pmf@ihlts.UUCP (Philip M. Francisco) (01/12/84)
(This line inserted to prevent postnew from munging the input) As a follow-up to my initial query for information concerning a tape deck in the $300 range, I'd like to present some of the information sent to me, my choice and my current feelings after shopping around for about 4 weeks. I finally decided on a deck and purchased it on or about the 20th of Dec. and have used it rather extensively since then. Before purchasing however, I visited several audio dealers in the area and did a great deal of mail-order pricing. In the process I decided to raise my sights a bit and look at decks priced up to $400. After a lot of tape-making and A-B comparisons I decided on the Nakimichi BX-2 deck with dolby B & C, Memory Stop/Play and just about the best sound reproduction quality of any of the decks I listened to. Other factors were: the reliability of Nak decks seems to be quite high, the looks and aesthetic appeal of the deck and finally the way it responds to commands on the deck (which gives one a good tactile response) quietly and efficiently. I've made several tapes since purchasing the deck and overall am very pleased. This was the first step up into better audio equipment for me and thus far I am extremely pleased with the results! In regard to the opinions of those who responded to my initial article soliciting help, there were several who held the Sony line in high regard, but most people thought that the Sony sound reproduction quality topped out at about the $200 - $225 price range and from there, Sony just seems to add more bells and whistles without any real increase in the technology. Harmon-Kardon's decks got some good notices but several people mentioned problems HK has had in the past with tape decks reliability. Also, the HK line didn't visually appeal to me, personally. The Denon deck didn't get much notice from people other than to say that Denon was a good "name" and would probably make a good product. In my testing I found the Denon M-1 to be very good and the final decision came down to a choice between the M-2 and the BX-2, both of which were at the aforementioned higher price range. Very few people had much regard for any of the remaining Japanese models (Akai, Technics, etc), generally saying that those brands specialized in bells/whistles rather than sound reproduction quality & that because of their constant introduction of new models into the marketplace, it was difficult to make fair quality and reliability judgements on their products. My current choices would be: $200 - $250: Sony TCFX600 $250 - $300: Nak BX-1 or Denon M-1 $300 - $400: Nak BX-2, HK 191 or Denon M-2 $400+: ??? Thanks to everyone who gave me advice in this matter, it was sincerely appreciated! By the way if anyone is interested in the cheapest place to find the BX-2 that I found, it was from a phone-order company called The Source, in Princeton, NJ. They had it for $360 or so, but I decided on a local, slightly more expensive dealer just in case I had any problems with the deck. I'm sorry that I don't have the 800 number for The Source with me but suffice to say that they advertise in Stereo Review. --Phil Francisco ...ihnp4!ihlts!pmf