Nakamichi 500 Dual-Tracer Cassette Deck – Walnut, Made in Japan

Nakamichi’s mid-seventies top-loading deck with walnut side panels, serviced on our bench and playing as it should.

What it is

The 500 comes from the years when Nakamichi was teaching the rest of the industry what a cassette could do. It is a two-head deck built around Nakamichi’s focused-gap record/playback head, badged SuperHead Crystalloy on the cassette door, driven by a servo-controlled DC motor. When Audio magazine’s George W. Tillett tested it in 1975, he called it “a well-engineered, very versatile cassette recorder which will appeal to those who want above-average performance,” and added that the focused-gap head “is obviously more than an advertising gimmick — it really works.”

It is also a recordist’s deck, laid out like a small studio console on its top plate, with headphone, microphone and blend-mic jacks along the front edge. There are six faders: a blend microphone channel, separate left and right microphone levels, left and right line levels, and a master output, so you can mix two microphones and a line source into one recording. Peak-reading meters watch the levels, a limiter catches overloads, and bias (Normal, EX-type and SX-type tape) and EQ (120 and 70 µs) are switched separately, so the deck can be matched to the tape you are using. Dolby B noise reduction is built in, with a calibration tone, and a memory rewind returns you to the spot you marked. On the rear, an MPX filter switch cleans up recordings from FM, with RCA line inputs and outputs, a DIN in/out socket and a ground post.

Real walnut side panels finish the black chassis, and it sits comfortably beside a wood-cased receiver. The deck’s original white side panels come with it too, at no charge, so you can return it to its factory look whenever you like.

The service it has had

Every cassette deck we sell goes through our bench before it is listed:

• Tape path, heads, capstan and pinch roller cleaned
• Controls and switches cleaned and deoxidized
• Every function tested: play, record, fast-forward, rewind, stop and eject, noise reduction and meters
• Post-service burn-in and sign-off

And, as each deck requires:

• Drive belts replaced
• Heads and tape path demagnetized
• Mechanism lubricated
• Tape speed and playback level adjusted
• Lamps replaced

Condition

Good. It shows general wear consistent with its age and nothing bad: no damage, just the honest marks of a fifty-year-old deck that has been used and enjoyed.

A genuine Nakamichi, set up for recording as much as playback, in the walnut dress it deserves.

Available for pickup in Kanata, or shipped across Canada and internationally — we have sent equipment to fifteen countries in the past year, each piece packed in-house in 275 lb test double-wall boxes. Live shipping rates for your address are calculated at checkout. Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Available for audition by appointment in Kanata.

Nakamichi 500 Specifications

• Type: two-head stereo cassette deck
• Service: serviced on our bench (see above)
• Heads: focused-gap record/playback head (SuperHead Crystalloy) plus erase head
• Motor: servo-controlled DC motor
• Noise reduction: Dolby B, with calibration tone
• Bias: Normal, EX-type, SX-type · EQ: 120 µs and 70 µs
• Frequency response: 40 Hz – 17 kHz ±3 dB (SX / EX-II tape)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: 63 dB or better (weighted, Dolby on, SX tape)
• Wow and flutter: 0.08% WRMS or less
• Inputs: line (RCA), DIN, microphone L/R and blend
• Outputs: line (RCA), DIN, headphones
• Features: six-fader mixing, peak-reading meters, limiter, MPX filter, memory rewind
• Finish: black with real walnut side panels; original white side panels included at no charge
• Power: 117 V, 50/60 Hz, 23 W
• Made in Japan by Nakamichi Research Inc.
• Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 15.1 x 4.3 x 10 inches (384 x 110 x 254 mm)
• Weight: approx. 15.4 lbs (7 kg)

⚠️ Important Information for International Buyers

This unit is configured for North American 110/120V power. Buyers outside North America will require a step-down transformer and appropriate plug adapter.

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

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📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.