According to the prices for Nakamichi decks and cassette tapes I feel like it's not the best time to buy any of them, I feel like I missed the train, but I wish to have this model in my collection. And I want it so bad ...
I remember my Maxell, Fuji, Sony, TDK cassettes used in the 90's, but once you gave them to you girlfriend they are gone.
My Pioneer cassette deck was removed from my rack probably in 2006 and never used since that day. I recorded mixtapes from vinyl since mid 90's. Earlier in high-school I recorded something from CDs when it was an exotic format here, also made cassette to cassette copies.
I never thought I will even think about this format again, but I think it would be nice to have Nakamichi RX-505 (I really like this particular model only, except for Dragon which is great, but too expensive today).
I know it's the same transport in RX-505, don't know what's the difference between Nak 505 and 505E ?
Purchased some sealed NOS Maxell XLII 90 and 100 min for about $5 each last week, it was an impulse, haha
Some metal position tapes are very expensive on ebay (sometimes $50-100 each).
Those open reel TEAK tapes goes for crazy prices just because it looks cool ?
If someone could help me with decent cassette tapes please drop below model numbers and brands.
P.S. No, I don't use digital, strictly vinyl, but I want cassette tapes and Nakamichi RX-505 for fun.
I was tired of the decks I had the Nakamichi Cr7 at home and Nakamichi TD 700 in the car both bought new. I sold the CR 7 in 2003 and gave away about 300 chrome and metal cassettes, many were also Teac with coils similar to the coils of the rtr, the TD 700 I sold it last summer. It was all great but I hadn't used cassettes since 1999, it was pointless to keep an important unused value. Sometimes I would like to have a deck back but then I think it would be just an ornament and I wouldn't use it.
@georgehoffmann60 Tested and perfectly working unit is what I’m looking for (serviced by pro is even better). Cosmetic condition is also very important for me (original box is great to have too).
For type II tape Maxell XLII-S and for metal Maxell MX-S is what I would use if I wanted to just record something. To go higher you would need TDK MA-XG or older MA-R. Top level is Maxell Metal Vertex, that is what I use exclusively. RX-550 is not really a recording deck. You would do better with 680ZX, 682ZX, ZX-7 and ZX-9. All of those have classic Nakamichi sound.
I used to have some of those Teac Open reel cassettes, they were ok, neat to look at though.
Like inna said,
Maxell XLII-S & MX-S are the best, the TDK SA-X & Sony UX-Pro are real nice also. I still have a bunch with music on them. Still all fine from the 80s & 90s.
After all these years, I'm actually thinking about selling my Nakamichi RX-505. It was serviced a few years ago by Willy Hermann. It will go with a couple hundred 60's and 70's commercially-made cassettes. I have always loved the cassette format but just don't find the time to enjoy it like I have in the past. I still have five CD/DVD players and have recently acquired a higher end turntable. I simply can't find the time to do justice to all the available formats. After I finally sell it, I'm sure I'll regret it.
Willy Hermann is one of the best but his backlog these days is a good year out when I checked with him late last year. His fees will range based on what your deck needs.
chakster, I have a small quantity of sealed Vertex tapes that I bought years ago for about $50 a piece. Still a lot. I never tried Teac cassettes. I do prefer, generally speaking, Maxell to TDK, though as I mentioned TDK MA-R and MA-XG are excellent, newest green case MA-XG sounds best with my deck, which is not calibrated for particular tape formulation. Yes, all decks that I recommended have calibration. It is important if you want the very best recordings. RX-505 is a good deck. I send my deck to Willy Hermann every 3-4 years for service. If nothing is broken it doesn't cost much - about $350 or so plus shipping both ways, But the first time, which was years ago, when I sent it to him it was something like $650 plus shipping, but he did partial overhaul. As a new client you would have to wait for months before he has time to work on your deck, at least it was last year when I asked him. This doesn't apply to old clients.
A few considerations when recording. Take the signal directly off the phono stage. Usually there is more than enough gain. Turn the volume of the system way down - you want as little external vibration as possible. Isolate deck with some cones or pads or whatever, just as you isolate turntable. What works with table should work with deck too in my experience. Clean the heads, the tape path and pinch rollers, of course. 99% alcohol is too aggressive for pinch rollers but fine for the heads and tape path. I would take 75% for rollers. Well, I use 99% for everything but I have some experience with how to apply it without dissolving the rollers. I clean everything before each recording and after 10-15 hours of play. I also use LAST Factory tape head preservative and apply it before playing each cassette. It takes only a few seconds and it works great. I have thousands upon thousands of hours of play on my 682ZX and there is virtually no head wear. Confirmed by Willy. I really like tape. Actually thinking of getting reel to reel deck in a few years. Studer is too expensive for me. I'll get Otari two track. Otari will also play four track tapes.
Oh, forgot to mention interconnect cables. They are very important both for the recording and the reproduction. I currently use Wywires Diamond for both. Step down for me would be Purist Neptune. Wywires Platinum is excellent too, better for reproduction than recording in my system. Purist is equal for both, maybe very slightly better for the recording. They say vintage analogue sources are less particular about cables. Yes and no. If you want the best sound there is no way around it.
