The CT-F1000 is Pioneer's first 3-head deck and is a front-loader with a very large metal cabinet. Stepped rotary controls are provided (friction locked L/R) for (1)mic/DIN, (2)line input and (3)replay gains.

Servo-controlled deck functions operate a closed-loop dual-capstan transport, and all controls operated extremely well. A pause control is provided which operates on record to allow undesirable program inserts to be cut out. Small switches operate Dolby with mpx switching, two positions for bias, three positions of equalisation, a test tone oscillator for Dolby cal and Dolby record pre-sets (centre indented), while a large switch selects direct or via tape signals.

The two large meters (poorer than average ballistics) were complemented by one LED coming on at +1.5dB ref Dolby level, functioning only on record. The level meters are controlled on replay by the adjustable line-output level, unfortunately. Two pairs of paralleled line-input sockets and a 5-pole DIN socket are complemented by two pairs of output phonos. Twin mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are provided on the front panel.

The microphone input sensitivity was somewhat poor for an expensive machine, but the clipping margin and recorded quality excellent, however. The DIN input had an excellent clipping margin but was rather insensitive and showed very bad noise degradation, although distortion and response were excellent.

The line input had adequate sensitivity and no clipping problem but again the input circuitry was rather noisy, which was most disappointing (far too much gain after record level control). The mpx filter was 1.5dB down at 15kHz.

Replay azimuth was reasonably well set and overall azimuth was very consistent. Replay hiss levels were disappointing, but Dolby gave 10dB noise improvement. Replay hum, however, was excellent, and the replay clipping margin was very good indeed - but amplifier distortion (mainly 2nd harmonic) was only fair at high levels.

The Dolby circuits tracked well. Replay response was excellent at the bass end but showed a 2dB shelf across the board at high frequencies on ferric and 3dB on chrome - most unfortunate and obviously contributing to replay noise. Headphones of all impedances worked extremely well with no reservations.

Maxell UDXLI produced a very flat bass response and a good HF response up to 15 kHz, above which the response fell sharply. The Dolby in chart showed a presence valley despite the Dolby level being set carefully, while 333Hz distortion averaged 0.85% at Dolby level, rising to 2.8% at +4dB.

Slight spitch was noted on speech with slight HF compression, but otherwise overall quality was good. Overall noise was slightly inferior to average but with 9.5dB Dolby improvement. Sony FeCr penned excellent charts to 15 kHz and distortion measured only 0.45% at Dolby level, rising to 1.2% at +4dB and 2.2% at +6dB. HF compression was better than expected but the sound quality tended to be somewhat blurred on transients.

Background noise was also below average and showed just 9dB Dolby improvement. Maxell UDXLII penned a very flat chart to 13kHz and 333Hz distortion measured 1% at DL, rising to 2.5% at +4dB. Background noise was, again, slightly worse than average and had only 9dB Dolby improvement. Sound quality here was very good, but background noise was subjectively not quite low enough.

Wow and flutter measured well and speed, as set, was slightly fast, but this could be corrected with a user front panel pitch control (±11%). Spooling was quite fast at 1.5 minutes, and HF stability, although sounding well, showed many 1.5dB variations on the 10kHz pen chart. Erasure and crosstalk were both excellent.

The limiter facility on record had a very fast attack time, occasionally producing slight clicks, but was otherwise satisfactory. The review sample had a faulty tape monitor switching circuit but this was corrected by the importer.

Whilst this machine was very much liked economically and was capable of producing some good overall quality, the input noise problems were sufficiently disturbing to cause a recommendation to be withheld.

