Henry Grimmius wrote in message ...
We were donated some older stereo equipment. Just not that familiar with
it and thought I would ask what you thought of the individual pieces.
Nakamichi equipment:
PA7 amp (Nelson Pass designed)
CA7A pre amp
OMS-7A II CD player
ST-7 tuner
CDC-4A CD changer
CR5A cassette deck

KEF speakers:
104/2

Exact age of equipment is not known. I know in its' time, these were
pretty decent stuff, just don't know how it compares to today's
equipment. I plan to dust the stuff off and fire it up to listen to it,
just haven't had the time yet.

Thanks for your input.

Henry Grimmius
Fresno, CA

As a former retailer I offered the Nakamichi line for many years and
am familier with all the componets you listed. On the negative side I
often felt that Nak components you discuss, other than cassette deck,
were somewhat overpriced (at retail) but always very good in
performance. And their reliability and customer support was excellent.

You are correct about Nelson Pass contributing to the amp/pre-amp
design. Probaly the most average of the pieces you have are the tuner
(which is still quite good) and CD changer both of which are mainly
minimal reworks from other suppliers. The KEF's, while admittedly
dated, were well-engineered by any reasonable standard, and in their
day, a top contender anywhere near their price range, even allowing
for personal preferences. Today (even then arguably) you could achieve
an equal/better performing system in many peoples opinion at maybe a
bit more than 1/2 the original retail of this gear, piece for piece.
But make no mistake, you have been the beneficiary of an outstanding
system for free.