Tape

I picked up an old Nakamichi 480 tapedeck the other day.  It is in pretty great condition considering it is nearly 40 years old.  It was introduced in 1979 and enjoyed a 3 year life span, being replaced in 1982. I bought mine from the original owner who bought it almost exactly 39 years ago in Australia in 1981. It sounds great, a little bit warm and laid back, and very quiet. Apparently it uses the classic Nakamichi transport, which by all accounts is a good thing.  It came in its original box, with instructions, and also a whole lot of new sealed blank tapes including a nice Sony metal one.  I might buy belt kit for it, and maybe replace the old rca sockets on the back, but until I can source a CR-7, this will do.

According to Hifi Engine :

“The 480 is a truly superior product, designed and built by Nakamichi to deliver the utmost in quality and performance. It incorporates engineering innovations in every important area, which includes magnetic heads, transport and electronics. Advanced design enables the 480 to realise the full potential of the latest in magnetic recording technology; the metal particle tape.”

The main features of the Nakamichi 480 are: 2 heads, analog 3 digit tape counter, manual tape type selection with support for normal, chrome and metal tapes with additional manual equalization selection, belt driven dual-capstan transport.

Typical front loading cassette deck with the cassette compartment located on the left side of the deck. Tape eject is operated mechanically and the cassette needs to be placed with the side to be played facing forward in the cassette well which is opened by a damped mechanism. Additionally the compartment can be accessed easily for head cleaning by removing the well-cover.

Level meters used on the 480 are analog needle VU reading meters. Soft-touch controls for fast and easy transport function selection of the 480.

The Dolby-B system reduces tape hiss on tapes recorded on the 480 by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. To further maintain recording accuracy, the 480 incorporates a switchable multiplex filter. When you record FM stereo broadcasts, the MPX filter of the 480 can be switched on to prevent the standard 19kHz FM pilot signal from interfering with the noise reduction system.