Furthermore, the non-standard replay equalisation will produce some very toppy and brittle quality from many pre-recorded cassettes. It would seem that the entire recording performance has been badly compromised to enable a DIN socket to be incorporated, and if this was completely excluded and the circuitry gain parameters re-designed hiss levels could be much better, particularly if the replay equalisation was corrected. Potentially an excellent machine, but spoilt by some design parameter errors.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................+22°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:...................328;uV/124mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:.........-7.88dB/ +26dB/770Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:............................76mV/710V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:................................1.5dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-1.25dB/+2dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+2.8dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:...................All very low
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:............-49.68dB/10.1dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:.......................-53.5dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+ 14.3dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................670mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.09%/+0.84%
Meters Under-read:.....................................-8.5dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.02%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............0.8496/2.91%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:......0.4896/1.13%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............196/2.5596
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..........................+0.5dB/-ldB/+ldB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-41.88dB/9.5dB
Ferrichrome........................................-45.38dB/9dB
Chrome............................................-44.38dB/9dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-72dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-50.88dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-59.25dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................1.5 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............62.5dB/66.5dB/65.5dB
Tapes Used:..............Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, Maxell UDXLII
Typical Retail Price:............................................£350

The metal-encased STD 2000 offers very basic facilities including lever switches to control Dolby with mpx, bias and equalisation (3 positions each) and input functions. Friction-locked concentric record level controls are complemented by a stereo ganged replay one (the latter acting on the output circuit).

This front loading machine was found easy to use and the deck controls all worked well, excellent headphone monitoring facilities are available into low and higher impedance types and a memory counter is incorporated. Line in/out phonos and a 5-pole DIN socket are mounted on the back panel while the stereo headphone jack and two mono microphone jacks are on the front.

The two 'VU'-type meters are complemented by a peak reading light, coming on at much too low a level (-0.5dB refDL).

The microphone inputs are a little insensitive, but had an excellent clipping margin; quality was good here although a slight hum was apparent. The 5-pole DIN input was found unnecessarily sensitive, but did have a good clipping margin, but the impedance was as usual a little too low, causing slight noise degradation; response and distortion were both excellent, however. The phono line in sockets were again very sensitive, but no clipping was experienced at high input levels. The outputs incidentally were variable on the phonos but were at a fixed level on the DIN socket.

Whilst the replay amplifier hiss was average, slight hum on the right replay channel was noticed and this did not measure too well. Dolby noise reduction worked correctly, and noise was reduced by 3.5dB on FeCr and Cr02 positions. The clipping margin was very satisfactory and replay amplifier distortion measured better than average, while the replay response showed a slight bass loss and a small shelf boost of about 1.25dB on both channels; overall and replay noise would, of course, improve if the replay response was corrected. Azimuth was set incorrectly, thus showing insufficient quality control.

The results on Maxell UDXL1 produced good overall noise figures, despite the replay HF boost, and noise improved by 9.5dB with Dolby. 333Hz distortion was lower than average, reaching only 1.85% average at +4dB and, as expected, some slight HF compression was noted on our test programme (spitch on speech, etc). The frequency response was extremely good without Dolby, extending to 16kHz, but because of the Dolby record calibration error of 1 dB on the left channel, a boost of 2.5dB was noted at 3kHz with Dolby on the left, while the right was again almost flat. Sony FeCr was again quite good on overall noise, but was rather over-biased, producing very low distortion at low and middle frequencies, but considerable HF compression. FeCr responses-were very good with and without Dolby, but showed - 3dB at 15kHz. TDK SA pseudo-chrome gave similar noise figures to FeCr, but the bias setting was better optimised and thus distortion was reasonable across the audio range.

Unfortunately, a record Dolby error of some 1.5dB produced some Dolby mistracking, and I assume that the factory had unwisely set up the machine for normal chrome. Overall response on SA was very good on the right channel, but slightly up in HF on the left, due to the replay boost. Sound quality was generally good and better than with the other two tape types. The bass response on all tape types was decidedly flatter than average, and thus creditable.

Slight HF output variations were noted on the left channel, but not on the right. Wow and flutter was just a little high (0.16% average) and speed was also running just over 1% fast. Spooling was at an average speed. The subjective performance of the machine was reasonably impressive on ferric, but slightly bright on the left channel, because of the Dolby error.

