Hi all,
I’m interested in this cassette deck.They ask Euro 1500,negotiable.The deck is in perfect working order and estetically ok.Serviced on 02/2021.Any thoughts?
Merci bien.
If it is as described; in perfect working order, aesthetically good and recently serviced (By whom? What work was done?) then 1,500 Euros, or less if you negotiate, could be a fair price; they’re certainly going for a lot more elsewhere, although I think some pricing is madly speculative. I’d want to be absolutely sure that everything is working well - there’s a lot to go wrong otherwise and repair is not so easy or cheap. Also the orange caps can go bad (indeed, do go bad) so I would want to see whether it was recently re-capped, or at least done sometime in the past, so past service history is important too.
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The cassette deck to which we all aspired, back in the day… i’ve seen them going recently in the UK for around £2000 - several on the auction site asking for much, much more!
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Can BW still service them?
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Couple of mentions on the auction site of servicing & recapping by “Nak Central Audiolabs”, whoever they are.
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Apparently not, which is a shame.
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Paul Wilkins retired last year so B&W no longer service Nakamichis. A great shame, and Paul did a wonderful job on my ZX-9 a couple of years back.
However, there are some others out there who can work on Nakamichis on a more informal basis.
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Thank you all guys.Richard I remember you had an Nakamichi,thank you for your advices.Unfortunately the Dragon is in Rome and I live in Milan.We are still in lockdown so I am not allowed to even go out of Comune of Milan.Richard I wrote "serviced"but the seller just says “checked by the technician”.I must get in contact with him and and put some questions, for example,I don’t know how old it is and the problem of orange caps was common on machines from the first half f the '80s,do you agree Richard?
Yes, most all '80s Naks had orange caps in there, Dragon included.
While the Nakamichi Dragon was considered the ultimate Nak deck, it is will be very expensive to service. You may want to consider a lesser 3 head Nakamichi cassette. Service cost will be much more reasonable. My DR1 and DR10 perform well despite their advanced age.
I bought a Nakamichi 581 a 3 head machine from Unilet in New Malden in 1981. I had it serviced a couple of times by B & W who were their agents in this country. I sold the deck in 2016 I think a great cassette machine. I think I paid £299 in 1981 which was a lot of money at the time.
Regards,
Martin
I had my CR-7E repaired by B&W just after it came out of it’s guarantee, the “play motor” had failed (common fault apparently around that era… about 30 years ago) and it had a service by Paul Wilkins and Steve Pawson who were running the show then. Disappointing to hear Paul Wilkins has retired, but i guess you have to some time. I also have a CR-3E which is a couple of years older and they are both still going strong.
How much? I have got a Nakamichi in the loft, no idea what type.
Wow, that is a blast from the past. Everyone aspired to a Dragon in the 80’s. The looks were legendary and apparently sound quality to match. I never had the funds available.
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Thank you all so far.Still pondering…I will treasure your advices.
Since you ask…
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Very nice!
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@Fabio1 – If you are buying a Dragon, it’s worth remembering that it is an incredibly complex machine, and that there is an awful lot to go wrong. You’ll need to be in it for the long term, and be prepared to spend a LOT of money on keeping it going.
That said, I love mine to bits and wouldn’t part with it for anything.
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Just WoW…
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