Looking for a technics cassette deck

[Technics_Fan]

Hello

Greetings fellow members. I am a new start to this forum and looking forward to share stories / reviews / restoration on some of my vintage equipments.
I have a small collection of record players / reel to reel players / vintage radio and cassette decks.

I am looking for a technics cassette preferably in decent cosmetic condition. I am okay if it is not fully functional or if it has few minor problems as i am willing to invest my time in getting it restored. I like spending my leisure time in restoring vintage electronics / caring for themhyeah:.

Appreciate your response.
Wishing you all a very happy Diwali.


Best Regards,
Tehnics_Fan

 

[jayants]

Go for a Nak. U will shift your Allegiance very soon

 

[vinyl.lover]

If you come to bangalore try with Mr.ramachandran he have technics rack system dont know about condition and price.

 

[Technics_Fan]

If you come to bangalore try with Mr.ramachandran he have technics rack system dont know about condition and price.

Thanks for the pointer. Is Mr.Ramachandran a forum member or is he a dealer. Where I can find him.

 

[Technics_Fan]

Go for a Nak. U will shift your Allegiance very soon

I can understand Nak being on top of the league. Some of my Technics decks have given excellent performance without too much of maintenance effort even though they may not be at par with what a Nak can do. I consider them as my workhorses.

I can't really comment on Nak as I am yet to have one and everything I know about Nak is just hearsay.
Can you give me some pointers on what should be my first Nak deck if consider getting one?
How easy is it to find one in a decent condition in India?

 

[vinyl.lover]

He is a dealer, ill msg you his no.

 

[hemantwaghe]

I have one Technics M03 , 2head Small sized premium deck . Ca ship . See if u r interested

 

[hemantwaghe]

Technics RS-M03 Stereo Cassette Deck

 

[reubensm]

Nakimichi is legendary and is in a league apart (even for their mass market decks). Technics however, is a tried and tested and well respected brand when it comes to Cassette decks. They made some great stuff during their hay day. But stay away from the Technics double deck and post 1995 plasticky stuff. Vintage Technics silver panel decks with dual VU meters are a real treat

 

[Technics_Fan]

Nakimichi is legendary and is in a league apart (even for their mass market decks). Technics however, is a tried and tested and well respected brand when it comes to Cassette decks. They made some great stuff during their hay day. But stay away from the Technics double deck and post 1995 plasticky stuff. Vintage Technics silver panel decks with dual VU meters are a real treat

I can't agree more on your point of later technics deck being plasticky.
I have a technics RS-AZ7 which recently suffered a failure in the loading gear (power eject). Basically, disintegrated into several pieces and was impossible to find a replacement. I ended up retrofitting couple of gears together to do the job.
Eventhough the electronics and head technology (DCC) is built for superior frequency response the mechanism is very flimsy and temperamental.

Deck made during the early to mid 80's are built like a tank. Some manufactured during the early 90's are also great.

RS-B965 is a fine example.
Technics RS-B965 Stereo Cassette Deck

Warm Regards,
Technics_Fan

 

[reubensm]

Regarding Naks, well, that's a difficult one to answer. This is simply because those who own Naks almost never part with them. Those who end up selling them (except dealers) are those who discover that they don't listen to cassettes any more and often put these up for sale, just to ensure that they go to a good and deserving home. There are many different Nak models out there, some legendary, some not, some as 3 headers, some as 2 headers but if I were you, I'd probably search for the very last Nak series, the DR series. This is going by the simple logic is that these are generally found in the best condition possible. The performance of my DR3 is superb. It has outstanding recording and playback. Speed is dead accurate and it looks classy too. If I have to sell all my equipment, turntables included, it would be the last piece that I would very reluctantly sell. It was a boy-hood dream that was fulfilled when I bought it. Our family always wanted to own a Nak and a Garrard 301 or 401. Dad could not achieve it in his lifetime, but I have somehow managed to

 

[hemantwaghe]

Regarding Naks, well, that's a difficult one to answer. This is simply because those who own Naks almost never part with them. Those who end up selling them (except dealers) are those who discover that they don't listen to cassettes any more and often put these up for sale, just to ensure that they go to a good and deserving home.

Fraom a dealer - 2-3 years back if you searched and have patience , getting a decent Nak was not a great issue ,in a city like mumbai. I must have sold more than 10 Naks , 5 of them Triple Head , and couple of them Rotate and reverse kind. Most of them picked up from end users .

so found many who parted with their Naks.

And this does not include many many deals I missed , as I am a part time dealer with very limited exposure .

In fact 2 of my sellers sold their 3 Headers as they bought tape decks to re-discover the casettes and were fully disillusioned with the format ....

 

[Technics_Fan]

@RubenSm and @Hemant Thanks for sharing your perspective.
What is the price range that I should be willing to spend on a Nak may be a 3 header. I know there is a supply and demand factor coming into play.

