Great video! My first new deck was a 1990 KX-130 in silver, bought when I was in college. After that I have been deckless since last year, when I bought a vintage 3 head Marantz SD-63, a great purchase at around €100. Love playing my tapes again 👍😃
With Yamaha, even a dual deck can be equivalent to the higher end single deck, certain models of Yamaha dual decks are every bit as good, we have a dual Yamaha and it's a true gem
Nice video I bought the Yamaha KX393 and as yours it rew/ff and plays ok, looking forward to servicing it up, your video has given me some pointers to look out for, Thankyou!
I have some interesting info about the GF-37 recording/playback head, because this is a special type!!! Yamaha itself speaks of a very high quality head. The special thing about it is first of all the shape, which is wedge-shaped and not round or flat. As a result, the footprint on the tape is smaller and more focused, resulting in more details in the sound. The disadvantage is that you should not record too loudly, but if you record at +2dB on type I and II and +4db on metal then you are safe, but in practice +4db on a TDK SA tape also works without any problems. This type of head is called Focus Field head. You will find them in the better 2-head machines. Also remember that this is a modern 250nWb/m DIN meter and so the 0 point is closer to the distortion limit. Yamaha's recommended levels seem on the soft side, but that's only appearances, it's true!!! 0dB on the Yamaha = +4dB on an old VU meter. The head is virtually indestructible, but it is not a glass-ferrite head. The material is Hard Permoloy and the head has an extremely smooth finish. Due to the extremely smooth finish, the friction is much lower, which also means less wear and tear. It is therefore extremely important to keep the head clean and it is also important to use good quality cassettes. Old 70s ferrous tapes, type zero tapes and other tapes that do not look nice and smooth should be avoided in this deck!!! With such old cassettes, preferably use an Akai with GX heads (these are the real glass-ferrites) or Sony with F&F (also indestructible and proven) heads. But the GF-37 does not wear out from good tape. You can use TDK D, Sony FX, Maxell UR etc without any problems without extra wear. The GF-37 is clearly designed for Metal tape, the performance of this head on this type of tape is unprecedented. I know of 3-head decks that record and play less well than this series of Yamaha 2-head decks. Another fun fact: Although the Yamaha emblem and brand are printed very professionally on the head, which suggests that this is a generic Yamaha head, you will be disappointed. However, Yamaha has not produced any heads themselves!!! But rest assured, the heads were produced by Canon and Canon takes quality very seriously. The same head with a different print was also used by Optonica (by Sharp). But also some models from Pioneer and even some 2-head models from Nakamichi you will find the Focus Field head made by Canon (Nakamichi also produced focus field heads) ;) Although the GF37 head is not a glass-ferrite head, it is very special!!! If I said my KX580 Special Edition was a bad tape deck I would be lying. This quality is no longer produced, so be careful with it!!! They are also sometimes called Baby Naks, that's not without reason ;) Finally, as a true maniac/freak, I have a bonus fact: The cassette tape and accompanying recorder were invented by the Dutch engineer Lou Ottens of the Dutch multinational Philips. You would think that Lou Ottens was a Philips man in heart and soul. However, Lou Ottens knew what a good sound was, because he was also the spiritual father of the CD player and during an interview about cassette tapes (which must still be on RUclips somewhere) he had a remarkable hi-fi installation at home...: Yamaha !!! It had a KX493 cassette deck, which is the successor to the KX490 and which is the 2-motor brother of the KX390. You also saw that deck in action during the interview. Either Lou Ottens had no confidence in his own brand or he just had very good taste. Yamaha Natural Sound is for the connoisseurs ;) Unfortunately he is no longer alive and we will never know. Greetings from this eternally wet Netherlands, you know that country where the spiritual father of the cassette tape came from.
