Nakamichi 600 vs. 1000

brianjrealto

Well-Known Member
I have the vintage 600 wedge-shaped cassette deck that I'm very impressed with. It is supposed to have near-1000 levels of record and sound quality..

has anyone ever heard these 2 vintage cassette decks side by side??

I'm curious how much better sounding the 1000 is compared to the 600 in recording and playback...
 
It was 35 years ago when these were current, but the 1000 smoked the 600. Of course the Nak 1000 with the outboard Dolby HX-Pro processor smoked a lot of RTRs too. There weren't/aren't many, if any cassette decks, that can top a 600 but much though.
 
It was 35 years ago when these were current, but the 1000 smoked the 600. Of course the Nak 1000 with the outboard Dolby HX-Pro processor smoked a lot of RTRs too. There weren't/aren't many, if any cassette decks, that can top a 600 but much though.

"...outboard Dolby HX-Pro processor..."

haven't heard of that. any info on it?

as to the op, haven't owned or heard a nak 1000 but i've had for 34 years, and still have and use, a 600, and it's right up there with my mr-1s and bx-300. imo.
 
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The high end shop where I used to hang out had one. IIRC it was a separate wood-encased chassis about the same width and depth as the deck, but about 1/3 the height. It was either behind or under the 1000. The wood case matched, but maybe it wasn't Nak. Those guys were doing a lot of custom stuff there and it tended to get a little smokey in there after hours.
 
The high end shop where I used to hang out had one. IIRC it was a separate wood-encased chassis about the same width and depth as the deck, but about 1/3 the height. It was either behind or under the 1000. The wood case matched, but maybe it wasn't Nak. Those guys were doing a lot of custom stuff there and it tended to get a little smokey in there after hours.

i know nak made a cuppla regular outboard dolby b/c units and their own proprietary 'hi-com' n/r units, but not sure they made an hx-pro unit.
in fact, now that i think of it, i've never heard of any man'fct'r making an outboard hx-pro unit.
 
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Hi-Com wasn't a NAK invention - it was Telefunken invention, NAK licenced it

btw - it would be kind'a problematic to make a outboard HX-pro thingie, because it interferes with the bias :)
 
While the 600 was a fine 2-head deck in it's day. It was probably better than most other 2-head machines of the era, there is no way that it compares to the 1000, or 700. ....those machines were just bad-assed. The 600 inherited it's transport and heads from the 250,350,500,and 550. This was a similar transport that was sourced by HK (HK 1000 and 2000).

The later DRT 2-head machines from Nak trounced their earlier style (600 etc) transport models.
 
Hi-Com wasn't a NAK invention - it was Telefunken invention, NAK licenced it

btw - it would be kind'a problematic to make a outboard HX-pro thingie, because it interferes with the bias :)

re hi-com, ok.

re o'board hx-pro, i was wondering about that very idea, the bias.

thanks.
 
It's not possible to have an out-board HX-pro. Dolby, dbx, Hi-com are all encode/decode, so external works. There is no external access to the bias required for HX-pro. I'd be inclined to think elcoholic just meant Dolby NR.
 
It's not possible to have an out-board HX-pro. Dolby, dbx, Hi-com are all encode/decode, so external works. There is no external access to the bias required for HX-pro. I'd be inclined to think elcoholic just meant Dolby NR.

i think you're correct. i mostly wondered because of the line-

"Those guys were doing a lot of custom stuff there...",

and i'm not really expert enough at electronics to know about the intricasies of hx-pro.
 
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I have owned both a 600 (in a system one rack) and a 700 for the past 35 years.

There was a noticeable difference in sound quality 35 years ago and there is still a noticeable difference today :)

When I compared the 700 to the 1000 I could not determine which one was which (A/B blind listening) so I bought a 700 instead of spending a little more for the 1000
 
i know nak made a cuppla regular outboard dolby b/c units and their own proprietary 'hi-com' n/r units, but not sure they made an hx-pro unit.
in fact, now that i think of it, i've never heard of any man'fct'r making an outboard hx-pro unit.

i think you're correct. i mostly wondered because of the line-

"Those guys were doing a lot of custom stuff there...",

and i'm not really expert enough at electronics to know about the intricasies of hx-pro.

I'll defer to you guys, my memory isn't that great and at the time I was just a young, wide-eyed hi-end neophyte. Now I'm an older, wide-eyed hi-end neophyte. :D They were doing some mad-scientist stuff there though. They had Dayton-Wright (I believe) electrostats hooked up to Q-bottles of argon gas and 5kv high voltage cables, a Paramecium cartridge married to a B&O linear tracker, etc.
 
The 700 and 1000 differed primarily in input level controls. The 1000 was intended to be used with the same 3 mic system the 550 used, so it had a center mic input. The "standard" mechanism Naks had completely different heads than the 600 or 600 II used, and in general the 3 head performance with the closed loop dual capstan was much better than the 600.
However, the 600 and to some extent the improved head 600II had a unique sound. I know of one recording engineer who masters through a 600 to make an analog sound out of digital source material. No other deck has the IM supression circuit (actually similar to NAD's soft clip). I happen to like the 600II oscillator for aligning bias and level, a feature not found on any other 2 head deck. The 600 also had a lot going for it in terms of cosmetics. I had customers mix color and door assys to make "custom" versions.
 
Ok, i am bumping a pretty old thread here, but i have an opportunity to get a Nak 600, near mint for well under $100. Is the sound good enough to move on this? i'm guessing yes, especially since the seller bought it new, and has cared for it. He stands strong by it, saying it plays as well now as it did when he got it....maybe a bit delusional, but it may be prime, and i could miss out.

i am also weighing it against a Akai GXC-725D 3 Head, with the glass heads $70...which i know many speak well of also. If it were you, which would you guys choose, and why...if you would be so kind to reply. All advice and counsel are always appreciated.

Be Well,
—dave
 
Well, the Nak is worth more than that if in prime shape. There is no way, if everything is original, it doesnt need work.. Regardless, the Akai is a better deck for actual use.
 
I have a 2nd owner Nak 600. I got it from the original owner for a song. It was his entry into cassette and then he decided he did not like the format so it sat for the next 30 years. Not a mark on it anywhere and all of the little plugs for the pots are there, cover is perfect too. It is a great sounding deck for sure. I use it with TDK SA tapes usually. You will find it can record at very hot levels with no trouble at all. I am sure the one you are looking at needs belts if they have never been replaced. Get it and enjoy.
 
I have both a 600 and 1000 deck. They are both decent sounding decks but the 1000 is a clear step above the 600 in all ways.
 
I have owned both a 600 (in a system one rack) and a 700 for the past 35 years.

There was a noticeable difference in sound quality 35 years ago and there is still a noticeable difference today :)

When I compared the 700 to the 1000 I could not determine which one was which (A/B blind listening) so I bought a 700 instead of spending a little more for the 1000
a 600 is basiclly a 500?
 
The difference between a 600 and a 1000 is like the difference between a small Sony 1/4 trk tape deck at 3 3/4 ips, versus an Ampex 1/2inch MR-70 running at 30 ips using high output low noise tape. 20 db more signal to noise and 30 db more db dynamic range.
 
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