Nakamichi

Nakamichi was the first to use a three-head recording technique in a cassette deck. Separate tape heads were used for playback, recording, and erase. Previously the playback and recording functions were combined in a single tape head. The three-head mechanism allowed higher quality reproduction as well as the ability to hear a recording in progress - as the tape traveled past the recording head onto the playback head.

The first Nakamichi three-head decks were the 1000 and 700 introduced around 1973. The 1000 and 700 series decks had tape bias settings for normal bias (IEC TYPE I) and high bias (IEC TYPE II). Competitor cassette decks offered Ferri Chrome (IEC TYPE III) whereas Nakamichi chose not to do so. The settings for the normal and high bias were labeled as EX and SX respectively. Nakamichi also sold its own brand of blank cassette tapes.

Around 1978, when metal bias (IEC TYPE IV) cassettes came into the market, Nakamichi produced some early metal tape capable decks such as the 580M.[3] The tape settings on these decks were EX (normal bias), SX (high bias), and ZX (metal bias).

Around 1980, Nakamichi introduced the third generation of 1000 and 700 three-head decks. The 1000ZXL and 700ZXL had full metal capability as well as normal and high bias abilities and had built-in computers for calibrating the decks to a specific tape. These built-in computers were known as A.B.L.E. for Azimuth, Bias, Level, and Equalization. The user would use this function (activated by an "Auto Cal" button) to optimize the deck to a specific brand of tape to get best recording results from every cassette.[4] Hence the 1000ZXL and 700ZXL were known as computing cassette decks. Also offered was a third less costly deck the 700ZXE auto tuning cassette deck.

A more expensive 1000ZXL Limited was also offered, with the same specifications as the 1000ZXL but with a gold plated face. Other high performance Nakamichi cassette decks are the CR-1 (2 head), CR-2 (2 head), CR-3 (3 head), CR-4 (3 head), CR-5 (3 head), LX-3 (2 head), LX-5 (3 head), Cassette Deck 1 and the Cassette Deck 1 Limited. Like the 1000ZXL Limited, the Cassette Deck 1 Limited is more expensive than the regular Cassette Deck 1.

Nakamichi RX-505 audio cassette deck with UDAR.

Top view of UDAR mechanism.

Called "UDAR" for UniDirectional Auto Reverse. Used on the Nakamichi RX series of decks. With the advent of auto-reverse (playing the tape in both directions), Nakamichi had long recognized that the angle of the tape passing over the playback head was not the same if the tape head was rotated in the opposite direction and its first approach was to track the azimuth on the tape itself by moving the head slightly—a very complex affair which led to the design of the Dragon with its NAAC. Nakamichi subsequently abandoned this approach and set its engineers in search of a more elegant solution. Nakamichi soon developed its UDAR mechanism, which mimicked the way people had manually turned over their tapes in the past: a mechanical system that would eject the tape, spin it around and reload it into the deck. It was available on all Nakamichi RX series of tape decks, i.e., the RX-202, RX-303 and RX-505. The 'top of the range' RX-505 was made after the Dragon. Its operation was elegantly simple, easy to set up, easy to calibrate, and easy to use, with only one rewind and forward operation in a unique unidirectional auto-reverse deck. It also had an updated and simpler drive system that was more direct loading, had updated and quieter electronics, and its revised capstan is essentially what Nakamichi used for its 1988 Nakamichi 1000 DAT recorder.

A cassette tape contains a "pressure pad" of some type, usually made of felt (reference image). This pad is within the cassette tape shell (located just behind the tape opening) and opposes the magnetic head of the cassette deck, providing pressure against the head(s) when the tape is being played. Nakamichi found that this pad provided uneven and fairly inaccurate pressure and was therefore inadequate for reliable tape/head contact. Furthermore, Nakamichi found that the pressure pad was a source of audible noise, particularly scrape flutter (the tape bouncing across the head, a result of uneven pressure), and also contributed to premature head wear. Nakamichi's dual-capstan tape decks provide such accurate and precise tape tension that, unlike other decks, the cassette's pressure pad is not needed at all. To remedy this problem, the vast majority of Nakamichi dual-capstan decks contain a "cage" around the record/playback heads that lifts the pressure pad out of the way so that the deck itself—specifically, the dual capstan mechanism—is able to maintain much more consistent tape tension and tape/head contact during playback.

Nakamichi Dragon

In the CD era (post 1983), the top line Nakamichi products were termed the "Dragon." The Dragon-CT turntable ("Computing Turntable") automatically adjusted for off-center holes in records by moving the platter in two dimensions. The Dragon CD playing system has special mechanical damping to prevent vibrations of the CD, and holds multiple CDs. The Dragon cassette deck used a special circuit for azimuth adjustment called "Nakamichi Automatic Azimuth Correction" (NAAC) to find the best sound for each recorded cassette tape, however because it was both expensive to manufacture and more complex as well as difficult to both service and maintain, Nakamichi sought to produce a new deck with the same excellent accuracy of azimuth but without the associated costs and difficulties of servicing. The solution (thought by some to be a gimmick) was to automate the manual turnover of tape; in other words eject the tape and flip it around to maintain proper tape head alignment. Nakamichi did this with its RX series. The RX-505 is not a compromise as many assumed but the very best method of maintaining azimuth without using the costly, complex and somewhat fragile NAAC system even though the Akai GXC-65D was the first cassette deck to actually use this method where the cassette would flip over instead of the head being rotated but was done in a top-loading fashion as this were cassette decks from the early-mid 1970s.