@@Recordology Hahahahahaha, because it's also a 'GF head'. ;) Because the real Glass ferrite heads from Akai are called 'GX'. 'GX' is an abbreviation of "Glass and X'tall Ferrite Head". GX heads can be found on reel-to-reel tape recorders and cassette decks from the 'GXC' series such as the GXC760d, the flagship model from 1977 that I also owned (my Yamaha KX580se performs better) In younger Akai cassette decks we encounter the Super-GX head. The main difference is that a Super GX head is suitable for Type IV metal tape and a GX Head only for Type I, II and III. "GF" at Yamaha is just a name and has no specific meaning. This is just clever marketing :D
@@Recordology This is also a little teaching moment: The term Focus field refers to the shape of the head as I explained earlier. An Akai GX head can be just as good as Focus Field, especially with reel-to-reel heads. My Akai GX635d r2r tape recorder also has Focus Fields heads. Focus Field is not brand specific, there are several manufacturers that apply this principle: Canon, JVC, Nakamichi, Akai of course and a few more. It is remarkable that decks with Focus Field heads perform better than decks with regular oem heads. A Focus Field head places higher demands on the electronics and is preferred for the presence of calibration functions. This has to do with the accuracy of this type of head. It can also go wrong, as with the Akai HX27w double cassette deck. This one has cheap Focus Field heads and no calibration and the electronics on the PCB are inadequate for these heads in my opinion. The lows are distorted and the highs hiss at 0dB on a Maxell XLII cassette (my Yammie gets a perfect sound out of it). I bought the HX27w when I was 15, but within 2 weeks I had exchanged it at an extra cost for the Sony TC-W170 which I liked better, but it had normal standard oem HD heads. (an HD head is an ordinary standard round head that is suitable for Metal tape)
The auto tape tuning on this deck sets the bias to level the record/playback response at 10khz and also levels the general output to cater for old used tapes or different brands of tapes with varying sensitivities. The play trim is just a playback treble adjustment to enhance previously recorded dull tapes and musicassettes.
Wrong, Play-trim is not a treble control, but in principle a continuously adjustable play-back equalizer. It picks up more than you do with a treble control.
Nice man, I personally have a Technics RS-TR155 and the superior Yamaha KX-W492. Love my Yamaha and it makes my cassette collection sound better than I remembered.
I still own two cassette decks from Radio Shack (Optimus SCT-91 with HX Pro, Dolby B-C NR Auto reverse and auto tape select, and an Optimus SCT-57 dual cassette deck with HX Pro, Dolby B-C-S NR auto tape select, and auto-calibration) from the mid to late 90s and I use them fairly frequently. I always enjoy listening to my tapes. Inside my bedroom, I have a Yamaha mini system that has a cassette as well, and last (but not least) a portable Magnavox AZ8340 MX01 CD/Dual Cassette/AM-FM radio unit.
Sensible purchase you have there. I have two Yamaha decks, this one and a Kx580. Always on the lookout for second hand decks in charity shops but people are wising up and prices have gone up. Most of my other tape decks are awaiting a service but funds are a bit short ( same with my R 2 R decks). Keep up the interesting content and good luck with your further cassette adventure.
Hi I have had the Yamaha 393 cassette deck for 20 years now. Still sounds great also have the CD which on the remote allows you to sync the together. This was the first component I bought for my hifi and the system still sounds great today. The last thing I bought for it was my Wharfdale Diamond speakers. Music played Mainly country.also various other types An Artist. I can recommend is Alan Parsons his records sounded great worth looking into. Another is 10cc and their album 10 out of 10 this was one of the first ever digital albums that came out about 1981
10:00 Yes, glass ferrite heads are much better quality and it's one of the reasons why I bought a number of cool Akai cassette decks (belt-drive and direct-drive decks) many years ago due to those highly durable heads.
At 16:26 I bet those 4 large holes at the top right are for "balanced xlr" type inputs and outputs on a higher end model that uses the same box... Very clean layout and easy to access belt is always a plus!
Dolby MPX is an FM radio noise reduction system/19KHz (FM stereo pilot tone) filter. When recording from FM the pilot tone messes with the bias oscillator of decks that are capable of recording up to 19KHz (most roll off at 15) thus throw off treble response and Dolby B and C encoding.
LIKE number 7 which is sheer heaven. I love cassette decks too and it's always intriguing watching the cassette spools spinning as well as the analogue or digital Vu meters moving, etc. Several years ago, I was lucky enough to buy a number of vintage cassette decks from my local Salvation Army Thrift Store, Goodwill, or Value Village including a Nikko cassette deck for only $5 as well as a 3-head Sony TC-K71 cassette deck (one of my few 3-head decks) which I bought for $9.99, but these days due to a slight resurgence of interest in cassette decks, I see models offered for $25 to $30 from thrift stores.
