Nakamichi NR-200
The Nakamichi NR-200 is a standalone stereo noise reduction unit. It isn't a tape deck. It's an outboard processor that sits between a cassette recorder and the rest of your system. It has switchable Dolby B and Dolby C processing and its own internal power supply. It also has peak-responding LED indicators, left/right and master recording-level controls, an output control, a calibration oscillator, and an MPX filter. It connects to any quality tape recorder through line jacks and can be fed from any line-level source. Modern Recording (July 1981, p.36) described it as a new Nakamichi unit offering a choice of Dolby B or Dolby C processing, and noted that with Dolby C encoding it provides a 20 dB noise reduction in the 2 to 8 kHz range.
Documentation on the NR-200 is thin beyond the sales literature. The brochure gives the headline figures: 20 dB of noise reduction at 5 kHz and 10 dB at 1 kHz, frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz, THD of 0.1% at 1 kHz reference level, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 90 dB with noise reduction engaged. No production years, original price, dimensions, or input/output specifics have surfaced. What is clear is that Nakamichi marketed the NR-200 as the companion you needed to make Dolby C work properly. Advertising in High Fidelity (June 1981, p.17) argued that Dolby C demands exceptional performance from the cassette recorder, and that Nakamichi was the answer.
Known specifications:
- Noise reduction: 20 dB at 5 kHz, 10 dB at 1 kHz
- Frequency response: 20–20,000 Hz
- THD: 0.1% (1 kHz, reference level)
- S/N ratio: 90 dB (with noise reduction engaged)
- Processing: Dolby B and Dolby C, switchable
- Controls: left, right, and master recording level; output; calibration oscillator; MPX filter
- Indicators: peak-responding LEDs
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