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
douglas_schroeder
3,336 posts
 

Yup, NAK, don't need to say anything more regarding cassette decks. 

When I was looking at cassette decks many years ago, I had a similar experience. 
A salesman summarized the complaints that were floated by other dealers, "Everyone rips on Nakamichi because they are the best." I bought the only model I could afford at the time, one of my first audiophile quality components, the CR-1A. 

It had sat for years as a token of the past, but recently I decided to set it up in my office with the Peachtree Audio Nova, the Eminent Technology LFT-IV Speakers and a pair of HSU subwoofers as a nice vintage system to play my mix tapes I kept. Its sound will not win any awards; when compared to recent gear, imo cassette is lacking. I put the Nak into my big rig and played tapes for two days - nah, not that good. I do wonder what it would sound like to make tapes with a streaming music source. But I'm not going to spend my life on it. 

But it's fun to return to decades old music on the old Nak! 

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice OP
9,413 posts
 

@kennyc 

Lots of course. But Amps... my first good amp a Threshold S500, then Pass X350. More importantly a variety of preamps... including Threshold, Amber, Bryson, and a couple more. ARC Phono stage was my  first good phonostage long ago. Other components Sonic Frontiers, Nakamichi (CD player)....several others. 

Finally I moved to Audio Research for Phono stage for last 35 years, ARC preamp for about the last twenty years. Finally ARC Amp for the last seven years, and ARC CD Player for the last six years. 

kennyc
2,857 posts
 

@ghdprentice thanks for the info. I was wondering what level and sonic type of SS before you decided to move to AR tubes. I’m a bucket list audiophile so started late. Instead of trial and error to move up, I listened to the best I could find then tried to reproduce within budget. Unfortunately for my wallet it was Magico and YG so it was a struggle to afford including electronics. I targeted personal end game level to reduce time consuming trial and error. 

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice OP
9,413 posts
 

@kennyc 

I completely understand. You can spend decades chasing different sounds, changing what you value, etc. 

Well, if you get out to the Pacific Northwest, give me a holler and we can get together. One person from audiogon after hearing my system, went back home and bought the exact same system I have... down to every interconnect and power cord. He is very happy. Not everyone would, because some folks are looking for a different kind of sound. 

danager's avatar
danager
988 posts
 

The Nakamichi decks were great as long as you played them back on the Nakamichi.  In the car or on other tape decks they really didn't cut it compared to some of the other decks who sacrificed sound for compatibility. 

I've come to the realization that everything in stereo (and in life) is a compromise  and it all boils down to what we live with.

 

 

More to discover