Nakamichi ZX-7 Calibration & Recording Demo

[@jimmyblues59m76]

Just set up a ZX7 after its being unused for over 20 years. Your instructional video was very helpful in getting the recording protocol sorted out. Thanks!

[@masterrob.2966]

Excellent video, exactly as I do it for almost 40 years when I bought my zx7 in 1982. I still use it, last year I had it checked and serviced by Tom van het Hoff in Holland, the expert from Nakamichi. I often record from cd’s and I think the playback is ‘warmer’. If you want to keep your precious records clean just tape it, it sounds great. Especially on metal, absolute no distortion in a high input from any source.

[@4132ize]

Great post!!! I just bought a ZX7 a few months ago... When properly calibrated using metal tapes it's playback is even smoother than the source!!!! I don't think I'll ever have a better cassette deck!!!!

[@trevor245]

that's impossible for obvious reasons but they do sound quite nice.

[@JamesE707]

It is amzing that the engineers at Nakamichi can engineer a solution to a recording head turning on its axis for perfect vertical alighment, at least that's what I assume it does? It's one thing to be able to do this in the lab, and quite another to manufacture by the thousands and send (with confidence) to all four corners of the planet. Awesome, well done Nakamichi! (BTW I have: Nakamichi DR10, Revox B215, Teac V8030S, Sony TC-K730ES.)

[@TechieZeddie]

Butch James I'm still amazed at that, too! A way to not only adjust but to HOLD it there after you're done without drifting! To me, that's an amazing engineering accomplishment. Using the fixed PH as a reference to monitor what the RH was putting down to for adjustments is a great concept put into production!

[@tomzielinski9506]

Hats off to you sir. Very informative, learned alot, Nakamichi ZX7 one of the top decks Nak ever made. Thanks once again.

[@kazuyoshisakamoto4096]

Excellent! Even slight calibrating can change the tone of this music.

[@danlivni2097]

The ZX7 is one of the best tape decks ever. I know Willy Hermann is known for fixing Nakamichi tape decks.

[@gixxerboy555]

The sound of this deck is so sublime..can't compare it to no other deck..just unbelievable..the sound is so clear,full and warm..and so in incredible detailed..never heard a sound like that and even on normal type-1 tape..wow..

[@gixxerboy555]

did Willy Hermann tell you so?thanx

[@JamesT65]

thanks this allowed me to understand where I was going wrong, I wasn't pressing the reset button. I just got myself a Nak ZX-9 and it rocks, amazing sound, taking my sources, digital, analogue all sound better.

[@TechieZeddie]

James Tervit You don't really need to hit the reset button. All that does is stop the recording process and rewind the tape back to twhere you started the calibration. If you just hit stop, that's fine. It just won't rewind the tape back to 0000. It's not going to forget your adjustments since they're all physical dials.

[@gixxerboy555]

I've bougt a mighty ZX-7machine.. last week.(revised 6 months ago by the famous Tom van der Hoff)...this video does no real justice to the sublime sound of this excellent machine (no bad feelings bro.. ;),it produces a truely sublime sound..(hardly no difference between sound of Type-1 cassette and CD when you switch from source to CD and vice versa during recording.unbelievable.... btw..thanx for this nice video.. :)

[@TechieZeddie]

I love my ZX-7! Just wow at the fact that you're hitting +10 DB without any distortion! Granted it's a metal tape, but I can't get mine to hit past +6 or +7 before I notice distortion, also on a TDK MA (same year model), although mine is a C-110 so maybe that's why.

[@LiquidLightning1]

Great Observations my Friend! For Master Recording/Demo Purposes I always use TDK MA60! C60 tape lengths are typically are 15-16 µm (Micrometers) thick, which allows the magnetic Layer more uniformity and strength. That thickness translates into higher SPLs on your Tape! By the Way C90s are 10-11 µm and C120s are just 6 µm thick!!! So... Anything longer than a C90 is just too thin for Optimum High Fidelity Recording- Also Tape that thin renders them more susceptible to stretching or breakage (& distortion)!

[@malcolmpalm]

Thanks for sharing this, I had never seen it done properly.

