AudioAl
pfm Member
After decades of wanting a Nakamichi Dragon I casually looked on that web site and low and behold a Dragon Had just been listed at afordable price , This is the wording on the listing
This deck was last serviced in about 2007 and not used since. I have moved homes and countries several times since and was anxious when I tested it yesterday. I plugged in my headphones, put in a mix tape recorded with the Dragon and was blown away by the sound. The door no longer opens all the way and needs gentle pull to open it and the drive seems louder than I remember it. There are scratches on the top with some paint scuffs and some sticky tape residue on the rear where the last, now illegible service receipt which I removed yesterday, was stuck to it. Original Manual and invoice included. It cost me about 3 months gross salary at the time.
Nakamichi's Dragon epitomized cassette-deck technology; it was considered the Holy Grail of what could be accomplished at 1 7/8 i.p.s. A three-head deck with discrete heads for recording, playback and erase, it used Nakamichi’s NAAC auto azimuth correction to optimize playback azimuth on any tape played. This resulted in a deck that could play back tapes recorded on other manufacturers’ machines as well as doing a great job with pre-recorded tapes.
The Dragon's wow and flutter – 0.019% weighted RMS and 0.04% weighted peak were the lowest on the market. Long-term speed stability of the Dragon was exemplary and absolute speed error (+0.2–+0.5%) presented no audible distraction.
Dynamic range for Type I, II and IV tapes equalled 54, 56.5 and 59 decibels (dB) respectively; record-high figures for cassette machines. Frequency response, measured to within ±3 dB, extends to 11–12 Hz. The upper boundary for low-level (-20 dB) signals extends to 22–24 kHz depending on tape type.
The listing had a start price and a best offer option so I made a offer £50 above the start price and this was accepted almost instantly , Happy days , Then the dougt started " Is this a genuine listing ? " am I about to be scammed ? , I paid and kept my fingers crossed
4 days later , Ding dong , Mr UPS was at the door with the box I was waiting for , Still uneasy and with thoughts wizzing around in my head , Will it hold a dragon or some bricks or a crap cassette player ?
Out with the knife , Box opened and low and behold there it was my very own Dragon in lovely condition
The seller also include the original Owners Manual ( mint condition ) and original invoice dated 27/6/1983, 3226.15 German marks , Not sure what that equates to in money now ? , He did say it cost several months salery back then , It has the weirdes looking power plug I have ever seen but did come with a UK adaptor to a std 3 pin 13 amp plug . Plugged it in and switched it on, and yay it powered up fine, Into the listening room , Connected up and out of decency inserted the home made mix tape he provided , Pressed play and off it went , It does have a audible rhythmic ticking noise yet to be looked at , Played fine and did the auto reverse as well,
With most Dragons I have seen advertised you can tell the amount of use they have had by how polished the buttons are , This one still has matt buttons indicating little use , He did say it's not been used since 2007
I will take the lid off and have a look inside to see if I can find the cause of the ticking noise ,
New belt kit and pinch roller tyre on order from the US of A
Enough rambling here are a few images
E0391F17-3A67-4031-81A0-48D518E36854 by , on Flickr
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050FBC91-72FF-4844-B74E-DC59DAEFE817 by , on Flickr
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2D5A6998-B3F8-4995-AA13-5078CEC4EBD1 by , on Flickr
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C54AC484-5593-4396-8194-DEC2BE14D3D3 by , on Flickr
The images do show some light reflections
That's it for now , Will update as and when
This deck was last serviced in about 2007 and not used since. I have moved homes and countries several times since and was anxious when I tested it yesterday. I plugged in my headphones, put in a mix tape recorded with the Dragon and was blown away by the sound. The door no longer opens all the way and needs gentle pull to open it and the drive seems louder than I remember it. There are scratches on the top with some paint scuffs and some sticky tape residue on the rear where the last, now illegible service receipt which I removed yesterday, was stuck to it. Original Manual and invoice included. It cost me about 3 months gross salary at the time.
Nakamichi's Dragon epitomized cassette-deck technology; it was considered the Holy Grail of what could be accomplished at 1 7/8 i.p.s. A three-head deck with discrete heads for recording, playback and erase, it used Nakamichi’s NAAC auto azimuth correction to optimize playback azimuth on any tape played. This resulted in a deck that could play back tapes recorded on other manufacturers’ machines as well as doing a great job with pre-recorded tapes.
The Dragon's wow and flutter – 0.019% weighted RMS and 0.04% weighted peak were the lowest on the market. Long-term speed stability of the Dragon was exemplary and absolute speed error (+0.2–+0.5%) presented no audible distraction.
Dynamic range for Type I, II and IV tapes equalled 54, 56.5 and 59 decibels (dB) respectively; record-high figures for cassette machines. Frequency response, measured to within ±3 dB, extends to 11–12 Hz. The upper boundary for low-level (-20 dB) signals extends to 22–24 kHz depending on tape type.
The listing had a start price and a best offer option so I made a offer £50 above the start price and this was accepted almost instantly , Happy days , Then the dougt started " Is this a genuine listing ? " am I about to be scammed ? , I paid and kept my fingers crossed
4 days later , Ding dong , Mr UPS was at the door with the box I was waiting for , Still uneasy and with thoughts wizzing around in my head , Will it hold a dragon or some bricks or a crap cassette player ?
Out with the knife , Box opened and low and behold there it was my very own Dragon in lovely condition
The seller also include the original Owners Manual ( mint condition ) and original invoice dated 27/6/1983, 3226.15 German marks , Not sure what that equates to in money now ? , He did say it cost several months salery back then , It has the weirdes looking power plug I have ever seen but did come with a UK adaptor to a std 3 pin 13 amp plug . Plugged it in and switched it on, and yay it powered up fine, Into the listening room , Connected up and out of decency inserted the home made mix tape he provided , Pressed play and off it went , It does have a audible rhythmic ticking noise yet to be looked at , Played fine and did the auto reverse as well,
With most Dragons I have seen advertised you can tell the amount of use they have had by how polished the buttons are , This one still has matt buttons indicating little use , He did say it's not been used since 2007
I will take the lid off and have a look inside to see if I can find the cause of the ticking noise ,
New belt kit and pinch roller tyre on order from the US of A
Enough rambling here are a few images
E0391F17-3A67-4031-81A0-48D518E36854 by , on Flickr
.
.
050FBC91-72FF-4844-B74E-DC59DAEFE817 by , on Flickr
.
.
2D5A6998-B3F8-4995-AA13-5078CEC4EBD1 by , on Flickr
.
.
C54AC484-5593-4396-8194-DEC2BE14D3D3 by , on Flickr
The images do show some light reflections
That's it for now , Will update as and when