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Old 27th Jan 2010, 8:49 pm   #1
Courtney Louise
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Default Sound quality of older stuff

Hi Guys,

I just had to post this...

I aquired for free not too long ago a semi working Sony TC-530 open reel tape deck. It needed some fettlin to get it stable and working but OMG!!!! the sound quality is out of this world.

I used my iPod through the line input to record The Beatles - Abbey Road - The new stereo remastered version. at 3 3/4 ips on Agfa PE39 Tape. The only reason I didnt use 7 1/2 ips is because a 5" spool doesnt last long.

I cannot honestly tell the difference, there is no hiss, no rumble, no noise, good seperation....

I just cannot get over it...

Andi
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Old 27th Jan 2010, 10:14 pm   #2
cendoubleu
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Default Re: Sound quality of older stuff

Jarl

a few years ago I had the task of selling on some electronic equipment for the wife of a friend who had passed on. One of the pieces of kit was the top of the range Technics R-R and so to check it out before selling I did some recordings. Like you say WOW! No difference between the CD and the tape.
On another note, I have recently brought a Pioneer SA-9100 amp back to life, a top of the range amp from early seventies. Music sounds fantastic through this. Makes you wonder how much we have progressed doesn't it?
Charlie

Last edited by Brian R Pateman; 28th Jan 2010 at 3:37 pm. Reason: ARP
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Old 27th Jan 2010, 10:58 pm   #3
Peter.N.
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Default Re: Sound quality of older stuff

I think sound quality reproduction came to its peak in the mid '50s, we used to sell Leak, Quad and other popular amps at the time and although the tape quality improved, or at least the frequency/speed ratio did, record reproduction was superb. I had a frend with a piar of Lowther speakers, never heard anything to better them, and I am convinced that valves sound better.

Peter
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Old 28th Jan 2010, 9:22 am   #4
Michael Maurice
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Default Re: Sound quality of older stuff

In 2007, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Beatles, Sgt Peppers album, a few modern musicians were brought in to do a remake of the album.

The proviso was that they had to use the recording equipment that had originally been used.

These musicians had only used the latest digital recording equipment but had heard that analogue sounded 'nicer'

Now they were experiencing it for themselves and everyone commented on how much better, the analogue sound was.

Personally I feel the compact disc was a step forward compared, if the disc is played on very good equipment, but modern digital processes effectively dumbs down what could have been a very good medium.

The problem is that everyone is trying to get the quart out of a pint pot and something has to give.

I'll leave it to you to decide what has given
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Old 1st Feb 2010, 8:51 am   #5
G8VAT Wolfman
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Default Re: Sound quality of older stuff

I am just repairing up an old tape deck and at first received the much expected mains hum, muffled audio, crackles etc, until I had cleaned the switches, valve bases, pots etc, now I find exactly the same... I had forgotten just how good and old Valve sounds...

Then to record it to digital, I connected it tho the PC and.. modern rubbish.

I remember when the Transistor was making a takeover bid back in my youth there were a lot of comparisons and talk about the difference in sound between the two.
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Old 3rd Feb 2010, 10:15 am   #6
Studio263
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Default Re: Sound quality of older stuff

You're not really challenging it by recording from an ipod! Try it with CD (or a decent turntable) to see how good it can really be!

A decent open reel machine running at 7.5 ips should make an almost perfect copy of a CD, you can tweak about with the bias to perfect the HF end of things for the tape stock that you have. I prefer to **slightly** over-bias as it makes drop-outs less of a problem, when adjusting by ear increase the level until a CD **just** begins to loose it's "sheen". With three-head models it is also very important that the azimuths of the record and the playback heads match, this is easy to do:

1) play a reference tape and adjust the playback head for maximum HF and minimum phase error (hopefully they will occur at the same time...)
2) make a recording and whilst monitoring "off the tape" adjust the recording head for the best treble consistent with a solid, central stereo image.

Of course these basic methods aren't as accurate as those that use proper calibrated tapes and instruments but they are easier to do at home for the beginner.
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Old 3rd Feb 2010, 10:33 am   #7
Michael Maurice
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Default Re: Sound quality of older stuff

Please do not try and adjust the head alignment unless you absolutely have to. They are set up at the factory and unless you believe that someone has been fiddling or the heads replaced at some point, they are unlikely to come out of alignment.

If you really have to re-align the heads then I found that a slightly better way to get the phase correct is to join the left and right channels to give a mono output, you will a very sharp peak as the head is aligned and the phasing is correct.

When you've got the playback head right, do the same for the record head.
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