Killer Nakamichi System. "The Best of the Late 80's". Including Dragon Turntable

[@steveodian6008]

I purchased a Nakamichi 680ZX 39 years ago. It was an incredible piece of equipment. Never had any issues with it. Sadly I got away from recording and listening to cassettes so traded it in towards some monoblocks. I do miss owning it.

[@johnrobins795]

Drool❤🎶...congratulations to whomever has the privilege to acquire this set!!

[@jyroflux]

I had a 670ZX and a HighCom. When cassettes were king (to some of us), the Nakamichi could not be beat.

[@mafatone]

As soon as the video started, I went "Wow." Sorry to hear you're from New Jersey. I am too. LOL

[@kali8085]

Thank you for the memories. Had the Nakamichi 7 series, swapped out the CR7 with the RX 505 and, of course I managed a 2nd hand Nakamichi “Dragon” auto azimuth, auto reverse tape deck. Because back in the 80’s you needed two tape decks lol! All purchased on base while in the Air Force stationed in Japan. They powered a pair of black, little known B&W CM1 & CM2. Speakers. The cool thing about having the complete Nakamichi 7 series is the din plugs in the back of each 7 unit that allowed the entire system to be controlled with a single remote controller (even the azimuth on the CR7). The CA 7 remote could NOT control those other units without those din plugs. The system last about 10 years before things started breaking. Great sound, beautiful AND That amp is no joke, it weights about 50lbs or so.

[@stevenburke1728]

Very cool! I own several nak decks but my favorite Nakamichi I own is the Nakamichi system one. It's a work of art in my opinion. I purchased from the original owner who was a retired Colonel who purchased it oversees. I have all the boxes, paperwork, catalogs, and even the headphones with the headphone hook on the side. I even have a Nakamichi brush to dust the system for dust,lol! Love your videos!

[@matthewsummers1697]

That s awesome! How many original boxes are still in existence? I bet there is only a handful! What a great piece of history.

[@feltongailey8987]

1a's are beyond reliable.

[@fartman1510]

With a push for a cassette comback. Big names audio manufacturers need to do a revival of cassette decks.

[@intendentsuper]

Happy to see this video, and to see the high view numbers. I've got most of these components except the tape deck and turntable. I have a RX-505 deck, but not the CR-7. I love my PA7 and CA7 -- the phono stage is so articulate. Amp throws such a deep sound stage.

[@matthewsummers1697]

I've just finally completed a dream of mine I've had since the mid to late 80s. I've put together the following components. Nakamichi SR-2A Receiver, Nakamichi CDP-2A and an Nakamichi CR-2A. Driving some JBL TLX-151 speakers that I redid the surrounds on the mids and woofers. Picked up the JBLs at Goodwill for $12. The receiver I found at an antique store for $30, cassette deck was $40 (rebuilt all motors and replaced capstan motor. Speed azimuth professionally set). CD player was $100 (replaced tray belt and front worn buttons). Currently rebuilding a Sony DTC-690 DAT deck. This system you have is spectacular. All of it looks beautiful and that turntable is the bomb! Thanks for sharing and keeping history alive!

[@SkyFiAudio]

Matt, sounds like your building a super sweet system. Good luck!

[@graemeyetts3465]

Wow what a great feast of classic Nak kit. Thanks for posting. You certaintly know your stuff. 🎉

[@paulpavlou9294]

I have owned and loved my Nakamichi 600 series since the late seventies. Your system isn’t complete without a Nakamichi MC-1000 Reference Pick-up cartridge on the Dragon turntable. I’ve had one for 40 years that was tweaked by the Garrott brothers when they where alive and both working. it’s my favourite and the best cartridge that I have ever heard. It is true testament or legacy to the best cartridge makers/tweekers in the world during the hay days of Vinyl at its peak. This cartridge was originally used by Nakamichi as a laboratory testing tool as it has very wide ranging frequency response, It looks very similar to a Denon DL103R cartridge, but was made for and badged as a Nakamichi. Incredible cartridge.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Good addition to the lot. Never had the pleasure of owning one.

[@kevinbuja4373]

Seeing this equipment makes me miss the 80’s. Whenever I hear “Dragon” I think of Sony’s TC-K777 and the TC-K777ES, Sony’s model that had adjustable bias and record level. I had a pair Vendersteens, powered by Mission equipment.