The basic problem was the overall setting up, and if this had been correct the machine would have been well above average in sound quality. As it stands, the review sample was still reasonably good, although the DIN input gave inferior results to the line input on weighted noise. Simple and effective, but the peak reading light was virtually useless since it would encourage under-recording.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................+52°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..................415//.V/57.5mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:.........-21.13dB/+21.68dB/4.6Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................34mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..............................-0.25dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:........-2.25dB/+1.6dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+2.1dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:...............150Hz +61.5dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:...........-49.38dB/10.13dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-52.88dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+12.3dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................585mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.12%/+1.24%
Meters Under-read:.............................................-6.5
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.01%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............0.5396/1.9%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........0.4%/1.4%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...........0.83%/2.9%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.......................+0.25dB/-ldB/+2.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...........................................-42.38dB/9.63dB
Ferrichrome.....................................-45.88dB/9.37dB
Chrome..........................................-45.75dB/9.5dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-67dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:...................-62.2dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL: ........................-67dB
Spooling Time (C90):..........................................2 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...........62.25dB/64.75dB/66dB
Tapes Used:.....................Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£175

The 1110 is the cheapest of the new Sansui range and, as expected, offers only basic facilities. Encased in metal, it is a front-loader in which the cassette is pushed into place and is not normally covered (plastic cover is provided though).

The record gain control is a friction-locked concentric, but no replay or headphone gain controls are fitted. 19" rack mounting handles are provided as an accessory. Deck functions operate normally, but include a 'lead-in' button, so that when forward wind is depressed the tape leaps over the leader for instant record (spools too far). No peak reading light is provided to supplement the 'VU's. A single switch selects bias and equalisation for ferric, ferrichrome and pseudo-chrome and levers operate Dolby and line in/DIN microphone switching.

Two mono jack sockets for microphone and a stereo jack for headphones were mounted on the front, whilst the phono and DIN in/out sockets are on the rear. The microphone input sensitivity was just adequate for speech recording fairly close to the microphone, but slight hum and hiss was noted, although the clipping margin was excellent. The 5-pole DIN input had a good clipping margin but was unnecessarily sensitive, and had a rather low input impedance which caused some noise degradation. The DIN input response showed a fall off above 12.5kHz but rose again above 16kHz. The line input had an average sensitivity and no clipping or response problems were noted, but too much gain was incorporated after the record level control, so that it was attenuated by about 26dB before re-amplification. This degradation of the line input is obviously needed to accommodate the DIN input,
and is a clear example of inappropriate input preamplifier circuitry. The record level meters had fairly poor ballistics encouraging over-recording. Record amplifier distortion measured well.

Replay head azimuth was reasonably accurate, but the replay amplifier was just a little noisier than average, although chrome did give a 3dB improvement, and Dolby a further 10.25dB. The replay clipping margin was very good and replay distortion was better than average. Replay response was excellent at the bass end and marginally up at HF on ferric and around +1.5dB on chrome. Barely enough headphone volume was available into low impedance models, and high impedance ones were too quiet, but the clipping margin was adequate.

The overall results on TDKZ) measured very flat indeed at middle and high frequencies, but a slight bass roll-off was noted. However, recordings suffered fairly severe HF compression and substituting Audio Magnetics XHE gave a far better overall sound quality, although the response rose on XHE to +2dB at 13kHz. TDK D (Sansui's recommendation) gave an average distortion performance at low and middle frequencies, but was possibly slightly overbiased and overequalised. The overall noise was average and Dolby improved noise by lOdB. Sony FeCr showed -3dB at 6kHz but only -0.5dB at 14kHz. Distortion at middle frequencies measured very well but HF compression and spitchiness were not welcome, the response anomalies also being very evident subjectively.

Background noise measured well without Dolby, but with Dolby only improved by 8.75dB; a Dolby level error of +3dB was measured and this is very poor (speech had a sock in it, and yet sibilants were emphasised).

TDK SA produced a pen chart showing a slight HF shelf of -1 dB from 4kHz to 14kHz. Distortion was about average, but HF compression was less marked than usual, speech reproducing well. Clearly TDK SA was well optimised and the Dolby A/B level set correctly. Background noise, however, was higher than usual for this tape type.

