK Dragon or perhaps a vintage Nak 581 from 1979. I used to own one. Now your master has that analog feel.
But I see your point.
Look, I am running out of excuses to buy these things.
its a fukkin cassette deck. no better or worse then any other antique
call me crazy but back in the day I always thought tapes sounded like shit and their only purpose was for making mix tapes for the car or your box.
TheNewGranada You are not crazy tapes are shit vs CD. And there were mostly used to have decent sound in a car. But I think some took it to an extreme. They are sort of a fad now, cool gadgets for people wanting to remember day gone past. 8 tracks went the way of the Doo Doo bird too.
but yet, audiophiles swear by reel to reel as the most accurate sound reproduction source
+TheNewGranada Which is funny, since my piano never produces noise that even the best tape-recorders ALWAYS add to the recording. So those self-proclaimed audiophiles have not the faintest idea of what they're talking about.
TheNewGranada
Yea, a lot of people thought that. People would buy the cheapest cassette deck they could find, record at a low level on Normal Type 1 tape and then complain about the sound. Or worse - a lot of people had those horrible dubbing decks. They would take a tape that was bad already and then make a high speed copy (twice speed) without any noise reduction. Couldn't use the Dolby Noise Reduction system at twice speed. They were professional dubbing decks that sounded great. But they usually started at $1000 and went up.
Back in the mid 80's a $300 mid price deck (using Metal tape) would sound very good. It's wierd isn't it sir....Today someone will pay $1200 for an IPhone but back in 1986 wouldn't dish out $300 for decent cassette machine.
I used to plug in an equalizer to boost up the very top end on my cheapo $170 Hitachi deck. Even with this low end machine I was able to get 30 - 17 000hz +-3db (Type 4 Metal tape). And wow and flutter (speed variation) I think was 0.06% (A Weighted). And I would record at very hot levels. Anyway I had all kinds off tricks for getting better sound off my cassette deck. The machine had no bias control or Dolby HX Pro (alters the bias with high frequency content). Unfortunately My recording at hot levels with lots of high frequency eq would cause the occasional self eraser of the top end.
All my copies were 1:1 (real time). The bottom line is the cassette is only going to be as good as the machine you record it on. And the tape you use.
Ewout Honig I am not sure what you are trying to say. A tape machine (as you put it) includes even a professional 1 imch analog 2 track running at 30 ips, not just cassette. Are you referring to scrape flutter?. The AFM (amplitude frequency modulation) recording system used in: VHS, S-VHS, Beta and Professional 3/4 inch HI-FI Sound has no scrape flutter.
No recording system (digital or analog) can capture the full sound of a live performance. No argument there. They can get close and sound fantastic but they will always be something missing. Is this your point?....That has nothing to do with tape.
As for adding things that aren't there.....Some say analog is better, some say digital. Am I guessing right that you feel that tape (even professional 2 inch 16 track) will always add something, while digital (done well) at 24/96 doesn't add anything. Keep in mind that digital can be recorded on tape as well. (Digital Dash multi-track.)
Or is it just cassette?
【何か私的には、『色々の方が、Dragonを絶賛していますが』】【この、私的には『Dragonよりも、ZX-9の方が音が良いと思います』】【その、訳は『Dragonの方が音が全体的に重いような気が致します』】【その、点『ZX-9の方が、私的には音がクリアーで自然に聞こえると思います』】【sento29lausより。】【you tubeを視聴中の世界中の】皆々:さん:様:へ【悪しからず。】
About zx 9 . I believe is more complete cassette deck. Great Recorder and a very good player. Dragon is equal to zx9 with the advantage of NAAK.Not so good recorder compared to zx9 .
Shake a ass music. Ok
crud music choice (
82 що от
pioneer ct a9 ,akai gx f 95 or aiwa ad 6900 , just 3 decks who destroy any naka anytime........this brand is so overratted , simply because they made few good models ......i had the dragon last year , an astonishing machine but wayyyy under really big boys ....
The best hardware possible playing the worst music media ever invented. Cassette audio quality is at the bottom of the heap.......although as a broke teenager they were an awesome cheap alternative.
Spoken like the typical jackass that has never owned a top of the line cassette deck, if you had you wouldn't have made such an ignorant statement.
semmi különbség, ugyanaz
Technology comes up with new ways everyday, and makes peoples life better, some of us like to collect garbage, I really can't understand that. one simple cd player can do million times better and conveniently than all this bulky monsters. I like to get me pinhole camera and do a selfy, make sense?
Questa tecnologia non ha senso per te,per gli altri compreso io,ha senso
@@giuseppelavecchia775 English
@@giuseppelavecchia775 او الرد بالعربيه
@@jankove2 use google translate
@@giuseppelavecchia775 evidently you know English
وأنا أتحدث العربيبة