This metal-encased front-loader has just basic facilities and the review sample was a pre-production one. A rotary friction-locked concentric record level is complemented by a ganged replay control. Two independent phono line outputs are provided (one pair at a fixed level) in addition to phono line inputs and a 5-pole DIN socket; mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are on the front panel.

Lever switches select line in/microphone, DIN and record mute, Dolby in/out with mpx filtering switchable, and two 3-position switches for bias and equalisation for ferric, ferrichrome and chrome. The record level meters had a rather average performance but there were three peak reading lights which operated at Dolby level and +4.5dB while the third one did not work!

The deck controls operated well, although the auto-play function which should switch the machine from re-wind into play automatically didn't operate. A memory counter is incorporated which worked well. Cassette loading was effected by placing the cassette inside a hinged window, which was very smooth in operation. An IEC mains socket on the rear was welcome, a mains lead being supplied.

The microphone input had just enough gain for speech, a good clipping margin, and excellent hiss and hum performance with low distortion. The DIN input was extremely sensitive and with an adequate clipping margin, and the input impedance was reasonably optimised, giving virtually no noise degradation. Distortion measured well and no preamplifier response problems were encountered. The line inputs had good sensitivity and no noise or clipping problems.

Replay head azimuth was very stable and well set and the replay amplifier noise was adequate on ferric and showed a 3.75dB improvement on chrome, but we noticed that, whilst the replay response was generally slightly up at 10kHz, the right channel required less head peaking than the left, giving better noise figures on the right channel. Some 50Hz hum was noted on the left replay channel. The replay Dolby level was very slightly out, but not seriously, and Dolby gave 10dB noise reduction.

Replay amplifier clipping was good and distortion in the electronics was very low. Headphone levels were just adequate into 8 ohm with an inadequate clipping margin, but much too quiet into 600 ohm. While the fixed-level phono sockets were well optimised in output level and the variable outputs could usefully achieve I. IV output for Dolby level, the DIN socket gave too high a level.

Sony HF produced quite a reasonable overall noise performance showing 10dB improvement with Dolby. An average of 2dB shelf boost above 4kHz on both channels was noted, partly due to under-biasing as the mid frequency distortion was particularly high at 8% at +4dB, The response errors were, of course, exaggerated with Dolby but HF compression was better than usual. Sony FeCr was quite quiet and distortion at middle frequencies very low indeed. The response also measured very well, being flat at 10kHz and extending to 15 kHz at only -0.5dB. HF compression was reasonable for ferrichrome and certainly better than average for this tape type.

Sony chrome showed a slight shelf boost at HF, but distortion at middle frequencies was very bad indeed, eg. 12.75% average at +4dB! Noise was very average for chrome and Sony should re-set the chrome position for pseudo-chrome for the sake of greatly improved performance. The general measurements showed that insufficient attention was paid to overall setting up, ferrichrome being clearly better than the other two tape types, unfortunately.

Wow and flutter measured well in the laboratory, but some flutter was audible (flopping supply hub problem). Speed was 0.8% fast, but spooling good. Erase measured very well, but crosstalk was only adequate. Whilst this machine had some good points, unfortunately insufficient quality control causes a recommendation to be withheld.

Perhaps production samples will be better, though, and quite clearly the machine shows considerable promise, particularly if equalisation and biasing could have been set more accurately.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-23°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................217^tV/80mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:............-28dB/+24.25dB/10Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:........................7.15mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:...............................0.25dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:............-ldB/+ldB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................+1.62dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:.................~60dB 150Hz
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:...........-50.62dB/10.13dB
Replav Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:.......................-54.5dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:...............................+13.38dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:.....................................1.07V
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.08%*/+0.8%
Meters Under-read: ......................................+9dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.12%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:................1.896/8%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:......0.53%/1.55%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..........3.696/12.7596
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............................+1.5dB/0dB/+ ldB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...........................................-42.75dB/9.88dB
Ferrichrome......................................-46.5dB/9.88dB
Chrome............................................-46dB/9.75dB
Worst Erase Figure: ..............................-73dB Crffe and Fe
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-64.18dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-64.38dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................1.9 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..........61.25dB*/67.5dB/63dB*
Tapes Used:..........................Sony HF, Sony FeCr, Sony C1O2
Typical Retail Price:............................................£160

This portable machine can be used on internal batteries, or even from an external 6V supply. The main input/output sockets, including two mono mic jacks, phono line in/out and 5-pole DIN are on the left of the machine, whilst mains is plugged into an IEC socket on a panel on the right, also incorporating a 6V socket, a stereo headphone jack, and an internal loudspeaker volume control (also operating headphone volume).

The machine is a top loader when used conventionally, and strap hooks are provided for carrying. The front panel includes the conventional deck function controls, which worked normally, but with a crossbar below them to facilitate operation with one hand. Rotary switches are provided for input switching (2 mike/DIN sensitivities), limiter, Dolby, and three positions of equalisation and bias, while push buttons select a meter light and battery check. The gain control employs two in-line rotary levers, but these are not friction-locked, and are thus a little awkward, although smooth.

The two meters under-read rather badly, but a peak reading light came on at +2.5dB on a continuous tone and +5dB on a transient; the limiter worked well, but was not ganged. Microphone recording quality was good, the mic input sensitivity was adequate, and clipping margins were excellent, and very flexible. The DIN input had very high sensitivity and a good clipping margin, but a little noise degradation was noted, although distortion and response measured reasonably well. The line input had average sensitivity and no clipping problem was encountered. Input noise here showed no real degradation, but the noise floor was only fair. The mpx filter is always in circuit, and produced -2dB at 15kHz.

Replay azimuth was set well, but was a little variable; replay hiss levels all measured quite well and showed just under lOdB hiss improvement with Dolby, and 4dB with chrome. Hum levels measured well with the mains unit in use. The replay clipping margin was excellent, and replay amplifier distortion quite reasonable, but second harmonic distortion was noted in the Dolby circuitry at -20dB. The replay responses all measured extremely well on both ferric and chrome equalisations. The internal loudspeaker (mono) was most useful, and 8 ohm headphones had adequate volume, but barely enough clipping margin, while 600 ohm headphones were much too quiet and thus not recommended (best compromise 25 ohm models, such as the Beyer DT480).

Sony HF tape gave a very good overall response from 60Hz to 12kHz without Dolby, but with Dolby a slight presence valley was noted. 333Hz distortion measured 1.5% at Dolby level, rising to 6% at +4dB, and considerable HF compression was noted on our test tape programme. What a pity that Sony have to line up for their own HF tape rather than Group 3 types which would be much better. Background noise measured slightly better than average. Sony FeCr showed a shelf HF cut which was emphasised with Dolby, producing a muffled overall sound quality with HF compression, and a rather scratchy HF sound quality (clearly overbiased); as expected, however, 333Hz distortion measured only 1.3% at +4dB and noise measured well, but only 8.76dB hiss reduction was noted with Dolby. Sony chrome produced 2.5% distortion at Dolby level and 10% at +4dB; HF compression was marked, and distortion was subjectively bad, while the response showed -2dB at 10kHz, resulting in slightly muffled recordings. Once again the performance could have been so much better with modern pseudo-chromes (see Group 4 cassettes). As it stands, Dolby errors with pseudo-chromes would present problems, and therefore I recommend you to insist on realignment for pseudo-chromes if the model attracts you.

Wow and flutter measured poorly, and speed was 1.7% slow. Spooling was average, though, and HF stability good, while erasure and crosstalk were very good. This machine could give some good quality on speech and sound effects, if used with better tapes, and was economically quite easy to use "in the field".

It cannot be recommended as a home recorder, though, because of the bad wow and flutter. Its price is reasonable, and provided it is required primarily for recording sound effects, etc. rather than music, it can be recommended. It cannot however compare favourably with recommended mains only machines of a similar price for in-system use.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................._
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................185/j,V/62mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp: ...........-25dB/ +26dB/3.6Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity /Clipping:..........................70m V/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:................................-2dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:..............-IdB/OdB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................-0.35dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:____50Hz -58dB (Mains Supply)
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:.............-51.18dB/9.7dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:........................-54.75
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+ l6.5dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................590mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.13%/-1.76%
Meters Under-read:....................................-7.75dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.13%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............1.5496/5.9%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.596/1.33%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB: ............2.5%/9.8%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..............................0dB/-2dB/-2dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...............................................-43.5dB/9dB
Ferrichrome......................................-47.5dB/8.75dB
Chrome............................................-46.38dB/9dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-69dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:...................-59.5dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-61.13dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................2.2 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............62dB*/66.25dB/63dB*
Tapes Used:.......................Sony HF, Sony FeCr, Sony Chrome
Typical Retail Price:............................................£190

The TC138SD can be said to be a simplified version of the TC177SD incorporating most of the features of the 777 including Dolby B processing, a record limiter, bias and equalisation switching for ferric, ferrichrome and chromium cassettes, and peak reading lights. The mechanical deck controls are very simple to use and the wow and flutter performance measured extremely well at only .08%.