Wow and flutter measured quite well, speed was marginally fast, and spooling time well optimised at around 1.75 minutes for a C90. HF stability was average, erasure measured satifactorily and crosstalk well. Despite the slightly noisy input circuitry, this machine did give some good, clean sound quality on TDK SA tape provided the input signals to the phono sockets were at a fairly high level. Sansui should optimise their Dolby A/B levels better and their choice of TDK Dwas unfortunate, since the machine was not set up as it should have been. The model is well styled, and since it can provide some good quality you may well feel that it is well worth considering at its price. Unfortunately though, not quite recommended because of the design problems.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................-5°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:...................260/xV/l 18mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:.........-24.2dB/ +26dB/4.25Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping: ........................lOOmV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................OdB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:..........-1.5dB/+ldB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................+1.62dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -62dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:...........-49.25dB/l0.34dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-52.25dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+ 15.2dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................540mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):..........0.12%/+0.4%
Meters Under-read:.......................................- 7.5dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.02%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............0.95%/3.9%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.52%/1.6%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...........1.3796/4.3%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............................OdB/-3.5dB/- ldB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................. -42.4dB/9.8dB
Ferrichrome.........................................-47dB/9.4dB
Chrome...........................................-45.4dB/9.9dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-67dB Cr02
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:...................-58.3dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-59.3dB*
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................1.75 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...........63dB*/66.5dB/65.75dB
Tapes Used:............................TDK D. Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£ 140

This middle price Sansui deck is a metal encased front-loader having auto-lead-in and independent friction-locked concentric record levels for mic/DIN and line inputs, and an extra ganged control for replay.

Two levers having three switched positions for bias and equalisation are provided and push buttons select memory counter, Dolby in/out and auto-lead in. The two record-level meters had slightly better than average ballistics and are in any case accompanied by a peak reading light coming on at+2.5dB on a continuous tone, but requiring +5dB on a transient. The deck functions all worked well although the buttons were slightly stiffer than average in operation. Loading and unloading was a little awkward as one has to place the cassette into the mechanism manually, but this allows for very easy head cleaning, which is praiseworthy.

Phono line in/out sockets are complemented by a conventional 5-pole DIN and two mono jacks for microphone and a stereo jack socket for headphones are on the front panel. An earth tag is supplied on the rear panel, which is useful. The microphone input sensitivity was slightly better than usual, but the clipping point was just adequate. The DIN input had a very high sensitivity but also a good clipping margin; unfortunately some noise degradation was noted, since the input impedance was too low, and this should be amended. The line input signal is taken through a large resistor to the slider of its gain control, and mixing is achieved by combining the outputs from the tops of the controls, which is rather unsatisfactory since mixing levels are only at around 9mV, and thus noise is added by the circuitry after the controls; consequently the machine is a little noisy overall and this added noise stops the Dolby B circuitry from achieving its full potential improvement on the quietest tapes (8dB at worst instead of lOdB).

Replay azimuth was correctly set and replay amplifier noise was slightly better than average; there was commendably low hum, all components measuring below - 70dB! The chrome position improved noise further by 3.5dB and Dolby gave a full lOdB noise improvement. Bass responses were generally quite good, but showed slight head 'woodles'; some lower HF boost was noted, maximising at +2dB around 6.3kHz; the ferric/ chrome differences were correct, however. The entire replay electronics had a good clipping margin and distortion measured very well. Headphone output levels were adequate into 8 ohm models, but inadequate for 600 ohm, but clipping margins were satisfactory.

TDK D was recommended by Sansui, but showed some HF roll-off, was subjectively slightly muffled, and produced HF compression. Maxell UDXLI, however, showed + ldB at 10kHz and -2dB at 15kHz, and was subjectively very much better with almost no HF compression. UDXLI gave 333Hz distortion measurements of only 0.32% at Dolby level, and 1.6% at +4dB. Quite obviously, TDK D was considerably over-biased. Overall noise without Dolby was just below average, but Dolby improvement only averaged 8.75dB. Sony FeCr measured 2.8% at +6dB, and whilst the response was flat at 10kHz on the left, it was 2dB down on the right.

