I've just recently picked up a Rotel RD-960BX for only $70 locally. It isn't in the best of shape and I guess the guy wanted a quick sale. But only a broken rwd button, and the VFDs internal cover is drooping - glue has gone soft and melted. It also really needed a good clean on the tape transport. I'm yet to make a demagnetiser, and i'd like to clean and lubricate the drive system. Belts seem ok, but might replace anyway. Pinch roller has probably gone hard too... though not sure where I can source parts. There is one listing on ebay but price is kinda ridiculous. Webspareparts doesn't seem to have anything specific either. I think the machine might need proper calibration... but not sure. But it seems maybe the right channel is recording a bit weak. Could this be a head alignment issue? Or maybe internal trim pot needs adjusting? Or maybe some capacitors need replacing?
Also, looking for a few good performing tape recommendations that won't send me broke. (After seeing ebay prices).
I've so far tried new Maxell UR (bought 10x), but I don't think I can recreate the results shown in Cassette Comback's videos... Though his decks are much better than mine. I've found that I needed to max out the bias at -20% when using tones generated in Audacity. I've also found it easily distorts at/over +3db. High frequency tones at 8kHz sound quite bad to the ear as well. When recording and listening to music, treble sounds quite muffled, bass distorts easily and muffles all other sounds. Sounds kind of like I have my head in a bucket of water lol... but I guess I can't expect much from a cheap and dirty type 1 ferric. Maybe I'll upload a recording if anyone's interested. I recorded the music with dolby C, which works great for removing hiss, but i'm not sure if it's helping the signal at peak loudness. Is it better to record without dolby and just live with the hiss?
10 days ago I spend $40 on 2x new TDK CDing2, so should show up in the mail soon. So i'm interested to test those, but they weren't cheap. I also slapped down $50 on ebay for a new 1994 TDK MA-110 but I'm not brave enough to open it yet lol. It should be fine for one off testing/tinkering, but at those prices, it's not really affordable even just for a small handful for my favourite music. So i'll definitely need help looking for affordable alternatives. I'm not sure if buy used is any good, but I don't want to waste money on mint unopened collectors items, especially if I'm going to open them lol. I'm also not really that interested to 80s vintage stuff either. I'll leave that for the collectors to enjoy.
Thanks 🙂
Also, looking for a few good performing tape recommendations that won't send me broke. (After seeing ebay prices).
I've so far tried new Maxell UR (bought 10x), but I don't think I can recreate the results shown in Cassette Comback's videos... Though his decks are much better than mine. I've found that I needed to max out the bias at -20% when using tones generated in Audacity. I've also found it easily distorts at/over +3db. High frequency tones at 8kHz sound quite bad to the ear as well. When recording and listening to music, treble sounds quite muffled, bass distorts easily and muffles all other sounds. Sounds kind of like I have my head in a bucket of water lol... but I guess I can't expect much from a cheap and dirty type 1 ferric. Maybe I'll upload a recording if anyone's interested. I recorded the music with dolby C, which works great for removing hiss, but i'm not sure if it's helping the signal at peak loudness. Is it better to record without dolby and just live with the hiss?
10 days ago I spend $40 on 2x new TDK CDing2, so should show up in the mail soon. So i'm interested to test those, but they weren't cheap. I also slapped down $50 on ebay for a new 1994 TDK MA-110 but I'm not brave enough to open it yet lol. It should be fine for one off testing/tinkering, but at those prices, it's not really affordable even just for a small handful for my favourite music. So i'll definitely need help looking for affordable alternatives. I'm not sure if buy used is any good, but I don't want to waste money on mint unopened collectors items, especially if I'm going to open them lol. I'm also not really that interested to 80s vintage stuff either. I'll leave that for the collectors to enjoy.
Thanks 🙂
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If you can't enjoy any tape you don't have the right deck...Tapeheds.net and Google are better to guide you through...A good deck will make any tape sound good.
