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69.19.14.37
Personally I dont like it and never have. Including Dolby S. I find it always mucks up the sound. Polishes off the highs. I'd rather put up with tape hiss than have the music altered. Anyone else with same opinion?
Follow Ups:
I swear by Dolby. With a high quality deck, properly aligned for the tape in use, Dolby B, C, and/or S provide immense benefit with little to no audible side-effects.
As far as dulling the hf goes, it won't if the deck and setup are good. If a hf signal of 7 kHz is boosted by 12 dB in the recording mode, for example, then it should be cut by 12 dB in the playback mode. Of course, if you record with Dolby engaged, let's use C type for this example, and then play back the recording, you will hear a great difference with Dolby C on vs. off. With Dolby off, the 7 kHz signal, which was boosted 12 dB during the recording mode, will be +12 dB stronger than the original source. Engaging the Dolby C playback circuits cuts this +12 dB boosted signal back to normal, or 0 dB. Dolby doesn't "dull the highs" at all. It cuts the highs by the same amount that they were boosted, restoring flat frequency response and increasing SNR.
But, if the deck has frequency response problems for whatever reason, Dolby mistracking will occur, and the peaks and valleys of the response curve become more pronounced. For Dolby to work, everything else must function properly.
The true test is to copy a CD onto cassette using Dolby, and compare the Dolby playback directly against the orignal CD source. There should be no audible difference if all is functioning properly. If not, then the deck may have problems that need attention, and the Dolby system is not to blame.
Claude
What do you mean by properly aligning the Dolby system and how does one go about doing that??
I have two modest, entry level Nakamichi two head decks, each with Dolby C and B. One of them I bought new in about 1988 (I think it's called the CA-1?) and the other a few years ago used (can't remember the model designation, but I think it was made in 1990 or so). Before then I had an NAD deck in the 1980s.
I have pretty much always found either B or C to kill the treble. If I have a Dolby encoded tape (either one I made with Dolby on or a commercial tape that was recorded with Dolby), I pick the lesser of the two evils - that is, without Dolby the added treble boost can be unpleasant, but with it the loss of treble can be dull, so on a tape by tape basis I choose the more enjoyable of the two settings. If, on the other hand, I am making a new tape, whether it's rock, jazz or classical, I avoid Dolby entirely and am always satisfied with the results. I find that the level of tape his using Maxel XLII tapes on the correct settings is acceptably low without Dolby, and the sound is quite marvelous overall. A little air and resolution does get lost on tape compared to the CD or LP, but the music is all there.
But if there is a way to align the Dolby system so that I can get the sound I want and next to zero tape hiss, I'd give it a shot. I've just never really experienced that on any of my decks or on any of my friends' decks. Dolby has always = a dulling of sound in my experience.
I use a Tandberg TCD3014A cassette deck I purchased new in 1986. It has built-in test tones for calibrating the deck for a specific brand of tape. The test tones are 315 Hz and 10 kHz signals. Pots which are screwdriver adjustable are used to adjust the bias level and recording sensitivity. The meters used for setting the recording level double as calibration meters for tape bias and sensitivity adjustment.
Also, an azimuth adjustment is provided. This control slightly rotates the azimuth angle of the tape head in order to insure absolute perpendicularity between the head gap and the tape motion. If the angle deviates from 90 degrees, treble loss is incurred. The Dolby system will then accentuate this treble loss. Likewise for treble loss due to overbiasing and/or saturation due to over-recording (level set too high).
Naks are very good decks. Most that I've seen provide adjustments for sensitvity and bias. This allows the user to get flat frequency response from any brand/type of tape. The azimuth angle, if not adjustable by the user, should have been adjusted at the factory, and as long as the head didn't move, should remain correct. If a tape made on your machine were to be played on another, or vice-versa, any small misalignment will result in treble loss. Again, Dolby will increase this loss due to mistracking.
