User manual NAKAMICHI BX100

[. . . ] N P E 2 TAPE (-20 dB) DB 0 -5 . ". I (2, I HZ 20 50 100 200 - R ch L ch 500 1 K 2K 5K 10K 20K +1/4, -1% dB, 22 Hz lo 20 kHz to. 23 Hz lo 20 kHz with Dolby B nose reduction . . - . TYPE 4 TAPE (-20 dB) OB 0 -5 . %, I I l l , , , 50 I 1 500 1 K 2K I+ 11: I HZ 20 100 200 5K 10K 20K L ch tV4, -1h dB, 23 Hz to 20 kHz - R ch +I, -1h dB, 25 Hz to 20 kHz q h with Dolby B noise reduction . . . . . R ch t1/4, -3 dB, 21 Hz to 16. 5 kHz RECORDIPLAY RESPONSE. [. . . ] TYPE 1 TAPE (--20 dB) I BX. 9 I I* I 1 K 20K O , , . 50 100 200 500 1 K 2K 5K HZ 20 + 11/4, -lh dB, 23 Hz lo 20 kHz L ch +1, -1h dB. 25 Hz to 20 kHz with Dolby B nolse reduction . . . . . 21 Hz to 16. 5 kHz - R ch A DECADE HAS GONE B Y since Nakarnichiwhich had been building cassette equipment for other companies-offcrcd thc first deck under its own name. the I000 cost more than twice as much as any other deck on the tnarket ($350 was the going rate for a top niodel) and incorporated a degree of technical sophistication undreamed of by home recordists. Over the intervening ycars, the top Nakamichis have become even more sophisticated (and expensive), and some much more affordable models have appeared. Our present subject, thc BX-I, is Nakamichi's least expensive deck ever (by a small margin) and its best value ever (by a large one). Imagine that Rolls-Royce, having offered the Bentley as an alternative to Jaguars and Mercedes, were suddenly to introduce a smaller car combining much of the elegance in engineering, performance, and visible detailing of the larger models with a price comparable to that of, say, a VW Sirocco. An exceedingly fine touch would be necessary to pull off such a feat, since it would require paring away every expendable element without compromising the essentials. The analogy may not be exact, but it at least suggests how formidable a task Nakamichi has undertaken. Once balance has been preset, you can make elegant fades without the awkwardness imposed by the unclutched splitelement controls so common in this price class. With the noise reduction off (a sharp multiplex filter switches in automatically with the Dolby circuit), response is flat to beyond 20 kHz-which can be said of mighty few $300 decks. And distortion, which quantitatively falls right in the ballpark with that of other fine decks, is "classic" in that it consists almost exclusively of the third harmonic-the characteristic distortion mode of the tape medium itselfand therefore bespeaks excellent electronics. In no respect is performance less than fine, in fact. Diversified Science Laboratories tested the BX-I with Nakamichi tapes: SX as the basic Type 2 ferricobalt, ZX as the Type 4 metal, and EX-I1 as the Type 1 ferric. Since Nakamichi manufactures no tape of its own, we can only guess at their sources, but if you assume the corresponding TDK tapes, you shouldn't be far off the mark; indeed, the corresponding premium products from any of the major Japanese tape houses shouldbe close enough for excellent results. When DSL tried the generic IEC Type I test tape, the results were almost identical to those with EX-I1 (which, again, is Type 1 , not Type 2, despite the numeral). With IEC Type 11, however, the deck proved somewhat underbiased and slightly wanting (by about 1 YZdB) in input sensitivity to compensate for the lower tape sensitivity. (The IEC Type I1 calibration tape is a chrome formulation and therefore tends to be slightly less sensitive than typical commercial Type 2 tapes, which are mostly fer- ricobalts. ) The result is a marked sag in the lower treble with the Dolby circuit turned on: Response at 2 kHz is about 6 dB lower than that at 10 kHz with the IEC tape. [. . . ] With IEC Type 11, however, the deck proved somewhat underbiased and slightly wanting (by about 1 YZdB) in input sensitivity to compensate for the lower tape sensitivity. (The IEC Type I1 calibration tape is a chrome formulation and therefore tends to be slightly less sensitive than typical commercial Type 2 tapes, which are mostly fer- ricobalts. ) The result is a marked sag in the lower treble with the Dolby circuit turned on: Response at 2 kHz is about 6 dB lower than that at 10 kHz with the IEC tape. Distortion when midrange signal levels hit the indicators' 0-dB mark (which is 3 dB below DIN 0 dB) is very low, and the nominal overload point of 3% distortion isn't reached with any of the three tapes until signal 1, evels are a little beyond the indicators' highest (+5-dB) element. Highfrequency headroom is excellent with metal tape, so the owner's manual suggests lighting the +S-dB display element on the loudest peaks with ZX, but limiting maximum levels to + 3 dB with SX or EX-11. [. . . ]