Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2 review & cassingles demo

Still a very high quality cassette deck, even if it wasn't Nakamichi's best.

[@NK-hy8bz]

Today 05.06.2021 I bought one for mine...my dream has come true.

[@70rockarolla]

I still own a Cassette Deck 2. According to me it's one of the fantastic cassette decks compared to anyone of its peers.

[@pcallas66]

How do you find a Nakamichi cassette deck for $6? Great find.

[@mapp4751]

OMG you must be a very blessed person to score a deal like that! Cheers!

[@G.B...]

I am jealous too. Great find indeed.

[@ItIsMeScorpio]

It was 2013 but still it's a really good price

[@atoiler1389]

Not a chance today. I find it hard to believe even then. Ver hard….

[@johnreagannumber1]

And I'm sure you know what a treat it is for us lovers of 80's and 90's music that you played your brilliant tape singles collection. Big Lisa Loeb fan here. Again, that's one heck of a tape deck. Nice touch providing the website with the specs and different models from 90-92.

[@emancaindec9731]

VWestlife, this is one of my favorite videos you've had! :)

[@sexytasmin]

Excellent review Kevin I have the Nakamichi DR3 which was released in 1992 & it is working perfectly on the original belt and is nearly 30 years old!

[@Halterung01]

Just bought a CR-1E today I just love the reliability on these nakamichis and their High-Endy feeling The pre-user told me, that he bought it first-hand and It was heavily used (about 4 hours a day) for about 10 years and he never replaced the belts and I still don't have to. Awesome Stuff.

[@michaelturner4457]

That deck is real quality, and a far cry from the Tanashin things made these days.

[@martyjewell5683]

Nice score bud. My only experience with Nakamichi cassette decks is the BX-1. I got it used and refurbished for $25 in 2009 and except for not having Dolby-C noise reduction I have no complaints. Fine sound, great control layout and reliable function. Really like the easy to view meters. My BX-1 is in my kitchen system and is powered by a Pioneer SX-434 receiver and drives Boston Acoustics A-40 speakers. Splendid sound for cooking.

[@pikaporeon]

Ten years later TEASIN US WITH THAT GREAT BIG SEA ; )

[@johnreagannumber1]

Ohhh Nakamichi ... I've never sampled one, this is one of my epic dreams ...amazing find, congrats!

[@strugglebuggietv]

great review. thank you. its strange. whenever i have an opportunity to buy a vintage piece of gear, i look on youtube, and theres a review, BAM !

[@s8wc3]

Here in Australia at least, both cassingles and CD singles were popular (way up until the mid-late 2000s) but they would almost always have 2-4 extra bonus tracks, usually remixes, instrumentals, promos etc.

[@nickwilczynski3684]

Only you could find a deal like this! I swear. I ONLY want to see your reviews of this stuff. You give the best real-world reviews of tech like this, I swear

[@ciprianwinerElectronicManiac]

That's why I usually get tape decks that are inferior to more high end decks and are older but they have that nice door windows where you can actually see the cassette. Cheers :)

[@Khyree_Holmes]

11:16 - for some reason I really like that song, I think I always heard it at work and it got stuck in my head! I love 90's music in general.

[@olaniyi570]

hated the small cassette window trend

[@Halterung01]

+olaniyi570 So do I. That's why I have a Sony TC-K71 and a Nakamichi RX-505E

[@killmore75]

+olaniyi570 I remember when Walkman's changed to no window viewing in order to make it look like a higher tech device.

[@kevinbradshaw1420]

It's stupid. Sometimes you need to know how much tape you have left.

[@HamtaroEL]

killmore75 GX77 and F707 comes to mind.

[@angelvisions444]

I agree too! The larger windows always win with me so I can see the tape going round! The smaller windows, or worse, no windows were horrid!

[@MrJ0mmy]

man every tape you played i really like man those tapes sound so good

[@OldschoolBoards99]

never been a big fan of 90's music but when i was a very young kid i remember my sister blasting out backstreet boys and most of these tunes

[@tanojicici5289]

Great deck, and very nice review video, you took me back in 1994, i used to enjoy those music lot ... Ace of base, backstreet boys

[@richardbinkhuysen8109]

Wow,I still have mine. The azimuth was specially adjusted for TDK cassets when I bought it.After 26 years it still working without a problem.

