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