The tape speed was just a little fast at 0.9%. The 'VU' meters had an average under-read of 7dB on the 64msec pulse but the peak light operated at +3dB; U inch jack sockets provide a sensitivity of 95jLtV, which allows very quiet sounds to be recorded even with moving coil microphones. Despite this astonishing sensitivity, clipping was not reached until 47mV and so the dynamic range of the microphone input is really excellent. A 5 pole DIN socket, impedance 3k ohms gave a sensitivity of lOOjLtV and clipped at 45mV, again really excellent. Virtually no noise degradation was obtained on either the DIN or line inputs from standard sources, the latter having a sensitivity of 40mV on phono sockets. Line output was given on two additional phono sockets as well as on the 5 pole DIN one, and a stereo headphone jack also complements the output. The record limiter worked exceptionally well, the threshold being set on just about optimum to avoid both distortion and tape noise.

The replay response showed a slight bass rise of approximately 1.75dB generally. The 10kHz response on ferric was just slightly down, averaging -1.5dB. However, the chromium equalisation was totally wrong, being approximately 4dB down at 10kHz, referred to the theoretical optimum response. The replay noise measured a little below average, unfortunately, although this was partly due to the presence of a slight hum. Both the stability and tape/head contact were good, although very slight phase jitter was noted in the tests.

The overall distortion on Sony HF ferric tape was very low indeed, measuring only 0.56% at Dolby level, rising to 1.9% at +4dB, and the response also measured only 1.5dB down at 10kHz with Dolby processing in. Subjectively, the sound quality was exceptionally good with an extended frequency response, although the overall noise was slightly marred by a noisy transistor on the left record channel. Sony FeCr also behaved very well despite the replay equalisation being incorrect, giving distortion of only 0.5% at Dolby level, rising to only 1.2% at +4dB, thus providing an extremely wide potential for dynamic range. The response was fairly similar to ferric, but extended to only -3dB at 15kHz even when the Dolby circuit was switched in, which is really remarkable. The overall signal-to-noise ratio on ferrichrome measured 55dB ref. Dolby level with Dolby operative. There can be no doubt that if the replay circuit had a lower noise level, this machine would give even better results. Chrome tape as usual, had much higher distortion, reaching 3.6% at +4dB, and had a similar signal to noise ratio as ferrichrome, but the 10kHz overall response fell markedly to -4dB.

Again, if the replay response had been corrected, chrome would be virtually flat overall but ferrichrome would have shown a slight lift. Notwithstanding the loss of top on chrome, the sound quality was still good but clearly inferior to ferrichrome. No crosstalk or erase problems were noted. The rewind time of 2 minutes was very satisfactory and a memory counter is included.

Both the mike/DIN and line inputs had independent faders for mixing and a stereo ganged line out control allows the replay and monitoring level to be adjusted at will.
This recorder was very well liked in the laboratory and can be recommended, although its price is somewhat high. It proved reliable and had a pretty consistent azimuth, which was nearly correct on delivery.

Despite the generally excellent performance, the laboratory asked Sony to provide a machine for restest to check the chrome replay equalisation and overall noise performance. The second sample was much better on chrome replay, showing only 1.5dB loss at 10kHz, and the ferric response was also improved, so that 10kHz was virtually flat. The ferric replay noise figures measured very well, showing a 3dB improvement, CCIR weighted. Chrome showed an improvement of 1 dB despite the considerable increase of HF response. The overall ferric noise, however, showed virtually no improvement although ferrichrome improved by 2dB and chrome by ldB. Although the chrome response measured virtually flat overall on the second sample, both ferric and ferrichrome tapes showed rather bad high frequency boosts between 5 and 10kHz, thus presumably being under-biased. This appears to confirm that better quality control is required on this model.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:..........................12°
Microphone I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:...........92/u.V/47mV/8K ohms
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:................100]uV/45mV/3K ohms
Line I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:.............43mV/ 10V/70-80K ohms
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........+1.5dB/-1.5dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:....................-3.75dB
Ferric unwtd. 20/20 worst channel:...............................49dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:................47.5dB/9.5dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:........................55.5dB
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):..........0.08%/+0.9%
Meters Under-read:......................................7dB at 64ms
Distortion monitoring input at DL:..............................0.04%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..............0.6%/1.9%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.5%/1.2%*
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............1.9*/4.6%*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...............................-1.5dB/0/l .5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric..................................................42dB/9dB
Ferrichrome.........................................46.5dB/8.5dB
Chrome.............................................47.5dB/7.5dB
Noise Degradation DIN/line inputs:.........................ldB/0.5dB
Spooling Time (C90):............................................2m
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............62.5dB/68.5dB/62.5dB
Tapes Used:............................Sony HF, Sony FeCr, Sony Cr
Typical Retail Price:............................................£200

Despite this front-loader being fairly inexpensive, it offers fairly extensive facilities. These include mike/DIN, and line in mixing each having split concentric L/R level controls, separate bias and equalisation (three position switches for ferric, ferrichrome and chrome), a record limiter (un-ganged but fairly effective) and a mono peak recording light accompanying the level meters; U inch microphone jacks provide a sensitivity of 200/xV into 4.9k ohms. The 5 pole DIN in/out socket on the rear had an input sensitivity of 300/iV into 6.2k ohms.

The mike input clipped at 60mV and the DIN at 90mV. No noise degradation occurred on the DIN input from our standard source and this is creditable. The phono line input, also available on a stereo jack socket on the front panel, had a sensitivity of 70mV into 125k ohms, again with no noise degradation and virtually no clipping problem. The limiter appeared to be unganged and so transients limiting on one channel caused marked image shifts when activated. Loading was slightly more awkward than normal but a press button 'opening the hatch' made withdrawal very simple with one hand.

Mechanically, the controls were just a little stiff, but provided play into rewind and back into play again without transferring to stop. The wow and flutter measured 0.1% but fell to 0.08% at the end of a cassette. Speed was a little slow, averaging 0.8%, but even this would hardly be noticed. Spooling was fast at lmin 20secs for a C90. Erase was excellent and crosstalk adequate. Again, as is common with Sony, an IEC mains socket is provided to go with the necessary mains lead, and also a separate earth terminal. The recorder is provided with a basic metal chassis with wooden side cheeks and is smart in appearance.
On delivery, the replay azimuth was a little out and the replay response showed a boost at 10kHz (average +2dB) and +2.75dB at around 7kHz.

Chrome equalisation was similarly boosted. High frequencies replayed with a rather bright sound quality from pre-recorded cassettes and seemed a little fizzy. Stability and tape/head contact were good. No hum was noticed on replay but, as expected, replay was a little noisier than average due to the excessive treble being present in the replay circuits. Dolby gave 9.5dB improvement and chrome an additional 3.5dB. Distortion in the electronics was generally low and Dolby level replayed at 1V, this being controllable to a limited extent with a stereo ganged replay potentiometer. Output clipped at 4.8V, thus allowing an extremely wide margin.

Sony HF ferric produced an overall frequency response, which was slightly up on the right channel (+2dB at 6kHz with Dolby in). Subjectively, Sony HF sounded well, although some HF compression was noted, which was surprising considering the replay HF boost. 333Hz distortion at Dolby level measured amazingly low at 0.45% average, and this shows slight overbiasing which thus caused the HF squashing referred to. The overall noise was measured below average at -50.5dB weighted.

Sony FeCr with Dolby in showed -3dB at 10kHz on the left, but nearly flat on the right and since the distortion measured only 0.45% again the machine must have been overbiased. (+4dB distortion measured only 1 %). Dynamic range on ferrichrome was disappointing (only -53.5dB weighted noise overall) and whilst distortion was audibly low, the sound quality was dull. Sony chrome produced a very flat response to 10kHz and 333Hz distortion measured 2.7% rising to 10% at +4dB. The sound quality produced was reasonable, although some HF squash was noted.

Potentially this machine is clearly a good one, but errors in replay equalisation and record biasing and equalisation on ferric and ferrichrome must raise a doubt as to the efficiency of quality control. Because of this, and judging by the review sample, I cannot quite recommend the model, but perhaps other samples would be better. Nevertheless, good value for money especially for the better than average facilities.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:..........................37°
Microphone I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:..........200ju.V/60mV/5 K ohms
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:..............300juV/90mV/6.2K ohms
Line I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp: ...............71mV/ 10V/128K ohms
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:........+1.25dB/+2.5dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:......................+3dB
Ferric unwtd. 20/20 worst channel:.............................50.5dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:............... 48.25dB/10dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:........................51.5dB
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):...........0.09%/-0.9%
Meters Under-read:.....................................-8dB at 64ms
Distortion monitoring input at DL:..............................0.02%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...............0.4%/2%*
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........0.4%/l%*
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............2.6%/10%*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:......................+0.75dB/-l .5dB/+0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric.............................................40.75dB/9.5dB
Ferrichrome......"....................................44.75dB/9dB
Chrome............................................43.75dB/9.5dB
Noise Degradation DIN/line inputs:...........................OdB/OdB
Spooling Time (C90):.........................................lm 20s
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............62.5dB/67.5dB/60.5dB
Tapes Used:............................Sony HF, Sony FeCr, Sony Cr
Typical Retail Price:............................................£200

The TCK8B is a fascinating machine having some excellent facilities and is a front-loader, incorporated into a large metal cabinet with an IEC mains socket. The usual phono and DIN inputs and outputs are provided, and also a remote control accessory socket on the rear panel.

A superb liquid crystal display meter offers a wide range of metering facilities including peak reading and peak hold, all of which could be seen very clearly; transients and peak-hold indications were read quite accurately.

