-=> Quoting Herry Budiutama to Cameron Hall <=-
 HB> Nope.   That 3-head unit is WAY more expensive! (and it is only
 HB> a *single* cassette deck)  I may be a purist but I'm a purist on a
 HB> budget.:) 
I've heard of those.  Some "purists" however might have something to say
about a two head / dual well cassette deck. :-)
 HB> The price for a 3-head Sony unit is $400-500 (complete with Dolby
 HB> B/C/S HX PRO and MPX filter (or whatever filter it was I saw) ).  It's
That sounds about right.  I've found that a 3 head preforms much better
in the areas of Frequency response, dynamic range and has the ability of
listening off the tape whilist recording.  A real bonus in the cassette
medium.  Also, recordings made on the 3 head unit tend to be more
compatable with a wider range of playback equipment.
 HB> ridiculous to invest that much simply for noise reduction. For that
You're paying for several things.  Better preformance in recording and
playback, usually better electronics, and machanical construction etc.
 HB> price, I'd rather buy a DAT or MiniDisc deck (which is $600-700)-- at
 HB> least I won't have to worry about hiss on digital equipment.
The hiss may not be there, but what other artifacts are introduced. 
Before I bliterated my clip on the belt tape player (the tuner works
great though, so I salvaged that) I fine-tuned the head alignment and
tapes sounded fantastic.  However, they can't beat the CD portable...
 HB> Btw, what is the difference between 3-head and other units?  How many
 HB> heads are there usually on a tape deck?  I thought there was only 1
 HB> head, 1 tape eraser, 2 capstans for auto-reverse decks, and 2 pinch
 HB> rollers. 
In a stardard stereo cassette deck, a "2 head" refers to 1 erase head
and one head that does both play and record functions (at a time), one
capstan and one pinch roller.  A three head deck has one erase head, one
record head, and one playback head.  Most 3 headers have "dual capstan
drive" that provides a constant tention between all 3 heads to provide
better tape handling and better head to tape contact and overall lower
tape movement anomollies.  Just about all 3 head units are one cassette
well types, and of course aren't auto-reverse.  The reason behind the
separate heads is that a head that is optomised for playback isn't
necessarly the best for recording, and vice versa.  There's more to
this, but I'll leave it here.  If you want more info, just ask.
 HB> Mine is a Sony TCWE605S.   It also got this auto record level function
 HB> that tests the maximum record level automatically according to
 HB> the type of tape you insert (Type I, Type II or Type IV -  what
 HB> happenned to type III ?)
 
I mentioned that in another post.  Type III (Ferro-chrome) was sort of a
transitional type of tape that tried to bring the lower noise of chrome
tape with better low end response and more headroom.  The problem was
manufactures couldn't settle on a proper record equaliztion curve that
ended up that a type III on one machine produced odd results that on
another worked not bad.  Also research into other formulations of type
II kept improving.  It soon faded away.
 HB> Playing back on the new tape deck (and the old one) works just fine.
 HB> It's playing back on my walkman (and an expensive one too!) that the
 HB> sound seems flatter than normal.  It's always been like that from
 HB> the 1st day I got it.
Hmmm...  How do other tapes from other sources play?  I suspect that the
walkman could have gross head missalignment.
 HB> Note that this doesn't happen with Type I tapes.  Only with metal
 HB> tapes. (I haven't tried Type II).   Can the Dolby NR function on my
Try a type II.  This sounds like the type II Equalization could be in
error...  More tape swapping from different sources is in order.
 HB> walkman be malfunctioning?   Alas, how can one tests whether the Dolby
 HB> NR on a walkman has a buggy circuit?   It sounds as though the walkman
 HB> is processing sound through the Dolby process twice.
 
This often happens when 1) the head is grossly missaligned and 2) the
heads are not cleaned.  A cotton swap moistened with commercial tape
head cleaner will do this well.  Keep your fingers off the other end of
the swab and use that to dry the head depending on how fast the cleaner
dissappears. :-)  Normally, tape head cleaner shouldn't be used on the
rubber rollers (pinch rollers) as it dries them out.  Tape head cleaner
can also be used on the capstans to make them clean.
 HB> That is why I use metal tapes.  My old tape deck actually CAN'T erase
 HB> metal tapes.  I had to use a high-power bulk eraser (which takes two
 HB> passes to completely erase it).
One minor word of caution:  Some bulk tape erasers don't like being used
for extended periods.  They get hot internally (before the heat
dissapates to the outside) and can fail.  (and remove your digital watch
too) :-)
 HB> Another reason I buy metal tapes is because some of them have very
 HB> sleek cassette designs-- especially those import ones which says,
 HB> "Anti-resonance," "Br 2000 gauss" (whatever that means)
Metal tape takes a HUGE signal to record them.  The user sets his/her
recording levels as befor, but internally, the deck adjusts to the
difference.  Also a wopping erase signal wipes the tape clean before
recording.
 HB> They just look very stealthy looking and attractive.   So I'm in it
 HB> for the sound and for the collector's value (if anyone else happens to
 HB> collect tape strictly for the design).  :)
:-)
See ya, Cameron Hall
cameron.hall@bluebeam.gryn.org | ad121@freenet.hamilton.on.ca
Blue Beam BBS | 905 662 5784 | Stoney Creek Ontario Canada | v34 vFC FAX
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