Mine is an old model dating from 1984. But I have yet to hear any 2 head cassette made since that can equal it's pure musical ability.Properly maintained, this deck is a masterpiece of audio engineering with almost no motor noise, or squeaks from a cassette.
It is very revealing of the source with most commercially recorded cassettes sounding awful. A well recorded chrome or metal cassette sounds almost the same as a CD with excellent Bass and treble playback. Imaging is unbelievable for a cassette.
Only drawbacks are:
Timer is a strict counter not real time.
Pre-amp could/should be better but this is based on comparison with modern componentry that now cost the equivalent if not more than the whole unit.
As a measure of it's audio and physical worth, I could sell this unit today for almost as much as I paid for it 15 years ago.
4/5 for not having a real time counter.

warm but clear sound; manual control over recording parameters; attractive design; parts availability

expensive to maintain; poor playback on non-Nakamichi decks

Have had an LX-3 since 1981; the silver and black design remains stylish; the transport is silent and stable, though the reel tables do get affected with time leading to noise in the transport; recording quality cannot be matched by any other brand for the same price; the sound is clean but with a remarkable solidity; calibration of Nakamichi decks is a headache and cannot be done without the proprietary Nakamichi calibration tapes; they are commonly seen in use even after two decades which is most unusual; some of the features like timers are of little relevance now; the bias control is very useful; absence of a real time counter is a contemporary problem(when the LX-3 was made these counters were prohibitively expensive);

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Nakamichi BX-125

As mentioned by some of the previous reviewers, this is porbably the best and last example of an excellent dual capistan tape deck without a discreet third head (many alleged three head machines really combined the erase/record head, unlike the LX-5 - the big brother to this LX-3). Nakamichi was THE brand until they entered the lower end market with the introduction of the BX line in the late 80's. So in some ways, the LX-3 and LX-5 are the last of the greats.

Build quality, quiet, bias control (a must with so many tape choices out there), volume control for headphone listening, and the fact that its design is the most minamalistic of the Nak line (until you open the silver panel on the right).

I paid $350 to have Nakamichi refurbish my unit in March of 1996 when the motor started to burn out(I bought the unit used for $300 from a dealer in 1986 - its owner upgraded to LX-5). The deal was labor - no matter how much - for $90 plus parts. The parts came to $240, and included one Hub @ $42.36 and another for $38.25, a capistan motor @ $59.34 and an idler asst @ $50.15. The factory did a complete mechanism overhaul, replaced the capistan motor and capacitors and realigned all functions to specifications. They also send an estimate (they were right on the money) for your approval, and would have charged me $45.61 to cover the estimate and return shipping costs.

Lack of real-time timer is a bummer.

It's a cassette deck, but as close as you could come to hi-fi with tape, and based on today's cheapo standards, one of, if not THE last great Nak under $1k. Rating is based on longevity, design, quality and ability to get parts and service compared with what is available in today's market.

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I've burned out two HK decks and a NAK BX-100....