The subjective quality was better with this than most other decks on FeCn but noise was higher than optimum with Dolby, nevertheless still quite good. TDK SA on the chrome position charted very well up to around 13kHz on both channels and produced some excellent open sound quality, but with just a hint of EHF loss. HF compression was better than usual and distortion was well compromised, 333Hz producing 2.4% at +4dB.

The 'Dolby in' responses showed slight boosts around 8kHz but these weri not troublesome subjectively. The machine was quite clearly well aligned, Dolby A/B levels being well set throughout.

Wow and flutter measured very well, averaging only 0.09%, but speed was marginally slow] Spooling took 1.8 minutes in each direction, and HF stability measured reasonably well, although some HF transients tended to spread a little when Dolby B was used. Erasure was good and crosstalk excellent, showing some of the best figures measured.

This machine would have had a clear recommendation and possibly even a 'best buy' if the input circuitry had been quieter. The circuit would require around 6dB less gain after the record controls, with adjustments of the passive circuit to improve matters, and it is most unfortunate that even a recommendation must be withheld since optimum noise figures were not achieved in practice from average level inputs.

Nevertheless, you should most certainly hear the machine if you are not too concerned about hiss, since its hum, response and wow and flutter performances are so good, and the distortion levels very well optimised. Both the Sansui models 1110 and 3110 are typical examples of machines which could be excellent if the provision of DIN sockets could be withdrawn and the circuitry optimised for the line inputs.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................-3°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................200^1 V/27mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:............-20dB/+23.25dB/2.1Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................94mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................ldB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-3dB/+0.75dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................+0.95dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:...................All very low
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:.............-51.5dB/9.63dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................~54.25dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:...............................+ 13.25dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................540mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.09%/-0.67%
Meters Under-read:.......................................-5dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.02%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............0.32%/1.42%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:......0.45%/1.12%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..........0.83%/2.38%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..........................+ldB/-ldB/+0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric..............................................-42.25dB/9dB
Ferrichrome........................................-47.25dB/8dB
Chrome...........................................-46.8dB/7.7dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-68dB C1O2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-55.75dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-58.75dB
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................1.75 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.........63.75dB/66.25dB/65.5dB
Tapes Used:.....................Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£254

This remarkably inexpensive machine has only very basic facilities, but it does have mic/DIN input switching (rear panel). The unit is a top loader, the deck being slanted upwards towards the back. Economically it is well designed, the deck functions being unusually at the near right side. Cassette loading was slightly awkward, but the deck functions worked well, allowing switching from one to another quite smoothly.

The two reasonable quality record faders have small sliders by the side of them to mark a recording level position which were found most useful. Switches select Dolby (mpx filter switching following this) and two positions of bias and equalisation, ferri-chrome being compromised. The timing counter was rather sticky in operation. Two very ordinary record level meters are incorporated, with no peak reading lights, and with some interaction between them. Pairs of phono sockets for line in/out are complemented by a 5-pole DIN on the rear panel, and mono jack sockets for mike and stereo headphones are on the front panel.

The microphone inputs were a little insensitive, but the clipping margin average, so mike recordings seemed to be rather edgy, and not quite as clean as average. The 5-pole DIN socket was very sensitive, with an adequate clipping margin, and the input impedance was higher than average, although slight noise degradation was noted. An HF peak was noted on the mike/DIN input on both channels (+4dB on the right at 9kHz), although distortion measured well. The line input was quite sensitive and showed no noise degradation, working generally very well, although some slight EHF loss at 15kHz was noted.

The replay azimuth was correctly set, but whilst replay amplifier hiss was average, some hum was noted, including components at 100Hz and 150Hz as well as 50Hz unfortunately, but the general level was not too bad. Replay distortion levels measured quite reasonably, and the clipping margin was very good. Dolby circuitry worked well on replay, showing the usual hiss improvement; only slight bass loss was apparent, and at 10kHz the response was just beginning to fall fairly gently. Chrome equalisation though showed too much HF cut, approximately 1 dB more than it should have been in comparison with ferric. The 10kHz reduction at -40dB with Dolby was slightly excessive. The headphone output was satisfactory into 600 ohms with a good clipping margin, but 8 ohms showed a barely adequate clipping margin.