[@sc0or]

Sounds weird. Did you mean a +3dB at 15-20kHz on TDK comparing to Sony? If so, then to manage this with an azimuth is a very strange idea. A bias settings exist for that. Azimuth is a geometric thing only. It must be set with using a special mono tape, recorded on a reference deck. If you experienced other issues with TDK, they were fake ones I guess

[@richardbinkhuysen8109]

@@sc0or It was done by a specialized company for 'Correct' at Rotterdam.

[@santi0797]

After watching this video two weeks ago i started searching for nakamichi decks on my local "ebay", in argentina, and after some research i was lucky enough to find the same model from 90 dollars, normally, they go for aroud 350 and more. And i have to admit, this Deck, completely blew me away, its awesome, if someone wants to buy it,go for it, dont even think about it, its amazing.

[@KingBlonde]

$350?? Fuck man on ebay they're up in the thousands :/

[@Earthtime3978]

I had the same experience on eBay. 2 bids got me the player for 80.00 Never saw the opportunity arise again.

[@Badassvidsz]

@@KingBlonde Dude don't believe what youtubers say here like they found anything for 5 $ 10-40-50 $ on ebay when those items costs like 800-3000 $ In some thrift stores maybe but not in mint or even just in a good condition : From the keyboard anybody can say anything :

[@rumporridge1]

@@Badassvidsz gotta agree.

[@destroyingforscrap]

Very nice cassette deck I love it ! Sounds amazing too !

[@martyjewell5683]

Nice video, I have been using a Nakamichi BX-1 in my kitchen system since 2008. It is powered by a Pioneer SX-434 receiver and feeds Boston Acoustics A-40 speakers. Very impressed with the Nakamichi sound and quality construction. A BX-2 (with Dolby-C) would have been sweeter but alas the BX-1 will suffice. Noticed your CBS FM 101 logo in the back. Do you remember WNEW-FM 102.7 in the mid 1970's to early 80's??? That was the "heyday" of FM rock radio in NYC. I lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn then.

[@EddieJazzFan]

I always wanted one of these machines since your video went up years ago and I finally found one at Goodwill (not for $5.99, but $29.99). Anyway, unlike my Nakamichi BX-100, this model has the capstan spinning ALL the time when the power is on, not just when playing a tape.

[@emancaindec9731]

I'm completely blown away with the quality, coming from a Type I tape!

[@sexytasmin]

My Nakamichi DR3 is calibrated to Sony UX-Pro (Type II) and sounds absolutely fantastic.

[@emancaindec9731]

11:43 That's the first time I've heard that song. I immediately fell in love with it that it inspired me to make a 90's mixtape... I still keep coming back at this video haha

[@tturner12341]

I have a refurbished Kenwood I bought a couple of years ago. Sounds pretty good but, I bet this sounds amazing. I’m really surprised I never heard of this brand before. I used to use only Sony cassette decks and they sounded great to my ears but, I used to go though them a lot. I guess they weren’t made very good. I’m going to watch the video on the Dragon next.

[@ncktbs]

10 year old me would be absolutely horrified that 30 year old me recognized most of those songs

[@breezie1337]

It sounds pretty good for a cassette deck! Nice find

[@amitbrahme3635]

Nakamichi used to produce the best casette dec in that era. Even though this is a basic model but the clarity while playing casette is Unbeatable!!! Nice machine !

[@patricknedz]

this seems like a really nice unit amazing sound quality. Im looking for something similar.

[@nickj7215]

Thanks! Very useful review as about to bid on a Cassette Deck 2 :-)

[@bardofhighrenown]

Does this deck share a chassis with the Harmon/Kardon TD4400? They look pretty similar and have similar button layouts

[@StephaneVorstellung]

I have one of these and I love it. Super solid and sounds great. Easy to take off the door to clean and adjust alignment. Also, depending on what you're doing, if you need to see the tape you're playing, you can play with the door off (like driving a Jeep?). To be honest I don't really like the way ANY Nakamichi looks. That said I've never met one whose sound or build quality I wasn't impressed with. They're sturdy the way Tascam rack-mounted studio decks are sturdy. They're Technics-1200 sturdy.

[@malleyland7082]

It's not what it looks like it's how it sounds. It's like someone who buys cameras for the tech and not the picture that you take.

[@joshm264]

I was lucky and got my Nakamichi CR-1A for free, pretty much the same as this machine. Great find!

