NAD 6300 (1986–1989)
The NAD 6300 was the top cassette deck in NAD's Monitor Series, produced from 1986 to 1989. It was made in Japan as a three-head, dual-capstan design with a Sankyo transport - the same mechanism used in many high-end decks of the era. List price was $798, including a wireless remote. That is serious-audiophile money, but well below the stratospheric prices of some competitors.
What set the 6300 apart from most decks of its day was two complementary headroom-extension circuits working together: Dolby HX Pro (licensed from Bang & Olufsen) and Dyneq (developed by Tandberg's Herman Lia). HX Pro continuously monitors high-frequency content and lowers the bias current to the record head. Dyneq tracks the same signal and momentarily reduces treble boost in the record equalization. Together they let the deck capture high-level high frequencies on metal tape with unusual grace - flat response to 12,000 Hz, dropping only to -4 dB at 20,000 Hz. Audio (June 1987, p.55) carried NAD's own advertising claiming an 80 dB signal-to-noise ratio and the ability to make "a cassette copy of any compact disc with virtually no dynamic loss."
There are a few other good touches. The front-panel play trim control works only on the 10-20 kHz octave. There is a fine bias adjustment, and a four-digit electronic counter switchable between conventional units and elapsed time. The front door lifts off easily for cleaning and demagnetizing. The record-level knob is large, with a concentrically mounted balance control, and twelve peak-reading LEDs per channel (-20 to +8 dB) handle level indication. Wow and flutter were among the lowest measured in its class, and Dolby tracking stayed within 1 dB for B and 2 dB for C.
Record-playback response at -20 dB (using TDK AD ferric, TDK SA chrome-equivalent, and TDK MA metal) held within +0, -2 dB from roughly 26 Hz to the 20,000 Hz measurement limit. Output at 0 dB was slightly below normal but well within the range of audiophile preamps and receivers.
Surviving documentation on the 6300 is thin beyond the reviews and the occasional forum thread. No service manual seems to be widely circulated, and common failure points are not systematically cataloged, beyond general age-related belt and capstan maintenance. Build quality was high for its price bracket, and a clean example remains a capable performer for tape transfer work or casual listening.
- Type: Three-head, dual-capstan cassette deck
- Noise reduction: Dolby B, Dolby C, Dolby HX Pro, Dyneq
- Heads: Separate record and play heads in a single case
- Transport: Solenoid-controlled, Sankyo mechanism
- Dimensions: 17-1/4 × 4-1/2 × 10 inches (W × H × D)
- Weight: A little over 15 lbs
- Remote: Wireless, included
- Color: Black
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