Analogue Sound Revisited - Denon DRM540 Tape Deck

[StanleyB]

I don't want to disagree or say pick a fight ( I would never do that) and your DAC is very good (haven't heard the new one yet) but even the very best digital is not analogue. It does not sound the same and to my ears I prefer (ultimately) the way analogue presents things (I do listen to digital and have a lot of CDs).

In that case, I insist that you listen to a TC-7520. I am glad that you have a lot of CD. You are going to be left speechless after leaving their D to A decoding and line output playback to the TC-7520. You gonna have to drag yourself away from listening any more for the night so that you can catch some sleep. And I'll throw in a bottle of wine to keep yourself from going thirsty during the auditioning process. I got enough feedback from customers by now, so I can risk the bet in confidence of a win .

Stan

[Spectral Morn]

In that case, I insist that you listen to a TC-7520. I am glad that you have a lot of CD. You are going to be left speechless after leaving their D to A decoding and line output playback to the TC-7520. You gonna have to drag yourself away from listening any more for the night so that you can catch some sleep. And I'll throw in a bottle of wine to keep yourself from going thirsty during the auditioning process. I got enough feedback from customers by now, so I can risk the bet in confidence of a win .

Stan

Hi Stan

So would you like me to do one of my in-depth reviews for AOS on your new DAC (then see this previous one http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1919, before you agree). If so supply me with a fully run in ex demo unit and I will be happy to give it a good listen and report my findings here. You might want to include PSU options too.

As you can see from the masses of Digital kit I own I am not against digital at all. In fact I love multi-bit kit and have a collection of Marantz's best efforts. Its just bar the slight noise issue I feel that vinyl gives a more natural sound. However I have an open mind.

I should point out that being out of work currently I am not myself in the market for a new DAC but I would be more than happy to give your new DAC a fair and open minded review.

If you are interested PM me. I know a few forum members have expressed an interest in me doing a review and a comparison with the older dac ( I can borrow one of those from a friends son),as well as psu comparisons.

Regards D S D L---Neil

[StanleyB]

I should point out that being out of work currently I am not myself in the market for a new DAC but I would be more than happy to give your new DAC a fair and open minded review.

Who's talking about buying? Have you got some headphones at hand as well so that you can check out the HP section? Just PM me your address.

Stan

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Stan

Hi Stan I try not to assume anything...I thought that was what you were offering but I like to be sure

Yes no problems I have a number of Headphones to try with the HP output. This should be very interesting.


Regards D S D L----Neil

[aBe]

Absolutely, Dolph! While the best decks do tend to measure better, it's the sound they make that is important, not the numbers. For me there's something about tape that just sounds excellent - I know I'm lucky in that I've got a pretty decent deck - but like I said earlier, with good tape, even some of the cheaper consumer decks can make a great sound too

I guess just like I mentioned before, it's not so much about absolute transparency and accuracy et al. It's about how 'right' it sounds (which is still relative anyway).

Otherwise, for 'critical' listening and during those attempts to impress visiting mates I still play the silver circle or digitised files...

[niklasthedolphin]

I guess just like I mentioned before, it's not so much about absolute transparency and accuracy et al. It's about how 'right' it sounds (which is still relative anyway).

Otherwise, for 'critical' listening and during those attempts to impress visiting mates I still play the silver circle or digitised files...

If I were your visitor, I wouldn't get impressed that way.

"dolph"

[Beechwoods]

[Alex Nikitin]

I would like to say a couple of words about tape recording. In last half a year it happens to be my main hobby. I've found that a decent tape deck is a very convenient way to copy my vinyl for everyday casual listening. It keeps much more music than a CD ever could and much more convenient to use than hi-res digital (which is also has to be done on a very top level to keep the music of a good vinyl from 60-s and 70-s reasonably alive). Over these months I've acquired about 20 different good cassette decks and reel-to-reels, serviced most of these and restored most of my skills in tape recording . As a result I am almost completely stopped listening to CDs and beautiful music sounds in my house much more often .

Now I am planning to start making good quality test and alignment cassettes for all those people who still enjoy a good analogue sound, and to design some nice replay electronics - using circuit ideas from my phono stages. I am having some serious fun with all this stuff . And I found a proper use for a digital sound on a computer - it is very good for checking and adjusting tape decks and phono stages!

Alex

[Beechwoods]

That sounds brilliant, Alex. Playing with reel to reel and tape really gets to be a bug once you start tinkering with this stuff. I really look forward to seeing what kind of stuff you come up with. Keep us posted, please!

[Alex Nikitin]

That sounds brilliant, Alex. Playing with reel to reel and tape really gets to be a bug once you start tinkering with this stuff. I really I look forward to seeing what kind of stuff you come up with. Keep us posted, please!

Thank you for your support . I did a lot of work on tape electronics in 80-s, including several complete cassette tape deck electronics designs. I did enjoy it then and I am enjoying it now. I am still surprised how well some of the decks can sound with a decent analogue source and a good quality tape. My favourite deck at the moment is somewhat modified Aiwa XK-S7000. It sounds better to my ears than Nak BX-300 and Aiwa XK-009. Other decks are further down in sound quality thought I plan to modify some of these. Here is the list of my working decks at the moment:

Aiwa XK-S7000
Aiwa XK-009
Aiwa XK-007
Akai GX-6
Akai GX-52
Hitachi D-909
Nakamichi BX-300E (two)
Sony TS-K555
Sony TS-K677
Technics RS-M85
Technics RS-M253
Trio KX-1060

I've managed to buy some original and unused BASF-EMTEC alignment tapes - these I will use as a primary reference for making my own test tapes.

Alex