Re: [ARSCLIST] Advice on cassette decks?

[Parker Dinkins <parker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on 8/31/06 3:02 PM US/Central, myself at parker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Some people prefer the Nakamichi Dragon, while others like the Nakamichi
> CR-7A. I prefer the CR-7A, and ESL provides them with speed control at
> additional cost. In my experience, the CR-7As are more reliable. The Dragon
> features an automatic azimuth adjustment.

I should have been clearer. With the CR-7A, you can manually adjust playback
azimuth by using a control on the front panel. There's a knob labeled
"Playback Azimuth," and it can be adjusted during playback without stopping
the tape or using any tools.

I don't know of any other audio cassette player that offers a front panel
manual adjustment, unless it is perhaps the JBR machine.

Optimum azimuth will often change slighly during playback, presumably as a
result of varying tape tension or some other mechanical reason.

But I've come across audio cassette recordings that were radically off in
their alignment for no apparent reason. Audio cassette tape travels at very
slow speed, and any azimuth misalignment is detrimental to high end
response; misalignments can easily cause combing effects down in the voice
frequency range. A transfer function display (phase vs. frequency) will
clearly show this.

---
Parker Dinkins
MasterDigital Corporation
CD Mastering + Audio Restoration
http://masterdigital.com