Independent concentric controls (not friction locked) are provided for mic/DIN and line inputs with mixing. Levers switch three positions of bias and equalisation separately, and limiter functions; a rotary switch selects Dolby off, Dolby on and Dolby with mpx filtering, and a separate ganged replay gain control is complemented by an independent headphone control. The metering function is selected by minute push buttons and separate buttons or switches operate the tape counter mechanism and memory counter (switchable to auto-stop/start, etc), and the timer switches between record and play for remote starting.

All the deck functions are microswitch-operated logic types, and work extremely smoothly, even allowing the user to drop into record from replay. The deck employs two motors and cassette loading was superb.

The microphone input sensitivity (1/4" jack sockets) was higher than usual, the clipping margin excellent, and sound quality was extremely good and clean. The DIN input was ridiculously sensitive, but also had an amazing clipping margin; only marginal noise degradation was noted and distortion measured well, but the response dipped around 15 kHz.

The line input (also available on a stereo jack socket on the front) was very sensitive and yet again had an excellent clipping margin. The response was flat and the switchable mpx filter produced just ldB drop at 15kHz. Unfortunately, the input noise with volume controls at minimum was rather below average, restricting the overall noise floor. If there had been 6dB less gain after the record level control, only microphone sensitivity would have been sacrified, and the noise floor would have been 6dB better.

Replay azimuth was reasonably accurately set but replay hiss levels were slightly below average, although Dolby showed the normal improvement; chrome showed more improvement than usual. Replay responses measured very well indeed from 40Hz to 10kHz on both ferric and chromium equalisation. Clipping margins were extremely good, and more than adequate even for iron pre-recorded cassettes, while distortion levels also measured very well. Low impedance headphones worked extremely well but there was inadequate level and a poor clipping margin into high impedance models.

Sony HF tape produced a reasonably flat chart to 13kHz with a slight valley around 7kHz. The Dolby in response emphasised the valley, unfortunately, and it was just noticeable subjectively. The sound quality was, at best, very good indeed but distortion levels were generally on the high side and another tape type, such as one from group 3, would be much better provided the bias was slightly increased. 333Hz distortion measured 1.6% at Dolby level and 6.3% at +4dB and overall noise was average. Sony FeCr showed some HF anomalies and sounded slightly muffled with marked HF compression.

Background noise was average but showed only 9dB improvement with Dolby; distortion was only 1.1% at +4dB and thus the tape was obviously very over-biased. Sony chrome gave a very good pen chart from 70Hz to 15kHz, above which the response fell fairly rapidly; distortion, however, measured 3.2% at Dolby level and 11.5% at +4dB, and subjectively the chrome tape produced roughness throughout the test program, although at lower levels the quality was very good. Since the noise was slightly below average, the dynamic range would be limited if levels were held down, and so Sony chrome cannot be recommended. Obviously for political reasons, the machine was set up throughout for Sony tapes, but it is clear that on other types and with re-alignment the machine could have superb results at best.

Wow and flutter measured reasonably well and speed was very accurate while HF stability was average and spooling took 1.7 minutes. Erasure was excellent and crosstalk satisfactory. The review sample was an early production prototype and perhaps normal production models will be even better.

The ergonomics were amongst the best of any machine reviewed, the liquid crystal metering being fabulous. The machine can be very strongly recommended, but I earnestly advise you to get your dealer to set it up for better tape types. Provided he is prepared to do this at no extra charge, the machine can be regarded as a 'best buy', but if this is not possible then performance can only put it in the normal recommended category. Input circuitry clearly shows an improvement, but Sony frequently seem to employ too much gain after the record level pots on so many of their models.

The cheaper model TCK7 is virtually identical to the TCK8B but the LCD is omitted, being replaced by normal meters and three peak reading lights.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-33J
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................168ju.V/75mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:...........-28dB/+25.25dB/9.55Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:........................54.5mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................ldB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-0.5dB/+0.5dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+0.8dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -54dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:................-50dB/9.8dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-53.88dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+ 16.5dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:.....................................1.05 V
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.12%/-0.12%
Meters Under-read:.......................................-2dB 8ms*
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.06%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............1.57%/6.3%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.4%/1.12%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........3.1696/11.3996
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:......................-ldB/-2.25dB/-0.25dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric .............................................-41dB/10.4dB
Ferrichrome........................................-46.38dB/9dB
Chrome.........................................-45.75dB/9.1 3dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-72dB C1O2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:.....................-60dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-60.5dB*
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................1.75 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..........60.5dB*/67.5dB/62.5dB*
Tapes Used:.......................Sony HF, Sony FeCr, Sony Chrome
Typical Retail Prices TCK7/TCK8B:.......................£300/£420

One of the few machines amongst the new models that can be used as a top-loader, the TCD 320 is housed in a handsome wooden cabinet. Its servo-operated deck functions all worked very neatly, and allowed switching between all functions, although pause has to be engaged for recording.

Fairly long throw faders are provided for record and play back levels, but there is no input switch. The meters are peak reading types, heavily equalised and under-reading transients rather more than some of the other types, though better than normal meters. The cassette is pushed home in a slightly awkward, sideways-mounted trap door on the right of the deck, which lifts open with the eject button. Push button switches operate all functions including Dolby, ferric/chrome, andmpx filter. The transport uses three motors and dual capstans.

The microphone input sensitivity is very much higher than average, being optimised for low output moving coils, and since the clipping margin is not too good high output mikes such as some electrets are not really suitable; the quality of reproduction here was extremely good however. The DIN input had good sensitivity and an excellent clipping margin, and the impedance was well optimised, so very little noise degradation shoudl be noticed from a normal DIN source. Input noise performance here was excellent, and distortion far better than average. The line inputs had very high sensitivity, but clipped at 4.8V, which should not be troublesome on normal domestic installations however. A slight peak at 10kHz was noted on the line input, but noise measured extremely well. The switchable mpx filter cuts 15kHz response by just 1.25dB.

The replay azimuth was only very slightly out; replay amp noise showed an average hiss level with the normal Dolby improvement, but hum measured particularly well, and was completely inaudible. The replay clipping margin was very good, and satisfactory for iron tape replay, and distortion measured very well. Whilst bass responses were good, the HF response averaged around +2dB at 10kHz, showing a tendency to be compatible with the old rather than the new BASF standard. Chrome equalisation did not quite cut sufficient HF, and so was slightly more toppy than it should have been. Very ample volume is available into all normal headphone types, with an excellent clipping margin.

Maxell UDXLI measured +3dB at 10kHz, partly due to the boost on the line input, but this rise was maintained to 15kHz; the bass response was very good. Distortion measured extremely well at 333Hz, only 3% at +6dB, and overall noise was slightly higher than average, but since high recording levels could be achieved, this was not too serious. Although the overall sound quality was on the bright side, the quality of reproduction was above average, only slight HF compression being noted. Quite clearly the jncorrect replay equalisation was mainly responsible for the brightness, and could easily be corrected. Dolby levels, though, were correctly set and the Dolby in responses were very similar to the Dolby out ones. Maxell UDXLI I produced a response valley in the presence region, but peaked slightly at EHF (partly replay equalisation); 333Hz distortion measured .9% at Dolby level, rising to 2.8% at +4dB.

The overall quality sounded good, with only slight HF compression, but a response anomaly was noted. Background hiss was noisier than it should have been (replay equalisation again).

Wow and flutter were average, and speed was only marginally slow. Spooling was incredibly fast (55secs for C90), which made finding a passage rather difficult, and HF stability was average. Chrome erasure was rather inadequate, but ferric was very good and crosstalk measured well throughout.

The machine can be mounted horizontally or vertically, appropriate feet being provided. It is the successor to the the TCD 310, and is far better, but of course competition is stiffer now than it was. The machine can be recommended since the overall quality was good, and no input noise problems were encountered, but Tandberg should note the replay equalisation errors, and also the poor erasure on pseudo-chrome.

Tandberg are attending to these problems, and it is only fair to point out that the review sample was a pre-production one. Provided that the response and erasure are corrected in production, the 320 can be recommended as a best buy, but as it stands it must miss this position for the time being.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-33°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:.....................72ju.V/10mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:............-18dB/+20.75dB/21Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:............................30mV/4.8V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:........'.......................1.25dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:........-0.5dB/+2.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................+3.05dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -65dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:............-51.13dB/9.75dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-54.38dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:...............................+13.75dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................600mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.14%/-0.27%
Meters Under-read:........................................-7dB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.03%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............0.24%/1.27%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........N/A / N/A
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..........0.8896/3.19%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............................+3dB/ N/A /+3dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-40.75dB/9.9dB
Ferrichrome............................................N/A / N/A
Chrome..........................................-43.75dB/9.6dB
Worst Erase Figure:....................................-61.5dB C1O2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-66.75dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:.......................-65.5dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................0.9 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..............63.5dB/ N/A /65dB
Tapes Used:.........................Maxell UDXLI, Maxell UDXLII
Typical Retail Price:............................................£265

This successor to the older Tandberg 330 has three heads and incorporates a new 'actilinear' record head driving circuit which makes it suitable for driving the new iron tapes when they arrive, as it has very low distortion and excellent headroom.

The model is very similarly styled to the 330 and incorporates L/R faders for input and output levels. Push buttons provide mains, Dolby, Dolby FM, ferric/pseudo-chrome switching, memory, source tape monitoring and record safety functions. An mpx switch is provided on the rear panel together with in/out phonos, a 5-pole DIN and a remote control socket. Mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are on the front panel and the machine can be operated horizontally or vertically.