[@timrusling1459]

I have one of them in my collection, and it's great.

[@TheYusuf703]

nice playlist dude..... i love it

[@grod75]

So, if I plug a headphone set in that jack, would I just listen to the audio at a fixed volume?

[@wannesfey]

Just brought mine from the attic. Has never played before. Belonged to my father in law, never used it for a second. Great thing.

[@Livewire91]

Im trying to get a nakamichi bx1. 35€ price and it almost looks brand new. Your thoughts of the deck and price?

[@absinthedude]

Wonderful deck, I owned one from 1992-2004 and picked up another in January 2015. I've given up on digital recording and gone back to tape, the Nakamichi will lay down 16KHz at 0dB even on a Maxell UR type I cassette.

[@ethan043]

+Eclectic I'm happy so many people are going back to tape. Digital just has no fun or interaction or sound like tape does.

[@KingBlonde]

There's a great hybrid ideology going nowadays. Since recording to digital is essentially colourless, and sounds true to the microphones/ preamps used to record the source, people are bouncing their digital tracks to tape/ reels and getting fantastic results.

[@777jones]

R A T C H E T yeah I still make mix tapes. Even from albums released this year. It’s just fun or whatever. More involved listening experience. Partly, it is the thrill of such a humble format being punched hard and rising to the challenge.

[@raymondleggs5508]

i saw the sign and it opened up my eyes! Now that's in my head!

[@ArlenMoulton2]

The motor speed control PCB for mine died so I salvaged one from another deck, it works very well! I just wish it wasn't full of 4558 op-amps...

[@mariovsquez]

I have a cassette deck 2, been working fine till a week ago. When i try to play cassette, an ERR message appears. The belt seems fine with enough tension. Any ideas on what the problem might be?

[@wilkes85]

I really like the light behind the tape. The deck I record on doesn't have that, and I have to use a flashlight to see how much tape is left. This seems like a pretty good unit, but the unfortunate thing about electronics of that era is that they look very cheap, even higher end components. Nice collection of cassingles! They really don't have the charm of 45s though, even though they're the same thing, in tape form. Like you said, they just seem cheap.

[@TruGamer128]

Nice deck. 5:99? Nice find! I've ever had any Nakamitchi equipment but it looks like a Onkyo and a Yamaha had a baby which is never a bad thing.

[@jonvincentmusic]

Says everything about Nakamichi that when they made this deck, it was the 'worst' ( = cheapest) deck in their then-new line-up. The sound from it blew away just about every other two-head cassette-deck on the planet.

[@nicolaedanancuta1890]

Weaker than Kenwood KX-880HX, KX-5010, Nakamichi CR-2E, Tascam 112 mk II...

[@adriansmith6530]

Great nostalgic music!

[@gabrielgarza3707]

Can you do a belt replacement video for Technics M234X

[@vangstr]

Could you please show how to adjust the azimuth on this model? Thanks

[@libertycabbagemusic]

Hey vwestlife, the quality on those Cassettes that you played sounds great! Is there a way to get any player to sound this great or does the fact that it's a brand like Nakamichi have a lot to do with it? What suggestions do you have for cleaning an old eight track player (I think it works, but it has some dust in it and it skipped a program when I tested it).

[@vwestlife]

Almost any cassette deck can sound fairly good if its heads are clean and properly aligned, but having a high-quality deck with a very good implementation of Dolby B NR really helps in making cassette tapes sound the best. And as for cleaning an 8-track player, see this video: Cleaning a Pioneer Centrex TH-30 Stereo 8-track Tape Player.

[@Eyerex]

Still have my Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2 which i bought from PJHiFi back in the 90's always wanted a Dragon but they were way out of my price limit

[@martinlarbi5896]

Still have my nakamichi deck.

[@thehunterofdeath2180]

Dragon nakamichi is suck when they get mess up is a cool deck but when they get mess up is very expensive to fix it but the cassette deck two man sound nice for a low end deck I still got mine n sound nice well made no plastic inside the tape deck straight metal I think this one is better than the other I got the nakamichi RX 303 omg my got mess up fast I bought it in eBay a long time ago but something when wrong with the head it don't come down I check it it look like someone service but then it started tripping I'm going to send it to fix to some dude in NY that know how to fix them expensive but I heard they good fixing good product is worth it cus is a cool deck I got two of them need to fix both cus they cool deck n they clean in the inside Brand New it look like someone work in them before is the head I'm having problem the dude could it tell me it don't record that when it got mess up both of them my luck anyway this nakamichi cassette deck 2 man sound good in my equipment I also like denon tape deck they sound good too I got a few tape deck my collection some I fix it myself I just can't mess with the RX 303 nakamichi they weird so I rather not touch it send it to people that know how to mess with them

[@Leibo07]

a thing of beauty is a joy for ever.

