Nakamichi 700 Cassette Deck

Name: Nakamichi 700
Brand: Nakamichi

The Nakamichi 700 was the company's first commercial cassette deck. Before it, Nakamichi was known mostly for its professional-quality tape recorder heads. The 700 put that head expertise into a format most audiophiles still dismissed as dictation-grade. It is widely credited with helping to legitimize the cassette as a serious music medium.

The deck used three heads, with separate record and playback heads. That was highly unusual for consumer cassette decks of the early 1970s, when most used a single combined head. A 1973 brochure pushed this design, along with the transport's stability, as what set the 700 apart for the "serious audiophile." HiFI-Stereo (December 1973, p.52) measured the transport and found tape speed within 0.1 percent of correct value. It also reported wow and flutter below the residual level of their test tape, a remarkable result for the era.

The 700 was sold alongside the Nakamichi 550 in that 1973 brochure, though the relationship between the two models isn't well documented. Owners describe the 700 as built like a tank, with excellent sound for its day. They also warn that parts are hard to find and that servicing requires specialized knowledge of the transport.

Known specifications from the HiFi Engine database listing:

4 tracks, tape speed 1⅞ ips
Wow and flutter: 0.05%
Frequency response: 30 Hz – 18 kHz (CrO₂ tape)
Signal-to-noise ratio: 62 dB (Dolby B)
Inputs: mic (jack), line (RCA); outputs: line (RCA), headphone (jack)
Manual transport, analog VU meters, tape counter

The available sources document no production years, original retail price or physical dimensions. A single recent marketplace listing asked €750 for a unit of unknown condition. The motor count is ambiguous. The HiFi Engine entry lists two motors, while era marketing text referred to a "three-motor transport." Given the conflict, treat that spec as unconfirmed.