Logic-operated deck controls run very smoothly, allowing the usual full function switching. Like the model 320 the cassette is loaded sideways but has a solenoid-operated eject mechanism. Cassettes become rather warm in use. In front of the cassette mechanism a door opens to reveal an azimuth setting oscillator, the record head azimuth control and pre-sets for head alignment. The two peak-reading meters are heavily equalised at HF; they were found to read transients very accurately.

The microphone input sensitivity was very high but the clipping margin was rather limited, low output microphones being recommended; microphone recorded quality was excellent and a pre-set mixing level is provided since there is no input switching. The DIN input had good sensitivity and a reasonable clipping margin, the input impedance being well optimised, producing no noise degradation; distortion and response on this input are both good. The line input was quite sensitive and a good clipping margin was provided, but whilst no noise degradation was present the noise with the record level at minimum was rather below average.

The review sample was a pre-production prototype and azimuth was slightly out. Replay amplifier hiss was marginally noisier than average but the normal Dolby improvement was given; hum was minimal, however. Replay clipping margins were excellent for normal tapes, but perhaps not quite sufficient for iron (surprising). Distortion measured reasonably and frequency responses were very flat up to 10kHz but showed a very slight bass loss. All normal headphones would give excellent quality with good clipping margins.

Maxell UDXLI penned an extremely flat chart across the board up to 18kHz on both channels and distortion measured outstandingly well, reaching only 2.7% at +8dB, which is phenomenal. The subjective quality was excellent but slight HF compression was noted. Background noise was around average and showed the normal Dolby improvement. Maxell UDXLII also showed a very flat response, which is commendable. 333Hz distortion again measured very well, averaging 3% at +6dB, which is far better than normal. Noise was slightly below average but showed the normal Dolby improvement. The sound quality, whilst being very good indeed, did again show some slight HF compression on very sharp transients.

Wow and flutter measured well at the beginning and middle but rose to average at the end of the cassette. Speed was very accurate but spooling was very fast at just over one minute for C90. 10kHz stability was slightly below average, but was not troublesome subjectively. Erasure and crosstalk measurements were-very good.

A different version of this model known as the TCD 340AM will be introduced in early 1979 set up for the new pure iron tapes, which should give phenomenal performance. In all probability the TCD 340A will be capable of easy modification for iron tapes. The machine gave generally excellent overall quality and my only minor reservation is the input amplifier noise floor which Tandberg could improve.

It is clear that this machine is extracting the maximum electromagnetic performance out of the Maxell cassettes, with the fascinating new head driving circuit which converts voltage input to pure current drive for the head. The overall distortion figures are most impressive and by far the best I have ever measured on a cassette deck.

The erase head is a dual gap type which should provide good erasure of all tape types, and the record head is a 5 micron ferrite which clearly contributes to the amazingly low distortion by not showing any traces of head saturation at high signal and bias levels. The machine can be clearly recommended as a 'best buy' notwithstanding the noise performance, since in so many respects the performance seems unbeatable. Economically the machine was well liked but I advise users to withdraw the cassette from the mechanism immediately after use to avoid storage print-through in the deck's rather warm environment.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-53°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:...................87/xV/16.5mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp: .............-18dB/+20.6dB/21Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................56mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................2dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-2dB/+0.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................-0.6dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -64dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:................-50dB/9.5dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-54.25dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+ 1 1.ldB
Max. Replay Level for DL:.....................................1.09V
Wow& Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):........0.13%/+0.215%
Meters Under-read:......................................-2.5dB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.07%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...........0.1 7%/0.58%*
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........N/A / N/A
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..........0.49%/1.6%*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...........................-0.25dB/ N/A /OdB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...........................................-41.75dB/9.25dB
Ferrichrome...........................................N/A / N/A
Chrome..........................................-44.75dB/9.5dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-69dB Cr02
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:...................-58.9dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL: ........................-59dB
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................1.15 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:................64dB/ N/A /67dB
Tapes Used:.........................Maxell UDXLI, Maxell UDXLII
Typical Retail Price:............................................£499

This metal-encased front-loader is the cheapest in the latest Teac series and incorporates only basic functions, but includes line/DIN and microphone switching. Two separate record gain controls around 3 inches apart were found inconvenient, but each worked smoothly. Phono line input/output sockets and a 5-pole DIN are on the back panel and mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are on the front. Push buttons are provided for biasing and equalising ferric or chromium tape types, but ferrichrome is not recommended. Additional buttons operate input switching and Dolby. The deck controls worked well and allowed changing directly from one function to another without depressing stop, if required. The mechanism was easy to load and the machine neatly designed.

The microphone input sensitivity was rather poor, being inadequate for average speech recording, but the clipping margin was excellent; input noise was also rather worse than usual, but the quality was good. The DIN input had good sensitivity and an excellent clipping margin, but some noise degradation was noted from a standard DIN source; response and distortion measured very well. The line inputs provided adequate sensitivity, no clipping problem was encountered and the noise performance was excellent, bettering many more expensive models. The mpx filter is permanently in, giving just 0.75dB loss at 15kHz, but adequate supersonic filtering. The level meters were very average and no peak reading lights are incorporated.

Replay azimuth was just slightly mis-set, and replay hiss was average but hum components measured exceptionally well; chrome equalisation gave a full 4dB improvement, and Dolby an additional 10.25dB. The clipping margin was very satisfactory and replay amplifier distortion measured particularly well. The replay response showed some bass loss and was slightly down at HF on the left channel, but noticeably down on the right; the probe head response check showed that almost certainly the right channel gap was a little wide. Chromium equalisation showed the correct ratio to ferric. The headphone driving circuitiy produced clipping into 8 ohm models but 600 ohm ones were much too quiet (the best compromise appeared to be 25 ohm but the clipping margin was still inadequate).

Maxell UDXLI showed up considerable bass response variations, high frequencies however were reasonably maintained with minor deviations up to 15kHz. 333Hz distortion averaged 0.65% at Dolby level rising to 4% at +4dB (head saturation?). The overall quality was surprisingly good for a budget machine and yet somehow seemed to lack clarity, although HF compression was subjectively better than usual. Overall noise measured particularly well, and showed 10.25dB noise reduction with Dolby. UDXLII also showed bass variations and showed a 1.5dB valley in the presence region, the response falling slowly to -4dB at 15kHz. (TDK SA would show a flatter overall chart and perhaps would have been more suitable.) Distortion measured 2.1% at Dolby level and 8% at +4dB, and recordings at a high level were quite clearly distorting, but at intermediate levels were very good, although marginally muffled. Noise levels measured reasonably well, but the Dolby circuits gave too much noise reduction here. HF compression was very good and quite clearly pseudo-chromes are considerably under-biased, and a higher bias setting and a re-adjustment of equalisation would have clearly improved matters (poor quality control?).

Wow and flutter measured well, particularly for a budget deck, and speed was only slightly fast. Spooling averaged at 2 minutes and HF stability was most creditable; erasure and crosstalk were excellent.

Considering its price, this machine gave a most creditable performance in most of the difficult areas, although the chrome position was inadequately aligned. It can therefore be recommended as a 'best buy', but specifically if you want to use the phono sockets since the DIN input was well below par. Teac have clearly made great improvements in their designs in the last 18 months and this machine will, undoubtedly, be very popular.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-33°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..................378.5/xV/23mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:..*..........-14.5dB/+21dB/2.06Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................87mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:...............................-0.6dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:..........-3dB/-1.5dB .
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................-1.4dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:.................160HZ -68dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:...............-5 ldB/10.7dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:.......................-54.8dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:..................................+ 12dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................530mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.12%/+0.48%
Meters Under-read:.......................................-7dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.02%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...............0.65%/4%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........N/A / N/A
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/ + 4dB:.............2.196/8.296
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.....................+0.5dB-ldB/ N/A /-IdB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...........................................-43.88dB/10.5dB
Ferrichrome...........................................N/A / N/A
Chrome.........................................-44.88dB/12.3dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-7 IdB C1O2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-56.25dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL: ........................-67dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................1.9 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..............65dB/ N/A /65.5dB
Tapes Used:.........................Maxell UDXLI, Maxell UDXLII
Typical Retail Price:............................................£125

A metal-encased front-loader, this new Teac model offers the usual facilities, including switchable line in/DIN inputs. Dual concentric friction-locked record and replay gain controls are provided. Push buttons operate Dolby, two-position bias and equalisation and record mute, in addition to input switching. The memory counter worked quite normally, and a remote control button allows the machine to be left on record and pause in such a way that when mains is switched through from an external timer the pause control is released and recording starts after a few seconds.

The microphone inputs on mono jack sockets (left only feeds L+R) provided just adequate sensitivity with a good clipping margin; hiss was better than usual, and the response was wide and clean. The 5-pole DIN input had adequate sensitivity and a very good clipping margin, but rather poor noise degradation from a standard DIN source, since the input impedance was much too low. DIN input distortion measured very well, as did that from the line input sockets, which had good sensitivity and no clipping problems. The line input was just a little noisier than average, but still adequate. The mpx filter was permanently in circuit, which is not a bad point, and th ;s frequencies above 15.5kHz were sharply attenuated, so removing many problems which might otherwise be introduced. The meters had an excellent transient peformance which was far better than average, being virtually peak reading types, under-reading an 8ms burst by only 5dB.

