View Full Version : The Japanese - seriously, did they make any decent stuff?
Beobloke
09-08-2021, 12:45
Yes.
Oh yes.
Yes they did
https://www.audioplanet.biz/t61699-guerra-civil-japonesa-del-audio-70s-80s
:stalks::drool:
Been reading that for the last few days, can only do a bit at a time, as a lover of late 1970s - early 1980s Jap kit it can get a bit too much. After about the fifth time I have said to myself 'Must see if there are any of those up for sale right now' I have to stop for a while.
Check out the cheeks on this Aiwa LP95.
https://i.ibb.co/DLKcg3t/aiwa.jpg (https://ibb.co/1b2yJHL)
upload (https://imgbb.com/)
From back when tasteful brushed aluminium was where it was at and the horrors of chrome were still some years ahead.
I had a nice Pioneer amp with the wood cheeks and top for a while.. looked and sounded good. silver face and more controls than you could shake a stick at.
think it was this. sa8100.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0yaw-GC8SaM/VFAPUE6c2SI/AAAAAAAAHwA/UEys3XxKjZE/s1600/Pioneer%2BSA-8100%2Bvintage%2Bstereo%2Bamplifier.jpg
walpurgis
09-08-2021, 13:33
Where would one start ................. let alone finish?
Yes.
Oh yes.
Yes they did
https://www.audioplanet.biz/t61699-guerra-civil-japonesa-del-audio-70s-80s
:stalks::drool:
Lol... Out of all the gorgeously engineered hi-end Jap hi-fi there's been over the years, is that blingy monstrosity the best you can come up with?:ner:;)
Marco.
How about this instead - a proper CDP and DAC, from the days where the 'big boys' flexed their engineering and financial muscles, and showed what they could do: https://www.stereophile.com/content/sony-cdp-r1das-r1-cd-player
When I had the matching transport, it was really a thing of beauty! Then the drawer mech fecked up, and I couldn't get parts for it to be fixed, so I replaced it with an X-777ES, which actually sounded even better!:D
The DAC though, especially after it was modified by Audiocom, is still the best I've ever heard.
Marco.
I had a nice Pioneer amp with the wood cheeks and top for a while.. looked and sounded good. silver face and more controls than you could shake a stick at.
think it was this. sa8100.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0yaw-GC8SaM/VFAPUE6c2SI/AAAAAAAAHwA/UEys3XxKjZE/s1600/Pioneer%2BSA-8100%2Bvintage%2Bstereo%2Bamplifier.jpg
Much nicer and more my thing - classy, non-blingy., understated chic!:)
And ya gots ter 'av lots of knobs!!:D
Marco.
WullieD20
09-08-2021, 17:19
Quality piece of kit and reasonably understated...
https://i.postimg.cc/j5pyHzDb/Reimyo-CDP777-2.jpg (https://postimg.cc/sQJByGP6)
Current stuff's not too shabby, my daily driver
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51369281360_ca4456f62c_o.jpg
Handsome looking amplifier, 'oozing' quality as one expects from the likes of Luxman (or Accuphase); and it even has meters, which are regarded as de rigueur by some. ;)
Lawrence001
10-08-2021, 07:05
Quality piece of kit and reasonably understated...
https://i.postimg.cc/j5pyHzDb/Reimyo-CDP777-2.jpg (https://postimg.cc/sQJByGP6)What make is that?
Beobloke
10-08-2021, 08:39
Check out the cheeks on this Aiwa LP95.
https://i.ibb.co/DLKcg3t/aiwa.jpg (https://ibb.co/1b2yJHL)
upload (https://imgbb.com/)
From back when tasteful brushed aluminium was where it was at and the horrors of chrome were still some years ahead.
Akai actually...;)
Beobloke
10-08-2021, 08:40
Lol... Out of all the gorgeously engineered hi-end Jap hi-fi there's been over the years, is that blingy monstrosity the best you can come up with?:ner:;)
Marco.
Er, sorry Marco, you're going to have to clarify which particular item on the 25 pages of the thread you're talking about... :scratch:
The first thing that appears, mate... That shiny 'gold' Nak Dragon thing - just hideous, and no doubt sonically outperformed by some of the company's rather simpler designs!
Marco.
Haselsh1
10-08-2021, 09:17
Kiseki ?
Beobloke
10-08-2021, 09:22
The first thing that appears, mate... That shiny 'gold' Nak Dragon thing - just hideous, and no doubt sonically outperformed by some of the company's rather simpler designs!
Marco.
Says who?! It’s only a limited edition version of the standard black 1000ZXL for people with no taste, but I doubt the gold paint ruins its performance!
Beobloke
10-08-2021, 09:22
Kiseki ?
Bless you…
;)
stonehenge
10-08-2021, 09:56
How about the very excellent Sony PS B80? I managed to secure a fine example from some Bloke...... :-)
WullieD20
10-08-2021, 10:32
What make is that?
Reimyo CDP-777
See: https://6moons.com/audioreviews/combak2/cdp.html
Says who?! It’s only a limited edition version of the standard black 1000ZXL for people with no taste, but I doubt the gold paint ruins its performance!
Indeed, but what I mean is that I've never found these 'esoteric' (IMO, overly complicated) models, Dragon included, to sound as good as a well set-up CR7E!:)
Marco.
Indeed, but what I mean is that I've never found these 'esoteric' (IMO, overly complicated) models, Dragon included, to sound as good as a well set-up CR7E!:)
Marco.