[@vwestlife]

Correct, there is no level control for the headphone output.

[@angelvisions444]

Great video. Shout out for Jo Dee Messina ''Bye Bye'' !

[@EDP2000]

Excellent review. However, I noticed that the All-4-One "I Swear" single sounded quite muddy. I think it was pretty worn.

[@hirohidetokoro9423]

Many thanks for sharing. I am a native Japanese living in Japan. Even we Japanese very few people know Nakamichi. Would like to buy one but never bought. By the way, the decks for cars still sold in the US, aren't they OEM? Looks different little bit.

[@oldsoul742]

Can you make a review for Kenwood KX-5080S cassette deck? Thanks.

[@sriramramamoorthy1589]

@vwwestlife please help throw light on the. Meter in this model with another technics unit that has double D mark after 0 position, what is the difference,? I recorded in nak cassette deck 2 with. Programme level reaching till 0 marking and upon playback on the technics unit (rs 270) i see no level regisrered at all during playback, however can hear sound output.?

[@ashleycox432]

that is 1 fine sounding cassette deck!

[@jdc1960ful]

Nice deck. I like the 90's music .

[@DJOmnimaga]

Lol my mom had that Ace of Base cassette. I bought the CD a decade ago at a flea market. Nice deck by the way :)

[@mynameisden1s]

great video

[@MsCori76]

I’ve still got all of my cassingles & CD singles.

[@WaybackTECH]

I liked the cases for the singles better. Felt more like a record album case. I wonder if i still have a couple of these.

[@NicB-Creations]

Listening to this on some studio monitors, I'm impressed how good it sounds.

[@willtubes73]

youtube is 128kbps, it's the same quality as an MP3 on youtube

[@NicB-Creations]

@@willtubes73 It's AAC or Opus.

[@willtubes73]

@@NicB-Creations you are right but still 128 kbps

[@NicB-Creations]

@@willtubes73 But both are superior to mp3.

[@connorm955]

@@willtubes73 I thought it was 192 KBPS AAC?

[@tapemaster8252]

what is the website you used for msrp prices, I have a pioneer ct-w616wr I'm just curious, I bought mine new for $170, everything was beginning to go MP3 at the time and I knew that was a great deal

[@vwestlife]

www.naks.com/indexperl.html

[@tapemaster8252]

Thank you ✌️🏾

[@777jones]

I have one of these. Excellent deck. You can buy thrift store tapes and they sound excellent. So do it’s own recordings.

[@MrROTD]

Anyone remember those TEAC cassettes with the cool lookin reels inside? those were good but I really liked the Denon brand blanks the best for sound quality. what was your favorite brand of blank cassettes?

[@josereinolds7428]

Rex Holes l

[@tomb8430]

Seems very similar to the Denon DR-M20 or similar deck. They also advertise a "silent mechanism", and most of the features seem to be identical, just laid out differently.

[@bear6264]

Nice post,,one question,,how do you know when the azimuth is correct when adjusting screws? Is it just trial and error ,sound playback?Thanks

[@vwestlife]

Adjust the azimuth for the brightest, most crisp sound (best treble response) when playing the tape. For the most accurate adjustment, do this when listening in mono mode (left and right channels combined).

[@bear6264]

Thanks for that vwestlife!

[@PinePowerLI]

I actually had alot of those very same cassingles in the 90s! Sold them ages ago...I hung onto using cassettes until the early 2000s, then started to use mindiscs which I still use today. Have you ever reviewed minidisc equipment?

[@vwestlife]

Yes, I have a video about a Sony MiniDisc recorder.

[@PinePowerLI]

I'll check it out, thanks

[@alcoholisfreedrink]

Is this audio unedited and captured directly from the output of the cassette deck? This tape transport mechanism looks so simple but the inside view is great. Nice big and heavy flywheel.