When cx20188 hit the market even the Dragon started to use it for dolby C! DOLBY S was used the right way only by Pioneer and it's really a pitty that the manufacturer himself of the best chips in tape and cd domain (Sony) wasn't able to use his own inventions the best way.Check the nakamichi cr4 schematic to see the nak implementation of cx20188(basically loaded harder than sony or pioneer did for lower noise) .Pioneer's ct93 used both dolby c and dolby s chips the best way in one single deck.Nak used the best quality caps around the decoders and different loading than original sony datasheet.Also nakamichi was superior in the power supply section having the better regulator.Nad6300 had the better vision especially when choosing Yamaha's playtrim option to counter both tapehead wear and dolby c playback errors without using automatic azymuth correction which would be very expensive and the signature mark of Nakamichi(probably protected by patents at yhe time)and also the smarter signal routing through the dolby section to have the encoding and decoding done on the same chip for each channel for lowest errors cause at the time you'd hardly get two different ic's with similar specs.
You'd find Lucky's remarks on tapeheads a bit stiff, rigid but clear.Some hate him for its agressiveness , but I found his remarks true all the time on tapeheads.He's one of the 5 rigid people on forums i never disconsidered for their agressiveness because i couldn't fight his arguments.
When cx20188 hit the market even the Dragon started to use it for dolby C! DOLBY S was used the right way only by Pioneer and it's really a pitty that the manufacturer himself of the best chips in tape and cd domain (Sony) wasn't able to use his own inventions the best way.Check the nakamichi cr4 schematic to see the nak implementation of cx20188(basically loaded harder than sony or pioneer did for lower noise) .Pioneer's ct93 used both dolby c and dolby s chips the best way in one single deck.Nak used the best quality caps around the decoders and different loading than original sony datasheet.Also nakamichi was superior in the power supply section having the better regulator.Nad6300 had the better vision especially when choosing Yamaha's playtrim option to counter both tapehead wear and dolby c playback errors without using automatic azymuth correction which would be very expensive and the signature mark of Nakamichi(probably protected by patents at yhe time)and also the smarter signal routing through the dolby section to have the encoding and decoding done on the same chip for each channel for lowest errors cause at the time you'd hardly get two different ic's with similar specs.
You'd find Lucky's remarks on tapeheads a bit stiff, rigid but clear.Some hate him for its agressiveness , but I found his remarks true all the time on tapeheads.He's one of the 5 rigid people on forums i never disconsidered for their agressiveness because i couldn't fight his arguments.
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Thanks. I mean, I can kind of enjoy it if i'm not being a petulant perfectionist. But from what i've seen on youtube, people are getting better results with the Maxell UR. Maybe youtube compression is masking any faults? My deck is supposed to be good, so something isn't right. Maybe I got a bad batch of tapes? I've not heard of tapeheads.net but i'll look into it, as google hasn't been much help. Cheers.
Good decks make the best out of the worst tapes...i wouldn't trust youtube to form an opinion on anything.Compressors are used even in hardware form to digitize the analogue recording before youtube algorithms.Or just software vst to take out noise or clicks and pops.How do you think they put out vinyl rips and you hear no damn scratch or clicks and pops on youtube?Then why you'd expect tapedecks behave like a cd player?
From what I've been told, I thought it was because they spend over $3000 on their setups lol
Because i'm an idiot who doesn't know any better?
FX box = Effects box.
I had a Rotel CD player of similar vintage and button style. One of the buttons broke off. The "hinge" is a piece of think plastic that flexes when you push the button and after a while it just gives out. I was able to melt it back together with the tip of a soldering iron. That worked well enough.
Tom
I had a Rotel CD player of similar vintage and button style. One of the buttons broke off. The "hinge" is a piece of think plastic that flexes when you push the button and after a while it just gives out. I was able to melt it back together with the tip of a soldering iron. That worked well enough.
Tom