The replay azimuth was very well set, and the replay amplifier showed an improvement over many earlier Teac models, measuring about average for hiss, although some 150Hz hum was noticed on the left channel. There was insufficient hiss improvement with chrome (only 2.5dB), although Dolby gave a full 1 OdB. Clipping was only just adequate at full replay gain, but fairly good if the gain was reduced (NB unfortunately meters follow replay gain setting). Some 2nd harmonic distortion was noted on high level signals with replay gain at maximum, although this improved at lower settings. The replay response showed a tendency to a slight boost in the presence region of about ldB, but was flat again at 10kHz on both ferric and chrome positions. Although 8 ohm headphones worked well if the replay gain was considerably reduced, 600 ohm models had inadequate drive and severe clipping resulted.

Maxell UDXLI gave an astounding performance at high levels, averaging only 3.7% distortion of 333Hz at +8dB. Despite the high bias setting HF compression was relatively slight, which is most commendable. However, the frequency response showed a 2dB boost at 80Hz and +3dB at 14kHz, and the response was subjectively slightly bright. The overall noise performance was slightly below average, but showed the full lOdB improvement with Dolby. Sony FeCr produced such a large dip around 5kHz that it was clearly incompatible, but distortion measured well. Subjectively, FeCr sounded rather poor, the suckout being all too evident. Maxell UDXLI I showed a boost at 80Hz, and a gradual loss above 5kHz, eg - 1.5dB at 10kHz. Subjectively EHF seemed well down, and considerable HF compression was noted.

Distortion however seemed higher than average for this tape type, and equalisation was clearly poorly optimised. A/B Dolby calibration was good on ferric and pseudo-chrome but poor on ferrichrome. I suggest that the chrome position requires considerable readjustment of the equalisation circuits in production. We tried TDK SA as an alternative and the response was much better, measuring virtually flat at 10kHz, while the distortion level at +4dB averaged 4.4% instead of UDXUs 5%. Print-through permitting, TDK SA is clearly more compatible, making the pseudo chrome position quite reasonable, although slightly higher in distortion than average. Noise on UDXLII was slightly poorer than average.

Wow and flutter measured quite well, and speed was only very slightly fast. Spooling was just over 2 mins and HF stability better than average. Both erasure and crosstalk measurements were excellent.
Whilst the performance on this recorder on UDXLI was very good and on TDK SA reasonable, both ferrichrome and UDXLII showed alignment problems, and Teac will have to look carefully at their choice of recommended tape types here, since TDK SA was clearly more satisfactory.

The machine is capable of excellent results, but since the price seems somewhat high for the facilities provided it must just forego a firm recommendation; nevertheless, it shows considerable basic improvements over earlier Teac models. Incidentally, the machine had an intermittant fault on the right channel which caused a 7dB level loss.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................+7°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................253iuV/88mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:..........-16.4dB/ +26dB/1.7Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................86mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation: ................................0.5dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-ldB/+0.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+0.7dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:.................150Hz -60dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:..............-49.5dB/9.9dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:........................-52dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+13. ldB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................970mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.12%/+0.42%
Meters Under-read:........................................-5dB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.04%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............0.43%/0.65%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........0.7%/2.0%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............1.796/5.296
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.......................+1.75dB/-2dB/-0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric .........................................-41.88dB/10.12dB
Ferrichrome.....................................-46.38dB/9.62dB
Chrome..........................................-45.18dB/9.5dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................~69dB C1O2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. ImV per k ohm:.....................-56dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-61.75dB
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................2.25 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..............65dB/66dB*/64.5dB
Tapes Used:..............Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, Maxell UDXLII
Typical Retail Price:............................................£ 190

The cheapest of the new Technics models reviewed in this book, this deck is a well styled front-loader having a rotary record level control with 40 steps, L/R balance being available with one completely friction-locked to the other. Lever switches select inputs, Dolby and three tape positions, bias and equalisation being switched simultaneously. Line in/out phonos and a 5-pole DIN socket are on the rear panel and mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are on the front. The deck functions worked satisfactorily but did not allow direct transition from wind to play, etc, although remote starting with a mains time switch is provided for. Cassette loading is manual, the cassette being pushed home at the back of the compartment, a hinged door coming over the front.

The microphone input sensitivity was barely adequate but the clipping margin was excellent, and quality good. The DIN input had good sensitivity and an acceptable clipping margin, and only slight noise degradation was noted; distortion measured worse than usual but was reasonable from a normal DIN source. The phono inputs had average sensitivity and no clipping problem, and noise also measured extremely well and better than most. The mpx filter was permanently in circuit and produced just 1 dB loss at 15kHz. The record-level meters had a typical performance, under-reading transients fairly considerably, but users will probably get used ' to them. We noted some bass loss in their reading, amounting to 5dB down at 50Hz.

Replay azimuth was slightly mis-set and replay amplifier fiiss measured quite well while hum levels were very low indeed, which is most commendable.

Chrome gave some 4dB hiss improvement, which is good, and Dolby gave 9.5dB; we noted that Dolby noise reduction was 0.75dB less than usual at low levels. The replay responses throughout on ferric and chrome were very good at all frequencies. The replay amplifier clipping margin was astoundingly good and distortion, generally, was satisfactory. Low impedance headphones worked well but volume was totally inadequate on high impedance models.

Maxell UDXLI tape produced slight bass 'woodles' but an extremely good HF response up to 14kHz and overall noise measured extremely well, one of the best figures for ferric tape in the survey; Dolby noise reduction gave 9.5dB improvement. Distortion at Dolby level measured 0.4%, rising to 3.7% at +4dB, which was felt to be slightly on the high side (head saturation?). The overall sound quality was good but slight spitching on speech transients was noted subjectively with some HF compression. Sony FeCr showed the same bass variations but the high frequency response was again excellent. Noise measured extremely well with or without Dolby and 333Hz distortion averaged 0.9% at Dolby level'and 2.7% at +4dB. Sound quality here was better than usual for ferri-chrome, although high frequencies were sometimes noted as scratchy, and 'spitch' was occasionally r3noted on speech. TDK SA showed slightly excessive HF (+2dB at 10kHz and +3dB at 14kHz); 333Hz distortion was 1.8% at Dolby level and 7.7% at +4dB. HF compression was almost unnoticeable and the response sounded flatter than it measured; provided the recording level was kept well down, the quality throughout was excellent, but high recording levels just could not be accommodated, which was a pity (head saturation again?).

The wow and flutter performance was rather average but adequate, but speed was quite accurate, spooling taking two minutes. HF stability measured only fair but did not sound too bad, the variations of head/tape contact being at a slow rate. Erasure was excellent and crosstalk measurements were acceptable.

Although the machine is basically very simple, its performance was generally very good provided excessive recording levels were avoided. Since the overall hiss levels were better than average, this is not really a disadvantage. The stepped record level control was much liked and so this machine can get a general recommendation, being one of the 'best buys' at its price. Technics have obviously taken considerable trouble to improve circuitry performance, but I wish they could improve the record head saturation problems which seemed to be general with their machines.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-43°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........*.........334juV/235mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:.........-18.3dB/+17.68dB/3.05Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................81mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................ldB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:..........-ldB/-0.5dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................-0.15dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:.................150Hz -67dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:.............-52.4dB/9.35dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-56.25dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:...............................+18.25dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................550mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.14%/-0.19%
Meters Under-read: ......................................~7dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:...............................0.3%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..............0.4%/3.8%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.87%/2.7%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............1.7%/7.7%*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:..............................+ldB/0dB/+2dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...............................................-45dB/9.5dB
Ferrichrome......................................-47.75dB/9.8dB
Chrome..........................................-46.68dB/9.5dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-7ldB CK>2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:...................-60.5dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-69.13dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................2.1 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............65dB/68.5dB/64.75dB
Tapes Used:.....................Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£105

Another metal-encased front-loader, this model allows mixing of line in and mic/DIN inputs; the line in control being a very large, smooth, friction-locked rotary while the microphone one was considerably smaller, complemented by a similarly sized ganged reply gain. Levers operate three positions of bias and equalisation separately, Dolby in/out (mpx switching with Dolby) and' VU' or peak-reading meter ballistics.

The deck functions include memory counter and auto-start after memory rewind, and also a provision for remote starting with a mains time switch. The deck functions allowed cueing on rewind and forward wind, but all the push buttons were rather stiff. Loading was simple, however, and the functions worked well. Phono line in/out and 5-pole DIN sockets are on the rear and two mono microphone jack sockets and a stereo headphone jack are on the front. The review sample had only a 2-core mains lead but no earth terminal, and slight 'tingles' were noted on touching the chassis.

Microphone inputs were a little insensitive and the clipping margin only just adequate. The 5-pole DIN input was very sensitive with a reasonable clipping margin, but the impedance was rather low, presenting some slight noise degradation (but not as bad as some); distortion and response on microphone and DIN inputs was quite satisfactory. The line input had adequate sensitivity, an excellent clipping margin and no noise or response problems were encountered.

The meters, even in the 'VU' switched position, read more accurately than usual and the peak reading position was superb reading an 8ms toneburst within 0.5dB of the true value! (probably one of the best metering provisions on any deck measured).

Replay azimuth was very well set up, but replay Dolby level calibration was ldB too low. The replay amplifiers were rather average on hiss performance, but chromium gave 3.75dB improvement over ferric, and Dolby an additional 10.5dB (unusually accurate). Replay amplifier clipping measured well and distortion very well. A slight increase of 2nd harmonic distortion was noted at -20dB when Dolby was switched in. The 10kHz probe test measurement showed slightly too much Dolby expansion at low levels. The replay response measured reasonably flat from 63 Hz to 10kHz and showed the correct ratio from ferric to chrome. 8 ohm headphones worked satisfactorily but the volume was slightly on the quiet side into 600 ohm models.