I own the KX580 Special Edition myself. This is a great 2-head deck with 2 motors with Dolby S, 160khz erase frequency and the special thing about this model is the better components on the PCB. This was still a middle segment, decks from the 600 series were 3-head machines. The KX380 was an entry-level model. Yamaha is a good brand that has to uphold its reputation. The quality of this entry level deck is comparable to a mid-range deck from the competition. A very strong point is the reliability which is very high. If you record with Dolby, you have to record louder than the Dolby symbol on the meter. On this meter the 0 dB point is at 250nWb/m, the Dolby point is at 200nWb/m(-1.2dB on the meter). The 100% modulation point/0VU is at 160nWb/m(-4dB on the meter). The 0dB point of this meter is closer to the distortion limit of the tape. Yamaha recommends +2dB for Type I and II and +4dB for metal. +2 and +4 on this meter is +6 and +8 on an old needle vu meter. Because the levels are somewhat higher, the signal-to-noise distance is also much better and you are less bothered by noise. My KX580se achieves an S/N of 80dB and has a maximum frequency range of 20Hz ~ 20,000Hz on metal tape, which is unprecedentedly high and a very outstanding performance for a mid-range 2-head deck. Play-trim is a must have, this brings old dull music cassettes back to life, you can play Dolby MCs with Dolby without it sounding dull or pumping. An excellent tool for digitizing cassettes, Nakamichi doesn't even have this on it!!! The KX380 performs a little less, but still above average. According to the service manual, Yamaha uses TDK AD(Type I), TDK SA (Type II) and TDK MA(Type IV) as reference cassettes. It will therefore perform best on TDK tapes. My urgent advice: Don't sell anymore and be careful with it!!! You won't easily find a better one in this segment. Yamaha doesn't make garbage, but produces great audio equipment :D
Congratulations on the new tape deck! I have a very nice high end Sankyo (yes Sankyo, not Sanyo) from 1974. It's a top loading Deck and has all the features a high end deck should have. Mine just needed belts, but even then the belts that were in it were still doing their job. I just changed them for optimal performance.
Late 70s Fisher Studio Standard back in the day. But your explanation of more modern cassette decks explains why my 7 in 1 sounds a little AM radio which is probably due to it playing mono. It makes sense anyway. When you took the cover off it brought back a memory I hadn't thought of in decades and that was taking apart my small portables and replacing the belt with an appropriate sized rubberband. Haha! Cringe worthy now and it probably didn't need replaced, but it worked. If there's debris inside a unit what do you recommend cleaning it out with? Thanks for the great review and have fun with your new purchase.
Actually, MPX is a filter that removes the 19kHz signal coming through from radiostations, inticating a stereo signal. What You probably meant was HX-pro, which is, like Your tapedeck already states, headroom extension for frequencies. Too bad that tapedeck is a bit scratched up, otherwise it's really nice looking. I always liked the amber displays Yamaha components had. About that garbly, no highs sound of the slightly messed up tape; it could also be that the taprhead needs a bit of demagnetising, so it can send out and pick up magnetic fields better, without being bogged down by the magnetic field thats already on the head without any signal being applied.
The Pioneer tape deck is now in audio heaven. It's treated you well. I know how it feels to finally say good by to a good old girl. About three years ago, my Fisher amplifier was on its last legs. It finally gave up the ghost. I had it for over 30 years and it gave me so much pleasure that it was tough to put it where old computers and TV's go...
Hi, interesting video, enjoyed it very much..I've just bought a Yamaha KX-393 off eBay, comes next week apparently in good condition working so can't wait to give her a clean and do some recordings too off Minidisc & CD's and see what the quality is like..Thankyou for making this video..👍
Why are you recording with the MPX filter enabled? It limits the high frequency response of the deck when recording. It's only there to be used when recording from FM stereo radio to suppress the 19kHz pilot tone and stop it confusing the Dolby circuits.
Yamaha "Natural Sound" is tuned for classical music, especially woodwinds and baritone, i.e. the midrange of a classical orchestra. Its not good at all for techno-type of sound like you tried. Same with their CD-player. Yamaha supplies every classical orchestra with their instruments, and that's the sound they aim to reproduce. Its best not to adjust any knobs from the default setting, the default position is the most life-like sound (of classical instruments).
I have a KX580 Special Edition and it records very faithfully and with Dolby C you have no noise at all. I do not understand the added value of Dolby S because it is already perfect with Dolby C. The GF-37 head is of a very high quality, the head makes the difference!!!
