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Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

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Posted on October 18, 2014 at 07:34:37

WoodyWW
Audiophile

Posts: 41
Location: Southern NH
Joined: July 23, 2004

I want to get another high quality 3-head cassette deck. I'd once considered a Tascam 122--they're really big and heavy (?) from what I recall; a minus for me. I guess I could look into Revox?

But I owned a BX-300 that I bought new in the early 1980's, & loved it, until it broke in the mid-'90's, had it fixed, then a couple of years later it needed another repair, & I sold it "as-is" on fee-bay. BTW--it cost $582 new back then--I still remember that--a lot for a musician & grad student. I just looked up the current value of $582 then--$1389!

Besides the sound quality, one of the things I liked about the BX-300 was it's compact quality. It wouldn't cost a fortune to ship if I needed repairs. And it was easy to move from system to system in my house if I wanted. Also Headphone out, & pitch control which can be great for musicians.

I'm mostly non-technical as far as trying to do repairs myself; but I looked online & found this place Electronics Service Labs in CT that might be good? Seemed like they really wanted to do extensive refurbishing of cassette decks instead of just repairs tho maybe.

There's a nice-looking BX-300 for auction on e-bay now starting at $175. It looks near-mint, & owner says everything works. And was stored for 15 years (hopefully not in his attic!), but probably means it has less wear & tear (?). I figure it might be worth about $200, tops, from looking up what nice ones sell for?

I remember the BX-300 box as not being that impressive, so if I get I I'd hope it'd survive the 1000 or so miles by UPS ground, being thrown around by them, etc. But I don't know if internal parts might get thrown out of wack?

Anything I'm missing? Any advice? And I'm open to other suggestions; esp. if I don't win the auction for this one. TIA!

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RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

bobschneider8

09:43:35 11/05/14

Other vintage decks more reliable or robust than a BX-300?

WoodyWW

08:06:30 10/21/14

jusbe

11:05:58 10/21/14

...

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RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

bobschneider8

09:43:35 11/05/14

Other vintage decks more reliable or robust than a BX-300?

WoodyWW

08:06:30 10/21/14

jusbe

11:05:58 10/21/14

Thanks for the link

kavakidd

14:09:35 10/21/14

Some may disagree - I'll duck

kavakidd

15:24:29 10/20/14

Always wanted one of those.

jusbe

01:50:14 10/21/14

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

6bq5

09:42:05 10/20/14

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

Dave Pogue

18:48:31 10/18/14

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

WoodyWW

08:56:48 10/19/14

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?

Dave Pogue

13:53:54 10/19/14

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?, posted on October 18, 2014 at 18:48:31

Dave Pogue
Audiophile

Posts: 11689
Location: DC Area
Joined: October 9, 2001

I'd think a BX-300 (I have one) that was stored for 15 years is not nearly as good a bet as one that has been played regularly or at least within the last couple of years. All the lubrication is likely to have turned to cement and the drive belt to goo. It's definitely a good deck, though, and there are Nak techs (Willy Hermann on the West Coast and ESL in the East, for starters) who could bring it back from the near-dead. At a price.

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?, posted on October 19, 2014 at 08:56:48

WoodyWW
Audiophile

Posts: 41
Location: Southern NH
Joined: July 23, 2004

That makes sense. Do you have any experience with what those guys might charge to go thru an old casette deck like that & refurbish it? Too broad of a question perhaps, in the abstract?

The stored-for-15-years BX-300 I was going to bid on is described this way in the listing: "near mint, no scratches or dings, everything works, original carton, owner's manual and pamphlet". I also figured it was covered by the ebay policy that applies if a buyer receives an item that is "not as described" in the listing.

But I sent the seller an e-mail anyway, asking if he'd checked out all the functions. He replied:
"I have not checked every function, this unit was working 100% when boxed away more than 15 years ago. I will connect it today and verify that all functions are in proper working condition. I will give you an honest assessment, but cannot provide any guarantees and must sell this 'as-is'."

It sounds pretty contradictory. Like the seller is trying to have it both ways. Of course I guess I have to realize that a 30 y.o. tape deck may need repairs every so often. Heck, the slightly used TEAC RTR deck I bought in the late '70's needed repairs twice. That was over a 15 year period, but the 1st time was w/in a year after I bought it. (Fun lugging that monster to the shop!).