[@harshp2786]

Very nice video Explain the recording of nakamichi zx 7 Please share cr7 playback and recording

[@pblnlpalu]

Great video, superb machine!!!

[@hjames7254]

Thanks for the info👍

[@mapp4751]

a lovely looking deck that sounds great also,too bad i cannot afford it!

[@kabilaspur]

very well explained. Thanks.

[@yainaramartinez922]

Me gusta mucho quisiera tener uno

[@nutella8815]

Wow that’s amazing 😉

[@alexeykokh8240]

Interesting that digital source sounds harsh to me, but the recording is pretty nice.

[@LiquidLightning1]

You have Good Ears my Friend.

[@texascds]

I have had Nakamichi decks around for twenty years... One thing I believe in is keeping those peak meter readings under 0db when recording. Playbacks sound best that way.

[@masterrob.2966]

Yes! That’s the advantage of a real vintage deck, the sound is warm, not like many cd’s badly digitalised. It’s the perfect deck for recording a precious vinyl collection.

[@masterrob.2966]

@@texascds I don’t agree with that at all. It will increase s/r ratio. And loss of dynamics. LiquidLightning1 has it correct with metal tape. For chrome, like TDK SA(X) or Maxell XL2 I should do a little less, like +5. MA can take +8 easily without distortion.

[@Jo34457]

Hi. I wondering how much did you pay for this machine ? Love the demo by the way

[@vindicari]

no auto tape selection? bias?equalization,? just another button adding exercise.

[@Badassvidsz]

A little exercise make you unrust :-)

[@stevemcgowan3017]

The crown amp underneath

[@haselu2002]

Can we adjust azimuth while playing tapes? or not needing to do?

[@ciao4two]

Nice video! .....this may sound like a dumb question but,do you have to set the calibration each time you record or just once for that particular type of tape?

[@LiquidLightning1]

Good Question actually... Since there are even small minute differences between batches (production runs) of any make and brand of cassette tape, I calibrate each time I record (with a different tape).

[@gixxerboy555]

@@LiquidLightning1 don't you calibrate again when turning from A to B-side?I'll allway's do..with mine..

[@mahmoodbhattp5823]

What is the difference between Z9 & Z9

[@Badassvidsz]

Nice :-)

[@benkleschinsky]

When you said the machine is calibrating the position of the play head, did you mean the machine is calibrating the rec head to match the position of the play head? I was under the impression that the ZX-7 and ZX-9 have fixed play head azimuth.

[@LiquidLightning1]

Ben... way back when I made this video, Instead of remaking it, i put a correction in my description. your the only one that didn't read it.... ;)

[@benkleschinsky]

@@LiquidLightning1 Oh my! Thanks for responding. Wanted to make sure I wasn't incorrect about these. Description hides from you when using the mobile app.

[@benkleschinsky]

@@LiquidLightning1 Interestingly enough, the CR7A calibrates recording by changing the position of the playback head.

[@MegaDimoss]

Трек бы ещё какой-то другой) или акустику слышать хоть как нибудь

[@vintagecassettetapescollec5258]

I like demonstrate with deck

[@amolaghamkar7381]

I want to buy it I am from India

[@JohnSmith-zl8rz]

You pay $2K for this???

[@quietmouseful]

What song is that?

[@LiquidLightning1]

+quietmouseful track is: "Light At The End Of The Tunnel" - Flim and the BB's album Tunnel

[@quietmouseful]

+LiquidLightning1 Thanks man! Sounds great.

[@quebecforce111]

your recording volume seams to be to much . for Dolby C you supposed to recording at -3db

[@LiquidLightning1]

lol

[@quebecforce111]

@@LiquidLightning1 The record recommanded record volume for Dolby C NR on the web are -3db maximum. im not ok with my analyse ?

[@천년나무4단지유모씨]

사고ᆢ싶다ᆢ

[@robertlee1549]

Is the source a cassette, CD or vinyl?

[@LiquidLightning1]

It is a CD

[@AVadim]

Sound not so good, because took not from line out.

