js3471@hou2g.UUCP (J.SCRIPTUNAS) (02/20/85)
I recently purchased a Jensen ATZ-100 car tuner/tape deck for $179 plus tax - twice. The first time the left channel didn't seem to put out any signal to drive the left channel speakers. I returned the unit to the store, got my credit card credited, went to another store (store 1 had no more in stock), bought the same model for the same price, and installed that one. The unit worked fine for about 3 days, then wouldn't eject the tape it was playing. I tryed prying it out - no luck. It is supposed to pop out when the eject button is touched or when the car is turned off. Seems like the problem is mechanical. I tried pulling the switched and unswitched power fuses but the mechanism still did not release the tape. Looks like I lose a tape? Anyway, I called Jensen and they acknowledged that they have been having complaints about the tape eject problem. They suggested mailing them the unit for replacement or returning to the store for yet another replacement. It seems that their whole model line is probably vulnerable to the above problems. I think I'll ask for my money back and shop for a new unit. Question 1: Has the ATZ-100 model been discontinued? Stores are having clearances. I thought I was getting a good deal. Would the tape eject mechanism be a problem in the ATZ-300 or ATZ-500? (Maybe it doesn't matter since they are too expensive.) Seems like they have the same eject system. Qustion 2: I'd like to get a new unit in within the next few weeks. I'd like to stay <=$200. Any suggestions? I am not an audiophile. I would like a synthesized tuner, seek/scan, autoreverse. My home cassette deck has dolby B & C. Will a car system without dolby sound lousy if I reocrd tapes with dolby NR? Thanks, Jerome Scriptunas ihnp4!hou2g!js3471
GOT@PSUVM.BITNET (02/22/85)
I am no audiophile myself, but i am interested in car and home audio.
I've also been shopping around for a new car stereo, and i found Pioneer's
KA-330 to be a very good unit. It features auto eject (like the Jenson model,
except that it works!!), PLL tuning (Phase Locked Loop), auto scan, and six pre
set keys. Over all i really lie the unit, and it only sells for about $179
on sale. Everyone that i know that has one really likes it.
About the Dolby. I record all of my stuff using Dolby C. Both my tape
decks have both B and C. When i listen to the casettes recorded in Dolby C
in my car, I have to adjust my equilizer to compensate for the boosted high fre
quencies that Dolby creates. I usually just drop the 8K and 16K Hz center freq
uencies back a few decibals, and everything sounds fine.
I hope i helped you out a little, but if not leave a note for me on
netnews.
Sunil Gupta (Penn State Univ)