aka - why is mine busted?

My CR-3 has decided it won't play anymore

although it fast fwds and rewinds - and also tensions the tape when you put a cassette in.

Taking the lid off I do not see any obvious missing belts - nor any disinitergrated belt or "goop" anywhere.

The capstans do not seem to be spinning when the power is on

Nakamichi UK - sent me 170-220 quid estimate via email (ie - not a bench estimate)

are these things that hard to fix/set up?

I thought mine was a cooking nak - and not  a fragile beast like the zx7/9 dragon etc

could be problems with belts or idlers mine played up bought a kit from germany fitted it plays fine , i"m not saying yours has same problems but more than likely is   sure i will be corrected

I always take my CR-7 to Nakamichi UK every 2 or so years, best let the experts work on it. This is the price you pay for having a good quality product.

   as you were .

yeh but a 7 is worth 500

my 3 is worth 50

It not the idler wheel as fwds and rewind won't work etheir, plus CR-3A has a gear drive, not an idler tire, could be the tiny contact that senses if the door is closed, that the first thing to check, main belt, or defective reel drive motor, or capston motor, or sensor for reel rotation sensor I do rebuilt them, install new motors (not a used one), new capacitors, align head azimuth and etc.

You cannot look at what it may be worth now, you have to look at what it was worth when new.

It’s like people go out and buy a second hand Ferrari for say £3000, then expect to service it for peanuts or get new tyres for peanuts. It won’t happen, not from authorize dealers anyway. You have to pay new money.

It around $200 to get it in likenew condition and to replace worn parts, as motor wear down after a certain amount of hours, so do the capacitors as they are rated for certain amount of hours, transports parts, switches, even the heads will wear out eventually. That why on professional gear they install meter, so you can tell how many hour, or cycles that machine been ran and they are serviced on a regular basis. Something alot of people don't know is your suppose to run you device ever so offen, or the capacitors go bad, as they need to be reform offen, that why even NIB even need to be restored and capacitors replaced.

Regular consumers take this for granted, as they don't know what involve, as manufacturers, don't tell you this anymore. So people expect stuff to last forever, even after they used it well over 6k hours for years on, or in some cases didn't use it offen and expect it to work the same. So yes your CR-3 may only be worth $50 unrestored, but a restored good 3 head deck goes for 100's. But of course people expect everything for nothing and then complain about the price being high and expect the same price as someone selling one used in unrestored condition, that will more likely fail within a month or so, sure you may have bought it at a cheap price, due to the fact it was used, may even be in good condition, but still unrestored!! But in the end, did you really get a good deal?

Like with your broken DD9's, it not because they are built worst, that they fail, it actually the most advance walkman built, using two servo motor transport. It failed due to age and wear, or sitting. Once restored it will out live a DC2 even, as transport built much better. People like the DC2, for the same reason why I do, because it louder and battery last longer, but DD9 actually sound better and is built much better, just not as loud.

Granted their also times when something isn't worth repair etheir, due to it was cheaply built to began with, or to far gone and parts are no longer available and cost more to restore then the original MSRP and not the lowball used prices you may have seen, or AKA thrift store prices. 

Hi retrodos I agree with most of what you had to say above. But I have to say because the DD9 is the most advanced Walkman, does not make it the best. The Nakamichi Dragon is the most advanced Nakamichi tape deck built and people confuse that in thinking it’s the best sounding, not true.

I have not heard a DD9 that sounds better than a D6C.

The fact that the DC2 and D6C have a higher output has nothing to do with me liking them. That makes no difference to me anyway since I use a portable amp.

The DC2 and D6C have more gravitas to the sound they produce, the DD9 sounds anaemic in comparison.

Also the fact that the DC2 and D6C have line out means you can bypass some of the circuitry that gets in the way of music, in this case less is more.

Most of the time simplicity is best.

That one thing I always like about the DC2 and D6C the "Lineout jack". Actually the DC2 get use most, it a great walkman and smaller then the D6C, just don't recommend it to other people due to the center gear and crack supply reel pinion gear, as finding these on eBay restored is unlikely. Do fix the center gear issue and replace any crack gears, as I keep spare parts units, on any DD series, even did a video showing people how to fix them.    

Hi retrodos

I,m interested in those videos.Do you still have it?or can you put it out here, or on youtube.

Hi retrodos I do remember seeing the video, it made interesting viewing. Cool but it is something I was not able to do, so I was very glad of renzgi’s help.

Videos are on youtube "Retropcdos"

Got my CR3 serviced for the grand sum of 25 quid

which is incidently the cost that Nakamichi UK charge you for shipping your deck back to you after a service.

Nice one, you must be happy now

Oh yeh

almost as happy as just scoring this!

Not familiar with this Kenwood turntable, but it looks in very good condition.

there's not much info about them on the web
but it's one of the "aluminum spider" series - it's an KD8030
similar to the KD990

How does the Kenwood sound in comparison to the LS in your avatar CB?

For me the LS is in a league of it's own among turntables...

Compared to your LP-12, what does it sound like?

