ON BUYING A TAPE RECORDER
THERE are three steps to buying a good tape recorder:
(1) deciding what type of ma chine you want, (2) selecting one that per forms to your standards, and (3) explaining the apparent extravagance to your nearest and dearest. Item 1 presents no special difficulties if you take your time and think things through (for starters, see Larry Klein's Q & A column this month). Item 3 is plainly impossible, so I will not even try to deal with it here.
But item 2 is, as we know, within the realm of the possible for most consumers. True, the task is far from easy and a good deal less than straightforward, and winning your way through to truth, light, and the best machine for you requires an attack on more than one front, but then, as we all know, nothing good comes easy.
First, what about specifications? A good tape machine has good specs, to be sure. Un fortunately, a poor machine may just as easily have good--even somewhat unbelievably good--specs. The subject of tape-recorder specifications (and particularly the various non-comparable ways in which they are de rived and presented) is, in other words, a large one, too large for the scope of this short column. Specs definitely have their uses, but for the moment we'll have to consider other legitimate means to our goal. One of these is the brute economic strength ploy: it is possible to pay top dollar for a brand name with a reputation as solid as the pyramid of Cheops and never have reason to regret it. I think this is a fine tactic, though it may not appeal to the bargain hunters among us. But once you've taken these first two approaches-specs and brand names-as far as they can go, you have no choice left except the personal research project. Reports in magazines and advice from friends are the starting point; the next step takes you into the store itself and the hurly-burly of commerce.
This is not the best environment for cool deliberation on complex matters, so prepare yourself-have in hand well ahead of time any information that might be difficult to get in the store or to trust a salesperson about, such as the recommended type(s) of tape for the machines you have under consideration.
Resolve to be as systematic and thorough as circumstances permit. Remain sympathetic but firm when salespeople become increasingly restless with your indecision. Don't hurry; go about your business and make the following tests:
The Facsimile Test: This is the most obvious measure of a good tape recorder-can the ma chine make a recording with no audible difference from the original? A change in tonal balance is an audible difference, and it will most certainly be encountered if the machine is not properly matched to the tape. Distortion, noise (hiss), and flutter are other differences; they should not be added in more than barely perceptible amounts.
For valid comparisons between recorders you have to proceed very carefully. First, assuming you can monitor off the tape with both machines while recording, advance the re cording levels on each in turn until distortion becomes obvious, and then back off until it just disappears. This makes their distortion levels equal. Then, using only their playback-level controls (which we'll also assume they have), make their loudness levels equal. Finally, listen to see if their hiss levels are equal. If they are not, the quieter machine wins. There are any number of variants on this test, but they must take all the above factors into account. Thus, for two recorders to be equal, their distortion, loudness, and noise (and also their frequency responses, of course) must be simultaneously equal.
Those unfortunates who are considering machines that lack playback-level controls and/or off-the-tape monitoring can also per form this test, though at great additional in convenience. To match distortion, trial-and-error procedures are called for, with constant rewinding of the tape to listen and then re recording with readjusted recording levels.
To match loudness levels, you can always plug the left playback channel of one machine into the left tape input of the amplifier or receiver and the left playback channel of the other machine into the right tape input. Then the system's balance control can perform the level matching. But thereafter, be sure to listen to only one channel (machine) at a time.
The Noise Test: This is the ultimate frequency-response test, useful only to those who want assurance that the machine will handle the highest audible frequencies without loss.
It consists simply of recording and listening to FM interstation noise. (Full details on this test were provided in the article "Using FM Inter-station Hiss to Test Recorders and Speakers" in the November 1976 issue of STEREO REVIEW.) To make sure the tuner provides the very highest frequencies (its multiplex filter might ordinarily prevent this), you can feed the recorder from the "FM detector" or "four-channel" jack which is a feature of most modern tuners and receivers. A moderate recording level should be used, particularly with cassette decks. Any loss of extreme high frequencies will be immediately apparent unless the loudspeaker has reduced highs to begin with.
----- "Lester, when you hear this I'll be in California with Murray.
You remember Murray--he plays drums down at the Jug Tavern on weekends. .
. ."
The Reductio ad Absurdum: This works only on those machines that permit recording on one channel at a time (most cassette decks, for example, don't), Using appropriate re cording levels at all times ("appropriate" means levels that are as high as possible with out running into audible distortion), record a mono program on one channel. Listen to it; it should sound fine. Now transfer the program to another channel, using either the machine's sound-on-sound switching (if any) or a simple patch cord from the output of channel one to the input of channel two. Listen again; it should sound worse-hissier and perhaps subtly distorted. Now transfer the program back to the original channel for more listening, and so on. Before many back-and-forth transfers have taken place the program should sound so bad that it would be absurd to continue. The better the machine, the greater the number of transfers possible before total deterioration of the signal occurs.
This test assumes that the recorder's inherent noise, distortion, wow, and flutter are additive to some extent with each transfer. The greater they are to begin with (although they may not be heard at first), the faster they'll add up to where they are grossly audible. This is a particularly tough test, so don't be surprised at anything that happens.
Transports of Delight: The tape transport, by definition, consists of the total mechanism that propels the tape from one reel to the other. It must be gentle and precise. For evidence of both qualities, you can try fast-for ward and rewind in rapid succession, watching closely for any jerks, jammings, or other signs of distress. Any open-reel machine with high speeds will have difficulty winding an absolutely smooth tape "pack" on the reel. Through the openings in the sides of the reel you'll be able to see-and even feel raised and depressed layers of tape in almost every case. But take care that the exposed tape edges have not been rippled or otherwise roughed up, as will happen if they're brought into violent contact with a reel flange or tape guide. (Note: if you can't find an unwarped reel in the store to make this test fair, buy one. Good aluminum reels are available in Scotch and TDK brands, among others.) You can't really observe the transport of a cassette deck in operation, but you can hear it. Often you'll note a brisk rattling sound when a cassette is fast-forwarded or re wound. This is actually an encouraging sound; it means the tape packs are loose and free-spinning. A poor transport may quite quietly be winding sluggish tape packs that will jam.
Maintenance: It's an unwelcome thought, but sooner or later-and ideally at regular intervals-any tape machine will require maintenance. Tape recorders, besides being high-speed mechanical devices of great complexity, have a built-in wear problem and a necessity for precise physical alignment. Find out where the manufacturer maintains service facilities. It would not be a mistake to give this considerable weight in your buying decision, because driving your machine a short way to a convenient repair depot will prove a lot easier than crating it carefully for a truck ride across the country. It will also encourage you to have it attended to that much more of ten; that way it will be able to repay some of the love you must expect to lavish on it.
Also see:
TAPE RECORDING--A professional shares his tips on how to do it right, JOHN WORAM
NEW PRODUCTS--Roundup of latest audio equipment and accessories