[net.audio] "Breathing" noises in HiFi VCR's

greg@olivej.UUCP (12/19/84)

I'm seriously purchasing a Beta HiFi unit (Beta vs. VHS only because
I have a considerable library of non-HiFi Beta tapes and have a good
friend with a large number of Beta HiFi tapes).

One thing that has bothered me is reading reports, both in Absolute
Sound and in the German "Audio" publication, of an anomaly in the
sound.  Both sources claim that HiFi video cassettes of movies
sound very good.  However, both also claimed that when using the
machine as strictly an audio recording device (as the specs would
indicate to be a very viable procedure) there was a highly
audible and objectionable "breathing" sound, apparently caused by
internal noise reduction circuitry.  The effect was compared to
what you hear when you try to play a tape back though dbx which
was not actually dbx-encoded.

Absolute Sound pointed this out when commenting on several Beta
HiFi units (including the Sony 2700 and a Toshiba model).  The
German "Audio" (I believe the May '84 issue) mentioned it in a
review of a series of VHS HiFi units.

This still might not block my purchase of a unit, since I intend
to use it for movies and off-the-air telecasts of concerts and
operas which, being standard FM quality, are subject to a good
deal of compression in any case.  I would, however, be interested
to know if owners of either Beta or VHS HiFi have found this to
be an actual problem.

Incidentally, the model I'm considering buying is the Sony
SL-HF300, which I can get for approx $650.  This is about the
limit to which my budget can stretch.  Any comments or criticisms
on this model (or others in a comparable price category) would
be welcome.

	- Greg Paley