I am a bit temperamental to buy from a dealer for various reasons cited below.

1.) Could be a franken set with parts salvaged from other units.
2.) Someone with half baked experience could have done a botch job inside.
3.) Generally the service history is not known and usually the azimuth alignment is not factory stock. Will eventually have to spend sometime in alignment and calibration.

Having said that there are few good dealer who know what they are dealing with but I generally I would like to pick up from a end user.

As you say a lot of patience is required and definitely some good luck

Warm Regards,
Technics_Fan

 

[hemantwaghe]

3 Header is now around 15 K onowards..

 

[jayants]

Technics fan apologies for the delay in posting my reply. Let me try to respond to your queries based on my experiences.

1) Given a choice always go for a Nak 3 Head over 2 Head.

2) I have huge huge respect for reubensen as I find him extremely knowledgable and helpful. But I beg to differ slightly from him on going for the last of the Nak series that's the DR models. Reason being almost all of the last series of Naks had a Sankyo transport and are made in Taiwan. Whereas the older Naks lots of them have original Naktransport and all are made in Japan.

3) In India keep a tab on OLX and Quickr for Nak decks. Bombay and South India are main hubs for getting Naks. Otherwise one need to get through ebay.

4) Try to ensure in having a goodMechanic at your disposal who can service these machines from time to time.

5) In India a 3 Head Nak one can get from 10k and above.

6)As a starter in Nak models u can try out are BX300,RX202,RX505,CR5,582Z,680ZX to name a few. The seer all 3 HeadDecks.

 

[hemantwaghe]

Technics fan apologies for the delay in posting my reply. Let me try to respond to your queries based on my experiences.

1) Given a choice always go for a Nak 3 Head over 2 Head.

2) I have huge huge respect for reubensen as I find him extremely knowledgable and helpful. But I beg to differ slightly from him on going for the last of the Nak series that's the DR models. Reason being almost all of the last series of Naks had a Sankyo transport and are made in Taiwan. Whereas the older Naks lots of them have original Naktransport and all are made in Japan.

3) In India keep a tab on OLX and Quickr for Nak decks. Bombay and South India are main hubs for getting Naks. Otherwise one need to get through ebay.

4) Try to ensure in having a goodMechanic at your disposal who can service these machines from time to time.

5) In India a 3 Head Nak one can get from 10k and above.

6)As a starter in Nak models u can try out are BX300,RX202,RX505,CR5,582Z,680ZX to name a few. The seer all 3 HeadDecks.

Of these RX202 is 2 head - I sold one in past .... so I knw. BTW a sexy deck with reverse mechanism.

also If someone is NOT recording what is the advantage of 3 head over 2 head as I understand in 3 head Erase and Tape head are different ?

 

[sarith]

If someone is NOT recording what is the advantage of 3 head over 2 head as I understand in 3 head Erase and Tape head are different ?

3 head deck comprises of a separate playback and record head (erase head is common on all record capable decks). Plus point is monitoring source and recorded material at the same time it's being recorded.

 

[jayants]

Of these RX202 is 2 head - I sold one in past .... so I knw. BTW a sexy deck with reverse mechanism.

also If someone is NOT recording what is the advantage of 3 head over 2 head as I understand in 3 head Erase and Tape head are different ?

Yes RX202 is a 2 Head deck only.

A 3 Head Deck's only functionality is not RECORDING.
Double Capstan,Pad Lifter,Dedicated Head for playback and many other attributes makes a huge difference in the final Output in a 3 Head deck

 

[jayants]

Plus point is monitoring source and recorded material at the same time it's being recorded.

Yes.
But there are 3 Head decks of Nak which do not have a Monitor opyion as well say like 581.

 

[Technics_Fan]

Yes RX202 is a 2 Head deck only.

A 3 Head Deck's only functionality is not RECORDING.
Double Capstan,Pad Lifter,Dedicated Head for playback and many other attributes makes a huge difference in the final Output in a 3 Head deck

Thanks Jayant and Hemant for sharing your valuable views.

Yes indeed 3 head machines exhibits superior playback as the dedicated playback head is designed for optimal playback profile and there are no trade offs as in the case of a shared record / playback head.

Jayants are Naks prone to gear failure due to age / wear and tear?
Please forgive my ignorance.
Can you enlighten me on how the Nak transport is superior to others ? Are the gears made of carbon fiber or some other composite material?

Usage of plastic and Nylon gears in the mechanism will make Nak vulnerable to deterioration. Especially when a wrong oil / grease is applied.

I would like to invest on a quartz locked DD machine. I will review your list to understand what Nak has to offer in-terms of the transport and freq response.
Jayant, once again I would like express my gratitude for your pointed reply. It definitely get me upto speed on what to expect from a Nak.


Warm Regards,
Technics_Fan