Those “recording” Nakamichi decks are more expensive and doesn’t have a “wow” design factor :(
Recarding tapes it’s interesting, there are Sony Metal Master white ceramic type IV reference tapes, it must be good too?
I’m buying cassette tapes now, then I hope to find a perfect Nak RX-505 for a fair price. If anyone can help please message me on audiogon.
Probably I’m crazy if I’m thinking about cassette deck in 2021 :)) But some sellers are even more crazy than me asking insane prices for Nakamichi decks.
Looking at the old posts from 2005-2010 on various forums I see some nice prices for Nakamichi, even for Dragon :))
Well, twenty years ago I bought my Nak for about $450 in near new condition. It should cost two-three times more now. That would be fair price. There are fewer of them and more people become interested. RX-500 in excellent condition should probably be around $1k or so. I tried Sony top tape years ago and was not impressed. Might be different with some other decks. I tried everything, including top Denon and couple of others. With my deck Maxell Vertex is untouchable. By far.
chakster, in your location i would check for one of the top Sony's also. 777es, 7es, 990es (555es), all fine quiet mechanisms, full calibration, auto functions, durable heads but no reverse and no red displays. Metal Master was the best metal tape manufactured but rather expensive and heavy and came in metal box. I regret selling my 990es back in the late 90's.
Nice, there are 60min NORMAL position for about $5 each, this is what I paid for NOS 90-100 min Maxell XL-II. It's amazing how many cassettes available NOS. I wish Maxell and TDK return.
Fast forward and rewind your MA-XG before recording. Also, try to record a few minutes of something with clear high frequencies. If the sound is muffled the tape might've been magnetized. May not be a problem. Record once and then record again, it may sound as it should the second time. I had it with sealed tapes once or twice. 100 minutes tapes are not reliable because they are very thin. Buy only 90 minutes or shorter cassettes unless you just need 50 minutes each side. 90 minutes cassettes usually have a little more time than 45 minutes per side, often 46-47 minutes, which might be very helpful. And 60 minutes are also more than double 30 minutes.
I've noticed many of those NOS tapes online are only 46 min, 54 min, 60 min. I remember someone told me in the 90's than long tapes 100-120 min may be not as good as 60-90min, but at that time I did not noticed any difference.
Yes, he made a mistake, I never mentioned TD700 or I would've responded. Regarding deck servicing, I would think that there should be some very qualified people in Germany and other European countries, though I don't know anyone, it is just a thought. Willy Hermann's service is in a very high demand. chakster, I of course record without any Dolby. More noise but much more music too.
When I bought my Pioneer deck in the 90s, I remember, there was a B,C and new dolby S and automatic tape calibration called BLE (balance, level, eq). I even recorded with Dolby S.
Its pretty cool. I once heard a live master recording made direct to a high end Pioneer with Dolby S at a reviewer's house. and it was very 3-D with no noise. Nice.
chakster, again just a thought. Decks with reverse, like RX-505 and Dragon, might be less reliable and more expensive to service. So if you want ’cool’ stuff then yeah, but if you want better and more reliable deck then it is among those that I mentioned. They are not quite equal and there are those with automatic and those with manual calibration. It is more a matter of taste. Personally, I don’t care. 682ZX is better than 680ZX. 682ZX and ZX-7 ?.. I don’t know, I heard two opinions : one is that they are equal and another is that 682ZX does have an edge. ZX-9 should be better than 682ZX in terms of dynamics and resolution but 682ZX is a forever classic Nak.
@inna when I checked those models on hi-fi shark the prices are higher than for RX-505, too much for me, simply because vinyl is still my main media format. I wouldn’t pay more than $1k for Nak deck ideally.
I would need a pro grade outboard Dolby S unit to experiment with it. I don't think I would want to go in this direction.
@inna
I don't blame you and I wouldn't either! Plus IIRC most outboard units are actually Dolby SR, which are meant for reel to reel. I know Pioneer made some great (and expensive: +$1000 when new) Dolby S machines but beyond that I didn't keep track of them.
ZX-9 should be better than 682ZX in terms of dynamics and resolution but 682ZX is a forever classic Nak.
One thing to look out for with any of the Nak 3-head machines is to make sure they record in *both* channels prior to purchase! The Nak record heads tend to fail leaving one channel out in record mode. They are rare and expensive- I've seen them for over $700 on ebay.
why do you look at these things ? I mean, heads for Nak decks. You have Studers, that's real tape machines.
I put myself through engineering and technical school working on consumer electronics. So I've worked on plenty of cassette machines including Naks. I worked on a 700 recently for a friend and it had exactly that bad recording head problem. For my own self, there's no way I'd buy a 3-head machine because replacement record heads can be very rare and expensive, regardless of the brand. OTOH you can find good heads for 2-head machines with ease.
Nak made a number of 2-head machines that were quite nice. Not saying they sound the best but the differences are slight; if you want the best Nak, just be aware that the record head can be a problem!
People like Willy Hermann are capable of lapping the heads, or whatever it is called, and they often have used spare heads in good condition. That's what Willy once told me. Buy three heads deck even if there is a slight risk of extra expenses.
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