The Truth about a Hifi Company So Good it Killed Them

Comments · 958

• CH

  @cheapaudioman · 11 months ago · pinned

  Get 50% off your first box of freshly made, healthy dog food by heading to <a href="https://thefarmersdog.yt.link/TWbkaIl">https://thefarmersdog.yt.link/TWbkaIl</a> or scanning the QR code on screen. Plus, get FREE shipping and 24/7 customer support! &nbsp;Discount Code: cheapaudioman

  17

• JA

  @jayweb702 · 11 months ago

  The Nakamichi Dragon was the single most desired cassette player of my dreams when I was a youth.

  420

• MA

  @markrosado8 · 11 months ago

  My dad bought me a Nakamichi BX-300 for my 15th birthday back in 1984. He paid about $600. It was an amazing cassette player. With &nbsp;type IV cassettes it was indistinguishable from the original source. That deck traveled the world with me while I was in the Navy. I retired it in the mid 90s because CD&apos;s became my primary source. A few years ago I sold it on eBay for $500. It certainly held it&apos;s value. <br><br>My dad passed a few years ago. He was an amazing person. He and I spent many weekends visiting hifi shops, auditioning gear and just bonding through the audio passion he gave to me. I&apos;m glad the Nakamichi went to someone who appreciates fine Audio. Thinking that someone is still using it makes me smile and think of my dad.

  59

• J.

  @j.neumann1722 · 11 months ago (edited)

  I wanted that Nakamichi RX-505 so badly — but for a kid living on pocket money, it was galaxies out of reach. That autoreverse mechanism — the way it physically flipped the cassette — felt like watching a piece of alien technology. No one else built machines like that. I can still picture my younger self, nose pressed against the glass of my favorite hi-fi shop, completely carried away by doing that. Great and nostalgic memories. Thank you for bringing this back to my mind.

  99

• JI

  @jimbeam7160 · 11 months ago

  This is one of my favorite episodes. &nbsp;This dude is good at being authentic, likable, interesting.....and compelling. &nbsp;This guy is like a professional as good as anybody else on mainstream media.

  61

• NO

  @notthemamaOU812 · 11 months ago

  Proud owner of a Dragon here. How I got it is a bit of a story. I was introduced to Nakamichi while I was stationed in the Philippines in the early 80s. Roommate bought a 680ZX from the Base Exchange. It was wicked, actually outperformed his reel to reel, but it was expensive, like a couple of paydays expensive, so he ended up returning it. Along the way I met some wealthy folks who had some serious hi-end audio gear. Through discussions and connections, I was able to put together a group order of 4 Dragons at cost (less than half of retail) through a dealer in Manila. Trick was, it was on me how to figure out how to get them through customs. A few greased palms later, and my buddy and I were headed back to the base with a trunk and back seat full of Dragons. It was the centerpiece of my system until CDs became more available and affordable. It saw less and less use over time as my tape collection degraded. It still works, but I haven&apos;t run a tape in it for several years. It is still an amazing piece of engineering.

  56

• MA

  @mannytoledo6510 · 11 months ago

  I still have my Nakamihi Dragon. I bought it while in the U.S. Navy back in 1985. &nbsp;Dont use it much these days. &nbsp;Good stuff.

  118

• DE

  @dennispope1323 · 11 months ago

  In the early 80s I had an audio reinforcement company that provided amplification for indoor and outdoor events in the NYC area, and I was looking for a professional quality portable cassette deck that could reliably play or record. My search took me to Audio by Zimet, a high-end shop in Roslyn, NY, and the owner Sid Zimet who introduced me to the Nakamichi 550, and I was sold. Sid told this story: when Nakamuchi was trying to break into the U.S. market a top executive and an engineer made the pilgrimage to Audio by Zimet to recruit them as a dealer. Apparently the demo did not go smoothly at first; after connecting the Nakamichi unit to Zimet&apos;s test equipment, the executive yelling at the engineer in Japanese, and the engineer completing some adjustments, the demo proceeded very well. The executive, who had regained his composure, said to Zimet, &quot;Apologies. Our test equipment is not as good as yours.&quot; Sid became a dealer.

  35

• DA

  @davidkoenig8592 · 11 months ago

  New fan/viewer of your channel. As soon as you said &quot;Nakamichi&quot;, my brain pulled out a memory. In my 80s NYC days, I was dating a lady whose father wanted to take us out to dinner. Being broke, we said sure. We walked into his apartment on the Upper West Side and the first thing (really the only thing) I noticed was the full top to bottom Nakamichi rack; Tape deck, CD player, amp/pre amp, etc. My jaw was on the floor. &quot;Oh, you are an audiofile?&quot; That day inspired me to buy the best sound system I could afford (It took a little time, I was not rich like this guy). Love the video.

  17

• PA

  @pathoyer5402 · 11 months ago

  After I graduated from college, I started building my Hi-Fi system (early 80’s) from manufacturers I admired when I worked in a stereo store. Yamaha receiver, ADS L-810 MkII speakers (which I still have), Thorens turntable, Ortofon moving coil cartridge, and a Nakamichi BX-100 cassette. When I took it to a Nakamichi test event, the frequency response was 20 - 20k flat. It tested better than some higher level Nakamichi tape decks.

  76

• PR

  @prongATO · 11 months ago

  When I was in engineering school, I learned about tolerances quickly. &nbsp;My dad had passed away and he was an ET-1 in the U.S. Navy. &nbsp;He had a ton of electronic components that I inherited. When I had to do projects, I used his blue, high accuracy resistors in my projects and my measurements were so close to the theoretical mathematical results, my professions were thrilled. &nbsp;That practically demonstrated to me where you can spend a little more and get better but I still look for that precise point of diminishing returns on hifi products.

  10

• MI

  @micheltremblay4774 · 11 months ago

  When I was financially able, I went to my local high end stereo store and bought a Nakamichi Dragon and a TEAC X -1000RBL. The Dragon developed a flaw that neither the local store tech or the importer&apos;s techs could fix. It was sent to Japan and 3 months after the first Dragon was sent to fix, a brand new one was shipped from their factory to me. I still have it and it still is as awesome today as it was then. It&apos;s not used as much now but I still plays my favorite cassettes often.

  11