The overall response on Maxell UDXLI was good at the bass end but slightly up at 10kHz, particularly on the right channel, but extending to around 16.5kHz. 333Hz distortion measured well at Dolby level and reached 3.1/4.5% at +4dB L/R respectively. The subjective overall quality was very good and above average, although noise was average, improving by 10.25dB with Dolby. Sony FeCr showed a clear HF boost at 10kHz of around 2.5dB, but distortion measured comparatively well, 333Hz measuring 2.3% at +4dB.

Background noise was slightly inferior to average but sound quality better than most decks on ferri-chrome, and overall Dolby calibration was slightly too low at - ldB. TDK SA on the chrome position produced a very flat response indeed on both channels, but distortion measured unevenly at 2.2% on the left but 4.5% right, rising to 9.7% and 10.9% respectively at 4-4db. We suspect that the record head was saturating with the high bias level, since these distortion figures were much higher than average, although the sound quality up to fairly high levels was reasonable and HF compression was excellent; noise was rather mediocre.

Wow and flutter measured well and speed was reasonably accurate, while spooling was average and HF stability very good. Erasure measured well and crosstalk satisfactorily throughout. Whilst overall response on ferric and pseudo-chrome tapes measured extremely well, the background noise slightly let the machine down.

I am concerned that the distortion levels on TDK SA were not well optimised, but the overall performance of the machine shows it to be clearly better than most previous Technics models. The excellent metering and good ergonomics allows the machine to be recommended, but it is not in the 'best buy' territory.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................+2 '
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..................325ju.V/21.5mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:...........-19.4dB/+17.3dB/3.1Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:. .-...................|.....95mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:.....................................0
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:.........-2dB/+0.75dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+1 3dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -58dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:...........-50.13dB/10.37dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:.......................-53.7dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:...............................+12.68dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................560mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.11%/+0.37%
Meters Under-read:.........................................OdB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.06%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:..............0.796/3.8%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:......0.75%/2.37%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........3.37%*/10.396*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:....................+1,25dB/+2.25dB/+0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-42.7dB/10.2dB
Ferrichrome........................................-45.4dB/10dB
Chrome...........................................-44.88dB/10dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-68dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-60.75dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:.......................-68.2dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................2.1 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...........63.75dB/66.5dB/62dB*
Tapes Used:.....................Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£160

Although this machine is a front-loader, it is most unusually styled, having a very low profile but very deep and wide. A superb fluorescent display is provided for metering which can be switched with a lever to normal' VU' type readings, peak-reading or peak-reading with especially bright illumination (slightly variable with a pre-set on the rear).

Additional small and neat levers switch bias and equalisation (ganged), input switching or record mute, memory rewind, remote timing start and Dolby noise reduction with or without mpx filter. A split friction-locked concentric record level control is complemented by a ganged replay one, which also affects headphone monitoring levels. Micro-switched logic-operated deck controls were very much liked, working very smoothly and providing immediate change from one function to another.

This beautifully styled machine incorporates a glass covered door over the cassette compartment which allowed easy loading and was very clearly precision made. The usual phono and DIN sockets are complemented by a large remote control socket at the rear, whilst mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are on the front panel.

Only just enough microphone sensitivity was provided for electret microphone speech recording, but the clipping margin was good and the sound quality produced was excellent. The available DIN input sensitivity was ludicrously high and yet the clipping margin was good; although the input impedance on the DIN socket was 5.8k ohm, almost no noise degradation was noted, while distortion and response on mic/DIN inputs were both excellent. The phono inputs were reasonably
sensitive, had no clipping problem and a good signal-to-noise performance. Without the mpx filter the line input response was excellent, but with mpx the response cut some 5dB at 15kHz, which is much too much. The fluorescent metering display employs 12 segments for each channel and ranges from - 2dB to +8dB (Dolby level measured at + 1.5dB but was indicated for +3dB). The display was well liked and read short transients very accurately, which is most creditable.

Replay azimuth was very accurately set, and replay hiss levels were significantly inferior to average throughout, although chrome tape and Dolby showed the usual improvements. The replay clipping margin was good but some 2nd harmonic distortion averaging at 0.4% was noted at +6dB, which could contribute to audible distortion on high quality iron pre-recorded tapes made in the future. Very slight bass loss was noted on replay and the 10kHz response showed a tendency to agree more closely with the old BASF standard rather than the new one, thus making the poor hiss performance even more surprising. The ferric/chrome response ratios were very well set. The performance into low impedance headphones was excellent with a good clipping margin, but 600 ohm models will only be just loud enough.

Maxell UDXLI gave a very flat response from 70Hz to 2kHz, but with the bias set centrally, the response rose to +4dB at 15kHz. However, with the bias increased to 4-4, the response was virtually flat from 50Hz to 15kHz, which is very good. Distortion at the nominally correct bias position was very low indeed at Dolby level, rising to 2.2% at 4dB. A Dolby A/B error of -ldB was noted, which is a pity although the pen chart was still very flat with the increased bias; overall noise measured slightly inferior to average but showed 9.5dB improvement. The overall sound quality was very good, showing a very open HF sound but slight bass distortion was noted when the tape was driven fairly hard; speech sounded particularly good with no spitch. Sony FeCr gave a reasonably flat chart with a gentle rise to +2dB at 14kHz; 333Hz distortion measured 4% at Dolby level, rising to only 1.3% at +4dB.

For some reason, the subjective quality was a little disappointing, some spitch being noted on speech and the sound quality was clearly not as good as with UDXLI, noise measuring slightly below average for the tape type, TDK SA penned reasonably flat charts at HF but with the bias set at +2.5 and distortion measured reasonably well, reaching 3.5% at +4dB. Slight HF compression was noted, but in general the sound quality was reasonably good, but not quite 'open' enough, and noise was audibly worse than normal. Wow and flutter and speed accuracy measured exceptionally well, spooling speed was average, and HF stability, unfortunately, slightly below average. Erasure was good and crosstalk adequate.

This machine was well liked by us ergonomically and generally performed very well, but surely the hiss performance should be better and Technics are unwise in attempting to extend the response since this was surely at the expense of hiss. The machine will produce some excellent sound quality, was a delight to use, and can be strongly recommended, but its price is high for a 2-head model. A uniquely styled model which will attract many purchasers.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................+2°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:....................278ju.V/52mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:..........-26.8dB/+19.25dB/5.8Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..........................75mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:..................................5dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:........-2.25dB/-0.5dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................-0.15dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -62dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:............-47.75dB/9.75dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:.......................-51.5dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:...............................+ 12.75dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................820mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):.........0.08%/-0.07%
Meters Under-read:.......................................- ldB 8ms*
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.04%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............0.29%/1.2%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.3296/1.296
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R. DL/+4dB:...........0.93%/3.5%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:......................+0.5dB/-0.5dB/+0.25dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-41.5dB/9.75dB
Ferrichrome.........................................-46dB/9.4dB
Chrome..........................................-44.68dB/9.6dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-68dB Cr02
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:...................-63.5dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-63.75dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................1.9 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.........63.75dB*/67dB/64.75dB*
Tapes Used:.....................Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£400

The Toshiba 4360 is a front loader with simple facilities, but including input switching; the friction-locked concentric record level control was well liked, but there is no replay gain control. Lever switches operate two positions of bias and equalisation (ferrichrome not recommended), input switching and Dolby function. Phono line input and output sockets and 5-pole DIN are on the rear panel, two mono mike jacks and a stereo headphone jack being on the front.

The cassette mechanism is exposed by lifting a hinged plastic cover, the cassette being loaded manually, while deck operation is completely conventional. The record level meters are allegedly peak reading types, but their transient response, whilst being better than normal ones, was not particularly good, although the response was flat.

The microphone input sensitivity was acceptable, but the clipping margin was rather poor; however, quality was very good, and less hissy than usual. The DIN input was unnecessarily sensitive, and the clipping margin just adequate, but the input noise performance -was much better than usual, despite the input impedance being fairly low which is commendable; response and distortion measured very well here.

The line inputs had adequate sensitivity, and excellent clipping margin signal-to-noise performance. The front end design of this model, apart from the microphone clipping performance, betters most other models despite its fairly low price. Replay azimuth was slightly unsteady, and in any case, mis-set. Replay amplifier hiss levels were average, although chrome equalisation did not reduce hiss quite enough, and
Dolby gave 9.75dB hiss improvement. Slight hum was measurable on replay but was not disturbing subjectively.

The replay amplifier clipping margin was excellent, and distortion generally measured very well. Both ferric arid chrome equalisation positions were extremely well optimised, giving one of the flattest replay responses measured up to 10kHz. Headphone monitoring levels will be found to be slightly loud into 8 ohm models, very loud into 25 ohm ones, and excruciating (ow!) into 600 ohm models, and Toshiba should attend to this.

