Nakamichi Dragon- Wow!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Raylinds, Feb 16, 2020.

  1. vinylkid58

    vinylkid58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria, B.C.
    IMHO, most of the pre-recorded tapes were crap, unless you bought the premium tapes from Mofi.

    There are probably magazine reviews from the 80's.

    jeff
     
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  2. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    Willie has told my that inactivity can cause issues vs regular use. So, play those darn mixed tapes!!!!
     
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  3. rnranimal

    rnranimal Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    I have no mix tapes. I actually have nothing I listen to or that needs transferred but now and then I acquire something I'd like to transfer. I wish I had gotten a hold of this deck back when I was really into it. I would've had a lot of fun. I didn't end up with this until I was nearly out of cassettes. I love the speed control. That would've really come in handy on my bootleg tapes.
     
  4. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    I have:

    bx-1
    bx-200
    bx-300
    dr-10

    bx-300 sentimental favorite
    dr-10 is cool too. It’s basically the last “bx-300” they ever made...
     
  5. spartanmanor

    spartanmanor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I had a Dragon and a CR-7A that I purchased from the same owner. The Dragon was refurbished and then I sold it. I still have the 7A which was basically free after selling the Dragon. The CR-7A is no slouch. I need to use it more...
     
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  6. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer Thread Starter

    I have not, but you might want to check out Nak.com. They have info on all the Nak decks. Any of the models listed here are excellent and I have read good things about XR-7, DR 8, RX 505 and 681 ZX.
     
  7. vinylkid58

    vinylkid58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria, B.C.
    I was told the same thing years ago by a local tech. If you let your Nak sit unused, you're asking for trouble.:)

    jeff
     
  8. clhboa

    clhboa Forum Resident

    I had Willy restore a like new looking RX-202 a few year back. It was my first Nak. Gotta say I was disappointed. The deck never sounded that great a had noticeable wow and flutter as well. I should have sent it back to have him reexamine it but I never did. Still, I would love to try a higher end Nak and see if I have better results.
     
  9. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer Thread Starter

    It's Naks.com not Nak.com
     
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  10. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer Thread Starter

    While the RX-202 lacks some of the more sophisticated tech of the higher end deck, it should still sound very good. Is it too late to contact Willy?
     
  11. clhboa

    clhboa Forum Resident

    It's quite a bit past the warranty. I should have gotten off my butt and looked into it. My restored Yamaha K-1000 smokes it for sound quality.
     
  12. rpd

    rpd Senior Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    Something is wrong. Honestly, I bet Willie would still make it right....
     
  13. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    Another repentant BX300 owner here. I love mix tapes. When I was a kid I'd record tapes on a 19.99 cassette machine off of the FM radio. As time went on I kept at it, eventually winding up with close to a 1000 tapes, ALL home-based, I had ONE prerecorded Miles Davis, and my BX300. My love for recording continues, but for the last few decades I been using a Tascam CDR recorder to scratch that itch. Alas, I sold the BX300 close to 20 yrs ago!

    Take it from me, the machine caused a media blitz of positive reviews, THIS, was a giant-killa!;)
     
  14. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    I have a Nakamichi CR-7A, basically the same thing reviewed here in the UK Hi-Fi World in January 2000:

    HI-FI WORLD - OLDE WORLDE - NAKAMICHI CR-7E CASSETTE DECK

    "Sound quality is startling - better than every other cassette deck in the world bar none; it even gives high quality semi-pro open reels (like Revox's B77) a sharp slap around the face.

    With a decent metal tape, you can casually record at +10dB, such are the Nak's stunning discrete heads, and even beer-budget ferrics sound better than anyone else's cassette deck running the most expensive metals. Pitch stability, dynamics, depth perspective, noise levels - everything - is superb. Replay of pre-recordeds is a revelation - if they're decent all-analogue copies they'll trounce even a modern high end CD player. In fact, the Nak's resolution far exceeds CDs - to fully hear what it's capable of you need live recordings or a high end vinyl source."