Overall great video. However running a fingernail across a tape head is just a bad idea. Apart from the risk of scratching it one wouldn't want to get any fingernail or dirt particles into the almost microscopic gaps of the recording/playback heads. Furthermore, what set Nakamichi apart from other decks wasn't their adjustable features such as bias and auto tape tuning. There were a ton of decks in the 70s, 80s and 90s at much lower cost than the Naks with many more consumer adjustable and automatic functions and features. What set the Naks apart was their transport, head (discrete) and electronic designs and in their higher end models the option to manually adjust either record or playback Azimuth (automatically on the Dragon). These were features virtually not found on decks made by any other manufacturers regardless of price.
I have to decks.. A Onkyo and one Kenwood.. Both are running slow on one of the decks... I've been looking for a replacement deck... A new one not used.
I have the KX-380 looks the same. Definitely use that auto tune on both sides before recording and I prefer Dolby C. I bought mine at a thrift store for $10! And MPX is a filter for recording FM radio signals with Dolby.
The low-end Yamahas from the mid-80s were quite robust. My first own deck (K-340 euro version) still runs good with the original belts. Very high mileage, but the head still holds. The compact two-motor mech (different from yours model) is excellent for the class.
I use more for play prerecorded cassettes an Technics RS-TR474. I try to record a few type 1 with auto-calibration and different noise reduction B/C and sound decent, if i cut of dolby noise reduction. Amplituner that I use is an Technics SA EX 100 on SB-3630 speakers.
I noticed that one of your cassettes had reel flanges. While they look cool, they are neither needed, nor recommended. They were not included in the original Phillips Compact Cassette standard, because they take up valuable space inside the cassette and can cause reel binding. Regular cassettes have slip sheets inside that allow free movement of the tape. I have always steered clear of those cassettes that had those reel flanges. Fortunately, it was mostly TDK cassettes that had them, so it was easy to avoid.
I have a 81 jvc cassette deck...the 80s decks were built better. I also have a 1975 teac cassette deck that sounds way better than my 3 other decks from the 80s
Nice unit. Decent tape decks have now pretty much disappeared from the thrift stores here (UK) and many don't deal in electrical goods anyway. Even on FB Marketplace they're scarce and often not local. So it's eBay (which tends to ve VERY overpriced, especially when shopping is factored in) or nothing. That said, I'm still on the lookout for a nice 3-head Technics (I tend to favour Matsushita stuff, and there hasn't been Panasonic / National branded hifi separates in many years.
Deck is lowend device. Poor looking,one motor deck. Got me adf-770,very happy with it. Sounds soo earcandy. Hope you get closed loop deck,with auto cal and many other benefits. Like-ADMS ,DATA,example. Not cheap deck,though.....
Thank you for the explanation of tape bias which now tells me why I can't get a full-volume copy of an LP set I've been planning on giving to members of my family and my wife's family and YOU for Christmas this year (today is November 25, 2022). It was originally recorded in 1982, and is sub-titled "A Magical Story With Songs." That should arouse your curiosity. I have a copy on CD, but to me they made too many compromises to make the story fit that format. I'm disappointed. But I may burn the CD anyway, because almost everybody I've listed as potential recipients are completely unfamiliar with the story and the one-man play it was recorded from. Keep an eye out. Something (if this or not) WILL be coming your way from Christmas.
Great video! My first new deck was a 1990 KX-130 in silver, bought when I was in college. After that I have been deckless since last year, when I bought a vintage 3 head Marantz SD-63, a great purchase at around €100. Love playing my tapes again 👍😃
With Yamaha, even a dual deck can be equivalent to the higher end single deck, certain models of Yamaha dual decks are every bit as good, we have a dual Yamaha and it's a true gem
Nice video I bought the Yamaha KX393 and as yours it rew/ff and plays ok, looking forward to servicing it up, your video has given me some pointers to look out for, Thankyou!
I have some interesting info about the GF-37 recording/playback head, because this is a special type!!!
Yamaha itself speaks of a very high quality head.
The special thing about it is first of all the shape, which is wedge-shaped and not round or flat. As a result, the footprint on the tape is smaller and more focused, resulting in more details in the sound. The disadvantage is that you should not record too loudly, but if you record at +2dB on type I and II and +4db on metal then you are safe, but in practice +4db on a TDK SA tape also works without any problems. This type of head is called Focus Field head. You will find them in the better 2-head machines.