The overall results on Fuji FX tape showed some bass loss, and a continuous rise at HF, peaking an average of +3dB at 14kHz, but surprisingly this was not too annoying subjectively. Overall noise levels measured extremely well, the background hiss being substantially better than average. Distortion averaged 0.7% at Dolby level, rising to an average of 3.5% at +4dB, but the two channels were substantially different (bias set differently). Sony FeCr also produced bass loss, and a dip in the presence region was followed by an excessive rise at EHF so ferrichrome was clearly not compatible. TDK SA used on the chrome position again produced bass loss and showed a rise to -4-2dB at 14kHz, which again sounded quite reasonable; distortion averaged 4% at +4dB and was again rather uneven between channels. The overall noise performance measured significantly better than average, showing also the normal Dolby hiss reduction.

Wow and flutter measured very poorly but speed was reasonably accurate. HF stability was only fair, the odd dropout being noticed subjectively. I suspect that bias levels were generally set on the low side for the recommended tape types, and Sanyo should be more careful here. Erasure was very poor, although the crosstalk was excellent subjectively, and as measured.

One must carefully weigh up the poor wow and flutter performance and bad erasure with the very low price of this machine. Since other parameters generally measured quite well, it is clear that a recommendation would be fair, although subjectively the review sample could not produce the quality of some of the best buys costing perhaps 50% more. At best, the subjective quality seems better than the measurements indicate, but piano music showed up the wow quite clearly.

A second sample was requested but it also showed very poor wow and flutter although the erasure was marginally better. Sanyo are looking into these criticisms seriously and hope to improve the performance in these areas.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................+ 7"
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:.................342/^V/24.25mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:........-20.25dB/+16.38dB/13.2Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:........................70.5mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:.................................2.5dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-2dB/-0.75dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz: ...................-I.52dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:.................150Hz -61dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:...............-50dB/10.4dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................~53.68dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:..................................+ 14dB
Max. Replay Level tor DL:....................................540mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.27%/+0.28%
Meters Under-read:.....................................-7.5dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.06%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............0.67%/3.35%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB: ......0.66%/2.25%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............1.196/4.3%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..........................-2dB/+ ldB/+1,5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-44dB/10.13dB
Ferrichrome....................................-46.75dB/10.1 3dB
Chrome.........................................-45.63dB/10.5dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-60dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. 1 mV per k ohm:..................-60.18dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:.......................-66.6dB
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................2.25 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...........65.25dB/66.5dB/66.5dB
Tapes Used:............................ Fuji FX. Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:.............................................£80

The RD 5300-2 is a front-loading metal-encased deck employing a friction-locked, large concentric record level control which can also be used for replay level adjustment. Push buttons are supplied for input switching, Dolby limiter, bias and equalisation for ferric, ferrichrome and chrome. An autostart facility is provided, allowing the machine to be set to go into record when an external switch operates.

The deck functions worked well and smoothly but it was not possible to transfer from rewind to play or record. The two record level meters are almost peak reading, offering good performance on transients for a budget machine. Phono line in/out sockets and 5-pole DIN are on the rear panel, and mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack (fixed level) are on the front. Microphone inputs were, as usual, fairly insensitive and the clipping margin was only fair; speech quality was excellent, though, and the switchable limiter worked better than usual, being set to operate at a sensible level.

However, if a stereo microphone having a common earth is plugged in, earth loop hum is produced (use separate microphones). The 5-pole DIN input had good sensitivity and a reasonable clipping margin; the input impedance was higher than average and this allowed less noise degradation than was found on many other machines, although it was still detectable. Very slight 3rd harmonic distortion was measured on the DIN/mic input, but the response was satisfactory (in practice distortion will be virtually unnoticed, unless high input levels are used - not enough feedback here). The line input had good sensitivity and no clipping problem was noted, while the input noise was reasonably low. The mpx filter was permanently in, cutting HF very rapidly above 15kHz - a good point rather than a poor one.