    I'm not prepared to say it's any better than a rtr, but I have two that have recently come back out of storage and have been freshly maintained (a Pioneer RT-707 and a Tascam 34). I'd say it definitely gives the Pioneer a serious run for its money. If I properly A/B the two it might even be better. Haven't really used the Tascam yet.

    Icing on the cake -- the headphone amp on my Nakamichi sounds better than my Furutech and the on board one on my Sony CD player. Much better in fact. I'd neglected trying it out till one day I plugged in some phones on the Nak and WOW. Why is the headphone amp this much better? Just a testament to quality I guess.

    If it begins to break down I will definitely look into getting it restored.
     
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  15. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    That is so cool Ray. I always loved Nakamichi tapedecks and lusted after the Dragon for years. I had a bit of time spent on the ZX-7 (I think that was the model name) and it was amazing. My brother had a three head Alpage tape deck that had amazing resolution when used properly. It seemed to sound exactly like the record you were recording.

    Good memories!

    PS. Share photos!
     
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  16. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
  17. The FRiNgE

    The FRiNgE Forum Resident

    The tire is one of the design flaws of the Naks, and also the eject cable clamp which tends to dry out and crack. (fails to eject the tape) I have found inconsistencies in the tire alignment on Nak 480's and 680's. (I have not serviced the BX-300 nor the Dragon) Of the several Naks I serviced and sold, one of them had a badly glazed tire, and failed to REW/ FF a tape all the way through. This was caused by bearing looseness. Because of slop on the tire pulley bearing, the tire did not engage squarely with the motor pulley and reel hubs, causing some side slippage. This causes rapid wear and glazing on the tire surface. The tire will normally glaze, eventually, and sometimes can be deglazed to like new, sometimes must be replaced. A reasonable guess for service time (without misalignment defect) would be perhaps 1500 hours or more, or 10 to 15 years. The misalignment causes rapid glazing and premature failure.
     
  18. Achn2b

    Achn2b Forum Resident

    Location:
    N. Conway, NH
    Yeah, my CR-5a is stuck shut with a tape in it. Luckily, it happened in the time after the CD began to take over, and my days of dubbing tapes long done.

    I keep meaning to send it off to be overhauled some day, but lacking the funds to do so.

    Likewise, my BX-125 has lost output in one channel, so that needs a service call too.

    If I ever do get them repaired, the CR-5a will go back into my system, even if rarely used, just because....its a Nak cassette deck. Probably sell the 125, as I have no need to ever do a tape to tape copy anymore.
     
  19. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer Thread Starter

    That CR-5A is a seriously good deck and would be worth restoring even if just to sell it.
     
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  20. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer Thread Starter

    Thanks Don I will try to take some pics today.
     
  21. PB Point

    PB Point Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego
    Cassettes were my format all the way into my 30’s. I’d record my records straight to a Maxell Xlii or the like the day I got them and they never say the light again (until recently).

    All my cassette players were Sony’s which had really good sound I thought. So bummed I threw some of them out. I didn’t know they just needed new bands, or where to go to get them serviced...bless the Internet.

    I recently got a RX 202 and had it professionally serviced by the top Nak guys in San Diego, Classic Audio Repair. It sounds AWESOME!

    While the Sony ES sounds great, the 202 is better. Would love to compare a Dragon to the bottom end RX 202.

    Take your 202 in again or send it back, maybe something got outa wack on the shipping back. Have you tried it an another amp?
     
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  22. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    Man, I need to send my Dragon in for service...poor thing has been in its box for the last 5 years or so.
     
  23. macster

    macster Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Diego, Ca. USA
    Take it out and turn it on. I run mine every week for 1-2 hrs.

    M~
     
  24. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    It runs but it does not auto-reverse. Just needs servicing. It's been 12 years since it was in. I have about 10 other decks, so it has been sitting.
     
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  25. jeffmackwood

    jeffmackwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa
    Play it once a month - whether you need to or not. Should stop the idler wheel(s) from developing flat spots etc.

    Jeff
     
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