Nakamichi 600 - The Ultimate 1970s Ski-Slope Cassette Deck

[@crimlarksSteve]

I had one back in the 70s. Kept it for a couple of decades (or more). Great cassette deck.

[@stevewestwood4832]

Nice to see that again after almost 50 years. I lusted after one in 1977 but it was around £300 so I bought an AIWA AD 1800 which cost me a mere £260 which was a lot for a 21 year old on apprentice money. After years of living in the loft, Vic Marshall has returned it to its former glory. I have posted a You Tube video of a recent recording i made. “AIWA AD1800 bought new in 1977 £260. Fink “troubles what you’re in”. I would love you to do a review of this machine which was a highly regarded console deck before everyone switched to front loaders. Welcome to drop in and hear it and the Elcaset EL7 next time you see Vic if thats of interest. Thanks for doing these vintage gear reviews guys 🙏

[@ianjohnhorwood2605]

I only had the nakamichi cassette deck two in the 90's, and it's recorded sound quality was also indistinguishable played on my 1990's LP12 active linn system too.

[@Davidkxf]

There is a 600II for sale at my local second handle dealer. I must say I love my CA5 pre-amp.

[@jim97405]

I had a 600 in about 1975. I think the review missed an attraction this deck held: Buttons! With all of the adjustments, most behind tiny caps that were easily lost, gave the operator a sense being a recording engineer. The meters were a big selling point. You knew they were responsive and accurate. And again, as to adjusting for optimum recording, each owner had their own technique. Some sacrificed noise level for frequency response by having a low level recording while others gave up a little frequency response to have less tape hiss at higher recording levels. With a high need for maintenance and the resulting costs, many 600s were put away after years of service.

[@Hi-FiRiff]

Buttons and lovely VU meters... heaven. Mike

[@vidtech2630]

The Nakamitchi Tri-Tracer in 1973 , must have been better than , most cassette tapes , would allow it to be. Until better cassette tape came along , in the future !

[@nickevans3190]

I'm not very knowledgeable Hi-Fi tape expert but I always assumed that Nakamichi Dragon? Was the best cassette deck ever made?

[@MrVinylista]

Yes, if you believe Nakamichi fans! Actually serious Nakamichi geeks will say the CR-7E was the best, not the Dragon, which was too complex and hard to keep in peak operating order. It was a big pose, though!

[@indiakirby9140]

Thanks for these really informative, in depth reviews. I wonder I’m looking to purchase headphones that I can use outdoors that I can use with my mojo/poly combo. Will you be reviewing headphones on the go anytime soon? Thanks India

[@MrVinylista]

Yes we will. Meanwhile what's your budget for headphones?

[@indiakirby9140]

@@MrVinylista Thanks for your reply. I guess I would be looking for headphones up to £1000. Looking forward to hearing what you think would work best.

[@MrVinylista]

@@indiakirby9140 I think Sennheiser's HD650 is a good place to start. This is not the best headphone in the world, but it's a great all rounder and many at twice its price (£450) struggle to better it - especially when you fit higher quality cables. Along with the Oppo PM-1, I've used it as my general 'hack' headphone for years and it's a class act. Durable too, if you're taking it out and about. Its slight warmth also suits the super-clean tonal balance of the Chord DAC. Try to hear it at a dealer with your Mojo/Poly and come back and tell us what you think. There's so much choice and it's so down to taste so this would help gauge your preferences. If you end up buying a fancier headphone then I'd also be tempted to get a cheaper pair of foldables to save wear on your main pair, like the Sennheiser PX-100 (£30 secondhand) - these are superb sounding for the money and far easier to use than full size over ear types.

[@indiakirby9140]

@@MrVinylista That's really helpful thank you. I will try these and let you know how it goes. Look forward to more reviews too!

[@indiakirby9140]

Hi I bought the sennheiser PX100 following your recommendation. Who’d have thought it! A really great sounding pair of headphones at a ridiculously low price for what they can achieve. Had lots of fun listening to them. One thing though, and I think it’s the same with your other recommendation, they do leak. Doesn’t matter when I’m out walking across fields but in busier areas it’s probably really annoying for others to hear. I’m unfortunately unable to use in ear’s so something that doesn’t leak and I can use with the Mojo/Poly combination would be great. Many thanks

[@blackdaemon01]

Nice to see two old farts like me to talk about my favorite deck. Not sure if you are aware, but there is also 600II (aka mk2) which has improved mechanism and better record/play head so it does not need that IM suppression circuit anymore. Also worth noting is, this deck is able to play metal cassettes (although cannot record them, but who cares when we are not nable to get metal cassettes anymore for reasonable prices)

[@jim97405]

It also had a headphone out.

[@tomredman5411]

Hello Dave,if you are giving opinions on high quality hifi, why not find a nice crystal glass to drink you’re coke out of. Sorry I just couldn’t help myself 😂,regards tommy. Fantastic channel very informative thank you.

[@MrVinylista]

Hi Tom - you are quite right of course. We are going to raise our game in the refreshments department, starting with our Xmas special!

[@tomredman5411]

@@MrVinylista have a lovely Christmas dave , great channel. kind regards tommy

[@attrktmarketing4582]

I’m just in the market for a retro tape deck. I think I like the Aiwa you reviewed previously too but they are like a hen’s teeth. Also looking at a 3 head Yamaha. A major part of my buying decision is that it needs to be easy to fix which I thought had ruled out Nakamichi.

[@MrVinylista]

In the simplest terms, belts are relatively easy to source for most decks, but heads are not. You can deal with the latter issue in one of two ways. [1] buy a deck with ferrite or sendust heads - that's most Sonys and Akais, mainly. These last forever. [2] buy a deck with softer permalloy heads, which are in good condition. It's unlikely you'll wear them out if they're not already worn out - as how many hours are you going to use the deck every week? If it's just a few, those heads aren't going to wear out overnight. Also, all tape heads can be 'lapped', or resurfaced' - this is like skimming used car brake discs. The result is never as good as new but way better than worn. Any decent tech can do this. What's really going to kill a cassette deck is if a bespoke integrated circuit that's unique to this particular deck, fails. Don't expect to find a replacement. Obviously, 1970s decks had far fewer of these than 1980s ones like the Aiwa AD-F660. That said, they don't fail often. Hope this helps.

[@attrktmarketing4582]

@@MrVinylista thank you for your considered and useful reply. I will have to let you know how things get on Mike B

[@colingarner6175]

This deck didn’t get the best reviews in the press , for a Nakamichi . In fact not all their decks were judged to be that good . I started buying Hi-Fi news and record review in the very early seventies so I read every cassette deck review word for word .

[@MrVinylista]

Quite right, it was very decent for its day, but didn't get the acclaim that the later ZX9/Dragon/CR7 era of decks did. Still a lovely thing to have, though.

[@colingarner6175]

It didn’t get brilliant press at the time .

[@zjzozn]

Nice….Ski 👍🤡