It was in the 70’s, the Roksan Xerxes came along in the 80’s and killed it stone dead.

au contraire

the Sondek never lost it's crown

loads of pretenders have come and GONE

nothing will surpass it - in what it "does" - it's not perfect, but at what it does to music/vinyl it can't be beat for the money

I haven't got the Kenny yet - I pick it up next week.

I am using a SL1200 with a Rega RB250 and a Rega Planar 3 at the moment on my spare systems - as I am packing up preparing to move

I think a fully spec LP-12 is now about £10,000 - £12,000, there are a lot better decks at that price and less.

The Rega Planner 3 you mentioned is a better value for money deck than the LP-12.

When friends asked for advise on a cheap good deck, I always point them in the direction of Rega and Project.

I also have recomended the Planar 2/3 to friends - never been too much a fan of the lesser Pro-ject stuff.

My LP12 is pretty loaded - Trampolin, Cirkus, Ekos, Lingo, braced new plinth etc
just need to find a replacement Trioka - as I'm using some "cheap" Dynovector (which cost more than a 3 second hand Planar 2's!)

Sondeks can get expensive - but you can get a cooking one for around 500 quid
and it's a start

I need to spend 300 quid on a vinyl cleaner when I hit the states (and all those lovely second hand vinyl stores!)

The Technics would be my recomendation to most people now -as with a Rega arm it's frightfully good

The LP-12 is so over rated. What Dynavector cartridge do you have?

I have the Dynavector DV507MKII arm on my turntable.

If you are looking for a good record cleaner, I would recommend a Loricraft Audio PRC3 this is what I have and yes it cost a lot more than the £300 you want to spend but this cleaner is one of the best around. Unlike most cleaners out there it is quiet in operation and does a deep clean. If you get this cleaner you will never need another, it is a good investment. 

Yes the 1210 is very good with the Raga arm on it, one of my friends has that setup.

LP12 is over rated for a reason

much like the Beatles . . . . .

Do you have a Roksan?

the Dynavector 10x5

Yes very much like the Beatles ha ha, not for me.

I use to have a Roksan Xerxes but I gave it away to a friend when I got an Acoustic Solid One to One.

I’ve never heard the Dynavector 10 x 5, but I have been told it is very good. I fancy trying the Dynavector DRT XV1-S when I change my cartridge, which at the moment is a Roksan Shiraz.

that's a serious bit of kit
no wonder you're beating on the LP12

I use it with Naim gear and Linn Speakers - it works well for me

and ultimately - like we both agree - our ears our the best judges

I remember for a while I put my LP12 away - and used the Rega instead, in that month I stopped listening to music - to the point i stopped buying it!

That speaks volumes

When I moved house I bought some Isobariks and got the LP12 out again - my ears thanked me

I have bought the Kenwood as I am untertaking a jap audio from the 80-90's  revivlal

I have a couple of friends with the LP-12’s and in an all Naim setup. The Naim philosophy is not for me, they lock you into their eco system. Also Naim have changed their tune lately just to keep up with the Americans.

The Linn isobarick, monster speakers needs a big room to show it’s best have you got a big room?

No I am not really beating on LP-12, people just rate them too highly I just like things in prospective

Yeh the Isobariks were monsters - I shipped them out and bought a slightly smaller pair of Kans

I had SBL's before Isobariks - and they were just dandy - but a pain in the arse to set up

I don't buy into the Naim thing - I just know that the 72/Hi/140 rig - is pretty much the purest form they did (although the 250 is always calling me back)

After that particular set up - you end up chasing rainbows and throwing thousands away on a sound that is never gonna sound as good when you first heard your system and liked it.

System improvement is a slippery path full of snake oil dealers and just plain rubbish

Slightly smaller Kans, it’s like saying a cat is slightly smaller than a lion ha ha.

One of my friends that I said has the Naim / Linn setup has the SBL’s on the end of a 552, Super Cap and 2 x 250’s it sounds very good. I think once setup properly it sounds good and the fact that it will sit’s near the wall is a bonus.

Years ago when I was upgrading I did borrow 72, Hi Cap and 140 for a weekend. At the time I had a Linn Axis turntable. When I first set it up I thought wow but by the end of the weekend I could not wait to take it back. By the end of the weekend I found it so fatiguing.

To me the better value for money was the Nait.

You say you are running 72, Hi Cap and 140 into a Linn Isobarik? Sounds like a mismatch to me. The Isobarik needs more amp to get hold of it and stop it running away and doing what it wants.

If you can I think you should try and listen to the Isobarik on the end of say 2 x 250’s or on the end of a pair of 135’s, I know the price is now up from your current setup but that is what the Isobarik needs. This will really show you what the Isobarik can do, while you are there throw in the 52 to complete it all.

Since you buy second hand, I think you should be able to get them at a reasonable price.

I have a Split Nait 3r also that I run with a Hicap

The 140 could run the Isobariks well enough - but they were too big

and the need to buy 2 135's was not feasible

I am happy with the Kef Ref Model 1's I bought to replace them

For walkman reasons, the D6C and DC2 should be louder than the DD9, reason is because of the higher volts used: 6V for D6C, 3V for DC2 and 1.5V for DD9. I also prefer the D6C head assembly design because I quite don't like the assembly where the heads and pinch rollers are attached to the cassette door or holder. I don't mind it, just freaks me out a little bit.