[@RUfromthe40s]

it´s the oposite of a nakamichi dragon only in this sense ,they do have calibration as the dragon at least the tc-k777ES that i had one , and had also two dragons in 82 (750 dollars, it was crazy money to buy a cassette deck) and in 94 but nothing was improved they stop working with the 94 model with the same problem they did had in 82 , the deck showed in the video is so much better that can´t be compared with the old dragon ,i didn´t bought it but i have a friend who did and today it still works ,the dragon with heavy use mostly because of it´s heating doesn´t last more than 5 years. Already having problems ,i did never used the auto-reverse thinking it would last more but as i saw the history repeting i sold it for what at the time were 600€ and the one who bought it knowing that i had already at the time hundreds of cassettes didn´t pay more than 450€ at the time money or he wouldn´t buy it but also had the stasis block and is still okay but avoiding using them to much in sumer time allthough it as good heat sinks ,just to prevent ,but i have to recognise that in the 70´s they did had good material but they couldn´t compete with brands like Pioneer at the time , i say at the time because they also had to reduce by a lot their quality materials or they wouldn´t survive as a brand, but this can be proven by searching on ebay for good decks and compare how many you find with the number of dragons for sale ,that in the last 4 years there were a lot for sale but how many 70´s revox decks are there for sale or phase linear(that was bought by pioneer having in early 80´s an equal deck but made mostly of plastic the ct-A1 if memory doesn´t fail me, there are more but i would spend here a lot of time , go to hifiengine and do some research and you´ll find much better and when i refer to Revox i´m talking about the model with meters in a display as the casio wrist watches at the time. It´s considered by many electronic engeniers the best deck in the world and it´s old it only proves that things don´t evolve just become more atractive to human eyes, regards

[@omarshakarchi1394]

I had the exact system in 1988 minus the turn table, it was my first real system with Kef 107 speakers, I remember buying it from Paris Audio on Wilshire Blvd in West LA

[@SkyFiAudio]

Amazing!

[@s.r.gemmill6246]

Nice job. I appreciate the classic 80s-90s gear overview. SG

[@nicktucker4916]

Always love the look of Nakamichi products but never managed to obtain one. Great video showing the 7 series... Good to see 104.3 on the tuner :)

[@591desperado]

The Dragon CT was NOT the only turntable by Nakamichi, in fact it was only the small model. There was the bigger (and better) TX-1000 as top model which was able to center the record. This system was called absolute Center Search System. And there was also a TX-700 turntable, which was in fact identical to the Dragon CT...

[@SkyFiAudio]

I mentioned that later in the video :-) . TX1000 was even more complex. never seen one in person. Thanks Peter

[@bourousas]

There are 2 ΤΧ-1000 in Greece

[@danieldimech4770]

Great video and always interesting to know the story behind the brand name and the quality of these units and all hifi of the 1970's was really first class

[@wiredawg2005]

Cool vid. I remember the first time seeing a Nakamichi tape deck model that flipped, seeing it flip itself just blew my mind back in '86. I only piece of Nakamichi component I own is the MB Cd changer. I bought it in the early 90's, it was on-sale. I loved the late 80's/90's decade since I was able to buy a few mid-level high-end pieces and I still own them. But I decided to a buy a Carver TFM-55 Amp and built my system around it. Of course, surround sound systems came out and the Bose changed it all up with it very small hidden type system. LOL I still own 95% of my stereo equipment including 2-pairs of Klipsch Chorus II speakers. I paid way too much back then to part with anything and that was on-sale prices or those floor models when stores were wanting to get rid of.

[@danielmarshall4587]

OH YES PLEASE, I remember the review of the CR7 tape deck thank you. YOU HAVE A SUBSCRIDER.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Thank you so very much for subscribing. Helps keep us motivated to post more videos here on our channel. And this entire system sold out last week to a very very lucky buyer/collector.

[@johnshaw359]

Thanks for the video. The CR7 has very special sound, well worth the extra money if you still have a large collection of well recorded cassettes. Azimuth adjust is killer, they should have licensed the azimuth mechanism, TD1200 car stereo had the NAAC system like a dragon. Nice to see some stuff from the older days.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Got a Sony system queued up next!

[@f430ferrari5]

I still have the TD-1200 and crossovers in my classic Mustang which was installed back in the 80’s. Car doesn’t run but I still have in my garage.

[@edwinsim7206]

Nakamichi also made the more expensive CT-1000 turntable before the Dragon. The PA-7 Statis was licensed from Nelson Pass. Great amplifier naturally. A lot of the OMS-7 CD players ended up not working (laser failure). On top of that, there is no optical out to upgrade to an external DAC.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Thanks for the info!

[@S-99]

You mean TX-1000 turntable, or am I wrong on this?

