luria@UCBKIM (03/24/83)
From: luria@UCBKIM (Marc Luria) Received: from UCBKIM.ARPA by UCBVAX.ARPA (3.331/3.17) id AA22261; 23 Mar 83 17:01:59 PST (Wed) To: net-audio@BERKELEY Cc: luria@UCBKIM Recently, I asked for some comments about cassette decks in the $ 250 range. I haven't yet bought one, mainly because of lack of time, so any other comments would be helpful. I'm sending all this stuff out because a number of people have asked me for it. Specific Models --------------- From: pyuxjj!rlr I just bought the Vector Research CX-400 at Tech HiFi (east coast) for $279. I think it's a discontinued model. It's quite good, with Dolby B/C, solenoid controls (soft touch), record mute, etc. I understand that finding dealers who seel them is hard (Tech HiFi is the only one in the Northeast, but I believe there are more in California. Good luck. From: decvax!cwruecmp!cdex Two individuals have recently received Teac CX-400 decks from Illinois Audio; 190 dollars; mailorder with a 3 week wait. This is a 3 head deck with Dolby B. The only minor res- ervation I have about these machines (they were purchased on my suggestion) concerns the funky transport, which reveals itself in a slow, high friction rewind, operated by piano keys. For 60 more you should be able to find an equivalent machine with a better transport. From: decvax!duke!mcnc!chip Subject: NAD 6050C Last weekend I borrowed a friend's NAD 6050C Cassette Deck and was REAL impressed with the performance of this unit. It's a "bare bones" unit -- not a lot of frills, just a few high quality features. It's price ($280) reflects this. Using chrome tape and Dolby C, the NAD makes a recording that sounds almost as good as the record. I've never said that about any cassette deck I've heard, up until now. The NAD outperforms my reel-to-reel deck running at 7 & 1/2 ips! I have a fairly sensitive ear and own a few good pieces of equipment, so consider my suggestion. Go check one of these things out!!! From: vax135!brunix!dkw I bought a Nakamichi 480 this summer and was very happy with it (Until it got ripped off last week) It cost $300 and is the cheapest deck by what is reputed to be the best company. Unfortunately they no longer make that deck, but I have heard that their replacement is even better ( I don't know the model something-1) I saw it a tweeter, which is an expensive place for $270 at what they said is a good sale. I just got a call from a cheap dealer. He quoted $240 on a Nakamichi BX-1 and $360 on a Nakamichi BX-2. In both cases that is 80% of list, and it is normally quite hard to get any discount on Nakamichi. The only difference he mentioned between the 1 and 2 is that the 2 has dolby C. When I bought my original deck I decided that C was an advantage, but not $100 worth, so I will probably get the BX-1. The place that gave me the good price is: Ear Drum 148 East Route 59 Nanuet, NY 10954 General Comments ------- -------- From: decvax!duke!mcnc!rlgvax!tom I feel the <MOST> important point is buying a reputable brand from a reputable dealer. Once you do this it is unlikely that you will go wrong. I decide on reputable products by the brands mentioned in the stereo magazines -- these are the companies which have a reputation to protect and are actively concerned with selling to knowledgeable customers. Even their bottom-of-the-line stuff should be reliable and well-designed. The good stereo dealers will have a good sound room where you can sit down and listen closely to the components. The salespeople will be informative and will not unduly stress technical data, instead stressing what sounds best to you, the customer, in a proper environment. Try to go during the week, so the salesperson will have more time to spend with you. The best dealer is one who individually checks and fine-tunes every one of their components individually. Few do. This is particularly true of cassette decks due to the number of mechanical components -- the slightest misalignment and your 50 deck will sound like a 0 one. For this same reason a good service department is important -- ask around. Concerning which deck to buy, I won't quote names but instead give you my ideas. At 50, you want a reliable, good-sounding deck without a lot of gadgets and fancy features. Every extra frill costs, and a proportionate amount must be cut on the basics. Dolby B: An essential feature for good tapes -- virtually every deck has it. Dolby C: Better quality than B, it is a good feature (particularly as you eventually upgrade the rest of your system) though not essential. Few car decks have Dolby C, so if you want tapes for car use also, Dolby C may not be as desireable. "hard" tapehead: also called "alloy"; Sendust is a popular name. Indicates better recording quality. Recommended. tape selection: the deck should have setting for recording/playing "normal" and "chrome" tapes at different bias/equalization settings. Essential. metal compatible: Any deck which can record/play chrome tapes also can do metal tapes, so much of this is hype. In general, dont bother with metal tapes - they are expensive, never on sale, and your deck won't be able to take advantage of their extended range. I think chrome-type tapes are the best value for the dollar and sound. automatic equalization setting: The new kick now is for a deck to automatically adjust its settings to each tape when you are about to record. This is a great feature but just too expensive for your price range. I would have serious doubts about any deck in that price range offering this feature. Not recommended. fancy timers, search-and-play, etc: I feel these are mostly frills with no musical benefit. If there is a particular feature you really like, then get it, but don't go overboard. auto-reverse: Available for car decks, it is much more complicated for a home deck, which must worry about recording. Avoid. From: npois!houxm!whuxk!wjm You can get a decent cassette deck for $250-300. The most important option to look at is the meters for record levels. Try to get ones that you feel comfortable with and try to get as many LED or flouresent bar segments as possible. The other thing to consider is the type of noise reduction system - As I've said before, dbx is the best (although dbx encoded tapes cannot be played back without dbx decoding) and it is available on several machines by Teac and Technics in this price range. In this price class, you'll get a 2 head machine which means the same head is used for recording and playback. This means you can't listen to a recording as you're making it but have to wait until you're finished recording to play it back. A 3 head deck which has separate record and playback heads (and allows monitoring) would cost about $500.
jeff (03/28/83)
Cassette Decks <$300. I got a Sony TCFX66 last summer; I was shopping in Japan and wanted a good deck with an *elapsed real-time indicator* and Dolby C. The FX66 and a TEAC were the only ones with both of these in the required price range; both had two motors, hard heads, etc. However, at my favorite emporium in Tokyo, Ishimaru Denki, three of the four TEACs of that model that they had for hands-on display (demo tapes and good headphones furnished, they turn you loose on a wall full of decks) wouldn`t rewind. Good evidence of a design flaw. So I bought the Sony, and have been really pleased. The "real time" indicator works in some indirect way so is only approximately accurate; it can be 30seconds off on a 90 minute tape, but up to 3 minutes off on (one side of) a 60 minute tape. But mechanically and of course in terms of sound quality it`s very good. In fact making cassette tapes *without* Dolby from my CD player it`s hard (on chamber music) to tell the difference on an A-B test. Maybe that says something about my speakers though. TEAC offers so many models with so many colored lights, etc., in Japan, I wonder whether the management has changed recently.
jeff (03/28/83)
To follow up the TEAC, it should be noted that the treatment of all the decks was very heavy, and the TEAC sounded quite good.
jeff (03/28/83)
The previous was an addendum to a note as to why I bought a Sony TC-FX66 (elapsed real-time indicator, 2 motors, 2 heads, Dolby C). The Sony is very good, and on non-Dolby recordings from my CD player of such limited- dynamic-range material as chamber music, is almost indistinguishable on A-B tests. Incidentally, my earlier TEAC (A-170) seems to be able to record at a higher level without distortion than other decks I`ve tried; is this a characteristic of TEAC, is it still true, has anyone else heard it?