The very best cassette deck ever made? You'd have to look long and hard to better the Nakamichi CR-7E, says David Price.

When you meet someone at a party or down the pub and get talking about hi-fi, here's a  great way to find out just how well they  know the subject: If they reckon Nakamichis are the best cassette decks ever made, they know something. If they say the Dragon is the best, they think they know a lot. If they say it's the CR-7E, they really do. 

You see, the Dragon - wonderful, mad creation that it is - isn't actually the best thing the legendary Nipponese cassette masters did. It's a big, bold, lavish technological tour-de-force, that's for sure - but it was never their last word in terms of sound quality. That accolade went to the ZX-9, and then the CR-7E came along with better record/ replay electronics and sounded even better still. 

The Dragon isn't a one-off product. In Japan, Nakamichi have traditionally been  known as cassette deck specialists, but actually produce a whole range of audio  electronics - from receivers to CD players -  most of which is pretty unremarkable stuff. Commonly available in Japanese hi-fi shops at prices some 40% lower than over here, it's seen as good, solid, respectable fare - quite like Audiolab used to be known here. To differentiate their high end 'statement' products they market a range of gear under the Dragon brand, including CD players and amps. It's madly expensive, complex and packed with high tech. 

In 1988 though, Nakamichi decided that all their conspicuous technology used in  the Dragon could be refocused towards getting the very best sound with absolutely no compromises. Out went mind-bogglingly complex auto-reverse mechanism with automatic electronic azimuth adjustment, and in came a beautifully engineered direct-drive, dual capstan unidirectional transport automated for convenience and given  remote control too. 

At £1095, it cost £155 less than its flagship bigger brother, but  sounded even more stunning. Its feature list is Spartan by comparison - the usual logic controlled  transport keys in the middle, with fader up, down and REC MUTE buttons beneath. Counter mode selectors and timer controls made a token gesture towards domestic acceptability, and then there was the manual tape sector (for types I, II and IV cassettes) with switchable EQ. 

For the first time on a  Nakamichi though, these weren't strictly  necessary as the CR-7E could also chose  tape types automatically if desired.  Adjustable playback azimuth - a grand name for what NAD modestly call  PLAY TRIM - meant the '7's record/replay  head could be motor-adjusted by up to two- thirds of a degree to play tapes recorded on lesser decks to their best potential. There was switchable Dolby NR (B and C, but as per Nak tradition, no HX or S). You also got an amazing set of meters with  switchable PEAK HOLD - and the claim that  they read up to +10dB was no idle boast! 

Although Nakamichi's rivals had offered auto tape calibration for many a long year, Nak debuted theirs with the CR-7E. It was simple to use - you just loaded a blank tape, pressed AUTO CALIBRATION, a light flashed for fifteen seconds and you were ready to record.  Sound quality is startling - better  than every other cassette deck in the world  bar none; it even gives high quality semi-pro open reels (like Revox's B77) a sharp slap around the face.

With a decent metal tape, you can casually record at +10dB, such are the Nak's stunning discrete heads, and even  beer-budget ferrics sound better than anyone else's cassette deck running the most expensive metals. Pitch stability, dynamics, depth perspective, noise levels - everything - is superb. Replay of pre-recordeds is a revelation - if they're decent all-analogue copies they'll trounce even a modern high end CD player. In fact, the Nak's resolution far exceeds CDs - to fully hear what it's  capable of you need live recordings or a  high end vinyl source. 

£500 should get you a minter - not much for a  piece of hi-fi history with performance that blows the very best MiniDisc recorder into the dust. Just make sure it's been looked after meticulously and is fully boxed. It's easy to tell a good used example - if it sounds like nothing you've ever heard on earth, then it's working properly!