Replay azimuth was only slightly out and replay hiss levels were very reasonable; although no hum was noted subjectively, very slight components were measured on the right channel. Chrome equalisation and Dolby showed the usual hiss improvement. Distortion performance was only fair at +6dB, but was probably adequate for all normal tapes (iron tapes might well distort on replay). The Dolby circuitry was particularly accurately set. The frequency response was substantially flat to 10kHz, but slight bass 'woodles' were noted, and the ferric/chromium response ratio was almost perfectly correct. Low impedance headphones were not driven hard enough and yet the clipping margin was inadequate, while 600 ohm models were slightly on the loud side, but with a good clipping margin.

Fuji FX showed some slight bass 'woodles', and the HF response was well extended to 14kHz with a slight valley around the presence region. The 'Dolby in' chart showed a flattening of the presence region but a slight HF bump. The subjective quality was reasonably good but the +1.75dB positive Dolby error was audible. Although very high levels were distorted with considerable HF compression (tape over-biased), distortion of 333Hz at +4dB measured just 2%. Background noise was subjectively better than average and improved 9.75dB with Dolby.

BASF FeCr produced a substantial peak at 14kHz and the response was rather up and down, which was clearly noted subjectively, along with some 'spitchiness' on speech. Distortion, however, measured similarly to Fuji FX. Background noise measured extremely quiet and yet still showed the usual Dolby improvement, so if the recording level is kept down, the distortion and HF compression performance could be good, although the response anomalies were a little worse than average. TDK SA showed a +2.25dB Dolby error but the response was flat from 150Hz to 13kHz without Dolby (some bass 'woodles' though). Noise measured reasonably well, and 333Hz distortion measured 1% at Dolby level and 3.4% at +4dB. The Dolby error produced some response anomalies and HF compression with slight scratchiness was noticed subjectively, but the sound quality was reasonably good, especially for an inexpensive model. However, Sanyo had obviously biased the deck for normal chrome, despite their recommendation for pseudo-chrome.

Although overall wow and flutter measured quite well, speed was rather fast but spooling and HF stability were average. Erasure was clearly worse than average and barely adequate, and slight crosstalk was noted between the two right hand channels in each direction.

In so many ways this model measured surprisingly well for its low price and was capable of giving good overall results with particularly good dynamic range performance. This machine can be clearly recommended since it provides some useful facilities considering its cost. The overall Dolby errors, however, must be corrected in production and erasure must be improved, so despite the low price it cannot be included as a 'best buy'.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................+22°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................277juV/21mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:...........-21.5dB/+15.75dB/13Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................69mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................ldB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:........-2.5dB/-0.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................-0.4dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:.................150Hz -62dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:.............-51.38dB/9.9dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-55.38dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL................................+10.13dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:......................................1,0V
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):..........0.12%/+1.2%
Meters Under-read:.......................................-3dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.15%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...............0.45%/2%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:......0.73%/1.92%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...........1.04%/3.4%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.......................+0.25dB/-ldB/-0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-44.18dB/9.7dB
Ferrichrome......................................-49.5dB/9.25dB
Chrome..........................................-46.68dB/9.0dB
Worst Erase Figure:....................................-60.5dB Cr02
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-60.25dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. l60mV/DL:.......................-65.8dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................1.9 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.........65.5dB/69.75dB/65.75dB
Tapes Used:..........................Fuji FX, BASF FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£ 120

This budget-priced machine offers the basic facilities that one would expect. A top loader, it is provided with 1/4 inch mike jacks and a stereo headphone jack, phono line in/out and a 5 pole DIN in/out socket. I liked the IEC mains socket with separate cable.

