Nakamichi CA-5EII
A control amplifier with a built-in phono stage and gold fascia graphics reportedly matched to the plating on the sockets. Almost nobody in Britain ever got the chance to buy one.
Overview
The CA-5EII is a Nakamichi control amplifier, a preamplifier in plain terms, and it belongs to the second-generation CA-5 family. The original CA-5 and CA-5E, per the service documentation discussed by owners, "differ greatly from the second version: no tone control block, no recording control selector, and internally it is really different - much simpler." The II-series machines are the fuller-featured ones. The CA-5EII is the 220V European member of that family.
The letters in the Nakamichi naming tell you the market. According to owners working from the service manual, the CA-5II was apparently the multi-voltage version covering 120V, 220V and 240V. The CA-5AII was the 120V American model, the CA-5EII is the 220V European version, and the CA-50II was the Japanese-market unit at 100V. The same source notes that, judging by the service manual, the variants "do not differ" internally except for the power supply section. So a European buyer was essentially getting the same amplifier as an American one, with the mains transformer and associated parts changed to suit the wall.
It was sold alongside the PA-5E power amplifier. The two turn up as a matched set, and that pairing is how most surviving examples are found today. Nakamichi's own documentation calls the CA-5EII a "Control Amplifier," and the model also appears written as CA-5eII and CA5EII depending on who's typing. The internal phono stage is the feature owners actually talk about, and it supports both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges. One forum thread is titled simply around the CA- preamp with MM/MC phono.
Key Features
Internal MM/MC Phono Stage
The phono section is built in rather than optional, and it handles both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges. A turntable can be run straight in without a separate head amp or step-up transformer. MC compatibility in particular was not a given on every preamp of the period. Owners who run the CA-5EII with a turntable tend to cite the internal phono stage as the reason they bought it. One documented system pairs the preamp with a Michell Focus One turntable, Hadcock arm and Shure M91ED cartridge, feeding an Audiolab 8000P and Dynaudio Audience 52SE speakers.
Wired Remote Control
The CA-5EII carries a wired remote control, a cable to the handset rather than a wireless link. Documentation lists it among the unit's features without saying which functions the remote covers.
Fascia Finish and Socket Plating
Owners pay more attention to the cosmetics than they usually would. The original finish is described as outstanding and durable. The gold graphics on the fascia were reportedly designed to match the shade of plating used on the phono sockets. Whether or not that was strictly true, the phono sockets themselves carry plating rather than bare metal.
Family Internals and the Voltage Question
Across the CA-5II, CA-5AII, CA-5EII and CA-50II, the service manual indicates the circuits are the same apart from the power supply section. That helps anyone servicing one. The European model is the same amplifier on a different mains voltage, so parts commonality across the variants is better than the model-number spread would suggest.
Historical Context
What sat above the CA-5EII defines its place in Nakamichi's line. As one account puts it, for people who couldn't afford the CA7/PA7 combination, the CA5 and PA5-E were the answer. In 1988 that CA5-and-PA5-E pairing ran to £1,900, roughly half the price of the bigger Nakamichi brothers. The CA-5EII is the European-market version of that same offer.
The family base, the CA-5II, was manufactured by Nakamichi Corporation between 1987 and 1993 with a list price of USD $880. Those dates and that figure are attached to the CA-5II specifically. Production years and original pricing for the CA-5EII itself are not documented in the available material, so the family window is the best frame available and not a confirmed span for this exact model.
These preamps are uncommon outside their home markets. Nakamichi were best known for their cassette recorders, arguably state of the art for many years, and while they produced other electronic components, those weren't promoted heavily in the UK or anywhere else. The same source is blunt about the cause: inadequate UK promotion. A competent Nakamichi preamp of this generation is a rare sight on the secondhand market, and the CA-5EII's 220V European specification makes it rarer still in North America.
Collectibility & Value
Documented sales of the CA-5EII specifically are thin. One listing offered a CA-5eII together with a PA5e as a set, noting units with some overall wear, especially on top. No price was attached to that listing, and no current market values with dates have surfaced for the model.
What does circulate is support material. The service manual exists, listed as the Nakamichi CA-5 / CA-5E Control Amplifier Service Manual, original. The owner's manual is available through several manual repositories, covering the CA-5AII and CA-5II alongside it. That owner's manual includes maintenance instructions and a specification sheet. The online record is thinner: no frequency response, THD, signal-to-noise or input sensitivity figures for the CA-5EII have been located in the sources reviewed here. A phono MC resistor set sold for the CA-5EII or CA-5AII turns up on the Russian market at 5,690₽, so someone is still supplying parts for the phono section.
Buying advice is limited by the same thinness. The documented failure modes, maintenance intervals and spare-parts situation for this model are not recorded in the available material, and no independent reviews with sound-quality descriptions specific to the CA-5EII were found. The CA-5EII shares its internals with the rest of the CA-5II family apart from the power supply, so a technician working from the family service manual is not starting from nothing. Expect to find it paired with a PA-5E, and check the top panel for the wear that at least one seller flagged.
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