[@bourousas]

You are wrong.. CT-1000 does not exist. 2 and only turntables was made by the Nakamichi.The TX-1000 model and the cheaper (more affordable I mean) Dragon CT .

[@bradrose6323]

I believe this is my dream setup

[@RUfromthe40s]

well, maybe you never seen one working or you would dream with other. Where are the speakers for that stasis?

[@SkyFiAudio]

This took quite some time to assemble... Thank you for checking out our video.

[@skullandbones1832]

Back in the day I worked for a car/home audio store. Nakamichi also made really good car audio. I have a lot of different Nakamichi jackets hats t shirts.

[@NathanOakley1980]

Love the power amp. What a beast.

[@pliedtka]

Awesome Nak system. Very nice tape deck, I would take it over Dragon. Yeah it needs work and service just any tape deck. I remember when Nak copied the Stasis Threshold amps - I looked at the circuit, for it's age quite advanced.

[@cardtrix1970]

Very, very impressive! Didn't even know Nakamichi made a "Dragon" turntable.

[@itswhiskeytime8538]

Check out the higher end Nakamichi TX-1000.

[@RUfromthe40s]

there are videos with it here, but as the deck they do fail

[@SkyFiAudio]

Not many people know about the Dragon CT - they were and remain rare.

[@AndreThomas-pz4rp]

I love nakamichi. I have the 202 rx and the CD oms 7e, later the soundspace 21 All great systems

[@d.bradley6227]

I still have my Nakamichi 680ZX with the remote and the Microphone add-on, sitting in storage. I got the service manual and the rubber replacement kit, just need to find the interest in doing the surgery...I have a lot of Metal tapes I made in the 80s to go through, but Spotify has made me lazy..

[@SkyFiAudio]

Wow very oool, that Mic add-on is not common to find anymore and you should hang on to it. And you should check out what Metal (Type IV) cassettes are selling for these days online! Maybe keep some since they're only increasing in value and sell some now.

[@ricardoflot2787]

This is what DREAMS are made of!❤

[@keithtrauner1738]

Ever taken a look inside the 410, 420, or 430 series? I've owned the preamp since the early 1970s and love both the function AND the form factor. Would love to find a 420 to match it with...

[@MarxxxxExpo69]

Wow Effect ! Witnessing a renovated set combining all items.

[@FLH3official]

Great video but yes, please try to put the camera on a stand slow down your movements, these are excelent pieces of gear we don't see so often and we enjoy to look at their details 😉

[@SkyFiAudio]

Ok will do so on the next one, thanks for the feedback.

[@BeefyMon]

Yeah! PLEASE… I’m not one who usually leaves negative comments, but I’m only halfway through, and it’s infuriating! I just want to read the button labels. Arrrrgh! :)

[@badgermike1231]

Being in highschool in the mid eighties, and being a would be audiophile, I used to dream about owing Nakamichi gear. End of the eighties I was stationed on Okinawa and hung out at Koza city bar where they had an incredible custom stereo system, and they would play whole album sides at your request. They had a wall of custom JBL speakers, a pair of Nakamichi Dragon tape decks, and a pair of Techniques SL 1200 turntables. I don't remember what amps drove all that though. Loved hanging out there and listening to Rush albums, among other great tunes.

[@michaelturner4457]

I've always loved the 80's HiFi obsession of putting many long words on the front panels, like this CD player's..."Quadruple Oversampling Digital Filter/Linear Phase Analog...." blah blah blah.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Classic 80's.

[@Patriot6669]

😂

[@carlosoruna7174]

Nak made some great stuff. The 600 rack specialy the amp was impresive. Was and is.

[@DKBoerner]

Very good and interesting review. Nice entertainment with a lot of new information. :)

[@rybour465]

I love that turntable

[@artSFCA]

Wow, impressive system, I'm surprised you don't have the flip cassette deck

[@benkrake3678]

Love Nakamichi gear! I have a 1979 481 3 head, dual capstan deck, but unfortunately it needs a new capstan motor, and has a few other issues. The auto full stop function isn’t working, and there’s an intermitted problem with the right channel cutting in and out when in record mode. Really sucks because it’s the best sounding deck I have. Really need to get it fixed, though problems are to be expected for gear that’s over 40 years old, especially cassette decks.

[@joeycastillo1496]

I had owned the Nakamichi 600 tape cassette deck in the 80’s. I think I will try to Find it in the attic of the ancestral home.. Ha!

[@ChatGPT1111]

If it’s not there, it’s not me!