An excellent record limiter is provided but the meters are not complemented by a peak reading light. Separate mike/DIN and line input faders for left and right are provided, which work smoothly, but no replay gain control is incorporated, the output being 470mV for Dolby level, clipping at 2.9V. Although simple, the mechanical functions worked well and transfer from play into rewind and back again is possible without depressing stop; a pause button is also included, but this grabbed slightly. A single switch selects ferric, ferrichrome or chrome bias and equalisation, and additional ones switch in Dolby and the record limiter. Wow and flutter measured very low for such an inexpensive machine averaging 0.08% and this is most creditable. Speed was very slightly slow but nevertheless pretty accurate. Erasure was excellent even on chrome and crosstalk adequate. Spooling was very fast, a C90 requiring only lmin 20secs.

On delivery, replay azimuth was set slightly inaccurately but the replay frequency response was excellent. Some replay hum was noticed on the left channel and the replay circuits were just a little hissier than average, although not bad. Chrome showed 4dB improvement and with Dolby in an additional 9.5dB average improvement was noted. Distortion in the electronics measured reasonably well. HF stability and tape/head contact were both excellent receiving several complimentary remarks in the subjective report.

The microphone input sensitivity was very good at 140/xV into 7.5k ohms. Clipping was reached at 56mV (very good). The DIN input gave 280jiiV sensitivity into 6.5k ohms and produced just ldB noise degradation from our standard source via the quietest tape. The line input sensitivity was quite high at 39mV into 92k ohms and clipping margins on both DIN and line inputs were excellent. The limiter worked quite satisfactorily.

Sony HF ferric tape gave an overall response extending to 11 kHz ±ldB ref. 333Hz even with Dolby inserted, which is truly amazing on such an inexpensive recorder. At Dolby level 333Hz distortion measured at only 0.5% rising to only 2% at +4dB, again astonishing. Overall the sound quality was very good, but at times chuffed very slightly for some reason which is inexplicable. The overall hiss level on Sony HF was average. Sony FeCr showed a 2dB shelf down in response above 4kHz on the left channel, which measured similarly with Dolby in. This caused the ferrichrome to sound just a little dull. Distortion again was low at 0.5% at Dolby level rising to only 1.1% at +4dB. Bias levels had clearly been set fairly high for optimum distortion at middle frequencies and so high frequencies became just a little squashed when the tape was driven hard. Noise was just a little disappointing at-54.5dB weighted ref. Dolby level.

Sony chrome gave a very flat chart indeed on the left channel but showed a marginal rise at EHF on the right, but nevertheless much better than average. Distortion measured 2% at Dolby level rising to 6% at +4dB, slightly better than average for chrome. Some distortion at low frequencies was noted on chrome, but generally the sound quality was pretty clean.

Again, the noise level was not as good as usual at only -54dB weighted. The poorer than average overall hiss levels were caused by too great a sensitivity being incorporated after the record level control and thus the record Dolby circuits boosted up this hiss and did not achieve more than 7.5dB noise reduction. This might be a contributory cause to the chuffing referred to subjectively.

Despite its very modest price then, this recorder has fared extremely well with the provisos that the overall hiss levels and replay hum level require improvement. Its high performance capability must highly recommend it as excellent value for money even if purchased without a discount. A very fine example to manufacturers who produce less good machines at a much higher cost.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:..........................47°
Microphone I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:........140juV/56mV/7.6K ohms
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:.............280/iV/l 12mV/6.5K ohms
Line I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:................39mV/ 10V/92K ohms
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:............OdB/-0.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:........................OdB
Ferric unwtd. 20/20 worst channel:...............................50dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp: ..............50.75dB/9.5dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:.......................54.75dB
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):...........0.07%/-0.4%
Meters Under-read:...................................-7.5dB at 64ms
Distortion monitoring input at DL:...............................0.1%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...............0.5%/2%*
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.596/1.196*
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............2%/6.5%*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..........................-0.5dB/-l .75dB/0dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...............................................42.75dB/9dB
Ferrichrome...........................................47dB/7.5dB
Chrome..............................................46dB/7.75dB
Noise Degradation DIN/line inputs:...........................ldB/OdB
Spooling Time (C90):.........................................lm 19s
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.................64dB/68dB/62dB
Tapes Used:............................Sony HF, Sony FeCr, Sony Cr
Typical Retail Price:............................................£150