Other products from Nakamichi did not acquire the "Dragon" name but were still notable. These include the Nakamichi 1000 series products with the 1000ZXL cassette deck being more advanced and expensive than the Dragon cassette deck. The Nakamichi 1000 digital audio tape transport and Nakamichi 1000p digital to audio converter system were Nakamichi's reference digital audio tape components. These components were intended to establish Nakamichi's dominance in the field of digital audio tape (DAT), but DAT was not widely adopted by audiophiles, as the format itself did not gain acceptance as an industry standard.

Nakamichi licensed "Stasis" technology from powerhouse amplifier manufacturer Threshold (a class-A amplifier circuit by Nelson Pass, then a designer at Threshold, now at Pass Labs). This circuit was used in a line of expensive Nakamichi PA series of power-amplifiers, such as the PA-5 and PA-7, as well as its SR and TA series of receivers.

In the early 1980s, Nakamichi introduced a line of car stereo products. In 1982,the flagship head unit was the TD-1200 cassette receiver which incorporated a drawer-mounted, top-loading cassette mechanism with NAAC (like the Dragon), Dolby B and Dolby C.

The TD-800 was introduced in 1984, a nearly identical cassette receiver, however, implementing a much simpler transport without manual tape reverse and known for extreme reliability, a highly sought after vintage car audio piece.

Other early products included the TD-500 and TD-700 cassette receivers with manual azimuth adjustment (similar to the Cassette Deck 1, Cassette Deck 1 Limited, DR-1 and the CR-7). Several generations of power amplifier and speakers were introduced over time.

In the early 1990s, Nakamichi was one of the first companies to produce automotive CD changers that loaded multiple discs via a single slot rather than a CD cartridge.

Toyota would choose Nakamichi along with Pioneer to manufacture the audio systems for its range of Lexus automobiles. The Nakamichi unit was the flagship audio system offered to Lexus buyers, and this partnership lasted from 1989 to 2001.

Another follow-on flagship head unit was the TP-1200, which consisted of a headunit and a separate 'black box' pre-amp section. The casing for both units was made from machined aluminium, and the internal circuitry for both units was suspended using a mechanical suspension system. The headunit contained a diversity tuner and display unit only. The pre-amp section performed input switching, volume and tone adjustment. The tone controls (bass-mid-treble) were motor driven analog controls while the volume, balance and fader were digital.

Other products of note were the 100pa amplifier and the limited edition version the 1000pa. Both were identical in specifications (4x50wrms) and internal layout, the only difference being the case color. The 100pa was silver and the 1000pa black. The mobile TD-560 was a versatile pull-out-of-dash and remote controlled cassette and FM tuner head unit, that performed at the level of excellence matched only by very best Nakamichi mobile decks of the late 1980s era. Revolutionary was Nakamichi's mobile PA-350 four channel power amplifier, with extraordinary discrete amplifiers and exemplary performance specifications.

In 1989 Nakamichi, along with Pioneer, teamed with Toyota Corp. to produce a premium sound system in its Lexus line of automobiles. In 1990, Nakamichi introduced the music bank in its CD players which was based on a single loading tray concept with a total capacity of 7 CDs. This differed from the rest of the industry which typically offered a self-loading magazine or a carousel. Nakamichi further enhanced the music bank system in its 1992 offering (MB line) touting the quickest changer in the market. However, the quick changer concept experienced frequent jamming in its machines and as a result, required the company to redesign the mechanism in 1994 with a slight delay during the loading process. While this was corrected, Nakamichi's footing in the digital age was not concrete. In fact, its presence in the rapidly growing audio/video arena was modest at best with its Sansui sourced [5] AV-1 and AV-2 receivers (introduced in 1991). Further impacting its audio reputation was the ending of the licensing agreement with Nelson Pass for the use of the Stasis technology. Without it, its line of preamplifiers and power amplifiers were compromised; its technological advantage, more important in the high end audio market, was lost. Nakamichi attempted to counter the loss with its receivers touting Harmonic Time Alignment (HTA).

The time alignment of an amplified music signal and its distortion components has a profound effect on perceived sound quality. Nakamichi researchers discovered that the human ear is much more tolerant of harmonic distortion if the distortion components are time-aligned with respect to the primary signal. Nakamichi Harmonic Time Alignment (HTA) amplifiers adopt a wideband, low open-loop gain design. A minimal amount of negative feedback is used, but, more important, it is kept constant over the entire audio spectrum. This assures the proper timing between the primary signal and any amplifier distortion components. The sonic benefits of this design include powerful, high-resolution bass, a natural, richly detailed midrange, and smooth, clear highs.

In layman's term, HTA masked distortion through the primary signal. While effective, total harmonic distortion for this technology was higher than Nakamichi's receivers utilizing Stasis technology. Whether sound quality improved or dissipated with this technology is left to the listener's ears.