[@hewie2u]

Fernando , I can remember these components . There was a Nakamichi pre owned TT with a centering feature I could bought but took a new SOTA instead . Anyways , how does sound wise the Nakamichi rate with a high end Koetsu cartridge and a high end Japanese Speaker . I live in another paet of the world so what passes bye you is seldom seen here .

[@donmarcel9167]

Amezing callection....I have nakamichi av 10, Dr 10, dvd10.....the amp performance is far more better than any othr brand i have, thts rotel, cambridge audio, and Sony....trust me nothing can match the performance

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

nice tuner display

[@dilbyjones]

Dragon Record player! In 1999 Texas Nakamichi was considered underground amazing.

[@digidrum2003]

Huh?? Where in Texas are you from? Down South we had Nakamichi car systems pumping in our rides in the late 80's... not to mention the home cassette decks my friends and I owned and enjoyed...still have a LX 3 deck.

[@thedude6478]

That turntable ! WOW

[@RUfromthe40s]

it breaks fast ,to avoid

[@thedude6478]

@@RUfromthe40s good to know !

[@colingarner6175]

It’s an amazing company going from these state of the art components to cheap crap overnight .

[@analogkid4557]

I always wanted a CR7 since the came out. As a teenager I could only afford the CR1.

[@matldn2697]

I think the power am was designed by Nelson Pass of Pass labs.

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Nakamichi,la leggenda!.impianto da sogno

[@SkyFiAudio]

Agreed! Thanks for checking out our video.

[@leszekalbin4097]

Something beautiful! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@SkyFiAudio]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Eyerex]

Sadly i don't have the money to buy anything plus live in the UK but you have the type of place i would love to look around and see some of the HiFi i dreamed of owning back in the 80's and 90's PS would bring coffee for the shop

[@maxine2798]

Get out there and buy it. There’s plenty of good stuff out there. I picked up some Philips MFB speakers I always wanted recently. Worth the wait.

[@matthewsummers1697]

Keep your eyes and ears open, you will find something. My journey to acquire my dream system started 2 years ago when I found a fully working Nakamichi SR-2A Receiver at a flea market for $30. It's out there and can be found! You can do it!

[@artSFCA]

Can someone explain to me what is the pre-amp for? Why?? What's the difference?

[@CrashCarson14]

Nakamichi now makes sound bars

[@joseparracardenas8460]

Hi friend, where are you located?

[@AllboroLCD]

We need more people in audio like Nelson Pass! Complete opposite of D'Agostino! Mind you, Pass could easily sell 6 fig amps too if he wanted. Everything he does for DIY make him a hifi superhero literally!

[@SkyFiAudio]

Nelson is king indeed.

[@oiapalvarez8667]

hello I'm about to buy an amplifier but I can't decide which one I have 2 options Nakamichi pa-7 or audio research D400, which option is the best Regards

[@kennethmj5759]

HA! The PA 5 sounds better than the PA7!! I have owned all the four NAK. Power amps, and the darling is the PA 5.mk.1

[@nickmrt2670]

I’ve read this as well from a few people on AK. Why do you think that is?

[@dogbiterabies2547]

wow man thats cool.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@JohnSmith-sk5ii]

czym był kręcony film ? kamieniem polnym bez stabilizacji?

[@202One]

Nakamichi 😍 !

[@thinkgeeks]

when nakamichi went brankrupt, i remember those dragon, cr7 decks were sold for 50$ each, and the turntables were simiply trashed as e-waste, did you pick them?

[@ChannaChhouen-dl4sy]

I would add the 1000mb and 1000p or the dragon cd transport

[@dayfornight88]

near the end of summer a neighbor at the cottege offered me for free Woking ca7 pa7 . it sounds nice off my totem dreamcatcher speakers 4 ohms.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Wow.

[@Peter_Cetera]

You film high-end equipment with a low-end (auto focus) cam 😉

[@SkyFiAudio]

Sorry man. We film in 4K. Perhaps its your internet?

[@Peter_Cetera]

@@SkyFiAudio It's not the resolution. It's the focus 😉

[@sarastudiosara1228]

is those nakamichi is for sale??

[@SkyFiAudio]

Yes listed the same day we posted this video. Please check out our website for details.

[@26c62626yamashita]

古いオーディオも　良いですね。

[@arkadert3950]

NAKAMICHI SOLID STATE

[@칸딘스키-m2v]

신뢰가 가는 메이커 중 하나죠.

