Nakamichi 505 or the Dragon ?

Basement,
I really want to play cassettes only (no recording) I am not the "have to align it type" if it does so on it's own great, if not it's not me. I enjoy female vocals, "very" light jazz, and easy listening.
Budget? That changes with the weather. Lets say 1500.00 to start.
My system: Lector CDP 7TL, McIntosh C2200 pre and the Mac 352 amp.
I liked the idea from Tom to look into the Tandberg 3014. I have read some of the reviews on this unit last night.
When I went to search (sale) I could not find one available at this time. Maybe there is something to be be said on that for the 3014.
Dave

Basement,

Can the Dragon, or RX-505's heads be aligned, & kept true with the aid of a MFSL Geo Tape?

Hi Dave,

Basement gave you a lot of very useful information. I am not an "expert" as some are, but I have owned numerous very nice Nak decks (680, ZX-7, ZX-9 and CR-7A) and I used to be assigned to a Nak e-mailing forum for a few years where there was a lot of information shared, I don't know if it is still up and going.

As for TWL's experience with the Tandberg, I will be clear in that I have never owned one, but followed discussions in like manner before, from those that owned both Tandberg and Nak and those that serviced both. The Tandberg (3014) is a very good deck, BUT it will not "easily outperform any Nakamichi, including the Dragon" as TWL says. Basement already did a great job at covering why one "may" think that if all isn't right.

I would like to further add that Nak decks have a far greater following and as the use of cassette decks dwindle, IMO it will be easier to get the Nak serviced than the Tandberg. I will mention www.eslabs.com as "probably" the most qualified to work on Nak decks. You don't find any 3014's for sale as they are rare.

The nice thing about the two decks you mention is that they have auto-reverse, which can be quite nice; if this is very important to you, don't give it up. I agree that there are better Naks than the 505 for performance, though when tuned up you may be splitting hairs; as for the Dragon I have read that it can be tempormental, but when working great it is a great playback deck.

You mention that you do not want to bother with calibrating the deck when you record, a deck like the CR-7A will do it for you at a touch of a button, but no auto-reverse.

Vvrinc, you are correct, Nakamichi used ZX-9's in their recording studio.

As Basement alluded, all decks need to be properly aligned. I don't care what deck you record a tape on, if you play the tape on a deck that isn't properly aligned, the tape will not sounds its best, no matter how good the deck is. On the same token, if a deck out of alignment records a tape, though it may sound fine being played back on the recording deck, it may not on others.

Most of the information is dead on. I've owned 5 Nak decks and while I've not owned the Dragon, am all too familiar with a less than dependable record. When aligned and tuned to a knat's ass it is incredible. You will not need to fidgit with the 505, ZX-9, 670ZX or many other Naks. Good luck.

Just to add a suggestion for Valleyplastic, but also ask a question of the more knowledgeable Nak buffs: What about the BX-300? (I own one). How does it compare to the other Naks mentioned here, & specifically the 680Z?