playing nakamichi recorded cassettes on other nakamichi decks

I know that playing nakamichi recorded tapes on non-nakamichi decks can effect sound quality because of alignment. My question is does playing a nakamichi recorded tape on another nakamichi that is a different model effect playback quality. I have a BX-1 and 480. I was planning to use the 480 for playback at the office. I do most of my taping on the BX-1 and want to know if crossing models will effect play back. Do I need to stay within models a BX-1 tape on a Bx-1?

 

I think that should be perfectly fine. The 480 is one amazing playback deck. There is also an azimuth adjustment wheel behind the tape door if you really need it.

 

It might, but probably not as much as Nak to non-Nak. Playing a cassette on any deck other than the one that recorded it can alter sound quality unless both have adjustable (see above) or "auto" azimuth. And if you use Dolby there can be differences in its effect from deck to deck. The extent to which you can hear these differences will vary. Record a variety of tracks and give it a try to see if you are happy with the result. I think it unlikely you'll have an issue.

 

My Nak DR1 and DR3 did NOT sound the same i.e. recorded one deck and played back on the other. It was a noticeable difference.

This was circa 1997. I physically brought them to the Soundsmith and I vividly recall Peter telling me he had to "modify them" to make them compatible with one another. I don't know specifically what he did, but after Soundsmith worked on them, playing tapes recorded on the "other" deck was a transparent experience.

My personal experience only....it is certainly not stated as a general rule.

JQ

 

I would expect some sound quality degradation when going from the BX1 to the 480. But if you aren't doing any critical listening it will probably be negligible.

 

I bought some tapes at a garage sale sitting next to a nak 500.
The stuff that was recorded on them sounded great on a rx303,mr1 and a 680.

I think if the recording deck is in alignment and your other deck is too, things should sound good.

 

Nice first post, DailyHiFi. Welcome to the forum.

As a guy who owns a Nakamichi T-1000 alignment box and test tapes, and lived and died by them in the old days, you'll be all right.

The only question is head alignment. If the heads are aligned properly on both decks, everything will be fine. Your only real concern is if the azimuth is off on either deck. If it's off on the BX-1, I'd probably leave that alone and have the 480 tweaked to match the alignment of the BX-1. Otherwise all the tapes you've made in the past won't sound good on either deck. If it's off on the 480, adjust it to the correct azimuth setting.

The very real bugaboo of having Nak tapes sound dull when played back on a non-Nakamichi deck was an EQ one. Most companies boosted their high frequency response when recording because their decks' high end rolled off very quickly. Not Nak. They got extended high frequency response through better head technology. You could electrically align other company's decks to Nakamichi's standards and everything would then be hunky-dory but this was seldom done. But this incompatibility won't affect you. Since you are going from one Nak to another, you'll be OK.

I also agree with the assessment upthread by Shak Cohen. Your 480 is a very fine machine indeed.

 

I have both of the Nak tape decks you have mentioned. Both create excellent sounding tapes and I have cross played tapes made on either machine and cannot tell the difference. I have even played them on a Yamaha KX-230(also an excellent sounding deck) with great results. The signals going to the amp or receiver may have some distinct characteristics, but the recordings themselves are pretty equal in my opinion.

 

I have a 482 and a 482Z. I found that Nakamichi had placed additional resistors and capacitors in the playback amplifiers that you can switch in/out (with a soldering iron) to fine tune the response curves. I was able to get the decks to track each other within 0.5 dB from 100 Hz to 14 KHz.
I also mounted a row of 10-turn trimmers behind the bottom right corner of each front panel so I could fine adjust the bias and level (the original adjustment was by trimmers on the PCB.) I have the service manual, it has proven invaluable.

 

I have two old Nak decks, 3-head. Both still work and sound great on cassettes which were recorded well on properly-aligned machines, Nak or not.

 

Can't you just do the test and tell us?