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

I don't see much Nakamichi gear for sale in general, they are rare

[@RUfromthe40s]

i know a guy who sells two dvd players for 100€ in Portugal, try their site

[@absaargillani9284]

I need cassitt player tecnics 4 or 5 peaces with original speakers Absaar From pakistan

[@SkyFiAudio]

Probably best to check eBay. Happy Hunting -

[@treyvader]

Nakamichi was so bad ass it was the Ferrari of audio gear

[@SkyFiAudio]

Plus it's still very sought after all the way in 2022. We listed a Full Nakamichi System setup recently and it sold out faster than we imagined.

[@tarunsangeet6816]

Absolutely correct. The camera work sucks! A wonderful video such as this, lost its charm due to rushed panning and jerky camera moves. May I suggest that you invest in a camera gimbal? Keep the videos coming, Fernando!

[@LA-db9xj]

"NAKAMICHI...is a Japanese brand." I never would have guessed that!

[@phildb98]

How much would you sale that system for as is???

[@SkyFiAudio]

We actually just listed this full system for sale on our site. Check it out and let us know if any questions. We ship worldwide.

[@chrisyates8115]

Is that dust on the turntable???

[@chrisyates8115]

Apologise! The texture finish!

[@隆之八尾]

マークレビンソンと、JBLの4343💞トーレンスのリファレンスとナカミチの1000シリーズ💖

[@1958PI]

I appreciate the set up and the dedication , but the wobbly cam and the slow autofocus made me leave before the end

[@SkyFiAudio]

Sorry Peter. Current videos are a bit improved. Its a learning process.

[@User123-rx]

Хочу такую систему

[@Tojazzer]

Very cool system. You're still moving the camera too much. Making me dizzy.

[@zukispur5493]

Sansui AU 717. BADBOY AMP.

[@kevin-ts8te]

Keep your camera still man

[@al5152001]

Nak….Is one of the best electronic Brands. Late 60’s 70 80’s etc….I still have my Nak Dat 1000 and 1000p in mint condition and still works…..

[@metaljoe9088]

They are topnotch cassette deck manufacturer. And that's all.

[@RUfromthe40s]

the STASIS is really good couldn´t believe it was made by nakamichi and it wasn´t ,the engenier that create it put nakamichi in court of law by releasing the STASIS MKII without being in reality a stasis and payed a lot for doing false claims

[@RUfromthe40s]

it worked fine with the mission argonaut mkII 200watts at 4ohms,the pre you´re using is not the best ,the denon from early 90´s was a better pre

[@buretehudesi]

Jezz What dac, what pickup mechanism? What parts in analogue stage? Not informative video.

[@timothysmith3634]

Blur when moving the camera is terrible.

[@marksphotoperry356]

It would be nice to have a video man doing such important tube instead of having this funny video !

[@bertschneider3490]

Maybe technicaly....But visualy definetly Not mine.

[@wanazami7667]

I get dizzy watching.

[@darrenwendell1723]

Nakamichi: Sound is brilliant. Build quality is horrible. Way too much plastic and many many bad capacitors. I owned a few but I will NEVER buy one ever again.

[@bikdav]

I had 2 NAKAMICHI cassette decks and wasn’t impressed with their sound.

[@RUfromthe40s]

natural only high-end material sound good, and not that good compared with others

[@bikdav]

@@RUfromthe40s Yea, that's true. Still, my 2 NAKS left something to be desired. I do not miss them.

[@DuncanWEDD2019]

​@@bikdav Nakamichi sound quality started to slide into the nineties, especially when they began to farm out manufacturing outside of Japan. In the mid eighties, even their "budget" 2 head, single-capstan cassette decks like the best-selling BX-125 sounded truly astonishing when properly calibrated - albeit with expensive metal tape. I've had mine since 1986. To be fair it's sounded much better after a full service in the late nineties, and still does. It may not be Sky-fi, but even a few floors up it punches well above its weight, and is easier to get parts for now than the more esoteric models. Maybe I should have bought hundreds of cheap ferrics instead, and got a three year loan for a CR-7?

[@ashutoshluktuke4028]

Camera handling is really bad.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Working on it. Later videos are a bit better. Sorry.

[@RUfromthe40s]

the cr-7 is a beter built deck not developed in late 70´s ,it´s more modern and avoided some problems that killed the dragon´s

[@SkyFiAudio]

Simpler and more reliable too and every bit as capable. Just missing the Dragons cool factor.

[@RUfromthe40s]

@@SkyFiAudio i agree but already had spent a lot of money in two dragon cassette decks or i would have bought the cr-7A

[@VoltLover00]

No feedback = low quality. Pass is a loon. There should NEVER be a "signature" to an amp. That's a sign of a terrible design

[@zzz-gm9xc]

Старый хлам накамичи не когда не имел успеха хрень