From: Jonas.Palm@orgk3.lu.se (Jonas Palm)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Pioneer "Auto BLE" opinions?
Date: 23 Dec 92 12:45:15 GMT
Followup-To: rec.audio
Organization: University of Lund, Sweden

In article <10626@vtserf.cc.vt.edu>, ranck@joesbar.cc.vt.edu (Wm. L. Ranck)
wrote:
> 
> Jonas Palm (Jonas.Palm@orgk3.lu.se) wrote:
> : In article <10583@vtserf.cc.vt.edu>, ranck@joesbar.cc.vt.edu (Wm. L. Ranck)
> : wrote:
> : >    Does anyone have experience with the Pioneer "Auto BLE" type decks?
> : 
> : It is _definitely_ worth having, especially if you haven't done calibration
> : work before. I would never buy a cassette deck which didn't allow the
> : user to calibrate it to different tape types easily.
> :
> Thanks for the information.  Of the two decks I looked at one was "Auto BLE"
> while the other was "Super Auto BLE".  I was under the impression that the
> "Super" variety was due to the deck having 3 heads so it could do the 
> adjustment in a single pass, but maybe I'm wrong there.

I checked last night, and SABLE checks and adjusts the frequency response 
at 400, 3k, and 12kHz, whereas ABLE only checks 400 and 10kHz. With dual-
layer tapes (TDK SA-X, Most of Fuji's offerings, BASF, etc.) this is a 
big win.

As I said, there are different flavours of SABLE, growing more precise with
price, but all are pretty good.

> : 
> : Personally, I am wary of auto-reversing decks. (Nakamichi has shown that 
> : it can be done right, for ludicrous amounts of money.) 
> : Auto-reversing decks are _usually_ plagued by relatively unstable 
> : tape transports and azimuth errors in either or both directions.
> : If you do not absolutely need this feature, I would recommend that you 
> : spend your money elsewhere.
> 
> I share your distrust of auto-reverse, but it seems hard to find a deck in
> that price range without it.  I'm willing to listen to possible alternatives.
> I'm still shopping and considering how long my last deck lasted I am willing
> to take my time finding a new one.
>    Now if I can only find a shop that deals in Nakamichi . . .
> --
I have owned Nakamichi, they used to have great longevity, but some recent
decks have seriously undermined my trust in them (plastic head assemblies,
service tech. friends who tells of difficulties with keeping azimuth 
constant, etc.). They are also ridiculously overpriced. 
Last time I looked at them _none_ of them offered front panel
adjustment of rec levels, which I consider a criminal oversight. For what I
consider bogus reasons, no deck offers HX-PRO, and worse if they have
high-end aspirations, no DOLBY-S.
(If you really want a Nak, I'd recommend a CR-4. Pretty recent model with
all essentials, _if_ you can get it cheaply. A Pioneer CT-41 Elite (US
name)
is a far better bet for approximately the same money.)

The three-head Pioneer is a good alternative. Sony offers a three-head,
dual capstan with bias and rec-level adjustments on the front for rather
small money (TCK-590 or -690), and the Aiwa ADF-810 is justly considered
a bargain offering the same features. 
If the deck doesn't use its meters in a special way for the calibration,
you almost have to have a digital voltmeter (to get 10kHz AC response) 
and a CD with test signals.

(Oh, and as I always add when I write about cassette decks on the net,
if you do not have one, get a demagnetizer and use it. _You_ may not need
that piece of advice, but I always grab the chance to spread the gospel.8-)

Happy shopping!

                           Jonas Palm