Thinking back there was always some debate over whether the Dragon or the CR7E was 'The best.'
I thought the main difference was that the Dragon simply had far more user adjustable features. Certainly the one time I have heard one it did sound very good - for a tape deck.
still got a cassette deck.. one of those cd tray types. had one like marcos which was very decent too. ive a good few tapes and blanks too but never use them. hell its rare i spin a cd these days
Thinking back there was always some debate over whether the Dragon or the CR7E was 'The best.'
I thought the main difference was that the Dragon simply had far more user adjustable features. Certainly the one time I have heard one it did sound very good - for a tape deck.
The problem was mate (with the Dragon) that there were so many settings to optimise, in order to for it to realise its full sonic potential, that if anything wasn't spot on it just wouldn't sound as good as it could do, plus of course more 'gubbings' inside (complicated circuitry) always tends to impact negatively on the sound.
The CR7E, for me, had the best compronise between manual user flexibility/optimisation and simplicity (less 'stuff' in the signal path to impact on sonics), and for me it looked the nicest/read as was the least 'cluttered' looking and easiest to house, in terms of size (compared with a Dragon or 1000ZXL).
And it had superb heads, etc, so when set up correctly sounded sublime, either playing prerecorded tapes or, even better, ones you recorded yourself:)
Marco.
WullieD20
10-08-2021, 11:19
Check out the cheeks on this Aiwa LP95.
https://i.ibb.co/DLKcg3t/aiwa.jpg (https://ibb.co/1b2yJHL)
upload (https://imgbb.com/)
Always loved the looks (and cheeks) and performance of the original Rotel Michi set up......
https://i.postimg.cc/xdWnHP8K/Michi-Mk1.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Y4f5BY19)
Beobloke
10-08-2021, 11:49
Indeed, but what I mean is that I've never found these 'esoteric' (IMO, overly complicated) models, Dragon included, to sound as good as a well set-up CR7E!:)
Marco.
It was never meant to! The CR-7E was always the ultimate Nakamichi in pure performance terms.
Beobloke
10-08-2021, 11:51
How about the very excellent Sony PS B80? I managed to secure a fine example from some Bloke...... :-)
I've heard they sound really good.
Especially when you set the arm servo settings up properly... :doh:
It was never meant to! The CR-7E was always the ultimate Nakamichi in pure performance terms.
Indeed, so I'm afraid I don't see the point of these other models - just to offer what, show-off factor to the owners, or have a few more knobs to press? I think it's obvious who the biggest knobs are!:D;)
Marco.
Beobloke
12-08-2021, 11:49
Indeed, so I'm afraid I don't see the point of these other models - just to offer what, show-off factor to the owners, or have a few more knobs to press? I think it's obvious who the biggest knobs are!:D;)
Marco.
The key point was that the Dragon had more setup flexibility, so that you could stick any cassette into it and it would extract the best performance from it. The CR-7E only gained its better performance when it was used with the cassettes that it was specifically set up for.
The 1000ZXL pre-dated them both so would have been considered by Nakamichi to be the best that they made at the time, before they developed either the Dragon or the CR-7E!
The key point was that the Dragon had more setup flexibility, so that you could stick any cassette into it and it would extract the best performance from it. The CR-7E only gained its better performance when it was used with the cassettes that it was specifically set up for.
Indeed, but IME, regardless of how much 'knob-twiddling' you did, to try and optimise specific tapes, the best results were always obtained with those the heads had been calibrated with at the factory (namely TDK D and SA), and of course you've got the effect of all those buttons, used or not, sitting in the signal path...
Far better to keep things as simple as possible, whilst using the best possible components, hence why the CR-7E sounded better [with its optimised tapes] than the overly fussy, button-festooned Dragon, and therefore was the choice of discerning enthusiasts;)
The 1000ZXL pre-dated them both so would have been considered by Nakamichi to be the best that they made at the time, before they developed either the Dragon or the CR-7E!
...yes, and with also a nod to shiny bling, which the tasteless show-offs just loved!:ner::D
Marco.
Beobloke
13-08-2021, 09:52
...yes, and with also a nod to shiny bling, which the tasteless show-offs just loved!:ner::D
Marco.
The gold finish was an option, you know - you could buy a standard black one.
And anyway, this is a bit rich coming from a man with a copper amp! :ner:
Lol - yes, but copper's a nice tasteful rich colour, unlike gold (on hii-fi items anyway)!:D;)
Marco.
Me neither - gross!!
I'm not a fan of gold ANYTHING, other than on the small amount of jewellery I have. What I detest though is how 'bling' or anything gold-coloured is considered as 'fancy' or ostentatious. I've never understood the mania for bling.
More like vulgar or pretentious, in my book. However, as they say, there's no accounting for taste, so each to his or her own:)
Marco.
Ammonite Audio
15-08-2021, 13:26
Handsome looking amplifier, 'oozing' quality as one expects from the likes of Luxman (or Accuphase); and it even has meters, which are regarded as de rigueur by some. ;)
A bit like pop-up headlights on cars. We don't need them, but we do want them!
Much much more than tape decks, over the years i have lusted over, Stax, Kondo, Koetsu, Shino, Wavac, even a modern day Acuphase the other day. At the affordable end when the uk press was flat earth naim, those in the know had marantz ma7.
How about a Micro Seiki SZ-1?
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