Nakamichi Dragon Performance with Type II tapes


Hi,

I recently acquired a mint Nakamichi Dragon. I tried recording from vinyl to TDK SA-X tape. The source/tape were not 100% identical, there was (very small) loss of metal texture in cymbal and high-hat sounds. Is this the media's (tape) limitation or is the deck malfunctioning?

Any help is appreciated.

Best Regards
livin_262002
Thank You Inna and Lloydc, Lloydc, me and my deck did pay a visit to Willy two weeks ago, he did a very fine job on it, he said the deck performed to spec, just was curious if the slight loss of fidelity was normal with tape media.As always you were very helpful.

Thanks Again!
I sent mine to Willy Hermann too.
Reference metal tape is better in every respect. Some do think that best type I tape can go a little lower in bass. Not in my experience.
Inna, thanks for the info, it's getting real hard to find TDK and Maxell Type IV tapes at reasonable prices. The Maxell Metal Vertex's asking price is about $120 a piece, MA-XG's are a bit reasonable. I have quite a few TDK SA-X Type II tapes and a couple of TDK MA and Sony Metal SRs. But will keep looking for the vertex's and MA-XGs.
Yeah,sealed Vertex goes for at least $75 and MA-XG for $40. Old MAs are better than newer ones. Maxell MX-S is quite good, usually $12-$15 a piece. Sony Metal Master and That's Suono just don't sound good on my deck, and Vertex and MA-XG are mechanically better. MA-R is good too but newest MA-XG with green shell is a little above it. Older MA-XG is the same as MA-R. Denon MG-X is OK too, a bit bright but clear and dynamic.
This is all with my deck. With your deck it may be somewhat different.
Even when they were new,this was a characteristic.I ended up making tapes for in the car only.