fymido
03-05-2008, 03:05 PM
I posted this a few months ago and here is an update:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=134818&highlight=nakamichi+680zx+lx-5
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Thanks to all those who replied. This is an update after I have been using these two decks for two months now. My experience so far...
LX-5:
This unit is heavier than my CR-3A. Cosmetically 8-9 out of 10. Looks like a tank. After exercising the deck for a while by switching between the play/rew/ffwd/pause/stop etc, it started working fine. Sound is as good as one can expect from a Nak. It may need some belt replacement (it was very lightly used and then kept in storage for a long time) in the near future. I hope it will serve me without needing costly repairs. I believe I paid a fair price for it.
680ZX:
This is even heavier than the LX-5! Cosmetically 8-9 out of 10. Sound is warmer than the LX-5. It was advertized as fully functional except one channel of the VU display does not work. After I received it, it will not play half the time (the cam motor will start but the assembly will not come all the way up). I was a bit pissed as I paid more for it than the fully functional LX-5. I had to take it to a repair shop. Turned out both the cam belt and the capstan belt needed replacement. On top of that the supply side pinch roller pivot shaft was out of alignment due to which record was not working (the tape was not getting erased). I got everything fixed except the VU display (wanted to keep the repair cost down by fixing just the essentials).
It seems the manual record calibration will need both the VU channel displays to work (currently I can calibrate only one channel). Does this calibration really make a difference (I use Type II tapes)? I don't really have "golden ears" and my high frequency hearing does not go beyond 11kHZ - I am old:-( What is the opinion of the Nak gurus here about a non-functional VU display like this?
Thanks in advance.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=134818&highlight=nakamichi+680zx+lx-5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to all those who replied. This is an update after I have been using these two decks for two months now. My experience so far...
LX-5:
This unit is heavier than my CR-3A. Cosmetically 8-9 out of 10. Looks like a tank. After exercising the deck for a while by switching between the play/rew/ffwd/pause/stop etc, it started working fine. Sound is as good as one can expect from a Nak. It may need some belt replacement (it was very lightly used and then kept in storage for a long time) in the near future. I hope it will serve me without needing costly repairs. I believe I paid a fair price for it.
680ZX:
This is even heavier than the LX-5! Cosmetically 8-9 out of 10. Sound is warmer than the LX-5. It was advertized as fully functional except one channel of the VU display does not work. After I received it, it will not play half the time (the cam motor will start but the assembly will not come all the way up). I was a bit pissed as I paid more for it than the fully functional LX-5. I had to take it to a repair shop. Turned out both the cam belt and the capstan belt needed replacement. On top of that the supply side pinch roller pivot shaft was out of alignment due to which record was not working (the tape was not getting erased). I got everything fixed except the VU display (wanted to keep the repair cost down by fixing just the essentials).
It seems the manual record calibration will need both the VU channel displays to work (currently I can calibrate only one channel). Does this calibration really make a difference (I use Type II tapes)? I don't really have "golden ears" and my high frequency hearing does not go beyond 11kHZ - I am old:-( What is the opinion of the Nak gurus here about a non-functional VU display like this?
Thanks in advance.