Valleyplastic,
I have never owned a Dragon or an RX505. But I do currently own a CR-7, 682 ZX, 680, and Cr-4A. Having recently come to fine decks in just the last three years, my decision to go with my choices had to do with the repairability of the decks. The Naktalk forum used to have a FAQ section. Their technicians believed the 68x series were THE classic Naks for a combination of great sound, high reliability and great durability. But for recording, many of the Naktalkers think the CR-7 wins because it has auto calibration with great response throughout the whole frequency range. But the Dragon is the single best deck for playback if you are able to afford the expense of keeping it tuned because of its auto azimuth adjustment.
I believe Stephen Sank said Naks really set themselves apart from other decks in bass response. He has said the Studer B-215 series was also excellent. I have never seen him comment on the Tandberg decks which I am sure are very fine also. (TWL knows his stuff.) I do have a couple of Studer A-710 decks which I like very much. The sound quality may not be quite as fine as the Nakamichis, but it is still excellent. And the Studer parts can still be found and repaired because so many of them were standard studio equipment for so many years and parts are still abundant. The Studer was a $2400 machine when it came out. The Nak 682ZX was $1800.
I agree with basement that you may be splitting hairs with any of the Naks mentioned in the above posts. They all sound so much better, to my ears, than digital recordings.
One of the big problems is finding tapes. Occasionally people stumble onto odd lots of metal tapes made by TDK, Maxell, Fuji or Sony, and when found, buy them up immediately. But metal tapes are no longer being made, to my knowledge, by anyone. But type II, chrome tapes, can still be found. On a Nak the chrome tapes still sound excellent and I even like the type I, ferric tapes, which many say have superior bass response. But the middle and upper range does not have as much clarity. I really love the sound of a well made tape, and I am extremely disappointed that the medium seems to be irretrievably in decline. Good luck in your search for the right deck.
Jon
I have never owned a Dragon or an RX505. But I do currently own a CR-7, 682 ZX, 680, and Cr-4A. Having recently come to fine decks in just the last three years, my decision to go with my choices had to do with the repairability of the decks. The Naktalk forum used to have a FAQ section. Their technicians believed the 68x series were THE classic Naks for a combination of great sound, high reliability and great durability. But for recording, many of the Naktalkers think the CR-7 wins because it has auto calibration with great response throughout the whole frequency range. But the Dragon is the single best deck for playback if you are able to afford the expense of keeping it tuned because of its auto azimuth adjustment.
I believe Stephen Sank said Naks really set themselves apart from other decks in bass response. He has said the Studer B-215 series was also excellent. I have never seen him comment on the Tandberg decks which I am sure are very fine also. (TWL knows his stuff.) I do have a couple of Studer A-710 decks which I like very much. The sound quality may not be quite as fine as the Nakamichis, but it is still excellent. And the Studer parts can still be found and repaired because so many of them were standard studio equipment for so many years and parts are still abundant. The Studer was a $2400 machine when it came out. The Nak 682ZX was $1800.
I agree with basement that you may be splitting hairs with any of the Naks mentioned in the above posts. They all sound so much better, to my ears, than digital recordings.
One of the big problems is finding tapes. Occasionally people stumble onto odd lots of metal tapes made by TDK, Maxell, Fuji or Sony, and when found, buy them up immediately. But metal tapes are no longer being made, to my knowledge, by anyone. But type II, chrome tapes, can still be found. On a Nak the chrome tapes still sound excellent and I even like the type I, ferric tapes, which many say have superior bass response. But the middle and upper range does not have as much clarity. I really love the sound of a well made tape, and I am extremely disappointed that the medium seems to be irretrievably in decline. Good luck in your search for the right deck.
Jon