Also remember that this is a modern 250nWb/m DIN meter and so the 0 point is closer to the distortion limit. Yamaha's recommended levels seem on the soft side, but that's only appearances, it's true!!! 0dB on the Yamaha = +4dB on an old VU meter.
The head is virtually indestructible, but it is not a glass-ferrite head. The material is Hard Permoloy and the head has an extremely smooth finish. Due to the extremely smooth finish, the friction is much lower, which also means less wear and tear.
It is therefore extremely important to keep the head clean and it is also important to use good quality cassettes. Old 70s ferrous tapes, type zero tapes and other tapes that do not look nice and smooth should be avoided in this deck!!! With such old cassettes, preferably use an Akai with GX heads (these are the real glass-ferrites) or Sony with F&F (also indestructible and proven) heads. But the GF-37 does not wear out from good tape. You can use TDK D, Sony FX, Maxell UR etc without any problems without extra wear. The GF-37 is clearly designed for Metal tape, the performance of this head on this type of tape is unprecedented. I know of 3-head decks that record and play less well than this series of Yamaha 2-head decks.
Another fun fact: Although the Yamaha emblem and brand are printed very professionally on the head, which suggests that this is a generic Yamaha head, you will be disappointed. However, Yamaha has not produced any heads themselves!!! But rest assured, the heads were produced by Canon and Canon takes quality very seriously. The same head with a different print was also used by Optonica (by Sharp). But also some models from Pioneer and even some 2-head models from Nakamichi you will find the Focus Field head made by Canon (Nakamichi also produced focus field heads) ;)
Although the GF37 head is not a glass-ferrite head, it is very special!!!
If I said my KX580 Special Edition was a bad tape deck I would be lying.
This quality is no longer produced, so be careful with it!!! They are also sometimes called Baby Naks, that's not without reason ;)
Finally, as a true maniac/freak, I have a bonus fact:
The cassette tape and accompanying recorder were invented by the Dutch engineer Lou Ottens of the Dutch multinational Philips.
You would think that Lou Ottens was a Philips man in heart and soul. However, Lou Ottens knew what a good sound was, because he was also the spiritual father of the CD player and during an interview about cassette tapes (which must still be on RUclips somewhere) he had a remarkable hi-fi installation at home...: Yamaha !!!
It had a KX493 cassette deck, which is the successor to the KX490 and which is the 2-motor brother of the KX390. You also saw that deck in action during the interview. Either Lou Ottens had no confidence in his own brand or he just had very good taste. Yamaha Natural Sound is for the connoisseurs ;) Unfortunately he is no longer alive and we will never know.
Greetings from this eternally wet Netherlands, you know that country where the spiritual father of the cassette tape came from.
Amazing comment thank you! Not a bad buy! Why does it say it’s a GF head?
@@Recordology Hahahahahaha, because it's also a 'GF head'. ;)
Because the real Glass ferrite heads from Akai are called 'GX'. 'GX' is an abbreviation of "Glass and X'tall Ferrite Head". GX heads can be found on reel-to-reel tape recorders and cassette decks from the 'GXC' series such as the GXC760d, the flagship model from 1977 that I also owned (my Yamaha KX580se performs better)
In younger Akai cassette decks we encounter the Super-GX head. The main difference is that a Super GX head is suitable for Type IV metal tape and a GX Head only for Type I, II and III.
"GF" at Yamaha is just a name and has no specific meaning. This is just clever marketing :D
@@Recordology This is also a little teaching moment:
The term Focus field refers to the shape of the head as I explained earlier.
An Akai GX head can be just as good as Focus Field, especially with reel-to-reel heads. My Akai GX635d r2r tape recorder also has Focus Fields heads.
Focus Field is not brand specific, there are several manufacturers that apply this principle: Canon, JVC, Nakamichi, Akai of course and a few more. It is remarkable that decks with Focus Field heads perform better than decks with regular oem heads.
A Focus Field head places higher demands on the electronics and is preferred for the presence of calibration functions. This has to do with the accuracy of this type of head.