[@LiquidLightning1]

Hahahahaha Tough Crowd! I was trying to make a "How To" Demonstration, the Sonics are Way Good enough for that imho. I wanted the Video to be in a Raw Live form that Proves how Insanely Good Nakamichi tape decks are... No Editing, Mixing or dubbing! Tired of seeing demo videos with "line out" mic mixing and Processing.... you never really know for sure if someone is trying to EQ or Process the sound in someway. Demos should be LIVE always!

[@AVadim]

@@LiquidLightning1 I records from Line Out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaqWfYSBfMt6qsU and use for recording Nero Wave Editor, without any processes, only cut, fi it need.

[@LiquidLightning1]

@@AVadim - Your not understanding why I used a Camcorder and live through the speakers sound quaility for this Demo, i tried to explain it but your not getting it and that's ok... At least I know that if I ever listen to your links its through Nero Wave Editor, and through a Computers sound Card etc.... you just don't get it man!

[@AVadim]

@@LiquidLightning1 I understood it all. But you also made a recording using a smartphone microphone or video camera, and you uploaded the video to KZbin, which converted it to a digital compressed format... So that... :)

[@LiquidLightning1]

@@AVadim - Hahahahaha Everybody here knows what KZbin does to uploads.... Its what "YOU" do that is behind the Scenes, and that's the Point I was making in the first place .... I'll say it again, when someone uses editing software instead of a Raw Video, they can use the editing software to manipulate the sound which is not what a true DEMO should be... So again, for this Video to be a "TRUE Demo" sound wise, it should be a Raw completely unedited Video! You Simply do NOT understand... So that!

[@ИгорьСмирнов-ш6ч]

Продай ! мне ! куплю !

[@FreeKraps]

You shouldn't even need to use dolby on a metal.

[@Rockit66]

Using dolby is not almost as good as cd, and it is not as good as not using dolby. That's is in the facts. lower hizz yes, but also some frequencies are suppressed.

[@stevemcgowan3017]

pity its a budget amp

[@LiquidLightning1]

It's not an Amp, but a Great Cassette Deck!

[@vindicari]

how long does it take to put a cassette in and play it? and avoid all this bullshit 3 minutes 37 seconds.

[@tapemaster8252]

from what I understand about this deck is that it's the holy Grail of cassette decks, $3500 retail price, my $300 pioneer ct-w616wr does everything yours does AUTOMATICALLY​ except tape monitoring, I hope you didn't pay a 1/3rd the price to own that

[@1000DrSkipper]

My Yugo is every bit the car that your Ferrari is. You should have saved your $ and enjoyed the performance of the Yugo.

[@PedjoGT]

Tape Master82 man...Nak and that Pioneer are something different....if you only hear 680zx or this zx7 all bunch of three head decks you may throw from window. My first Nak is zx7 and in the same time i had Akai gx 95, Teac v 8000s, Pioneer ct959....great machines but zx7 is miles above in recording, playback an mechanics.

[@TechieZeddie]

Firstly, having tape monitoring is a big deal for a recording deck. It helps you dial in the bias and record sensitivity. Secondly, I own a JVC TD-V661 which is an excellent sounding machine, and also a 3 head deck (can monitor while recording). But my ZX-7 really sound a lot better than my JVC. Since I have the ability to calibrate the azimuth as well as bias set record sensitivity of the left and right channels independently, the recording will be the best I can extract from whatever tape I'm usong. That last part is important because the left channel is prone to degradation due to it being on the outside track of the tape. Even if the tape is slightl worn, you can compensate from it on a ZX-7 and ZX-9. Truly an amazing recording deck. For playback, I like using my 2 head Nakamichi RX-202. Simple transport, awesome auto reverse mechanism. I also love using my Aiwa AD-R40 flippy head autoreverse deck because it sounds great without needing to use "for it's price range" as a qualifier. The darn thing autoreverses in 0.3 seconds going from forwards to reverse! Going from reverse to forwards is slightly longer, but still much faster than other autoreverse decks like my JVC TD-WR254 (another entry level deck that's dual well).

[@Александр-о4г2ф]

Чё Русских то нету?

[@LiquidLightning1]

только английский

[@MegaDimoss]

Есть, я тоже смотрю)))