I'm not sure if this belongs in this section but I didn't find one for tape decks so apologies if I'm making mess.
What are the chances of sound improvement if I would swap heads in cassette deck for say Nakamichi heads? Worth perusing?
I've got this big but cheap boombox in which someone swapped the heads for better brand ones (I think Philips). The boombox sounds really good with line out. Off course I don't know how it sounded before the head swap but it does sound rather good for a boombox, pretty much like a decent cassette deck.
What are the chances of sound improvement if I would swap heads in cassette deck for say Nakamichi heads? Worth perusing?
I've got this big but cheap boombox in which someone swapped the heads for better brand ones (I think Philips). The boombox sounds really good with line out. Off course I don't know how it sounded before the head swap but it does sound rather good for a boombox, pretty much like a decent cassette deck.
Always fit the manufacturers tape head as other makes can be a different impedance and that will give you poor results. Playback could improve because the impedance may be higher so more output but poor and low power recordings. A bit of a gamble!
But lets just say the impedance is same or very close, is there anything on head that can make it work better than other head? I don't mean longevity like glass heads etc, just performance.
What kind of deck are you starting with?
In my opinion, having modded and rebuilt reel to reel tape decks the biggest improvement comes from cleaning the heads, upgrading the op-amps with modern counterparts, updating the power supplies with linear low noise regulators as well as modern capacitors.
The only faulty head i ever found was a playback head on a reel to reel that had poor high freq response on one of the two channels, otherwise i couldnt really tell playback heads apart.
In short, i think changing heads will gain you nothing but problems
In my opinion, having modded and rebuilt reel to reel tape decks the biggest improvement comes from cleaning the heads, upgrading the op-amps with modern counterparts, updating the power supplies with linear low noise regulators as well as modern capacitors.
The only faulty head i ever found was a playback head on a reel to reel that had poor high freq response on one of the two channels, otherwise i couldnt really tell playback heads apart.
In short, i think changing heads will gain you nothing but problems
I've got basic consumer decks, Technics, Akai, Philips.., than I have Nakamichi 500. For sound and recording quality they can't touch the Nak at all. But I also have a spare Nak head so thought maybe a swap would improve one of the decks. Just playing with the idea, not even considering the electronics which might be the real culprit in low sound quality.
Surface polish? Gap size? Alignment? Linearity of permeability? Core saturation?6V6dude said:
I am not a tape expert, so these are just guesses - but hopefully educated guesses.
There's nothing wrong with experimenting, as long as the physical head size and mounts are standard. When I last looked, you could pick up nice japanese generic replacement cassette heads from WES for pretty cheap.
Sometime, replacement is the best option when the original head is severely worn, damaged or non-functional.
Sometime, replacement is the best option when the original head is severely worn, damaged or non-functional.
Hi,
The higher up the food chain you go, the less likely a swap will
be beneficial. Its likely with a boombox but not a decent deck.
Wear is the major problem with heads, and if they look fine
leave them alone. If they don't, the proper replacements
will be a major improvement, nevermind trying an upgrade.
rgds, sreten.
The higher up the food chain you go, the less likely a swap will
be beneficial. Its likely with a boombox but not a decent deck.
Wear is the major problem with heads, and if they look fine
leave them alone. If they don't, the proper replacements
will be a major improvement, nevermind trying an upgrade.
rgds, sreten.
Ferrite heads (AKA: glass) tend not to show obvious wear, but the gap widens like any other head. Ferrite heads also saturate quickly in record (not good). The standard "butter head" wears more quickly, but sounds a lot better. Finally you get the sendust heads (Nakamichi's crystal alloy head) with improved wear, better recording characteristics and also better playback characteristics. Other brands have also used sendust heads.
I wouldn't waste a Nakamichi head in a boom box. The standard butter head will sound good and probably match the recording electronics a lot better. If your machine has ferrite heads (Akai 17.5 year warranty), sorry. Other head types won't cal properly. They will wear a lot sooner than you expect, and if you look at them carefully under bright light and magnifying lenses you will see .. a lot of wear. BTW, I couldn't collect on Akai's warranty because the heads weren't stocked. They lied right through their teeth - with a smile.
-Chris
I wouldn't waste a Nakamichi head in a boom box. The standard butter head will sound good and probably match the recording electronics a lot better. If your machine has ferrite heads (Akai 17.5 year warranty), sorry. Other head types won't cal properly. They will wear a lot sooner than you expect, and if you look at them carefully under bright light and magnifying lenses you will see .. a lot of wear. BTW, I couldn't collect on Akai's warranty because the heads weren't stocked. They lied right through their teeth - with a smile.
-Chris
Hehe yes the manufacturers often lie, they know that 99% of people don't claim warranty so no loss to them.
The heads on my decks aren't worn except on the Philips one a bit. But I'm not sure if it's worth a bother trying the swap. I considered buying another Nak but again, chances of getting something 30 years old and good are pretty slim.
The heads on my decks aren't worn except on the Philips one a bit. But I'm not sure if it's worth a bother trying the swap. I considered buying another Nak but again, chances of getting something 30 years old and good are pretty slim.
Hi 6V6dude,
Actually, a lightly used Nakamichi is still a good bet, better than most other machines. You'll want standard mechanism #2 (BX-1 to CR7, later ones are cheaper made). I still have my BX-300 and a BX-2. Both working great. The Dragon is another story, being the original mechanism.
-Chris
Actually, a lightly used Nakamichi is still a good bet, better than most other machines. You'll want standard mechanism #2 (BX-1 to CR7, later ones are cheaper made). I still have my BX-300 and a BX-2. Both working great. The Dragon is another story, being the original mechanism.
-Chris
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