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Review 1 of 12
Price Paid:
$400.00
from Ebay Summary:
When this receiver was first reviewed back in 1989, with it's Nelson Pass designed Stasis amplifier I considered it as an option to my Marantz 2500 but decided to save the bucks since some experts I knew told me it's 100wpc could not compare to the Marantz's 250wpc. They also said that Nakamichi had problems with the earlier SA line and they may not be as reliable as my then 10 year old Marantz had been. 15 years later I picked one up off of Ebay and was amazed at just how wrong those experts were about the Nakamichi. While it can't produce the kind of gut wrenching volume of the Marantz, the sound was so much more open and transparent that I didn't care. As far as power goes, it has plenty of dynamic power for any normal home listening without any sign of clipping even when turned all the way up. It's almost tubelike. Even at nearly twenty years of age this receiver is still perfectly quiet and clean with none of the pot noise I would get from the Marantz between cleanings. Don't get me wrong, the 2500 is a great piece of gear and even though I got nearly $1500 for it on Ebay, I do wish I'd of kept it. But, the sonic superiority of this old Nakamichi is unquestionable. I have A/B compared it with a friends 105wpc Stereophile recommended B&K seprates system running alternately, my Von Schweikert "Vortex Screens" and a pair of freshly rebuilt Celestion SL6S's which are both fairly power thirsty speakers. Both of these speakers can throw a huge soundstage, especially the Screens, but need good electonics to perform their best. The TA 4A killed the B&K's in sweetnes and clarity, image and soundstage, along with a more dynamic and tight bottom end. The Screens are a large speaker rated flat down to 27Hz and the Nakamichi just sounded more solid and clean all the way down. Yes I wish it was packing 250wpc of Stasis amplification but in the realm of all in one units I can't imagine a better sounding buy at any price or power rating. Maybe the McIntosh 4100 receiver if you can find one but even then I doubt it and you will pay a lot more than $400. The Nakamichi TA 4A isn't a Threshold separates system but it might be close. It won't make your old Cerwin Vegas sound like Martin Logans but it will make any true high end speaker sound really good. The ony real weakness is the tuner. My Marantz had a amazing tuner section that outperformed everything else I ever owned including a Nikko Gamma. If you find a TA 4A in good condition, jump on it. You won't be sorry. Strengths:
Great front end, very quiet, Stasis Amplification is airy and dynamic, huge soundstage. Overall a very solid receiver Weaknesses:
The fluorescent digital display on these tend to become a little faded and uneven but still quite useable. The tuner section is not as strong as the Marantz 2500. Similar Products Used:
Never heard a reciever like it!
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5 of 5
