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Pioneer CT-F1250 Cassette Deck - Please help

In my desperate search for a good cassette deck, I just got Pioneer CT-F1250.I also have Yamaha K 850 and Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2, both 2-head. I really like an idea of using a deck, which i consider much easier and convenient than managing with turntables and LPs while the difference is SQ can be not that much. 

Cosmetically, CT-F1250 looks very good, mechanics also seem to work fine. The problem is in SQ though, there is an obvious luck of middle and hight frequencies, dynamics and soundstage are not good as weel, sometimes the sound just almost disappears accompanied with a strong distortion (at the beginning the left channel was just silent, after a few minutes of use the sound appeared and remains stable).There no comparison with Nakamichi CD 2 (the Yamaha is out of order now), in mid-high frequencies and soundstage as well.<This is surprising as  Pioneer CT-F1250 is supposedly a much better deck. I have a quite limited time to return it, but before doing so, I, of course, would like to know if the problem can be settled somehow (service/repair). The heads look fine, but I suggest, that if the problem is with the head(s) then this is just hopeless (replacing the heads seem to me unrealistic). Can the luck of mid-high frequencies be caused by other things (like capacitors etc.), or it is most probably  that the heads  are no more good? 

Thanks in advance for your input! 

 

128x128niodari
dpop's avatar
dpop
292 posts
 

If the heads are all clean on the under-performing decks, I'd personally dump them, and find something else to your liking. You might try searching for direct-drive decks, which most times do not employ belts that can stretch and break over time. These decks are a bit more expensive, but they'll also last much longer.

stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,248 posts
 

If I really wanted to get into cassette again, I would purchase a 3 head Nakamichi deck that has been entirely gone through. They were the best out there.  I still have a Sony El Cassette I bought through Sony as a “salesman accommodation”. Stupidly, I only have 3 tapes for it and haven’t tried it since the early 80’s. 

fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,496 posts
 

I’ve had the best luck with Teac for cassette decks. Every Sony I’ve owned has broken belts. Discardable. But you HAVE to play an azimuth tape first.

I’ve never owned any tape decks without test tapes.

They have to be setup correctly before permanent recordings.

niodari's avatar
niodari OP
297 posts
 

I cleaned the heads of course. 

CT-F1250 is a 3-head direct drive, considered as one of the best decks made by Pioneer and in general. 

I did not try to record; this makes no sense if it does not play well. Not many decks have azimuth control for recording, and a very few of them have also for playback. How do you use your azimuth tape, would not any well recorded tape will serve the same purpose?

I tried a well recorded tape on CT-F1250, interestingly, if i stop the playback and immediately resume it, just for two seconds or so the mids and hights appear and then instantaneously disappear. A technician may know if such problem comes from heads, or some other (easier arrangeable) reason may exist. 

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