It can also go wrong, as with the Akai HX27w double cassette deck. This one has cheap Focus Field heads and no calibration and the electronics on the PCB are inadequate for these heads in my opinion. The lows are distorted and the highs hiss at 0dB on a Maxell XLII cassette (my Yammie gets a perfect sound out of it). I bought the HX27w when I was 15, but within 2 weeks I had exchanged it at an extra cost for the Sony TC-W170 which I liked better, but it had normal standard oem HD heads. (an HD head is an ordinary standard round head that is suitable for Metal tape)
My dad has the replacement version of the 390 the kx393 and after all these years it still sounds good. In my own system I have a denon
The auto tape tuning on this deck sets the bias to level the record/playback response at 10khz and also levels the general output to cater for old used tapes or different brands of tapes with varying sensitivities.
The play trim is just a playback treble adjustment to enhance previously recorded dull tapes and musicassettes.
Wrong, Play-trim is not a treble control, but in principle a continuously adjustable play-back equalizer. It picks up more than you do with a treble control.
Nice man, I personally have a Technics RS-TR155 and the superior Yamaha KX-W492. Love my Yamaha and it makes my cassette collection sound better than I remembered.
I still own two cassette decks from Radio Shack (Optimus SCT-91 with HX Pro, Dolby B-C NR Auto reverse and auto tape select, and an Optimus SCT-57 dual cassette deck with HX Pro, Dolby B-C-S NR auto tape select, and auto-calibration) from the mid to late 90s and I use them fairly frequently. I always enjoy listening to my tapes. Inside my bedroom, I have a Yamaha mini system that has a cassette as well, and last (but not least) a portable Magnavox AZ8340 MX01 CD/Dual Cassette/AM-FM radio unit.
Sensible purchase you have there. I have two Yamaha decks, this one and a Kx580. Always on the lookout for second hand decks in charity shops but people are wising up and prices have gone up. Most of my other tape decks are awaiting a service but funds are a bit short ( same with my R 2 R decks). Keep up the interesting content and good luck with your further cassette adventure.
hi, thanks for reviewing the wonderful soundboard. I have the same, only in the color titanium
Hi
I have had the Yamaha 393 cassette deck for 20 years now. Still sounds great also have the CD which on the remote allows you to sync the together.
This was the first component I bought for my hifi and the system still sounds great today.
The last thing I bought for it was my Wharfdale Diamond speakers.
Music played Mainly country.also various other types
An Artist. I can recommend is Alan Parsons his records sounded great worth looking into.
Another is 10cc and their album 10 out of 10 this was one of the first ever digital albums that came out about 1981
10:00 Yes, glass ferrite heads are much better quality and it's one of the reasons why I bought a number of cool Akai cassette decks (belt-drive and direct-drive decks) many years ago due to those highly durable heads.
At 16:26 I bet those 4 large holes at the top right are for "balanced xlr" type inputs and outputs on a higher end model that uses the same box... Very clean layout and easy to access belt is always a plus!
Dolby MPX is an FM radio noise reduction system/19KHz (FM stereo pilot tone) filter. When recording from FM the pilot tone messes with the bias oscillator of decks that are capable of recording up to 19KHz (most roll off at 15) thus throw off treble response and Dolby B and C encoding.
Came here to find this comment
LIKE number 7 which is sheer heaven. I love cassette decks too and it's always intriguing watching the cassette spools spinning as well as the analogue or digital Vu meters moving, etc.
Several years ago, I was lucky enough to buy a number of vintage cassette decks from my local Salvation Army Thrift Store, Goodwill, or Value Village including a Nikko cassette deck for only $5 as well as a 3-head Sony TC-K71 cassette deck (one of my few 3-head decks) which I bought for $9.99, but these days due to a slight resurgence of interest in cassette decks, I see models offered for $25 to $30 from thrift stores.
I own the KX580 Special Edition myself.
This is a great 2-head deck with 2 motors with Dolby S, 160khz erase frequency and the special thing about this model is the better components on the PCB. This was still a middle segment, decks from the 600 series were 3-head machines.
The KX380 was an entry-level model. Yamaha is a good brand that has to uphold its reputation. The quality of this entry level deck is comparable to a mid-range deck from the competition.
A very strong point is the reliability which is very high.
If you record with Dolby, you have to record louder than the Dolby symbol on the meter.
On this meter the 0 dB point is at 250nWb/m, the Dolby point is at 200nWb/m(-1.2dB on the meter). The 100% modulation point/0VU is at 160nWb/m(-4dB on the meter). The 0dB point of this meter is closer to the distortion limit of the tape. Yamaha recommends +2dB for Type I and II and +4dB for metal. +2 and +4 on this meter is +6 and +8 on an old needle vu meter. Because the levels are somewhat higher, the signal-to-noise distance is also much better and you are less bothered by noise. My KX580se achieves an S/N of 80dB and has a maximum frequency range of 20Hz ~ 20,000Hz on metal tape, which is unprecedentedly high and a very outstanding performance for a mid-range 2-head deck.
