I can't really answer that. I do know he's retired from his day-job, but I've been after him for years to let me know when he could do the service on my Dragon. I told him there was no hurry and we finally met in early November for the hand-off. No word since but then it has been the holiday season, during a pandemic . . . and I did tell him there was no hurry. Happy to report back when the Dragon returns home.
I'm in a scout for another nakamichi deck. That next one is going to Perry. I actually bought one right before X'mas and the deck wasn't as promised by the seller. So I have to wait again. Hope you get your deck soon. I never met Perry personally but I talked to him a while back and he is also highly recommended by a trusted friend. He actually knows and experience a lot especially for a guy that works non-stop doing mostly Nakamichi.
Perry is in Richmond, VA. Probably easiest to find him without giving out any private contact info, is on Audiokarma: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?members/perryinva.27331/
As to getting my Nak RX 505 serviced, a friend recommended a shop in Springfield, VA called Music Technology. Anyone with experience with this place? If not, I may need to find Perry’s email to see what he would charge for a good once over.
Yes, Tim is the tape tech at Music Technology and is quite good on Nakamichi. If he is local to you, give him a visit. My backlog is pretty long right now, about 4-5 months. I have BMWCCA’s Dragon still here, but between other decks, the holidays and some foot surgery, (foot stays elevated for 3 days), My timetable has slipped even more. Soon!
Hope you've recovered. I'm just a few days back at work out of Covid isolation. Had plenty of projects I could have been working on had I planned for a positive test, but . . .
Prices on dragons today ... WOW 2500 for a junk deck that doesnt work. Over 7k for working one with no service history on reverb.
I have another dragon that I bought 5 months ago. I just finished working on little over a week ago. Its a very fine and rewarding machine. I haven't really exposed myself on recording with it but on playback, its probably the best sounding machine that ever went into my hands. Pretty much any hifi tapes that I run through it sounds way better than other decks. A true gem. This machine weights 1-1/2 more than a regular deck. The capstans are really big so talk about stability and precision, overall its very hard to beat.
Stay the course and keep your nose to the ground. Deals do pop up. Says the guy who bought his for $850.00 15yrs ago. M~
I owned an LX-5 for many years. New, it was $850 in 1981 dollars. Three-head, closed-loop dual-capstan, Dolby C. I found it to be a very high performing deck. Used it to dub RCA "Shaded Dog" LPs from the town library and absolutely loved the sound. Speed was rock-solid and, with Dolby C, the TDK SA-X tapes I used were very quiet. Excellent piece of gear. At the time only the Nakamichi ZX-7 and ZX-9 could match it. The aesthetics of those decks was very different from the LX series; the LX was to the 700 as the ZX was to the 1000. Sorry for the late response.
Yeah! I still have a DR3 bought back in ‘94. It’s a nice musical listen. I was told that Nakamichi gave it a slight mid-low end boost which gives an alluring glow to your recordings. Compensation for it’s being a more budget 2 header? Whatever, it’s a keeper. I also bought a slightly older used DR2 (3 head) a few years later. I used the two decks together to make tape to tape copies of friends rare and hard to find recordings, taping from the more reference DR2 onto the DR3, but the ‘2’ needs new belts now.
I know - it's totally insane. Talk about an "Appreciating Asset!" There is a place locally here in New Jersey that refurbishes Nak decks, only the high end stuff. You can get a Nak CR-7A for a cool $5999!!!
Those other nakamichi 2 headers like the dr-3, dr-5, bx-100, bx-125, bx-150, cr-1, cr-2, bx-1, bx2. cassette deck 2 are still great decks. You just need to get the serviced ones. if you can find a lower mileage that would be great. All these decks I mentioned, 10 to 1 are all excellent decks and a jaw dropper. I'd get them as early as I can. The only thing hats gonna happen to these decks are just gonna go up and up in prices.
