 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
192.206.119.3
i want a good/very good deck to record lp's and listen to them in the bedroom. i'm new to this so i don't know what to look for or where. the same for blank tapes.
thanks,
xavier
Follow Ups:
The best cassette deck I ever heard is the one I still use - JVC TD-V661.
It's closed loop drive, which eliminates the horrible scrape flutter that most cassette decks have. (Mechanically better casettes help, but it's mostly in the deck.)
This means, however, that it is a single-direction drive - no reverse play/record. That's a sacrifice that is easy to make when the payoff is superb audio and mechanical quality.
Has auto-bias and HF adjustment. The only drawback I ever found is that it will not erase metal tape dependably. But then I figured out that I don't want metal tape anyhow - a good type II is better. Oh yes - had to have the takeup motor replaced once. Yes, it is a 3-motor deck.
These were probably not sales leaders; I have seen only very few. But after living with many over the years, this is by far the best.
I have been technically involved in tape recording since 1954. Was the Ampex technical service guy for the Hollywood area starting in 1959. Worked extensively on studio machines - Ampex, Studer, 3M etc.
Pat Tobin
Just saw a new listing on eBay. Someone is selling a rare find Akai/A&D GX-Z9100EX. If you like a more modern sound, probably this will be a good choice to you? Surprised that it would show up on eBay though. It is supposed to be only available in Japan?
Xavier, with the budget of up to $1000 you have more than enough money to buy an excellent used deck and have it serviced up to the specs.
Long-term serviceability is a key. You are starting the hobby you may have for 10, 20 or more years.
My first choice would be Revox 215. Reliable and built like a tank. Depending where you buy expect to pay anywhere between $300-600. Revox is serviceable and spare parts are available, but expensive.
The second choice Yamaha C300 It's pro version of KX-1200U, top Yamaha's consumer model. Awesome machine, the original cost was $1100 when dollar was worth something. Although Yamaha does not support it any longer with spare parts, it was a studio workhorse and many spare parts are available in pro repair shops. Can be found relatively cheaply, anywhere between $100-300.
Third choice, Nakamichi. Difficult to service but quintessential cassette deck. I have several and love them all. They are like the wines from the same winery, each has it's own signature. Of reasonably priced, ZX-7, ZX-9, CR-7 are my favorites.
Tapes? Not easily available, but available. Plan ahead how many you will need and buy in bulk. Set up a high standard and do not buy junk. Let's say, only metals and premium chrome such as TDK SA-X and MAXELL XL-IIS.
For taping Blue Notes even paying $10 for metal is cheap.
Also an advice based on 30 year's of experience. Have tapes made for "clean area" (only the room where your main system is)and other tapes made for "contaminated area" (car, beach , walkmans etc.). Clean room tapes should be kept dust free in vertical position and they will last decades.
Nowadays, PC is great tool we did not have back then. It is easy to print labels, contents and have a database of all recorded cassettes and their contents. Start doing it from the beginning, afterwards it will be to messy. I have tens, maybe hundreds of tapes I lost track what they contain, the only way to find out is to listen to the entire tape with the pencil in hand. Sometimes, you can not recall who was the artist, or what was the song name, or both.
Good luck with new hobby. Be careful, it's addictive.
I want a very good deck to record from lp's and from reel to reel tapes and to play the recorded cassettes mostly on the same deck but also on my car. I would be willing to spend maybe up to 1k if I can get something very good and that will last for many years. I don't know much (if anything) about bias and eq althogh I can learn. What concerns me most is availability of cassete tapes. Are they still available, how expensive are the good ones?
In summary I want something that will give very good recording and playback quality, that is rugged and that I can get, used is ok, for less than 1k.
Oh, and I just discovered something called google. It's cool!
xavier
Hi Xavier.
I would look around locally first, then on eBay or Audiogon for a good used 3-head deck. There are plenty of great deals on very nice decks from Sony, Onkyo, JVC, and others.
The Nakamichis are great. I have one myself. But if you think you might want to play the tapes you record on the deck in another deck at some point, I'd go with something else. Tapes recorded on a Nakamichi only sound their best when played back on a Nakamichi because of the different head gap with Nakamichi used.
Good luck & enjoy the hunt!
Bobbo :-)
Hi:
Nakamichi uses the 1976 version of IEC equalization curves so did other deck vendors until 1982. After that all other deck vendors follow the 1982 version other than Nakamichi.
So if you have a non-Nakamichi deck that is made before 1982 then the tape recorded under a Nakamichi will sound ok during playback on those non-Nakamichi decks.
Mike
How ya doin'?
