djb (12/05/82)
Well, after a trip to my friendly neighborhood audio store I have decided that it is indeed time to trade in my tape deck on a new model. Of the ones I saw, I was most impressed with the Nakamichi BX-1 and BX-2. Anybody got any comments on either? Or on another deck that I should look into in the $300-450 range before I plunk down my hard-earned cash? And how about Dolby-C? The major difference between the BX-1 and BX-2 is that the BX-1 has only Dolby B and the BX-2 has both Dolby B and Dolby C. Is it really worth the extra $150 in price to get Dolby C? How is a Dolby C tape going to sound in my car tape deck? (Particularly the one that doesn't have Dolby B) David Bryant cbosg!djb
ark (12/05/82)
If I were buying a new tape deck, I would insist on both Dolby B and Dolby C. It's pretty clear to me that Dolby C is going to be the new standard and Dolby B is the current standard. Most pre-recorded cassettes on the market today are encoded with Dolby B, so you need that to play them. But Dolby C is more effective, so you want that too.
tw (12/05/82)
#R:cbosgd:-286000:hp-pcd:2300003:000:549 hp-pcd!tw Dec 5 11:43:00 1982 I have had a BX-2 for a couple of months now, and am very pleased with it. Performance is good, and I particularly like the control layout. Dolby-C is very nice; I personally think it's worth the difference in price. My preliminary impression (I haven't tested this very extensively yet) is that C tapes don't sound too bad if played under B, but they aren't very good under no dolby at all. I really haven't bothered to worry about it too much, because I'm planning on replacing my car deck sometime soon anyway. Tw Cook hp-pcd!tw
jes (12/05/82)
I just got a tape deck with Dolby C and a Sony Walkman I. I can attest that Dolby C is not compatible with the Walkman. That is, tapes recorded with Dolby C have obviously, unpleasantly emphasized treble when played back through the Walkman. If the records recorded had any surface noise, that's emphasized too. I would assume this would also be apparent in a typical auto tape player. On the other hand, tapes recorded with Dolby B are fairly listenable on the Walkman. -- Jonathan Shopiro (mhb5b!jes, the machine I am sending this from is about to die)