How MUCH !!!!

[Audio Al]

My God it must be good

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NAKAMICHI-CR-7-AUDIOPHILE-CASSETTE-DECK-/221099325535?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Cassette_Tape_Play ers&hash=item337a8bf85f

are they really worth this asking price ?

[Wakefield Turntables]

NO!

[sq225917]

Isn't that more it cost new?

[aquapiranha]

Some say the CR 7 is better than the Dragon on playback. Also they have not been made for some time so I suppose there will be the rarity value also. this is true of say Tannoys too.

[DSJR]

I can't remember exactly, but the CR7 was pushing two grand I think by the mid 90's when it was phased out. I sold my minty one to a mate for £700, but of course, eBay has gone nuts on domestic audio in recent years and it's this demand for used gear that has contributed to the death of the new mid-market stuff (why buy mid stuff new when I can buy a previous "Top End Classic" for the same dosh..)

[Mr Kipling]

I've seen some idiot wanting £500 for a Garrard SP25 MK IV! Another wanting the same for a pair of Heybrook HB2s and the same again for a Nait 1.

[Beechwoods]

Mine was cosmetically mint and I paid a market price £500 + a £300 for a full service and upgrade to final CR7 factory spec (it was a relatively early model, without the gear mod etc). I thought that was good value given how fantastic it sounded when I got it back. £1400 is daylight robbery, and the starting price is over the odds. It's a shame people do this, because it denies real people the opportunity to own and hear what is a fantastic deck.

I hope it sticks and no one buys it!

[f1eng]

I'd sell mine for that :-)

[Beechwoods]

I wouldn't!

[DSJR]

The CR7 was always slightly better than most Dragons I remember, but the Dragon did have detailed mods during its life.

[Beechwoods]

Dragons, so I've read, can find themselves hit and miss on azimuth when faced with tapes that don't have great HF content, whereas the CR7 just relied upon the user's discretion. For me this gives the CR7 the definite edge. Playback on the CR7 is frankly sublime. I've not heard a Dragon but assume that Nakamichi built the rest of the electronics the same, with NAAC (auto azimuth control) the main differentiating factor.

The CR7 saw a number of mods during its life, which B&W will happily implement as part of a full work-over. One thing which will cause a DOA CR7 in otherwise mint condition is one little battery, that needs replacing after 7-10 years... could be the cause of a bargain if you know what to look for.

[DSJR]

The dual capstan drive in all these top Naks wasn't entirely blame free either, the azimuth drifting from one end of a tape to the next - verified by their service dept. The trick was to carefully align the machines for minimal drift.

I had a DG tape of some mahler that totally defeated a Dragon, the auto-azimuth going bananas and hitting the adjustment end stops repeatedly. fast winding each way or slapping said tape hard on a flat surface made no difference, the two just not liking each other. Give this Dragon a normal tape and it was as good as gold.