Nakamichi CR-5A (c. 1986–1987)

Not much is documented about the Nakamichi CR-5A beyond one thorough period review and a price listing. Here is what the record shows. It was a three-head, three-motor dual-capstan cassette deck that sat between the BX-300 and the flagship CR-7A in Nakamichi's mid-1980s lineup. A 1987 price list puts it at $779 (HiFi/Stereo Review, May 1987, p.130).

HiFI-Stereo (October 1986, p.47) published a full test report by Craig Stark and Hirsch-Houck Laboratories. The review pointed to the three-motor, dual-capstan transport - the same basic design behind the deck's extraordinarily low wow-and-flutter figures. Flutter actually measured better than on the CR-7A, Nakamichi's top model at the time. The CR-5A used fully separate record and playback heads, a Nakamichi hallmark. Unlike the CR-7A, it left out the fully automatic calibration system and used manual bias adjustment instead. With patient tuning, frequency response reached +1, -2.5 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz at both -20 dB and IEC 0 dB levels, with a notable absence of low-frequency undulation. Signal-to-noise ratios with Dolby noise reduction were among the best measured on any deck of the period.

Known specifications (from period review):