Play-trim is a must have, this brings old dull music cassettes back to life, you can play Dolby MCs with Dolby without it sounding dull or pumping. An excellent tool for digitizing cassettes, Nakamichi doesn't even have this on it!!!
The KX380 performs a little less, but still above average.
According to the service manual, Yamaha uses TDK AD(Type I), TDK SA (Type II) and TDK MA(Type IV) as reference cassettes. It will therefore perform best on TDK tapes.
My urgent advice: Don't sell anymore and be careful with it!!! You won't easily find a better one in this segment. Yamaha doesn't make garbage, but produces great audio equipment :D
AWESOME COMMENT THANK YOU! Always wondered, what does the play trim actually do? It sounds like its brightening up the audio.
@@Recordology In principle, Play-trim is an adjustable playback equalizer. Play trim is not a treble control. ;)
Congratulations on the new tape deck! I have a very nice high end Sankyo (yes Sankyo, not Sanyo) from 1974. It's a top loading Deck and has all the features a high end deck should have. Mine just needed belts, but even then the belts that were in it were still doing their job. I just changed them for optimal performance.
Late 70s Fisher Studio Standard back in the day. But your explanation of more modern cassette decks explains why my 7 in 1 sounds a little AM radio which is probably due to it playing mono. It makes sense anyway. When you took the cover off it brought back a memory I hadn't thought of in decades and that was taking apart my small portables and replacing the belt with an appropriate sized rubberband. Haha! Cringe worthy now and it probably didn't need replaced, but it worked. If there's debris inside a unit what do you recommend cleaning it out with? Thanks for the great review and have fun with your new purchase.
Actually, MPX is a filter that removes the 19kHz signal coming through from radiostations, inticating a stereo signal. What You probably meant was HX-pro, which is, like Your tapedeck already states, headroom extension for frequencies. Too bad that tapedeck is a bit scratched up, otherwise it's really nice looking. I always liked the amber displays Yamaha components had. About that garbly, no highs sound of the slightly messed up tape; it could also be that the taprhead needs a bit of demagnetising, so it can send out and pick up magnetic fields better, without being bogged down by the magnetic field thats already on the head without any signal being applied.
Now that`s a real GREAT purchase...If i owned one of these i would be Biased and play my AC/DC tape...
Ha! I see what you did there...lol
The Pioneer tape deck is now in audio heaven. It's treated you well. I know how it feels to finally say good by to a good old girl. About three years ago, my Fisher amplifier was on its last legs. It finally gave up the ghost. I had it for over 30 years and it gave me so much pleasure that it was tough to put it where old computers and TV's go...
Hi, interesting video, enjoyed it very much..I've just bought a Yamaha KX-393 off eBay, comes next week apparently in good condition working so can't wait to give her a clean and do some recordings too off Minidisc & CD's and see what the quality is like..Thankyou for making this video..👍
Thank you!
Why are you recording with the MPX filter enabled? It limits the high frequency response of the deck when recording. It's only there to be used when recording from FM stereo radio to suppress the 19kHz pilot tone and stop it confusing the Dolby circuits.
I have a kx490 very detailed sound also I find that my remote control seems to work seems to work on all ox models
Yamaha "Natural Sound" is tuned for classical music, especially woodwinds and baritone, i.e. the midrange of a classical orchestra. Its not good at all for techno-type of sound like you tried. Same with their CD-player. Yamaha supplies every classical orchestra with their instruments, and that's the sound they aim to reproduce. Its best not to adjust any knobs from the default setting, the default position is the most life-like sound (of classical instruments).
I have a KX580 Special Edition and it records very faithfully and with Dolby C you have no noise at all. I do not understand the added value of Dolby S because it is already perfect with Dolby C.
The GF-37 head is of a very high quality, the head makes the difference!!!
Have the yamaha kx380.deck.Does anyone knows what the mute/search button is for?
Yes there's dust in thee headphone jack, and don't call me Shirley. 🙂😀😃😄😁😆😅🤣😂
But do you speak jive?
