Nakamichi 482z tape deck find

[SpeakerLabFan]

Decided to stop by a thrift on the way home from a record show today, and I found a nice Nakamichi 482z tape deck. Three heads, Dolby B and C, retailed for $950 in the early 80's. Thrift store price? $4.99 :banana:

Appears well built, looks and sounds excellent as usual with Nakamichi decks. :music:

Anybody else have experience with the 482z? I had a 480 previously which I didn't like as much as the DR-3 but this looks like an different animal. I think it's going to replace the Nakamichi DR-3 I'm currently using in my bedroom system.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o240/speakerlabfan/IMAGE_00927.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o240/speakerlabfan/IMAGE_00928.jpg

[goldear]

That unit uses the classic "standard" Nak tranport, unlike your DR3. These are very fine machines by all accounts, and the build-quality is almost certainly superior to your DR3 I would guess. :thmbsp:

[OMI]

Nice find!!!!

[penkosey]

Wow, awesome find! I'm jealous.

[Rat44]

Your having too good a week there Dick.Congrats.

[SpeakerLabFan]

That unit uses the classic "standard" Nak tranport, unlike your DR3. These are very fine machines by all accounts, and the build-quality is almost certainly superior to your DR3 I would guess. :thmbsp:

Thanks for that info goldear, and thanks all for the comments. I'm looking forward to swapping in the 482z . I really like the Nakamichi decks, solid build and crisp sound, they make all those 10cent Goodwill cassettes sound great, even the Ray Coniff Singers Christmas tape I tested the unit with... :music::yes:

[Scorpion8]

I have a silver 480, and the only differecen is the LED meters compared to the older VU-style meters. Great decks for a simpler 2-head Nak.

[Parnelly]

mos def an amazing find, i just picked up this nikko deck on friday for 10 dollars. Me thinks i was ripped off......LOL. Nice deck.

[rallycat]

I have a silver 480, and the only differecen is the LED meters compared to the older VU-style meters. Great decks for a simpler 2-head Nak.

Actually the 482z is a 3-head machine - Nakamichi called it 'discrete head'.

Nice find.

[perryinva]

WOW..I NEVER see finds like that at the SA and GW's around here!!! Amazing..I'll give you $20 for it and you can quadruple your money.....

[avionic]

I have a silver 480, and the only differecen is the LED meters compared to the older VU-style meters. Great decks for a simpler 2-head Nak.I have a black faced 480..Still a very nice deck.

[dr d]

GREAT score! Congrats!

[Tiver]

Very nice indeed. I have a 482 since new and can attest to the record quality of this fine machine. The "z' had a few additional features , dolby 'c', bias fine tune, and the led display, but otherwise the same. These machines had the same transport and heads as the 682zx, which was considerably more expensive.

Watch out for the eject button failure which was a common problem. It is a mechanical link that has a nylon part that can fail.

I have a dbx 224 that I use with mine. While the tapes aren't 'portable' to machines without dbx decoding, I recommend this for your consideration.

IMO the 481 and 482 Naks are the most overlooked of all the Naks out there.

Clean it up real nice and be amazed. And, BTW, if cassettes are something that is or are going to be a mainstay in your audio library, it's worth a few dollars to have the deck calibrated to factory spec.

Geez, now I look at the date of the OP and realize it was dredged up from January, OH, well, everything is still true