HAVE BOTH ALSO ,almost identical in playback sound wise will give dragon very, very slight lead on recordings .cant go wrong with either!! most of the audiophile guys would pick the dragon hands down and they also would put a piece of exotic wood on top an swear it sounds better!
I have just bought a 505E and in comparison with my 202E it’s a world apart. But the comparison with a Dragon I would take the 505 simply because it plays as well as a Dragon for way less chips!! Besides the FACT that a Dragon goes for big bucks, as a 30+ Old timer, between 2k-3k, I just bought a 505E for 400€ and invested 200€ for idler, Bänder, and adjusting. I will bet that there’s not a better, cleaner, optical perfect, Nakamichi 505E to be had for less that 1500-2k in the same condition? I am dealing with the same quality, and performance of a Dragon, with RX-202E chips. Could it be that the Dragon gets too much hype? Or is it the Marketing that has pushed the price over the top? Back in the day, 89-93 a used Dragon could be had for 1000€ and many thought of it as a piece of junk because nobody knew how to work on it or adjust it. Today it stands as the GOLDEN Kassettenrekorder, and is the Standard. If I found one cheap, say 1000€ I would probably buy it, repair it, and sell it. I just like the WOW factor of the Kassette turning around like MAGIC in the RX Series. Although the 303E is rarely seen, I am told it’s better than the 202E and more comparable to the 505, but I personally have never heard a 303. That you can’t see every day. And this technology isn’t found in ANY other Manufacturers other then Nakamichi. Which the name alone tells those with a little Audio knowledge that this is no PJJ or Plastic Japanese Junk.
@@brianhardaway9716 Why is the 505 much better than 202? I'm looking to buy an 202 asap. I know 505 has bias control but do they perform similar in play back sound quality? That's my main concern! Thanks
@@Anthony-cc8bx ja the sound is more dynamic and louder? Both players are basically the same. One has slides for recording volume and output and the other has knobs. If you live in the USA finding a 202 isn’t that difficult. I bought one in Germany last year for 257€. About 280 bucks. Unfortunately it was defective. In Germany there’s quite a few but you need one with double voltage 120-220. Because of the resale value I would look for a 505. I bought a defective one for 400€ got it repaired for 200€ and it looks, and performs like new. A 202 costs about 599 bucks considering the condition and a 505 costs about 1700!! So for 600€ I got a good deal. Look at eBay. That’s where I found mine. Also I believe the 505 is better than the Dragon because of the price. They cost about 2400-3000 bucks for approximately the same player. Good luck and not only is finding a good player difficult finding a technician is much harder because they are time consuming to repair and adjust.
@@brianhardaway9716 hey thanks for this. I can get the 202 for just $300USD. I think that's a steal so I'll go forward. The sound is not going to be drastically worth the price difference. I have other great decks like Revox. I even had a Nak ZX-9 and got rid of it cause I didn't like the sound all that much. I have two Nak 700II which i think is more to my liking. It's crazy how much vintage has gone up in the last yr or so!
