I love the medium of tape! I still listen to q8 tapes on my quad system and enjoy my Akai GX-646 for reel tapes and Nakamichi LX-5 for cassettes (though it is currently in need of at least one belt - but it is a wonderful deck!).
Audiophile Equipment
I learned the value of audiophile equipment early in my pursuit of the high end. I had accumulated enough gear for a system and was looking for the best possible tape deck… with Dolby C. From the popular magazines… Stereo Review, Stereo Times… the Harman Kardon T392 seemed to represent the pinnacle. So I bought one. It was OK… but such a huge step down from vinyl that I was genuinely bummed, especially since it cost something like $650… a lot of money at the time.
A few months later I was browsing a high-end audio shop and, somewhat morosely, told my story to a salesman. He just started laughing. “Those things are junk… you need a real tape deck.” He led me over to the window, where there was a seven-year-old used Nakamichi 1000… huge, with wood paneling all around it… looking more like a reel-to-reel than a cassette deck. He wanted $1,200 for it. That was an astronomical amount of money… and it was old. Then he said, “Take it home… try it.”
My first real jaw-drop moment.
It had the full depth and bass of vinyl… it was simply astonishing. It made the so-called “flagship” Harman Kardon sound like a cheap plastic transistor radio and without Dolby C. All that glossy magazine talk about bandwidth and specs… page after page of marketing… well, that’s all it was. This old, purpose-built audiophile machine performed leagues above the consumer-level product.
I was hooked.
It wasn’t my last audiophile purchase… but it was my last consumer-level purchase for decades.
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I got into high end cassette decks late in life. I like archiving club recordings. Many are on cassette tapes. I was skeptical about the potential quality of the tapes. I bought an almost new Nakamichi Dragon. Wow! Fortunately and apparently most tape decks will record better than they will play back. The Dragon breathed life into some very old and cheap tapes. For whoever isn't aware of the magic of the Dragon; it doesn't depend on the pressure pad when playing a tape. This is great as often the pressure pad has fallen off and used to require a transfer of the tape to another shell. I also have a Revox B215. It matches the Dragon in sound quality. The big plus with the Dragon is the fact stated above. The big downside of the Dragon is the extensive components inside. When I acquired the Revox and looked inside I thought it couldn't come close to the Nak. But it does! |
Dear @mgrif104 : Well, as me you are lucky to own the ADS L2030 because were manufactured les than 100 pair speakers.. The L2030 " born " as the needs of Telarc recording studio lookin for a very special and exclusive studio monitors and was ADS who made it and the began of the Telar LP recordings used the ADS BC-8II bi-amplied by a pair of Threshold 4000 amps. Those ADS were non comercial item. From there Telarc gone to the L2030 and in some recordings the L1530. Normally the drivers were made by ADS but with those both models were made in exclusively bay a Germany manufacturer where the Tweeters and main mid-ranges came from there and are unique. Unfortunatelly if something goes down with any of these two drivers there is no way to have again and are really dificult to fix those coils. Those drivers are just truly exceptional and especially the tweeter.. Yes, I new of that digital Ads time delay. R. |
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