Conference hips::uk_audioo

    re .0, Aiwa do the only one I know of that can reasonably be classed
    as hifi, and that's about 400 pounds.  Most of the others acheive
    a fairly common standard of mediocrity, so if you like their
    looks/name/facilities, and they fit your wallet, buy whichever takes
    your fancy. Don't waste too much time listening, they'll probably
    all sound the same.
    
    If you've got up to 200 quid burning a hole in your pocket, you'd
    do better with two low price decks like the Aiwa FD260 (I think)
    which Comet sell for around 90 pounds, than with one dual transport
    deck at any price.
    
    Dave

	 With 200 pounds to spend I'd defintely opt for buying one good deck
	and adding another cheaper one later than compromising and buying a
	dual transport tape deck.
	 Unless you make a *LOT* of tape copies, its not really worth having
	a twin deck and the degradation in quality would be less with two decks
	anyway.

	 The latest Aiwa decks with HX-pro circuitry are some of the best around
	at the moment and well worth considering.

	 Incidentally, if you get a HiFi Video,  you won't need a twin deck as
	you can use the Video for making copies and its also very good for
	storing master recordings off the Radio or long albums as you have much
	longer Tapes.

				Hope this helps,
						Graham.

    
    I have to agree with .1 and .2
    
    You could get a more expensive deck, for a main one, and a cheapo
    for the secondary one. Yamaha make pretty good decks as well.
    
    This configuration would be more flexible than a twin deck also.
    
    Cheers.
    
    Mark

    I have a pretty good AIWA twin deck. No change from �350-400 tho'...

    Thanks for the replies to my note. Do I understand correctly that 
    
    (a) all twin cassette decks under 350 pounds are of low quality and
    sound more or less equally bad 

    (b) buying a twin cassette deck is not such a good idea in the first
    place - it is better to have a good single cassette deck and add
    another later. 
    
    Regards
    
    John

    I managed to get a copy of What Hi-Fi for September 1988.  A reader
    wrote asking twin cassette decks for 130-180 pounds. The magazine
    replied that a 130-pound twin deck was effectively two 65-pound
    decks wired together, and "you wouldn't expect a stunning performance
    from a 65-pound cassette deck, would you?" 
    
    It mentioned the Marantz SD-255 and the Technics RS-T22 (both 150
    pounds). It recommended buying a couple of good quality single decks
    like the Aiwa AD-F260 or Sony TC-FX150B (both 90 pounds). Fits in
    with what replies to this note have said.
    
    Regards
    
    John

    I'm looking for a single cassette deck in the �100 - �150 range and two
    that I have seen are the NAD 6230 (might have got a digit wrong in the
    model number) and the Denon 500.

    Could anyone answer a couple of questions based on these two?

    1. The NAD has a "car" option for recording casettes for playback in a car
    allowing for (the salesman's words) the vastly different dynamics of car
    equipment. Is this worth it - does it give me anything that couldn't be
    achieved by twiddling the tone controls on the car player? (Admittedly with
    the Philips player you almost need a pair of tweezers to do that).

    2. The Denon has HX-Pro on top of Dolby B/C. What are the benefits of that?

    Thanks

    dick
    

    I looked at the Denon and chose the Sony RX55 because it has
    auto-reverse.
    
    Sony HX-PRO blurb: "With HX-PRO, the effective bias is controlled on a
    millisecond units to greatly reduce distortion, improving linearity in
    high-range response and ensuring high-intensity recording with minimal
    distortionand noise".
    
    - Andy ��� Leslie
    

    
    I've read in various places that HX-Pro can actually make worse
    recordings than Dolby B, due to the complexity of the signal munging
    involved. 
    
    Trevor

    I recorded a dolby B cassette for my car last night (Sony's car stereo
    didn't have C when I bought it).
    
    I'll let you know if it's not up to scratch.

A friend bought a Yamaha K-340 a couple of years ago, which was a very nice
cassette deck. This deck had Dolby HX-PRO.

From what I understand, Dolby HX-PRO dynamically adjusts the bias voltage
depending on the frequency of the signal. This apparently allows higher
recording levels without distortion. As the bias circuit is only used during
recording, a cassette deck need not have Dolby HX-PRO to play back.