Fuji FX used on the ferric position penned a very good chart up to 13kHz, although on the left channel the tape/head contact was slightly variable, making pen charting very difficult. 333Hz distortion at Dolby level averaged 0.35% rising to 2.9% at +4dB, and was thus very well optimised. The subjective sound quality was very good, with slight HF compression on high level transients and the head/tape contact problem was not too troublesome subjectively. Overall noise levels measured very well indeed, and much better than average, and showed the normal Dolby improvement. TDK SA, used on the chrome position, also measured very well up to 12kHz, but again the left channel showed slight variations in head/tape contact; 333Hz distortion averaged 0.75% at Dolby level, rising to 3.2% at +4dB. The signal-to-noise ratio was exceptionally good, being the best figure in the survey, Dolby also giving a full lOdB noise improvement. Dolby calibration A/B levels were very accurately set on TDK SA, but Fuji FX showed a +1.75dB error.

The sound quality on SA was described as being very close to the master tape, although slight HF compression was occasionally noticed. The sound quality was thus very much liked by all, and this is most commendable on a fairly inexpensive recorder.

Wow and flutter also measured very well indeed, and speed was set very accurately. HF stability was not too good, and relates to the azimuth variations, but it is fair to assume this to be a sample fault. Chrome erasure was acceptable, but ferric very good, as were crosstalk measurements. The mpx filter is permanently switched in when Dolby processing is used, and gives a 2.25dB loss at 15kHz.

This machine is undoubtedly a great credit to Toshiba, and not only receives a clear recommendation, but is obviously one of the best buys. So many areas of the performance, particularly with respect to noise, are surprisingly good and most creditable, shaming many more expensive recorders. The designers have obviously opted for the wisest frequency response/noise compromise with no attempt to extend the response much above 15kHz. Furthermore, the machine was much liked economically.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-43
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:.................248ju.V/14.25mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:............-21dB/+15.5dB/2.86Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:.........................102mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:...............................2.25dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:......-0.25dB/+0.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+0.1dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:....................50Hz 55dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:.............-51.5dB/9.25dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-54.88dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+15.7dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................600mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg): ..........0.09%/0.07%
Meters Under-read:....................................- 11.25dB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.08%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............0.33%/2.9%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........N/A / N/A
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R. DL/+4dB:...........0.74%/3.2%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:........................-0.5dB/ N/A /+0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric.............................................-44.4dB/9.6dB
Ferrichrome...........................................N/A / N/A
Chrome..............................................-50dB/10dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................-65dB Crfh
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. 1 mV per k ohm:...................-61.8dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL: ........................-69dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................2.5 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.............66.5dB/ N/A /7.15dB
Tapes Used:.......................................Fuji FX, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£ 125

This front loader employs microswitch operation for all the deck functions, permitting smooth change over from one to another. The unit is housed in a metal case and incorporates phono line in/out sockets with a 5-pole DIN on the rear panel, plus mono L/R microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack on the front.

Concentrically mounted rotaries without friction-locking provide mixing of mic/DIN and line inputs, a separage ganged gain control being supplied for replay. Lever switches operate three positions of bias and equalisation separately, Dolby noise reduction with mpx on or off and a meter switch selecting' VU', peak reading or peak-hold metering functions. (The peak-hold function enables a peak to be read at a steady level until the control is either cancelled or a louder peak goes through the system.) An editing level allows controllable muting to cut out any undesirable parts of a program. The record/replay head is of the new Sendust type.

The microphone input sensitivity is barely adequate for speech at 1ft from an Electret, and slight hum was noticed, but the clipping margin is reasonably good. The 5-pole DIN input had adequate sensitivity and a good clipping margin, but the impedance was very low, unfortunately causing some noise degradation, while the response and distortion were satisfactory. The line input had adequate sensitivity, excellent signal-to-noise ratio and no clipping problem was noted. The mpx filter only affected the 15kHz response by 0.25dB but was well down at 19kHz, which is most commendable. On the nominal 'VU' position, the metering was average, but on the peak-reading position it read transients moderately well, but not as well as some other peak-reading types. The peak-hold function was most useful, but had the same basic characteristics as the normal peak one.

Replay azimuth was slightly but not seriously in error, while the replay amplifier hiss performance was marginally better than average, and showed an appropriate improvement with chrome, and averaged lOdB improvement with Dolby, the Dolby adjustment being quite accurate. The replay clipping margin was good and distortion at +6dB was about average, presenting no real problem; the line output is variable, but the DIN output is at a fixed level of 690mV for Dolby level. Whilst the bass response on all positions was much flatter than average and most commendable, the right channel showed a very slight HF loss at 10kHz.

The ferric/chrome response ration was correct. Whilst 8 ohm headphones worked very well, insufficient volume was available for 600 ohm models.
Fuji FX gave an extremely flat response from 40Hz to 17kHz, which is most commendable, the overall Dolby calibration also being quite accurate. Distortion at Dolby level measured 0.45% rising to 3% at +4dB, and the subjective sound quality was well above average, but showed just slight HF compression on our programme.

Overall noise was satisfactory and showed 9.5dB improvement with Dolby. Whilst BASF FeCr penned another very flat chart, HF compression was more noticeable, and some spitchiness was noted on speech. Distortion, however, measured just 2.2% at +4dB and the dynamic range was particularly good, measuring -59dB with Dolby, ref Dolby level, one of the best figures; however, I think I would have preferred a slightly lower bias and less equalisation to improve the high frequency end.

TDK SA again showed an amazingly flat chart from 40Hz to 17kHz. 333Hz distortion averaged 0.9% at Dolby level, rising to 3.2% at +4dB, which is thus well optimised for the tape type and the response was also good with Dolby. Subjectively TDK SA produced good overall recordings, but strangely sounded marginally muffled, but perhaps the cassette tape sample used for this was slightly below average. Noise, again, was good without Dolby, but 'Dolby in' gave just 9.25dB improvement, the overall figure still being good nevertheless.

Wow and flutter measured well, but speed was a little fast, and winding was slightly slow at 2.5 minutes. Whilst HF stability was good on the right channel, it was rather poor on the left, although overall azimuth was consistent. Ferric tapes erased well, but chromium types erased barely adequately. Crosstalk was excellent throughout. A very high-pitched mechanical whistle was audible from the deck, which was a little annoying, although it was intermittent and it did not appear on the electrical outputs.

The very flat pen charts and the general good performance make this machine most recommend-able, but the rather poor erasure on the chromium position just withholds a 'best buy'. But the review sample was a pre-production one and I understand the fault will be rectified on production samples - thus probably a future best buy.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................-33°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..................350/iV/42.5mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:............-15.25dB/+26dB/2.1 Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping: ........................102mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:...............................0.25dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:..........-0.5dB/-ldB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................- l.ldB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz -61dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:.............-51.75dB/9.9dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-56.18dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................+13.5dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:.................................... 690mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):............0.1196/0.696
Meters Under-read:........................................-8dB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.04%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.............0.45%/3.1%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R. DL/+4dB:........0.76%/2.0%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R. DL/+4dB:...........0.94%/3.2%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome: ................0dB/+1 dB-1 dB L/R /+0.25dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric.............................................-42.5dB/9.5dB
Ferrichrome.....................................-49.75dB/9.1 3dB
Chrome.........................................-46.75dB/8.75dB
Worst Erase Figure:.....................................- 61dB CK>2
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. ImV per k ohm:..................-58.25dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:......................-68.68dB
Spooling Time (C90):........................................2.5 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:.............63.5dB/69.5dB/67dB
Tapes Used:..........................Fuji FX. BASF FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£ 160

The Trio KX-1030 is a front loader encased in metal and having 3 heads, thus allowing off-tape monitoring. A built in auto-switching oscillator is provided for bias setting to optimise response, the tone switching between 400Hz and 10kHz. The meter sensitivity is increased for response testing, which is thus performed at well below tape saturation level. In addition to having two 3-position levers for bias and equalisation, two centre-indented concentrically mounted knobs allow bias to be altered by the user, the tone oscillator button being immediately below these, while additional levers control Dolby and monitoring.

Friction-locked concentric controls are provided for mic/DIN and line inputs and output levels, but unfortunately, the input controls which provide mixing slightly affect each other. The front panel incorporates a stereo headphone jack which gives adequate adjustable levels into low and high impedance models, and has an acceptable clipping margin, and two mono jack sockets are provided for microphone connection (6ft only feeding L+R).

The normal deck functions also incorporated a memory counter. Phono line in/out sockets are complemented by a 5-pole DIN and a separate earth terminal is provided. Two normal recording meters are complemented by a single peak-reading light (operating at +4dB).
The microphone inputs showed reasonable sensitivity but a rather poor clipping margin. The DIN input had adequate sensitivity and a reasonable clipping margin, but the review sample showed poor DIN noise degradation; Trio should have modified the DIN input circuitry by November 1978 to improve this. Considerable bass loss was noted on the DIN and microphone inputs, but the line input measured well, with good sensitivity, excellent low noise performance and no clipping problems.

Replay azimuth was accurately set but the replay response showed a slight loss of bass and a very slight rise at 10kHz on both ferric and chromium positions. Replay noise, unfortunately, measured inferior to average, but showed the correct improvement with Dolby, while chromium equalisation produced nearly 4dB less hiss than ferric; no replay hum problems were encountered. The replay preamplifier clipping margin was excellent, but the output amplifier after the gain control just had an average margin; replay distortion measured extremely well.