The Dolby system also should have been adjusted at the factory and should track properly for the life of the machine. If you are hearing a "dulling of the highs", it could be several things. If the playback head is worn, the gap will be wider than when new. This will attenuate treble, and Dolby will add yet more loss. If the bias level is set too high, treble loss is inevitable. If you tend to record at a very high level, saturation will roll off the treble. It is possible that you may be recording at the right level according to the meters but still saturating. The Tandberg units have meters that display the signal going to the record head *after* equalization takes place. That way, the treble boost needed during the recording mode appears on the meters. This way, the meter displays the true strength of the signal that hits the tape.
Unfortunately most tape decks don't have post-eq meter indication, and if the signal is rich in treble content, the treble-boosted signal hitting the tape may be stronger than what the meters indicate, with saturation inevitably occurring. In this case I would try recording 3-5 dB lower and see if things improve.
In a nutshell, people who have played tapes made on my deck for the past 21 years have asked me the same 2 questions repeatedly. They are:
1) How do you get such great sound quality?
2) Why are your tapes recorded at such a low level? With your tapes, Claude, I must increase the volume by 4-6 dB to get the same level vs. other people's tapes including mine.
My answer for the last 21 years has been as follows:
Question 2) is the answer to question 1).
I hope this helps. I can elaborate further if necessary. BR.
Claude
One of my decks allows for bias adjusting, but not the other. Though Naks, they are pretty basic, two head decks with few adjustable settings. There is a local repair shop I trust that I could take them to for inspection of the items you list.
And thanks for the tips on not over recording. I'll try backing off the recording level a bit, because it's entirely possible that that is part of what's going on.
It's interesting that some commercial tapes with Dolby sound better with it on and others with it off. Any thoughts on why that might be?
I had pretty much tossed my cassett decks into storage until my wife mentioned that she had a lot of tapes she grew up listening to in Korea, so we pulled out one of the decks and hooked it up for so she could listen to them. Then I pulled out some of my old tapes and was pretty impressed with how they sounded. So, last weekend we bought about 20 classical music cassetts, some unopened, from a used record store for 50 cents each and some of them are really quite amazing sounding. I like the EMI ones in particular.
My recordings really started to improve when I bought my Sony deck. Sony and Aiwa shared parts and technology, as well as how they designed their decks. I believe they were even made in the same factory. Anyway these decks really showed me what is needed to be able to get a good recording onto tape. I've had only a few tapes out of a couple hundred not record as expected on my Sony. All the others sounded excellent and still do to this day of the tape hasn't been magnetized slightly. Anyway it all came down to knowing what to set to make a great tape. I've read on my Aiwa deck (as per the Audio 1993 review of the deck) that high end normal tapes can saturate around +10db on the levels. Chrome and metal tapes were lower by 2db then the deck rated them for. This suprised me that normal tapes actually could take more signal then chrome or metal. Again you have to use the high end cassettes to allow for high headroom. In the review they used TDK DS-X 90s. The equivalent to that would be TDK AD I believe. If not then AR-X. Anyway bias is important to set correctly. But that is only the start. I also use HX-Pro which I've read on most or many decks is implemented poorly. The Aiwa I have is an exception. HX-Pro will increase the headroom for the high end. Record level which is next to the bias setting is also important. This helps Dolby tracking by making sure the signal going onto the tape matches the signal coming from the source, and helps Dolby. Many decks have bias adjustment, but not record level adjust. My Luxman K-112 is one such deck. On Sony and Aiwa decks they have a record EQ which can effect the sound as well. This allows increasing or cutting the treble or bass. I've needed to use it on a few tapes, even recently that refused to bias properly on my deck. And lastly is the input level. As been mentioned you can really effect how the sound is on your tapes at the level you record them at. If you want punchy sound with great signal to noise and less hiss, you increase the levels till the tape saturates. This also reduces the highs somewhat since the higher the level on tape, the more reduced the treble is. HX-Pro helps counter act that somewhat. If you want a thick analog sound like 8 tracks, use a normal bias tape and saturate the tape. If you want a more balanced sound with good treble, as suggested reduce the levels. But keep in mind this will reduce the signal to noise as well, even with Dolby. Its all a trade off. You can really talor your sound on high end decks like this. I always wondered why reel to reel never offered all these adjustments like cassettes do. But most important is to use the best quality tape you can get. This is why I check Ebay often for good tapes, since anything better then average is no longer sold in stores and can only be found online now. I can give some examples of good quality tapes if you are interested.