I wasn't actually talking about the EQ curve, though. But I didn't know about that, so that's an interesting tidbit of info. Rather than explain the head-gap issue myself & maybe botch it, I'll cut & paste from a Nakamichi service center's website:
"Nakamichi tapes are certainly listenable on other machines but to fully appreciate the capability of a Nakamichi deck the tape should be played on one. Since the gaps on both the record and playback head is much narrower on a Nakamichi deck, the signal is recorded on a much smaller portion of the tape. The result is clearer detail, definition, and reduced crosstalk. However, other machines heads are not designed to read information in such a small area. As a result high-end and overall sound quality is reduced. Of course when this tape is placed in another Nak, all the sound is there and far surpasses what other machines could reproduce from the beginning."
Have a great weekend & enjoy the tunes,
Bobbo :-)
I bought a Nak 660ZX for my brother, recorded on it, played beautifully on 682ZX, not too bad on Sony 435. 682ZX tape played on 660ZX, beautiful also.
Nak recorded tapes on car, not ideal. Sony recorded tapes in car, very good.
I think you have to be more specific in determining your needs, skills and budget.
Can you operate a machine with manual settings for record level, bias and equalization?
What stereo gear do you want to connect the machine to?
That will give a picture of the level of quality we are aiming at.
I could recommend the best cassette player ever made but are you willing to spend $2000-3000 on that project.
You seem to want to record on one machine and playback on another.
That leaves out a few machines that have difficulties playing tapes recorded on other machines.................that is if you are pedantic in your demand for sound quality.
Enlighten me............ and others . ...........until then no one can supervise you thouroughly at any point.
"dolph"
yep.
Why do you have to be a "Jerk" to the guy?If you don't have any helpful info for him then just ignore his post.I'm sure he already knows about Google search,maybe he wants a more personable recommendation from folks here that he trusts more.
...
Get a life moron!
If you are willing to spend more, you may be able to find a good Nakimichi in the $600-800 range. If you only want to spend around $300, there are a number of good decks from the major manufacturers, like Denon, Sony, that you can get second hand.
I'm referring above to second hand decks. You can still get some brand new decks from Denon or Tascam, at some of the pro audio shops. You can still find the Tascam 112 for around $750 I believe.
If you are interested in quality, I would stick with a 3 head deck if possible and definetley avoid the "double" decks for sure.
I'm sure there are enough immates with opinions on this one...
Grant
and use TDK, Sony or Maxell tape type II or IV.
I use Nakamichi in main system and Sony dual deck cheapie in 2nd. Sounds fine to me. The Naks tend to have issues as they age, but you could research them if you wish (link).
Picture is stock photo from ebay of my 2nd deck, which sound quite nice, but has mechanical noises and clunky sounds when it turns tapes for bidirectional recording.
Sony decks are good as long as you go ES as recommended. Aiwa decks can also be good if you go for their best decks. The XK-009 was one and the XK-S9000 and 7000 were another. Luxman had the K-05 and Sony was between the TC-K909ES and TC-KA7ES. BIC had some interesting decks like the T-4M which was dual speed. Nak was between the 1000, CR-7A, Dragon, and ZX-9. Revox had the 215 and 710. Teac had the 8000 which was also a good deck. Pioneer had the CT-93. Tascam had a couple as well. All these were top decks. Can't go wrong with any of them. Of course the Naks seemed to be widely known as the best the format could do, even if their technology wasn't updated to 90s specs, but they didn't have to be. I got my 909 right around the time the last best decks were made, though I didn't know it at the time. I still have it today and the only thing wrong with it is the direct switch isn't passing sound when turned off. Even the belts are still in good shape after 13 years, though I have a spare set ready to go.
get 6xx series, particularly the 680, 681 and 682ZX for good deals. I just concluded listening to my 682ZX with Sony type II high end tape, wonderful rendition of vol. 1 of Fulton ARK record and some of a nice Christian pop cd from a well known artist in that genre. Smooth, silent background, dynamics excellent, no hiss, top end extended, bottom end full and deep.
Hi:
The FULTON ARK records are wonderful. Nice to know that you enjoy them as well. I have quite a few when FULTON put them up for fire sale and I am lucky to get them before he passed away. I transfer them to my Nak 1000ZXL and then replay them back in my 682ZX. Wonderful listening experience indeed.
Mike
but as you may or may not know, I am a good friend of his nephew, who is in another line of business but is a music lover esp. jazz. I just missed on an ebay auction of a pr of FMI 80's last month--booo.
I have seen a few on Tom Port's site, but rare now, and he wanted a bit much for them.
I use Armstrong High School Chorus for voice articulation testing and tracking of sibilants.
Good to know like minded folks out there--I've often recommend people ask you on this forum.
I saw that FMI 80 as well but I have run out of room at home !! Too bad.
At the same time I do not know whether I need to start celebration if I believe what Tom Port asked for his stuffs really can find buyers.
I remember during Fulton fire sale, those ARK only asking for $4 a piece !!
I have the Yamaha KX-1200U and I like it.
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
