The Nak is 36 years old, I am the original owner. It has an intermittent hum that can be manipulated by jiggling input rca (cd). Remote can turn volume up but not down (could be remote). I blue stuff-ed the pots, no problems with those now. I've looked inside and don't see anything terminal-yet, but it's probably time for some work. I'm in Ronkonkoma, Suffolk county, central Long Island, N.Y., is there a reputable shop nearby that I could trust do it right? I'm not a tech, just a paint by numbers tinkerer, I've built a few things, but I don't feel confident enough to tackle this, and I would hate to ruin it. It's not my favorite anymore, but I still love it, and it's still impressive for what it is, and it is the first piece of nice gear i bought (at 17!).
The hum may be a broken solder joint on that connection… have you tried a different set of cables to determine it’s the receiver and not the cable?
I’d look at the remote first for your up/down issue. Worn or dirty button perhaps.
The little Nakamichi receivers sound fantastic (as you know) and are well worth keeping. Also for the sentimental value!
I’d look at the remote first for your up/down issue. Worn or dirty button perhaps.
The little Nakamichi receivers sound fantastic (as you know) and are well worth keeping. Also for the sentimental value!
Have tried different cables, suspect solder joint on underside of lower board (it's dense-ish in there), I,m sure i could disassemble and reassemble it, but trying to work on those boards which are not the same quality as what the diystore sells, dont trust myself! And if there is desoldering to replace caps, idk. It's a rock n roll sounding receiver for sure, great bass, it seems under rated wattage wise.
I do wish I'd spent the extra (much extra) money for the TA-4A though! Aahh, to go to back in time, I'd be so very busy making different decisions back there, might never make it back!
Following up on 6L6's suggestion on the possibility of a broken solder joint on the CD RCAs, rather than a faulty cable, try using one of the other line-level inputs.
If the solder on the RCAs needs work, most of the bottom of the Main PCB is exposed by simply removing the bottom panel. No other disassembly needed.
The TA-2A also has Pre-out/Main-in jacks, so it is easy to determine if the source of the hum is on the preamp or amp side, if the need arises.
For some reason the speaker relay on these units commonly acts up, and is often cured by reflowing their solder joints. This isn't the source of your hum, but is easy to do proactively once you have the bottom cover off.
Coming across a used TA-2A about 8 years ago was a seminal event for me because it rekindled my interest in stereo gear and in reproduced music; it was that much better than anything else I had ever heard in my humble home. It was also my introduction to the genius of Nelson Pass.
If the solder on the RCAs needs work, most of the bottom of the Main PCB is exposed by simply removing the bottom panel. No other disassembly needed.
The TA-2A also has Pre-out/Main-in jacks, so it is easy to determine if the source of the hum is on the preamp or amp side, if the need arises.
For some reason the speaker relay on these units commonly acts up, and is often cured by reflowing their solder joints. This isn't the source of your hum, but is easy to do proactively once you have the bottom cover off.
Coming across a used TA-2A about 8 years ago was a seminal event for me because it rekindled my interest in stereo gear and in reproduced music; it was that much better than anything else I had ever heard in my humble home. It was also my introduction to the genius of Nelson Pass.
Finally cracked it open again, all of the solder joints on the cd/video rca module were compromised. I could see the solder separated from the pins, easy enough, but, one of the pins had broken right at the board. removed the module (for lack of a better word) and soldered a 3 watt resistor lead on, reinstalled and back in business. Thanks for the help everyone, 37 year old machine running right now!