Great analog sound is still available!
Written: May 11 '03 (Updated May 12 '03)
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Pros: Outstanding fidelity. Analog warmth. Plentiful features. Easy to use. 5-year warranty. Made in Japan.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: If you are serious about analog recording, especially if you want to do pro-audio mixes or live recordings, this machine is superb, even without balanced inputs and outputs.
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| borderboy04's Full Review: Sony TC-KA3ES Dual Cassette Deck |
This is an *amazing* machine. First, a brief overview of its features. This is a 3-head machine which means you can instantly compare the recorded sound with the sound of what's being recorded, simply by switching back and forth between "tape" and "source" via the monitor button. The heads are of the "amorphous" type typical of very expensive studio decks. Noise reduction includes Dolby B, C, and S, with switchable HX-Pro. An on-board 3-frequency oscillator is included for accurately calibrating the machine for each kind of tape used. You can use your ears and the monitor switch to deviate, if you are so inclined, from what the machine tells you are the correct settings for bias, equalization, and recording level. The transport system is direct drive which Sony claims makes a big difference in maintaining steady tape speed and better, more consistent contact between the tape and the heads. Sony designed several elements to dampen vibrations that could affect the audio signal, including the "anti-resonant aluminum front panel," the ceramic cassette holder, and a "free-action cassette stabilizer," a little rubber-like flap that keeps the cassette snug in the cassette holder, that Sony claims reduces resonance of the cassette shell iteself. The main bearings are sapphire, which Sony claims is a longer-lasting design under conditions of extended use. It's a dual-capstan design. RCA ins and outs are gold plated. In short, Sony went to great lengths to get the best sonic performance and durability possible, which explains the higher-than-average (but well worth it!) price tag for a cassette deck. The published specs are amazing: up to 22,000 hz. frequency response with Dolby S, Signal to Noise ratio of 83 db. with Type II (chrome) tape and 85 db. with metal tape. Wow and flutter is an outstanding .022%.
As for frills, a sophisticated music search system enables you to quickly locate songs, presumably by seeking out silent spots between songs. One nice little luxury (though in my opinion not particularly necessary) is the motorized cassette door for pleasurable loading. I normally hate frills, but this one is nice, indeed.
Now, the verdict: The tape calibration system is quite sophisticated. This makes a *big* difference because tapes vary quite a bit and the on-board calibration system of this unit is very, very close to what my ears told me was correct. The unit has a nice solid feel to it, which gives me confidence. The 5-year warranty is a big plus and is one of the reasons I chose this unit (new) over a used Tascam 122 MkIII for around the same price, despite the latter having balanced XLR ins and outs.
The first thing I did to try it out was to record a song off of a CD and compare the CD with the taped version. I couldn't detect any difference. And I did this through some excellent AKG headphones that reveal everything. But the *real* test was recording live music (first my Korg Electribe sampler and analog synth modules, along with bass guitar, and later, a live mic'd jazz duo session). In terms of recording levels, the unit has much more "room for error" than MD or DAT machines for live recording, given the horrible nature of digital distortion of MD and DAT if the signal peaks even a little. During the live jazz duo session, I noticed the meters pegging every so often at +4 or +6 db. without any distortion whatsoever. Overall, the sound is big and full, with that lovely analog warmth. The Dolby S noise reduction works great: there was more noise and hiss from my inputs (mixer and synth modules, described above) than from the tape.
Just a side note: If you buy one, I wouldn't recommend using Maxell XLII tape. After less than one hour, enough gunk accumulated on the record head that I had to clean it, because the signal on one channel dropped nearly to zero. The cleaning helped, and then the problem happened again after another hour or so. I switched to Sony UX tape, and have not had that problem. I have had this problem before with Maxell XLII with my Tascam 424 4-track recorder, so I'm not surprised by this.
I bought the unit for semi-professional recording and mixdown of my original music and for live recording of my jazz trio's sessions. For this purpose the higher than average price tag is completely justifiable because the sound is, to my ears, sweeter than digital. For home use, serious "audiophile analogers" will probably find this unit to be top notch.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 557.00
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Epinions.com ID:
borderboy04
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Reviews written: 1
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