Nakamichi CR-7A Cassette

[Scott Duncan]

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I just bought one of these decks.
The recordings are great, but they lose sound quality when played back on
another machine. I've heard this about Nakamichi decks because of the gap
width on the playback head or something. Can anyone suggest a car head unit
and a walkman type of player that is good for playback? Thanks.

[TCS]

The only time you should lose sound quality is if the playback deck has piss
poor alignment like just about any autoreverse deck on the market.

[jeffc]

"TCS" <The.Central...@p.o.b.o.x...c.o.m> wrote in message
news:slrnb8es6k.tif.The....@linux.adamf625.kaosol.net...

That's not exactly true. You lose sound quality when the 2 decks have
*different* alignment. The poor alignment can be on the recording machine,
playback machine, or both machines.

[TCS]

The nak isn't as likely to be misaligned.

Many autoreverse decks don't even make an attempt at proper alignment. They
put the azimuth at 0 degrees so that they perform equally (poor) in both
directions.

[Ron]

On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 16:38:26 -0500, "Scott Duncan"
<sad...@comcast.net> wrote:

>I was wondering if anyone could help me. I just bought one of these decks.
>The recordings are great, but they lose sound quality when played back on
>another machine. I've heard this about Nakamichi decks because of the gap
>width on the playback head or something.

This loss of sound quality is not due to incorrect azimuth
alignment (when it is, the only loss is in the higher
frequencies). It's due to incorrect record equalization in
some CR-7s. This screwup was finally recognized and
corrected by Nakamichi, starting with S/N 08677. Those with
lower S/N have to be modified to correct this fault. There
was a Nakamichi service bulletin, outlining the required
parts and procedure. Once the modification is performed,
it's a good idea to recalibrate the recording circuits.

-- Ron

[Scott Duncan]

Thanks everyone for their responses.

With this information I've been experimenting and have some questions.

First some history. I bought the Nak from the original owner. The owner
had the idler, belts and capstans replaced this year. The service was done
by The Sound Company in Concord, California. I assume they aligned the tape
heads, but that's an assumption.

I recorded a tape (Maxell XLII-S/90min) on the Nak. As I stated before, the
tape sounds great when played on the Nak. But, I play it on other decks and
the sound quality takes a nose dive. Other units I've played the tape on:
Two Ford Factory car stereos, a cheap $40 Sony Walkman, a recently
aligned/calibrated Pioneer CT-F1000 and a Nak 480. The tape loses sound
quality on all of these units. Tapes made on the Pioneer and 480 sound fine
on all these units, including the CR-7.

Am I to assume all the other units are out of alignment or could the CR-7 be
the culprit? If the CR-7 is the culprit, Is there an authorized Nak
service center in the Detroit Metro Area? If not, what is a good place I
could ship it for repair/alignment? Also, Ron you mentioned a condition on
the earlier CR-7's, my s/n starts with 098, is this an earlier model that
needs the work you mentioned?

Thanks Again to everyone for their help.

"Ron" <ronREMOV...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:sc7h8vkbaabudog74...@4ax.com...

[Ron]

All the decks you mention are far lower quality than the
CR-7, including the Nak 480. I would expect their sound
quality to be inferior. What, exactly, do you mean by 'loses
sound quality'?

The equalization circuit update was incorporated into CR-7
production units starting after S/N 08677. If your deck is
098xx, it already has it.

-- Ron

On Tue, 1 Apr 2003 19:29:05 -0500, "Scott Duncan"

[Scott Duncan]

I'm not sure how to explain it, but a tape made on the CR-7 loses highs and
seperation when played on another deck. The tape sounds as if it was
recorded on one of those portable units from years ago. Of course, that
statement is an exaggeration, but it is similar to what I've been hearing.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Duncan, S. A. (Scott)" <sdun...@ford.com>
To: "Home" <SAD...@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 6:39 AM
Subject: info

[TCS]

In article <6r-cnaAUkp4...@comcast.com>, Scott Duncan wrote:
> I'm not sure how to explain it, but a tape made on the CR-7 loses highs and
> seperation when played on another deck. The tape sounds as if it was
> recorded on one of those portable units from years ago. Of course, that
> statement is an exaggeration, but it is similar to what I've been hearing.

one of the decks is out of alignment. What is the playback deck?
If it's an autoreverser then it is very likely the culprit.

[Bob Olhsson]

In article <6r-cnaAUkp4...@comcast.com>, Scott Duncan
<sad...@comcast.net> wrote:

>I'm not sure how to explain it, but a tape made on the CR-7 loses highs and
>seperation when played on another deck.

This is because most decks use cheaper heads having less HF response
than what Nakamichi uses. The manufacturers compensate for the cheap
heads by goosing the high-end in record. The result is exactly what you
are hearing although tapes made on an ordinary deck can be expected to
sound bright on the Nakamichi. Prerecorded tape replicators try to
split the difference.

--
Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery Recording Project Design and Consulting
Box 90412, Nashville TN 37209 Tracking, Mixing, Mastering, Audio for Picture
615.385.8051 FAX: 615.385.8196 Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
40 years of making people sound better than they ever imagined!