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Dragon, RX-505 or DR-2 ?

I have the chance to get one of the 3 decks mentioned. 

The Dragon works but the NAAC is slightly out of line, it’s an early serial number which I understand can mean an expensive service. The sales price is of course the highest!
The RX-505 works as expected, just never serviced and is being offered at half the price of the Dragon. 
The DR-2 is near mint and hardly used and is priced between the Dragon and the RX-505. 

Which one one would you choose?
dmormerod
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Each Dragon that i’ve seen before sold for over $1.5k
I love cassettes (good memories of the 90s). I wish to find the Nac deck, but i think $1.5k + service is  too much for a cassettes heaven.
harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
AKAI GX-95 MK II (TOTL) is another excellent choice w/ both level and bias calibration, and is usually cheaper and equals RX-505 in SQ. I have both and I highly recommend them.
clearthink
1,421 posts
 

harold-not-the-barrel"AKAI GX-95 MK II (TOTL) is another excellent"

Akai is second rate, budget, low performance option while it is not a bad deck it does not even remotely approach a Nakamichi such as the 505 or Dragon in performance, construction, or audio quality.

harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
 Dream on
nrenter's avatar
nrenter
765 posts
 
Buy a non-functional Dragon that's in good physical condition (that hasn't been adulterated by a tech; ideally a higher SN), and send it in to get a full restoration. There's no point in paying extra for a deck in "perfect working condition" because any deck you procure will need a full restoration to perform at spec.

By following this approach, I became the owner of a 16XXX SN Dragon that is in pristine (and I don't use that word lightly) physical condition and now performs as good as new (care of WHS). Total investment: Around $1,300.
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