Maxell UDXLI produced a pen chart which showed some significant bass woodles and slight losses, but which was excellent at HF, showing a slight rise at 10kHz with a slight fall at 15kHz, this in any case being set optimally for the tape type. A considerable overall Dolby error was noted causing an HF shelf boost with Dolby in, which was reasonable subjectively. MF distortion was much lower than average, + 6dB measuring only 3.2%. HF compression was about average. Sony FeCr gave a very similar pen chart and 333Hz distortion was even lower, measuring only 1.8% at +6dB! However, HF compression was noted, suggesting too much record equalisation and necessarily a high bias to offset this. A significant Dolby A/B error was again noted. Overall noise levels on both UDXLI and FeCr were average, Dolby showing a 9.75dB general improvement. Maxell UDXLI1 again produced overall bass woodles and some general bass loss, but the HF response was virtually flat to 14kHz, although with Dolby processing an HF shelf was again noted. Overall noise was rather average, and distortion was clearly worse than average, showing too little equalisation and thus a low bias setting to offset it, +4dB at 333Hz giving distortion figures of around 8%.

Summing up here, the record equalisation circuits need some readjustment to give the best optimisation between MF and HF MOLs, and overall Dolby errors also showed rather poor setting up.
The biasing facility was much liked and this deck could provide some excellent quality in operation, but the wow and flutter was only average. Slight HF stability problems were encountered in testing, but were not troublesome subjectively. Speed was over 2% fast and this is rather poor, although spooling was average. Erasure measured well and crosstalk generally average, although right on right was worse than average at middle frequencies.

Providing you stick to the line input this machine can give some very good quality, but Trio will have to be more careful about Dolby and equalisation/ bias optimisation. The facilities offered were well liked, but the DIN/microphone input stage clearly needs re-design because of the bass loss etc. Clearly the best machine that Trio have produced, it can be recommended particularly if you like trying different tape types, but the competition is so fierce that it cannot quite make a formal recommendation. Once the problems have been ironed out though, the machine should perform much better.
.

Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:.........................+7°
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipoing:....................241/xV/14mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp: .'..'.......-14.8dB/+20.3dB/1.45Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:..............:. '........1 17mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:.................................1.3dB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:..........-3.5dB/+ldB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:.....................+0.9dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:..................50Hz ~59dB
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp: .............-48.13dB/10dB .
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:........................~52dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:................................4- 10.3dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:......................................1.1V
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):..........0.14%/+2.2%
Meters Under-read:....................................-6.25dB 64ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.03%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:............0.29%/1.78%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R. DL/+4dB: . . . . 0.48%*/1.26%*
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:.........2.6%*/7.74%*
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome: ........................+ldB/+0.5dB/+0.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric............................................-42.68dB/9.7dB
Ferrichrome.....................................-46.25dB/9.75dB
Chrome.........................................-45.25dB/9.63dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-68dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-57.25dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:.......................-71.2dB
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................1.75 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:............65.25dB/66dB/63.5dB
Tapes Used:..............Maxell UDXLI, Sony FeCr. Maxell UDXLII
Typical Retail Price:............................................£245

This very compact portable can be operated off batteries, or a mains unit which produced bad hum if used internally. Other than a stereo headphone jack socket, all inputs and outputs are DIN types. These include sockets for normal DIN in/out accessory, a stereo loudspeaker output (also for headphones), auxiliary and car DIN for 12V DC input and stereo output.

Cassette loading is achieved by placing the cassette in a slot and depressing a lever. An 8 pin mic/DIN socket on the front panel allows connection of stereo or mono microphones, other pins bringing in various time constants when shorted in the plug for use with the limiter.

All the controls are very miniaturised and include separate L and R levels which can be ganged with a slide switch. Another gain control (also on/off switch) operates headphone or loudspeaker monitoring levels. Push buttons select internal loudspeaker (mono), internal microphone (mono), limiter, Dolby and record. Miniature press-studs operate counter re-set, battery indication and meter illumination with the battery.

A slide switch selects three different tape types. A sideways acting lever selects wind in either direction, while another lever engages the tape into play or record modes depending upon its position and the appropriate push button being depressed. The record level meters are peak reading indicating transients very well but also unfortunately incorporating equalisation. A small cover facilitates access to the tape mechanism for cleaning etc when withdrawn.

The microphone input sensitivity was quite good for all normal purposes and the clipping margin was amazingly good. The main DIN input had good sensitivity and a wide clipping margin, showing also virtually no noise degradation, which is most commendable but hardly surprising for a German machine.

Both distortion and frequency response on this input measured reasonably well. The auxiliary input is connected through to the DIN input via ridiculous 470k ohm resistors, thus producing bad noise degradation unless the input level is very high. The limiter acted reasonably but insufficient gain was present before it.

Replay azimuth was quite badly mis-set. Replay hiss levels measured well but Dolby only gave 9.25dB improvement, and when the mains unit was used externally replay hum at 50Hz was just noticeable, but otherwise satisfactory. The replay clipping margin will be found adequate for normal tapes and the replay amplifier distortion reached 0.3% at -(-6dB. The replay responses on ferric were excellent to 10kHz but chromium had not enough cut. The Dolby did not show quite the correct tracking performance at 10kHz. Headphones of all types worked excellently with a good clipping margin and external loudspeakers could be driven up to 1W into 4 ohm before the onset of clipping.

Maxell UDXLI was used as agreed with Uher, and produced an HF shelf averaging 2.5dB from the presence region upwards. The bass response was excellent, overall noise levels were average, and Dolby gave the usual improvement. 333Hz distortion averaged 0.65% at Dolby level, rising to an average of 4% at + 4dB, the two channels being rather unequal. The sound quality, subjectively, was good but clearly up from 5kHz to 12kHz.

BASF FeCr was not altogether suitable, producing some HF compression and slightly muffled sound with Dolby (obviously over-biased since 333Hz distortion at +4dB measured only 1.8%). TDKSA used on the chrome position penned a chart showing a similar HF boost to ferric, but again, with a good bass end. Distortion averaged 2% at +4dB and the overall quality was reasonable if the level was held down, but high levels produced HF compression and speech spitchiness. Overall noise was satisfactory. The chromium position showed a +2dB Dolby error.

Wow and flutter was only fair, being noted particularly on piano. Speed was just over 1% fast but HF stability was quite good. Spooling was slow at 2.75 minutes. Erasure was only fair on ferric and rather poor on chrome. Crosstalk was generally excellent, except at high frequencies (DIN sockets!) but slight right on right crosstalk was noted, though not troublesome.

The internal microphone and loudspeaker were quite reasonable for their purposes and the motor flywheels were contra-rotating, allowing the machine to be swung around a bit whilst in use. All the input sockets were permanently live together, which may be a nuisance, and the absence of phono sockets is annoying. The record level pots, if turned at the commencement of a recording, seemed to produce DC 'thumps' clearly on the tape and visible on the meters.

Despite the criticisms, the relatively light weight and small size of this portable made it very convenient for its intended main purpose.

The various controls allowed great flexibility in use and recordings could be made out of doors at surprisingly high quality, although the overall performance was clearly originally geared to poorer DIN-compatible tapes. The machine cannot be really recommended as a mains operated home recorder, but it can most certainly be recommended as a 'best buy' for use as a portable, particularly suitable for caravans, etc.

As a complete system with very sensitive 4 ohm speakers, it can produce quite a reasonable quality in a small space but volume was severely limited of course. A machine which Uher can be sure will be accepted as their old reel-to-reel ones have been for many years.
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Replay Azimuth Deviation From Average:........................+57
Microphone Input Sensitivity/Clipping:...................1 78|U.V/399mV
DIN I/p Sens/Clipping/Av. Imp:..........- 17dB/ + 26dB/12.9Kohm
Line Input Sensitivity/Clipping:...........................66mV/ 10V
MPX Filter 15kHz Attenuation:.................................- ldB
Replay Response Ferric Av. L+R 63Hz/10kHz:......-0.75dB/-0.25dB
Replay Response Chrome Av. L+R 10kHz:...................+0.45dB
Worst Audible Replay Hum Component:___-54.5(MnsSup)-65(BattSup)
Replay Noise Ferric CCIR Dolby out/Imp:............-52.25dB/9.1 3dB
Replay Noise Chrome CCIR Dolby out:......................-55.25dB
Replay Amp Clipping ref DL:.................................+8.5dB
Max. Replay Level for DL:....................................775mV
Wow & Flutter Av./Speed Av. (peak DIN Wtg):........0.17%*/+1.26%
Meters Under-read:.....................................-2.75dB 8ms
DIN Input Distortion 2mV/Kohm:..............................0.12%
Overall Distortion Ferric Av. L+R. DL/+4dB:.............0.67%/4.0%
Overall Distortion Ferrichrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:........0.64%/1.8%
Overall Distortion Chrome Av. L+R, DL/+4dB:...........0.7196/2.2%
Overall Response 10kHz Av. L+R Dolby Out
Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:......................+1.5dB/-1.75dB/+1.5dB
Overall Noise Av. L+R CCIR Dolby out/Improvement:
Ferric...........................................-42.68dB/9.57dB
Ferrichrome.....................................-45.18dB/9.07dB
Chrome............................................-45dB/9.25dB
Worst Erase Figure:..........................................-61 dB
DIN Input Noise Floor ref. lmV per k ohm:..................-62.38dB
Line Input Noise Floor ref. 160mV/DL:........................-54dB*
Spooling Time (C90):.......................................2.75 min
Dynamic Range Ferric/FeCr/Chrome:...........63dB/64.25dB/64.75dB
Tapes Used:....................Maxell UDXLL BASF FeCr, TDK SA
Typical Retail Price:............................................£340