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A little help please

I am new to the forum. This is my first posting. I dabble a bit in audio equipment, ( buying & selling ) mostly ebay and craigslist. However I recently attended a estate sale and purchased a piece of equipment, that I think requires more knowledge than I have. ( Nakamichi 1000zxl Limited gold face)
I bet that will make some ears stand up. The unit is cosmetically fantastic, sonically the left channel does not play. After research, I found, repairing the unit will cost between, $1500 & $2000. I am going to sell it, however repairing it is questionable for me, profit wise. Plus some buyers may want their own tech to do the repairs. After extinsive research, I have found, there was between 100 & 200 made worldwide. They were made to order and sold in 1981 for $6000.00. Ok here is the question. Value?
As I stated it is for sale. Being such a high end and rare unit, I feel it should command a fare price.

Thanks to everyone who responds
staygroovybaby
13 responses Add your response
ebm
9,311 posts
 

You got a Turkey enjoy.

david1964's avatar
david1964
17 posts
 

I always dreamt of having a Naka 1000ZXL. I finally found one in 1992. I had it checked and serviced by an authorized service center.

I tried it once and, ever since, it has been sitting on the shelf, unused. No use for a cassette deck any longer, but I love looking at it.

mechans
3,048 posts
 
I'm still waiting to hear what the guy's associated equipment was.  It would be odd if all he had was a cassette player.  I guess other buyers bought the other gear and left the cassette player. 
alan505
2 posts
 
You are in the land of 'eye candy', as sonically the unit is a dud. If someone is looking for the best cassette player they will want the Nakamichi Dragon.
I’ve been laughing over this one since 2014. The 1000ZXL Limited bar none is the finest compact cassette recorder ever made. They record with a flat response from 20Hz to 20kHz (15Hz to 28 kHz -3dB at -20dB DIN), that’s R2R territory.

The Dragon is the most well known Nakamichi, and strengths are auto azimuth alignment in playback. This is a great feature to have for pre-records and on tapes that were azimuth aligned when recorded. With the 1000ZXL’s A.B.L.E (Azimuth,Bias,Level,EQ) system any tape can be optimized for its maximum potential prior to recording. This coupled with discrete Crystal-Alloy heads make this an unassailable cassette recording platform that was never bested by anything that followed.

stevecham
3,340 posts
 
I paid $300 for a used Dragon and sent it to Willy in Moraga, CA. He completely cleaned, repaired and calibrated the deck, bringing it back to factory specs for less than $600. This deck is as good as vinyl on some tapes.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
>> If someone is looking for the best cassette player they will want the Nakamichi Dragon. <<

I disagree. The B&O 9000 and the Tandberg 3014 cassette decks were every bit the match for the Nak. And the B&O had the advantage of employing Dolby HX-Pro which made for exceptional quality cassette recordings.

If I could have only 1 cassette deck in my system, it would be a B&O 9000 - they were the best ever made...

-RW-
Post removed 
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
You are in the land of 'eye candy', as sonically the unit is a dud. If someone is looking for the best cassette player they will want the Nakamichi Dragon. These units go for about $1000, and service and parts are still available.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
I think you are in for a let down of sorts. I can't think of the last time I saw a system here or anywhere in audio world with a prominent cassette player.
That said I do remember a somewhat competitive auction for an immaculate Nak Dragon. If there is sales data for your piece it almost certainly won't be for a single channel unit (in need of repair.) Nonetheless it may be worth your while to subscribe to the blue book, but keep in mind that there may not be any record of sales for that exact model, there could be data though on other better cassette players.
What else did this guy have was my immediate thought?
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,466 posts
 
Viridian, How do you dabble a hooker?
Post removed 
jperry
2,448 posts
 
Check ebay completed listings. A few 1000zxl have sold, but I have not seen any of the LGF edition sold. I agree with LAK that it will take the right collector to buy this. Put it up for sale on ebay and you will be able to answer your question. Someone has 2 of the LGF up for sale at what I think is a silly price.
lak's avatar
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lak
4,627 posts
 
The Nakamichi 1000zxl Limited gold face is a very good looking unit. I think you are going to have to find a very special buyer because most audiophiles I know are no longer into cassette tape players any longer. A collector might be interested but I have no idea what the limited market would be willing to pay? You can always put it up for auction. Sorry I never answered your question.
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