[@vwestlife]

Yes.

[@kevinbeckenham3872]

Great Sound

[@sweetusia_3343]

Very good presentation

[@pcallas66]

That was a great find.

[@johnhpalmer6098]

I do remember the cassetesingle. I have a couple, and a couple of CD singles too, but have lots of 45's however. That said, I have never felt commercial cassettes to be all that great sounding. That said, if you do a homebrew tape, and did it correctly, they can sound amazingly good, even if from a lesser deck. Again, though, the better the deck, the better the overall sound quality of the tape, if recorded properly.

[@Gmoney6422]

CD singles are still actually a thing. Decpacito was released in it

[@SebisRandomTech]

Gmoney 6422 I saw a CD single for a song from Suicide Squad in Best Buy a few years ago.

[@alexandrossotiropoulos5621]

Very good quality tape deck indeed

[@NiharM77]

Interesting question: How/what do cassette players count? Is it total seconds, or something else, because it goes over 60.(?)

[@vwestlife]

Yes.

[@vwestlife]

Try Unique or Value Village thrift stores, if there are any in your area.

[@fahammuhammad5733]

i have nak cassette deck. when i try to use phones plug, i used 3.5 to 6.3mm stereo plug jack. it was precisely plug. but when i try to hear, the sound produced by nak just came out on half way, on the left side. The right side was dead and silent. can you tell me why? should i try a mono converter version and not stereo? thanks.

[@vwestlife]

If it is a mono unit then you will only hear audio in the left channel when using stereo headphones.

[@fahammuhammad5733]

VWestlife so what should i do so my earphone can both loud?

[@compositeguy4696]

What is your opinion on Tascam audio equipment?

[@vwestlife]

I've never had any.

[@kennynvake4hve584]

My Yamaha K1000 has that piston door mechanism...which can be adjusted...I like that feature.

[@Halterung01]

Very interesting, just noticed that. This is not a Nakamichi mechanism, but one by Sankyo. My Onkyo TA-2550 has exactly the same mechanism.

[@christianjohnson7228]

My higher end JVC deck that I use is (A: A decent JVC deck) very loud when rewinding. I’m always scared that it ate my tape!

[@joestradamus75]

I live here in the U.S. I have one CD single. It's the Red Hot chilipeppers, "Soul to Squeeze." I don't know what I did with it. I wish i still had it. Never had any cassette singles. At least I don't remember having any.

[@grod75]

Were you using the headphone jack as output for the demo? How come the deck has a headphone jack, but I don't see an output level knob for it? Is the level fixed? By the way, this "low end" model from Nakamichi is far better than the deck from my old Onkyo stereo... My deck doesn't even have LCD level meters, so you would probably call it "very low end"... XD

[@MrStarbor]

I see u know something ...good job pal

[@budgetguitaristcom]

Love mine!

[@wheeler2581]

i have the same deck,i also bouth 2nd hand deck 2,it came from a nakamichi stack deck 1 was missing and the amp there was only deck and cd, anyways makes pretty good recordings, plus i like the style

[@thewedge8823]

Damn it I've looked in at least 10 thrift stores for the last 2 months, and have never seen a Nakamichi, let alone for $6 ... Are they really sought after now?? why cant I find one ???

[@R33Racer]

Sadly now the undesirable Nak decks fetch good money. There was once a time you could get two head ones for peanuts (I remember I got a BX-2 and Cassette Deck 2 for about £20 collected about 30 mins drive away in ~2006/7.

[@csabakereszturi945]

Probably the most reliable Nakamichi cassette deck. I just like it very much.

[@HamtaroEL]

There are some singles that come in a good quality shell as well as Type II tape. Those are singles I would get, even though I don't listen or don't know the song.

[@carlosburga8374]

Nice deck

[@Wisdombrite]

Where I bought this

[@flutch1284]

Nice and cool cassette despacito

[@olaniyi570]

I love Nak. I have a BX-300 and a Dragon and used to have a Cassette Deck 2 as well and liked the sound, which in my opinion was a little different from Naks of the 80s. In any case the Cassette viewing windows on many naks from the 80s were pretty small but the ones on this line-up were a cruel joke.

[@HamtaroEL]

RX-202 RX-303 RX-505 were the only ones to have a decently large sized window for 80's decks.

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Modello MOLTO bello.suono stupendo.grande nakamichi