As for Dolby B/C, the only Dolby C player I have is my Walkman, and I don't
have any Dolby C cassettes.

Mark.

    Well, I just tried out teh casette. Clear. very clear. I'll drop it off
    at your desk next week if you like, Trevor, I may be rather
    overenthusiastic here as I just bought one. :-)

>             <<< Note 47.10 by MARVIN::WARWICK "Trevor Warwick" >>>
>               -< But I can't test it, since I don't have it... >-
>
>    
>    I've read in various places that HX-Pro can actually make worse
>    recordings than Dolby B, due to the complexity of the signal munging
>    involved. 
>    
>    Trevor

I'd be surprised at this.  I understood that HX-Pro wasn't supposed to do
*anything* to the signal, only to the amount of bias provided on record.  It's
difficult for me to test, though, because on my deck HX-Pro is switched on all
the time.  Fwiw, re the Dolby comparison, I prefer to use quiet tapes rather
than Dolby B, and find Dolby C even worse.  There's no doubt that it's very
successful at removing hiss but I enjoy the results less.

Nick

    RE: 47.13
    
    Andy,
    What type of tape are you using for your recordings then?

    I use mostly Denon HD8/100 or HDM/90's. Can't remember which I used in
    this case.

    Checked: used a Denon HD8/100.

>     I've read in various places that HX-Pro can actually make worse
>     recordings than Dolby B, due to the complexity of the signal munging
>     involved. 
>     
>     Trevor
    
    It's quite possible that I'm confusing HX-Pro with Dolby C. 

    Well Dolby C works okay for me, too. There was some godawful system
    that I mixed up HX-Pro with originally. T'was some sound reduction
    system frm the late '70s with a similar acronym.

    That's the one...

    Although early implementations of dbx (note: no capitals) suffered from
    audible "pumping", later implementations are a lot better. I would
    chose dbx over Dolby B anytime (I haven't heard Dolby C yet). However,
    with a decent cassette deck and tapes, no noise reduction system at all
    is my preference (they all distort the sound noticeably to my ears).
    
    Keith

    Come on over to my place....

Can (or would) anyone recommend a cassette deck for �100 or less, that I
can buy in Reading?

Alternatively, anyone got a reasonable cassette deck going s/h?


Rod

    For #100, I'd go for the Awia deck.  Can't remember the model no. off
    hand, but its about 99.95 (in fact I think Richer Sounds have some on
    offer for about 85!)...
    
    ..Craig  

    Does anyone have any ideas about what's currently good in the world of
    cassette decks?
    
    I ask, 'cos my faithful old Denon has died and I'm looking to replace
    it soon.
    
    Budget is �200-250.
    Models/manufacturers currently being considered are: Denon, Yamaha
    
    Is there a good British cassette deck around? (other than the Arcam
    Delta, a tad expensive at �800+!)
    
    ta
    
    richard

Like .26, I also have to replace an old cassette deck.  I've heard good
things about the Nakamichi DR3, do any of you out there have any comments
on it?

My budget is around 250-350 pounds (the DR3 is currently on sale for 360,
so I could just about make it).

My current set-up is LINN LP12/NAIM NAIT/dead Pioneer cassette deck/LINN KANS.


Colin.

    
    	Do Nakamichi fit Dolby HX Pro yet?  Or are they still trying to
    convince themselves (and customers) that they are so good that they
    don't need it?
    
    	With the sort of set up you have there, you will have a hard job
    finding a cassette deck worthy of your set up at your budget.  It may
    be worth while considering a second hand Revox B215 if you can find
    one.  An overhaul by Revox would add another �100 or so, but this has a
    design life of 20 years, unlike the Japanese domestic products which
    usually have a design life of two years.
    
    	I'm afraid that I've no idea how much you'd expect to pay for a
    second hand Revox B215 as I've never tried to sell any of mine.
    
    	You may care to consider an auto tuning deck anyway, in order to
    get the best possible results with whatever tape you are using.
    
    				Malcolm.