As someone who loves vintage audio, I’ve owned several cassette decks in my lifetime. I’m excited to tell you about one of my favorite vintage cassette decks with this Nakamichi CR-1A review.
It can be intimidating when shopping for a used cassette deck and I’ve made plenty of mistakes. I always owned cheaper dual deck players by Sony or Pioneer. I no longer buy those.
I’ve even spent a lot of money to buy 3 head cassette decks and use them less than the Nakamichi CR-1A. There are some very nice high end Nakamichi cassette decks, like the infamous Dragon, but for my system and use, this CR-1A is perfect for me and the price is very hard to beat.
Nakamichi CR-1A Features
The CR-1A cassette deck was manufactured by Nakamichi between 1988 and 1990. Even though the CR-1A is a budget deck, Nakamichi applied similar technology used in their high end decks to provide the best possible playback sound.
The front of the unit has a ¼” headphone jack which allows you to operate with a pair of headphones without connecting to an amplifier should you choose to do so.
Two Head Cassette Deck
The CR-1A has 2 heads, one head is used for recording and playback while the other head is used for erasing tapes.
What Type of Cassettes Does The CR-1A Play Or Record?
The CR-1A will allow you to playback and record on a variety of cassette types, including Type 1 (I), Type (II) chrome and Type (IV) metal tapes.
There are three buttons on the front of the unit that you should engage to select the appropriate tape type before recording:
- EX (I) button is for normal type tapes
- SX (II) button is for chrome-type tapes
- ZX (IV) button is for metal tapes
Please Note! These buttons do not have any effect during playback, only during recording. So you don’t need to worry about selecting one of these buttons when playing tapes, only when you record on a blank tape.
Does The CR-1A Use Dolby?
You can record using Dolby noise reduction B and C with the CR-1A by selecting the appropriate button on the front of the unit. I am not a big fan of recording with Dolby so I rarely use this feature.
What is this weird MPX Filter Switch button?
Honestly, the MPX filter switch is used solely for recording music off FM broadcasts. Again, I do not record tapes of FM radio so I’ve never used this feature. If you will be recording music off the radio, look up the benefit of using this switch in the manual.
How Do I Adjust The Recording Input Signal On The Nakamichi CR-1A?
There is one knob on the far right of the unit that serves two functions. The inner portion of the knob allows you to adjust the input signal when you are recording on a cassette. The outer portion allows you to adjust the left and right channel if needed while recording.
What Level Should I Set the Nakamichi CR-1A Input Signal for the Best Recording?
Using the inner portion of the knob mentioned above, Nakamachi suggests setting the input signal so it hits the +3 mark when recording on type 1 and 2 cassette tapes.
Nakamichi suggests adjusting the input signal to hit the +7 mark when recording on type 4 metal cassette tapes!
Autorepeat!
Would you like for your cassette tape to automatically rewind and start playing again once the side selected has finished playing? If the answer is yes, you are in luck because the CR-1A has an Autorepeat button that, once selected, will repeat the playback once complete.
RCA Connections
The rear of the unit has two sets of RCA connectors, one to plug in a source for recording and other set to output sound to your receiver or amplifier.
Should I Buy a 2 or 3 Head Cassette Deck?
When you begin searching for a used cassette deck, you will stumble on articles telling you to buy a 3 head deck. As you see above, a 2 head deck has one head for recording and playback and one head for erase. A 3 head deck provides a separate head for each function, one for recording, one for playback and one for erasing.
Why would you want to pay more for a 3 head deck? Well, it’s mostly a benefit for when you are recording cassettes. If you are only interested in playing tapes and not recording them, save your money and buy a 2 head deck instead.
If you want to make the best possible recordings, a 3 head deck will allow you to listen to your recording as you make it, ensuring you get the best possible sound.
Truthfully, I own a Sony 3 head deck and I’ve made better sounding recordings on the CR-1A using only 2 heads.
So, don’t get too caught up in whether or not you should own a 3 head deck. If you are a beginner to cassettes, a 2 head deck will work just fine, especially if you aren’t that interested in making your own recordings.
How Does The Nakamichi CR-1A Sound?
To me, a great tape deck doesn’t sound like you’re listening to a cassette tape. The CR-1A has a quiet playback for a cassette deck. We grew up hearing loud hiss with tapes, but the CR-1A does a great job playing cassettes back quietly.
One night, I was playing a cassette and side 1 ended so I got up and flipped the tape over to side 2. My wife noticed me flipping the tape and asked, “Have we been listening to a tape this entire time?”. I nodded yes and she replied, “Wow, I thought it was a CD!”.
The CR1-A does a great job of highlighting upper and midrange frequencies of a recording. My old Sony and Pioneer dual cassette decks always sounded like the treble was rolled off. That is not the case with the CR-1A. Tapes sound smooth on the high end and the midrange is lush and pleasant to listen to.
Recording on the CR-1A has been a wonderful surprise. Again, growing up with tapes, I just popped in a cheap blank tape and hit record on a cheap dual cassette deck. My tapes never really sounded that good but I thought that was normal.
I’ve since learned how to properly record on a cassette and with the CR-1A it’s been a game changer. The key is recording on a quality type II (or type IV if you can find one) cassette and making sure the input signal is registering properly at +3 for type II and +7 for type IV. I promise you will be surprised with how well you record sound with the CR-1A deck.
How Much Does a Nakamichi CR-1A Cost?
You will most likely find CR-1A’s listed on eBay where prices jump between $100 and $200 on average.
What Is The Difference Between The Nakamichi CR-1A and the CR-2A?
The biggest difference between the two models is the CR-2A has a bias knob which will allow you adjust the bias before recording to specifically align with the tape you are recording on. Some tapes record a little better with an adjustment to their bias, and this knob will allow you to do so.
Three Things To Know Before Buying a Used CR-1A
1. Nakamichi CR-1A Belt Replacement
These vintage decks often need the rubber belts replaced to work properly. I have an article on how to replace the belts in the CR-1A and another Nakamachi model, the BX-2.
Replacing the belts takes time and a lot of patience, but it’s possible to do it yourself if you go slow.
2. Common Motor Issue
If you are taking a risk and buying a CR-1A that doesn’t work in order to repair it, please note that some decks have motors that need to be cleaned in order to work properly.
Sellers will often say the belts need replacing and sometimes that’s the case, but you can also find units with this motor issue which is a bigger repair issue.
I bought a CR-1A that had this problem and have yet to be able to fix it myself. I will need to hire someone to do so. Basically the motor contacts are dirty and need to be cleaned in order to work properly.
3. Odd Button Placement
Overall, I love this cassette deck but it does have one feature that annoys me. The left side of the unit has two buttons, Eject on top and the Power button underneath.
I instinctively push the Eject button thinking it’s the Power button since it’s at the top of the unit and instead of the unit powering on, the cassette drawer opens. I’ve used this deck for years and still push the buttons incorrectly! This is not a reason to pass up buying this deck, just a minor annoyance of mine worth pointing out.
Should You Buy A Nakamichi CR-1A?
If you are interested in buying a vintage cassette deck and are on a budget, or are just starting out listening and recording cassettes, I highly recommend purchasing the CR-1A, especially if you do not mind having to eventually change the belts.
I would also suggest buying a CR-1A over a cheap new deck found on Amazon. It will also sound better than a small portable player.
The CR-1A will surprise you with the sound quality in playback and how well it records. There are cassette decks selling for thousands of dollars but I don’t think I’ll ever stop using my CR-1A.
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