The History of Nakamichi
Nakamichi was founded in 1948 by Mr. Etsuro Nakamichi, starting from a small research institute in Tokyo, Japan that provided R&D for major brands, government entities, universities and organizations. Since then, it has established itself as a trusted creator of high-quality audio products, such as the Nakamichi 1000, the world's first 3-Head cassette deck. Nakamichi's product lines are driven by an intense scientific curiosity, the passion for audio, and commitment to uncompromising quality and performance.
Milestones
1973 - The Nakamichi 700 and 1000
The flagship Nakamichi 1000 Tri-Tracer was the first cassette deck to utilize a three-head recording technique - resulting in class-leading audio reproduction, as well as the ability to monitor tape recordings during the recording process. The Nakamichi 700 was also lauded by audiophiles as a cassette deck that provided a high cost-to-performance ratio.
1977 - The Nakamichi 550
With the new Model 550 Dual Tracer Cassette System, Nakamichi extended their revolution in cassette technology to field recording, featuring 3 microphone inputs and Dolby-B noise reduction system to ensure high-quality recordings could be made by music artists such as Jon Hammond, even when performing outside a dedicated recording studio.
1981 - The Nakamichi 1000ZXL
The Nakamichi 1000ZXL Limited was a re-run and further improves on Nakamichi's Flagship Cassette deck. It featured state of the art technologies such as custom designed record and playback heads, and on-board processing to further optimize music quality. This Technology was then infused with exquisite design, featuring a gold-plated chassis and rosewood enclosure. It is highly sought after by tape collectors today.
1982 - The Nakamichi Dragon Audio Cassette Deck
Introduced in 1982, the Nakamichi Dragon was the first Nakamichi audio cassette deck engineered with a bi-directional replay capability and the world's first production tape recorded equipped with an automatic azimuth correction system. Until today, it continues to be seen as one of the most iconic audio products of all time. Today, it is still sought after by audio collectors, with well-maintained models fetching as much as $6000 in the used market.
1983 - The Nakamichi TX-1000 Computing Analog Turntable
The Nakamichi TX-1000 Computing Turntable incorporated the revolutionary 'Absolute Center Search System'. This technology revolutionized the way music was heard on vinyls, ensuring unparalleled pitch stability and accuracy. The result? Extra-detailed and fine-sounding audio reproduction that few or even no other vinyl record player in the market could match.
1990 - The Nakamichi Dragon CD Player
The Nakamichi Dragon CD player was a rare and exquisite Flagship masterpiece: Featuring a 7 Disc CD Changer, exotic Rosewood panels and Nakamichi’s Music Bank Mechanism – a ground-breaking innovation that minimized vibration and ensured high quality CD audio playback. It is highly sought after by audio purists and collectors even to this day.