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?, posted on October 19, 2014 at 13:53:54

Dave Pogue
Audiophile

Posts: 11689
Location: DC Area
Joined: October 9, 2001

It should be interesting to hear his assessment :-)

I can't imagine that Rip Van Nak will work for long, maybe long enough to sell it. If that tape tech you mention is still in business, it might be worth asking them their opinion regarding cost. Naks are complex beasts and the company itself is long gone. There's a site called "NakTalk" where owners compare notes and problems. It's worth checking out. Go to Naks.com

You may read elsewhere that the site is defunct. This is wrong.

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?, posted on October 20, 2014 at 09:42:05
6bq5 Audiophile Posts: 4385 Location: SF Bay Joined: August 16, 2001	I also have a BX 300 - but I will not put more money into it - I would go for a LX-5, or 680ZX or dragon - the Revox is worth it - but usually pricy- IIRC the orriginal BX-300 drive was a fieldeffect motor - clever - but did not last.... the gear motor Mod was the rage in the '90s but I did not opt for that - at the time I had access to an old Tandberg - Happy taping Happy Listening

Some may disagree - I'll duck, posted on October 20, 2014 at 15:24:29
kavakidd Audiophile Posts: 20316 Location: Upstate NY Joined: April 15, 2004	but - I have found my NAD - 6300 (Monitor Series) has been pretty much bullet proof. Bought in 1988 for $898. Continues to function perfectly and sound great! "Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain

Always wanted one of those., posted on October 21, 2014 at 01:50:14
jusbe Audiophile Posts: 5950 Location: North Island Joined: April 4, 2000	Hard to find. Big J "... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal* salvation is a contradiction in terms."*

Other vintage decks more reliable or robust than a BX-300?, posted on October 21, 2014 at 08:06:30

WoodyWW
Audiophile

Posts: 41
Location: Southern NH
Joined: July 23, 2004

Tascam 122 MkII? Altho most of of the ones I see on ebay need work. Or if everything works, they're $400-$500; seems nuts.

Sony ES? I seem to recall they made some 3 head decks.

The NAD 6300 suggestion--I see that a few just sold on ebay--all described as working I think--for as little as $80. Maybe they don't have the "prestige" of being well-known like a NAK or Tascam (why they sell for less?); but heck I don't care about that a bit. Altho I had a NAD amp, preamp & CDP from back then--kind of defined "mid-fi" for me, but maybe the 6300 was on a higher level? Always seemed like it was well regarded.

I have a friend who has, or had a NAD cassette deck from the '80's--not sure if a 6300.........hhhmm.....he might still have it & I know he doesn't use that system anymore.

Oh; the guy with the BX-300 sent me an email; he checked it out; & a couple of things aren't working after all. I've pretty much soured on the BX-300 idea.

Thanks for all the feedback! Very helpful.

HX Pro, Dyneq,, posted on October 21, 2014 at 11:05:58

jusbe
Audiophile

Posts: 5950
Location: North Island
Joined: April 4, 2000

Sankyo transport.

I'd snap up a nice example at a moment's notice.

Big J

"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."

Thanks for the link, posted on October 21, 2014 at 14:09:35
kavakidd Audiophile Posts: 20316 Location: Upstate NY Joined: April 15, 2004	Confirms my long-term impressions "Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain

RE: Buying & maintaining a vintage cassette deck--Nakamichi? BX-300? Or?, posted on November 5, 2014 at 09:43:35

bobschneider8
Audiophile

Posts: 100
Location: Chicago
Joined: August 5, 2008

While I don't have any first hand experience with them, ESL's reputation is that they are very good but very pricy. That's where I'd probably go if I wanted a Nak restored to like new condition, and were willing to pay for it.

I have used Willy Hermann in California. He's also very good, and more reasonably priced than ESL. He's also willing to fix what's wrong, rather than restore everything that might go wrong.

Naks.com has a lot of service info available for downloading, but I think you have to register with the site to get access to it. It also has an email list, which is worth joining if you are interested.

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