... you sure need a better CD player, IMHO :-)
"Music is love"
Teresa
I'm a "nay" right now. The Integrex decode only, unit I have doesn't really roll off the highs like the others that I've tried but it does result in less harmonic richness with the prerecorded r2r tapes that I listen to. I'm planning on going through it and replace all the components (sans IC)in the signal path, with better ones and see how much it helps.
For classical music, with its very wide dynamic range, Dolby is essential unless you are willing to put up with a lot of hiss in the quiet passages. Dolby B is less prone to compatibility problems, but C is much quieter and actually improves high frequency performance because the attenuation of HF in the encoding reduces tape saturation. Dolby C is thus a win/win situation, with better signal to noise and high frequency performance. It is also more subject to audible side effects if alignment is off, but these can be overcome. But bias adjustment is not enough--you also need output level alignment to the specific tape that is used. I have one deck with Dolby S, but its advantages are outweighed by the superior performance of my Nakamichi decks, so I gave up using it. There are so few Dolby S decks out there anymore and I did not want to get stuck with a bunch of Dolby S encoded tapes that I would not be able to play properly in 10 years.
I use it almost all of the time. And yes I have Dolby S. Though I haven't gone right down to compare Dolby S to no Dolby, I do say I've never been dissapointed with my tapes and Dolby S.
So in your opinion, how does Dolby S compare with C?
Dolby S seems to bring back some of the soundstage that is lost with Dolby C. It doesn't sound as compressed as C. I cannot say if it emphasizes the highs like C does. All I can say is the sound is more natural with S then any other I've used. Dolby S is based of Dolby SR which was used for movies soundtracks in the late 80s.
HX Pro on my cassette deck, although I never have had the opportunity to use Dolby 'S'. I have Dolby 'B', on my Tandberg R2R, but I doubt I'll ever use it. 10 db of attenuation does more masking than good, IMHO. At least it's that way in cassettes. It's better to have your machine set up for top quality tape and nail it to the point of saturation, thereby reducing tape hiss to a minimum. I think it sounds best that way-given the deck has a good frequency response to start with.
When the Dolby tracking is properly adjusted, and you're using a tape that your deck is optimized for, even Dolby B will effectively get rid of most tape hiss without dulling the highs.
I always use Dolby B for compatibility reasons.
Good luck & happy listening,
Bobbo :-)
...
If you lose high frequencies it could be due to inaccurate Dolby tracking because the highs are boosted on recording only below a certain threshold and the cut by the same amount. The end result the original frequency response restored and moving the noise floor down when the music is low in level.
Try this for an experiment record something with almost NO dynamic range thus the Dolby circuits should not come on. The effect should be exactly the same with or without Dolby. If Dolby version you made has less highs than the non-Dolby version you made, you need to have the Dolby tracking adjusted.
For pre-recorded tapes I re-play using the Dolby System used for recording if possible. Dolby S cassettes I playback with Dolby B as it is supposed to be compatible but without all the benefits.
Happy tape rolling!
"Music is love"
Teresa
.
Yes I agree it messes up the sound. Knocks off way too much high frequency sound. I always leave it switched off.
I never use it on my regular recordings, but I think I'd use it if my music was more silent or had more dinamics.
I don't generally like Dolby B or C. I've never heard S though. I've always been curious.
Silver Iris owning analog addict. Please help.....
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