Nakamichi TX-1000

preliminary

Pretty rare - almost Invisibilia status.

If the Dragon CT was engineered and built on Etsuro Nakamichi's specifications by Junichi Okumura at Fujiya Audio Ltd, the TX-1000's origins are... not so clear. But it isn't a wild guess to imagine Micro Seiki having a hand if not twelve fingers and just as many toes into the consulting and/or manufacturing of the TX-1000 - among others. Mr Teragaki probably had a hand in it, too.

If the Dragon CT has two platters (one that is nudged, placed above one that isn't), the TX has only one platter, the rotating center of which is nudged by two motors through two plastic rotating washers. This of course leads to (slight) rotation weight compensation since the entire platter is put off its absolute center so the record itself can be (re)centered...

The Quartz PLL motor itself runs in an oil bath within a "Pressure Regulation Chamber" and the shaft is finished within 1/100µ.
The platter is made of diecast aluminium with a honeycomb structure to do away with resonances. The four high feet have a semi-soft insulation by way of an air chamber pump for each, thus allowing the levelling from the feet's top.

The solid one-piece cast base is reminiscent of contemporary Micro and so is something else : if the round Zamac alloy Nak' arm base was to be tightened with three screws, the receptacle in which it fits still bears the typically-Micro 6-holes base - and the same diameter.

To perfect the "multi-sourced" parts and engineering, an optional VS-100 vacuum stabilizer coud be ordered.
Said VS-100 was (is) nothing more than a rebadged Audio Technica AT666 with an added BS-100 soft platter mat to be placed between the glass an VS-100/AT666.

The rectanglular base is made of diecast aluminuim and hides a triple suspension made with foam and rubber pieces of different thickness, all locked by three big screws. The owner's & service manuals were so discrete about this suspension (it is a suspension) that many owners in fact never unlocked the three screws...

The top platter (above the "motorized" one) is a slab of glass covered with a reflective magnetic material which has anti-static properties.
Power-supply is external and it was only shown once, in the april 1982 japanese catalog : PS-1000 ; it seems the serial numbers' plates are on the PS-1000 and not on the TX themselves.

The flashiest part of the TX-1000, however, is the center search function and the subsequent display of the record on the left backlit graph alongwith the milimetric amount of re-centering performed !


Nakamichi rather quickly made a "MK2" c. 1983/84 : differences lie in completely redesigned electronics & PCBs and the addition of parallellism and cueing controls dedicated to the sensing arm. MK2 isn't written on the MK2, it just is different, and it was "distributed" only in Japan and Germany.

The highest s/n MK2 spotted is 1298... which seems very high but it is possible Nak' made a single s/n run comprising both versions.

At 1,100,000¥ and CD lurking at the horizon, it seems the TX (whatever the version) didn't enthuse crowds of audiophiles, however impressive it may have been.

Spare parts seem to have still been available in Japan as late as 1997 but with prices bordering on the crazy (1200$ for one foot !) and none of the truly vital spares available such as PCBs or the fatal commanding IC.

Between the TX-1000, the subsequent Dragon CT, the OMS-1000 and the now demolished Sound Research Center and concert hall, Nakamichi probably buried a fair chunk of its financial reserves and energy.



A very interesting review (with music in mind) is available here.

A real TX-1000 here.

Since posting this page, I have gathered many new sources, including the original japanese catalog !
However, this makes for a mass of information and images which can only be displayed and organized properly within the Knobber TVK and not this here present TVK "light" layout.