Sonnova wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:29:46 -0700, ilovechristina2004@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote
> (in article <frks3q031gc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):
>
>
>>On Mar 16, 11:15 am, "Serge Auckland" <sergeauckl...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>wrote:
>>
>>><ilovechristina2...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>>
>>>news:frjaga012dc@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>First off, I hope that this subject fits in this category, it's the
>>>>closest one I could find. I know this question is a little weird, but
>>>>my reason for asking is in regards to recording to and listening to
>>>>slightly stretched/wrinkled/warped tapes. I have alot of tapes I got
>>>>used with good music on them (stuff you can't find on CD anywhere
>>>>else), but the previous owners were slightly reckless with the media,
>>>>playing them in cheap players and letting the tapes sit for years
>>>>without moving rewinding or moving them through a trans****t every few
>>>>months. I am convinced that I can get slightly better results with a
>>>>trans****t that s****ts some type of tensioning system, such as a dual
>>>>capstan system. However, right now I can't afford a Dual-Capstan
>>>>system and I really like the deck I have. I currently have an Onkyo
>>>>TA-2600 Deck (3-head, 3-motor, silent trans****t) and it sounds
>>>>beautiful, however only on pristine cassettes. I slightly higher/
>>>>later models had a second capstan/pinch roller (they used the same
>>>>shell and I THINK the same trans****t chassis). How difficult would it
>>>>be to say add a second capstan? That may be next to impossible, so I
>>>>was thinking more of a logical approach. Would it be possible to add
>>>>some sort of tensioning apparatus inside the cassette compartment that
>>>>would stretch uneven/warped tape a bit more so they would have better
>>>>contact with the heads? If this all sounds like too much of a hassle,
>>>>then does anyone know where I could find a cheap (yet high-end) 3
>>>>head, dual capstan system in somewhat decent condition? eBay is nuts,
>>>>craigslist is barren and most for-sale sites list their decks at $200
>>>>or more. I don't have that kind of money right now and can't justify
>>>>spending a crazy amount on a tape deck. I got this TA-2600 for , get
>>>>this, $26 because the left input rac jack was broken. Any help at all
>>>>would be helpful...I think it would be kind of cool to mod this deck a
>>>>little. Thanks!
>>>
>>>It's not so much a modification you're asking for, but a redesign, and
>>>that's way outside of what you can do at home unless you have a very
well
>>>equipped mechanical workshop. The best dual-capstan decks I know of are
the
>>>****amichis, 482Z, BX300 and the like. They had two capstans of
different
>>>diameters, running at different rotational speeds to spread the W&F and
>>>resonances, and also, they two capstans had *very* slightly different
linear
>>>speeds to maintain tension across the heads. The ****amichi heads pushed
the
>>>standard cassette pressure-pads out of the way.
>>>
>>>As I think what you're asking for is not feasible, what you need to do
is to
>>>find a way of reducing the effect of wrinkles in the tape. One way is
to
>>>increase the pressure-pad pressure, perhaps by fitting a small piece of
>>>foam-rubber behind the pad, inside each cassette. This will have the
effect
>>>of smoothing the tape, but at the expense of increased flutter, and
possibly
>>>even speed accuracy. Speed accuracy can be checked and corrected-for,
>>>there's usually a small adjuster at the back of the motor: flutter you
can't
>>>do much about, although you can try and lubricate the pressure pad with
a
>>>DRY lubricant, like graphite. All this is a lot of bother, and needs to
be
>>>done per-cassette, but you only need to do it once per tape and copy
them to
>>>CD or MP3/AAC, then play the digital media.
>>>
>>>Good luck.
>>>
>>>S.
>>>
>>>--http://audiopages.googlepages.com
>>
>>Very sound advice. Thank you. I'm glad noone's telling me to "just
>>forget about cassettes and get an iPod." Tapes sound
>>better...period. This sounds like a good thing to try, but if anyone
>>else has any opinion, I'm still open to suggestions. Thanks!
>
>
> Sony and a few other brands made dual capstan decks too. I used to have
one
> that not only s****ted dual capstans but had three heads, THREE MOTORS,
and
> Dolby HX-Pro to boot! It was called the Aiwa F990. I used it for years
before
> the belt (one capstan motor, two capstan/flywheel assemblies) broke and
I was
> disinclined to get it fixed. Of course, now, I regret that and would
love to
> have it back. It made the best sounding cassettes I ever heard. Low in
> flutter, excellent high-frequency response (HX-pro) and low noise using
> premium cassettes.
I used to absolutely love the cassette medium. Something about making
your own tapes, recording your favorite vinyl to a TDK MA-X tape,
setting the bias and recording levels, and every once in a while making
sure that the azimuth is correct.
You know the thing about Dolby HX-Pro? It was a cleverly marketed but
faux "panacea" for high frequency headroom. I, too owned, actually still
own, a 3 head, dual capstan deck with Dolby HX pro, the JVC-TDV-621. I
had it specfically tuned by JVC for TDK tapes.
I loved the tapes it used to make.
Now, if you looked at the mass market of cassette decks, all the
manufacturers, Sony, Aiwa, JVC, TEAC, you name it, had Dolby HX pro. All
except 1, ****amichi. They were the Rolls Royce or Bentley of all tape
decks. I compared several models of other manufacturer's decks to
****amichi and figured out why ****s didn't have HX-Pro: They didn't need
it. The bias frequencies used by ****s was easily twice as high as the
bias frequency used by other tape deck manufacturers. The figures are a
bit elusive now, but it was something like all other tape deck makers
using a bias frequency of 120 to 160 Khz and ****s used a frequency of
300 Khz or more.
No wonder that ****s could get even their normal tapes to record high
frequencies just about as well as metal tapes. With all other
manufacturers, metal was the exception when it came to high frequency
headroom.
When it came to cassette decks, "That's what's up" wholeheartedly
applied to ****amichi cassette decks.
They were "tha bomb." No doubt.
CD
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