Sep 12th, 2015
I have a love/hate relationship with these Nakamichi models. These units unfortunately suffer in performance with age and use. They use a sophisticated and complicated power supply and computer chip, but the audio circuitry is very basic, standard Japanese design used in many better quality designs like Adcom, Rotel, JVC, Denon, and Yamaha. Some people are under the impression that it’s a special class A design or STASIS circuitry. Well, it is, but this is not significantly important or different than the previous types mentioned. The problem is that these units run hotter than most. The power supply and PS related circuits are notorious to develop bad capacitors, partly due to cheap Korean and Taiwanese parts. They’re also known for insufficient board soldering, creating intermittencies and inconsistent performance. (One day he turned on his Nakamichi and it sounded fuzzy. It warmed up, but then one channel got noisy.) My problem is that if I want to resell these to be reliable, I must rid the unit of many improper off spec capacitors and replace aged relays with a higher current type (a five amp speaker relay is insufficient for these units). This is all on top of resetting the proper bias and FM alignment and resoldering of board connectors and power supply, which have always overheated to the point of cracked circuit connections at crucial voltage making circuits. This service must be done before I can resell. To be fair, many other units with twenty to twenty-five years of use will also need similar service. The cost to service is generally $180 to $260 depending on parts cost and labor. The Japanese versions are more reliable, with better quality capacitors, but they will need service too. So with that caveat I recommend a correctly serviced machine, but I am not enthusiastic to recommend otherwise. This is why I ask $400 for a restored Nakamichi. I hope you understand me qualifying this matter!
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