i never hear anything about Nakamichi any more.

seems 10 years ago they weere supposed to be pretty killer.

are they gone, or just not so hot any more?

remember the cassette they had that would open and flip over then close.

at the time that was slick...then a lot of cheapy radios did that.

any way just wonering where is Nakamichi

They're still around -- http://www.nakamichi.com/ -- but it looks like they've adopted the Bang & Olufsen / BOSE form factor.

I was interested in a Nakamichi DVD player and reciever last year. In researching I learned a couple of things: Nakamichi Japan had filed for bankruptcy not to long before. As Peter noted they had shifted to B&O and Bose like packaged systems largely designed to look cool hanging on the wall. I don't know about how they actually sound.

The real killer for me was reading user reviews complaining about quality control issues and the absolute worst customer service I've ever heard of. One unhappy customer tried for months to get Nakamichi to respond to his problems. Finally he emailed them that if they didn't respond he would post all over the web review sites how about his lousy experience. He Finally got a response from someone with Nakamichi Australia. He had not the slightest interest in the problems the guy had with their equipment but made threats to do various things to the guy if he posted negatively about Nakamichi. Needless to say I decided to spend my money on other brands. Nakamichi no longer seems to be at all the company they once were.

I can't believe you used "Bose" and "B&O" in the same sentence.

At least the B&Os are nominally attractive.

i saw a nakamichi 50" plasma tv in my local bjs warehouse store.the picture was really nice.no audio equiptment though

The Naks have carved a slim nitch in the car audio space --especially head units. They target the high-end enthusiasts that don't want the "las vegas" light show head units that the rest of the industry sell for after market. They differentiate by selling a modest looking easy interface, but solid good sound specs. to the porsche, ferrari, and lambo set. Of course, you pay up the nose for less bells and whistles of some of the other brands.

Of course, I never, ever heard 5 1/4 rounds like my old Naks about 10 years ago in one car. They were some serious speakers, blew away even the ever popular AVS 330i's.

-- BB <-- serious car audio problem... needs 12 step program.

What did there tape decks use to be called....the Dragon or something. They ruled the roost when those were in production.

yeah

then I remember all these brands coming out...cant recall their names

they were cheapies, but everyone bought them as quality...very funny

any they copied that flipper tape thing

i wish i could remember the fancy lights and all the plastic

ha ha

Exactly! The Nakamichi Dragon. Very nice deck.

Right out of High School a friend and I caught the Hi Fi bug. Went to a local shop and was introduced to the Nakamichi decks. Man I was hooked. All my residual summer money after tuition went on a Nak BX300, the base model Nak at the time. Talk about putting the chart before the horse, it took me two more summers to complete my system.( NAD receiver / mission speakers / few more years a Nak CD player ). It’s too bad but it looks like Nakamichi’s time is done. Still, after a bit less than 20 years the BX300 works like a charm; as soon as you touch it you know it’s built solid. I’ve seen the Dragon’s on eBay for a couple hundred bucks at different times. As I recall they were going for around 4K $ Cnd at the time.

Cheers, Jag

I always wanted a Dragon so I picked up a used one. This deck is rock solid. It's very complex to dial in. I didn't have the manual so trial and error was my only choice.
Now it collects dust . I don't need it anymore. The best tape was the TDK ma-xg if I remember right.

Tom

I looved the GOLD ones just below the metal..the metal had too much drop off of the highs- i thought