Overall great video. However running a fingernail across a tape head is just a bad idea. Apart from the risk of scratching it one wouldn't want to get any fingernail or dirt particles into the almost microscopic gaps of the recording/playback heads. Furthermore, what set Nakamichi apart from other decks wasn't their adjustable features such as bias and auto tape tuning. There were a ton of decks in the 70s, 80s and 90s at much lower cost than the Naks with many more consumer adjustable and automatic functions and features. What set the Naks apart was their transport, head (discrete) and electronic designs and in their higher end models the option to manually adjust either record or playback Azimuth (automatically on the Dragon). These were features virtually not found on decks made by any other manufacturers regardless of price.
very good info. but mpx switch is for use when recording rom FM stereo tuners - stops the 19khz pilot one interferring with record/dolby circuitry.
My technics tape player just started giving out it would stop playing randomly
Have you experienced Dolby S noise reduction? I know that it was the most common on Sony tape decks.
Yep we did a series on s.
I have to decks.. A Onkyo and one Kenwood.. Both are running slow on one of the decks... I've been looking for a replacement deck... A new one not used.
You look amazing my friend your hair looks fine
I have the KX-380 looks the same. Definitely use that auto tune on both sides before recording and I prefer Dolby C. I bought mine at a thrift store for $10! And MPX is a filter for recording FM radio signals with Dolby.
The low-end Yamahas from the mid-80s were quite robust. My first own deck (K-340 euro version) still runs good with the original belts. Very high mileage, but the head still holds. The compact two-motor mech (different from yours model) is excellent for the class.
Always clean the pinch roller until no dirt comes off
I use more for play prerecorded cassettes an Technics RS-TR474. I try to record a few type 1 with auto-calibration and different noise reduction B/C and sound decent, if i cut of dolby noise reduction. Amplituner that I use is an Technics SA EX 100 on SB-3630 speakers.
how do I find a belt for the tape counter?
Go to eBay and type in the model number and you will find it
Great review. Nice features. I'm on the lookout for a high end deck.
You could do a lot worse than one of the many Yamahas from the 90s. Build quality isn't the best but the sound is fantastic.
I noticed that one of your cassettes had reel flanges. While they look cool, they are neither needed, nor recommended. They were not included in the original Phillips Compact Cassette standard, because they take up valuable space inside the cassette and can cause reel binding. Regular cassettes have slip sheets inside that allow free movement of the tape. I have always steered clear of those cassettes that had those reel flanges. Fortunately, it was mostly TDK cassettes that had them, so it was easy to avoid.
Just found a super clean 390 at Goodwill for fifteen bucks. #score
Nice!!!!!! 👍
I have a 81 jvc cassette deck...the 80s decks were built better. I also have a 1975 teac cassette deck that sounds way better than my 3 other decks from the 80s
Nice unit. Decent tape decks have now pretty much disappeared from the thrift stores here (UK) and many don't deal in electrical goods anyway. Even on FB Marketplace they're scarce and often not local. So it's eBay (which tends to ve VERY overpriced, especially when shopping is factored in) or nothing. That said, I'm still on the lookout for a nice 3-head Technics (I tend to favour Matsushita stuff, and there hasn't been Panasonic / National branded hifi separates in many years.
hello use demaginizer your cassettes heads and clean your cassette deck please let me know kinds regards william c adlam cheers?
Glass cleaner and a microfibre cloth is the best way to clean these.
Cool Video 👍👍👍👍
Oh damn that kenwood
Thaaat's an empty box!!
Deck is lowend device. Poor looking,one motor deck. Got me adf-770,very happy with it. Sounds soo earcandy. Hope you get closed loop deck,with auto cal and many other benefits. Like-ADMS ,DATA,example. Not cheap deck,though.....
Thank you for the explanation of tape bias which now tells me why I can't get a full-volume copy of an LP set I've been planning on giving to members of my family and my wife's family and YOU for Christmas this year (today is November 25, 2022). It was originally recorded in 1982, and is sub-titled "A Magical Story With Songs." That should arouse your curiosity. I have a copy on CD, but to me they made too many compromises to make the story fit that format. I'm disappointed. But I may burn the CD anyway, because almost everybody I've listed as potential recipients are completely unfamiliar with the story and the one-man play it was recorded from. Keep an eye out. Something (if this or not) WILL be coming your way from Christmas.
Wow thank you!
.......for (not from) Christmas.
I got 4 cassette decks😂😂
Same here...