Nakamichi MB-3s (circa 1988)
The Nakamichi MB-3s is a stereo cassette deck from the company's "Music Bank" series. The Vintage Knob's archived notes place the line around 1988. That single-year listing is the closest thing to a production date in the record. No explicit start or end year has surfaced, and no original retail price is documented.
What is verified comes mostly from European spec databases. The MB-3s is a three-head deck (separate record, playback, and erase heads) with a two-motor transport, Dolby B and C noise reduction, and a rated wow-and-flutter of 0.09% WRMS. Frequency response is specified at 20-20,000 Hz ±3 dB on normal tape. Signal-to-noise is 70 dB with Dolby C engaged. Line input sensitivity is 50 mV, line output 0.5 V. It measures 435 × 122 × 285 mm and weighs 5.5 kg.
The only owner account available is a US Audio Mart listing. It describes the deck as in very good condition after recent servicing: a new belt, and the pinch roller and capstan cleaned and lubricated. Period advertisements from HiFi-Stereo place the deck in the context of 1990s component sales, though no formal review has been located. The asking price in that listing was $850, which is one seller's number, not a market average. No detailed circuit information, tape formulation support, or common failure-mode documentation has been found. The Music Bank mechanism is the deck's defining feature, but the surviving record doesn't detail how it works.
- Type: Stereo cassette deck, 3-head, 2-motor transport
- Wow & flutter: 0.09% WRMS
- Frequency response: 20–20,000 Hz ±3 dB
- S/N ratio: 70 dB (Dolby C)
- Dolby B and C
- Dimensions: 435 × 122 × 285 mm; 5.5 kg
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