1. Home
  2. misc-audio
  3. 198275-9627

Audiophile Equipment

I learned the value of audiophile equipment early in my pursuit of the high end. I had accumulated enough gear for a system and was looking for the best possible tape deck… with Dolby C. From the popular magazines… Stereo Review, Stereo Times… the Harman Kardon T392 seemed to represent the pinnacle. So I bought one. It was OK… but such a huge step down from vinyl that I was genuinely bummed, especially since it cost something like $650… a lot of money at the time.

A few months later I was browsing a high-end audio shop and, somewhat morosely, told my story to a salesman. He just started laughing. “Those things are junk… you need a real tape deck.” He led me over to the window, where there was a seven-year-old used Nakamichi 1000… huge, with wood paneling all around it… looking more like a reel-to-reel than a cassette deck. He wanted $1,200 for it. That was an astronomical amount of money… and it was old. Then he said, “Take it home… try it.”

My first real jaw-drop moment.

It had the full depth and bass of vinyl… it was simply astonishing. It made the so-called “flagship” Harman Kardon sound like a cheap plastic transistor radio and without Dolby C.  All that glossy magazine talk about bandwidth and specs… page after page of marketing… well, that’s all it was. This old, purpose-built audiophile machine performed leagues above the consumer-level product.

I was hooked.

It wasn’t my last audiophile purchase… but it was my last consumer-level purchase for decades.

ghdprentice
fastfreight
1,277 posts
 

@ghdprentice said:

It wasn’t my last audiophile purchase… but it was my last consumer-level purchase

Love it!  +1 sir!

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice OP
9,408 posts
 

@jallan  +1 I never owned a Marantz Model 7... but sure wanted to. 

 

@zlone Funny thing. My Nakamichi LX5 was in my storage room. I found a guy that loved vintage stuff and gave it to him. He said the same... it didn't work. When I put it away it did. Don't know what he did with it. 

ericba's avatar
ericba
148 posts
 

We all need to start somewhere. Got my first TT at 18. A Thorens with an AKG cart for about 250$. Was really happy until I listened to a Linn LP12 that cost over 1000$ without the cart. Since I did not have enough money, I settled for a used  Heybrook TT2 in 1986. The journeyman’s Linn as they called it. Well I kept it until  last year until I finally got my Linn LP 12 with up to date upgrades. Like I said we need to start somewhere to get there. The journey is also a fun part of this hobby.

dwest1023
353 posts
 

I remember my first high end cassette deck, an Aiwa 990. To this day it was one of the best sounding I’ve ever heard. 

roadwhorerecords
336 posts
 

I started my journey of tape duplication with a Sharp cassette deck. Then I really dove into the higher end of audio. My local store sold me a Nakamichi BX-150, quickly traded for the BX-300. I thought WoW! How can it get better than this? Then I was offered a use Nakamichi ZXE-700, which I later added the NR-200 Dolby unit. At this point, I was proud that everything in the system was either made in the USA or Europe. So I hid the deck on the lower shelf behind doors and bought a Tandberg TCD 3014. It was nearly, or equally as good as the Nak. Then I got a chance to purchase the second Nakamichi CR5A that came in the country, after the AUDIO and Stereo Review got their deck to measure. Before I even unboxed it, the R2R tech that did all the tweeks on our studio 24track machines, said he would calibrate it for me for free, if I let him take it to measure. The CR-5A was the best performing cassette deck I ever came across. He biased it for TDK MA-XG and SA-XG tape. You couldn't beat it! 

More to discover