Best of Fading Technology...
Written: Jun 11 '00 (Updated Jun 18 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: solid built, excellent recording, 3-head, 3-motor
Cons: CDs are overtaking the market...
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| andruzzo's Full Review: Sony TC KA2ES Stereo Cassette Deck Dual Cassette D... |
Sure, we live in a digital age and almost everyone has at least one
CD player, a minidisc player and a DVD, but the audio cassette is
still around and kicking.
I for one, still prefer a tape player in my car. The reason being
that I can make tapes with a variety of music and mixes. Slowly,
this is becoming more and more widespread with CD recording technology,
however, I just like the controls and the look of tape player. There's
so many changes and tweaks you can do, adjust bias, azimuth, record level,
...and the FL meters are mesmerizing.
I recently was browsing a Buy & Sell newspaper and noticed someone
selling the Sony KA2ES for about $200. This I thought must have been
a reprint...so I called the guy up and he told me that it was not a
reprint and that it's still available.
I knew that Sony's ES line was excellent and the KA2ES had functions
which were exactly what I always wanted in a tape deck. Primarily
it's a 3-HEAD deck which allows you to monitor a recording as it's being
recorded! This way you can reach the limits of the tape by performing
a few test records. It also allows fine bias and record level
adjustment catered to each tape. You pop in a tape, press the bias
adjust and turn the knob to get even bias. Also, it has Dolby B,C, S
and HX Pro. It also has a 3-MOTOR transport giving it solid transport
and super low WOW and FLUTTER of 0.04%.
The build of the deck is of the best I've seen. The transport
is centrally located and balanced. It also has a linear time-counter
that measures tape play time in minutes and seconds. The buttons are
nice and crisp and respond right away. The peak meter is of the
flourescent type and the unit is even remote-control compatible (Which
is not included). Plus it boasts a 5 year warranty.
The guy that sold it to me was a hard-core audiophile. He was selling
it because he was buying a used Nakamichi Dragon (Essentially THE
GREATEST cassette deck ever made). Of course, I bought it.
All in all, the tape player is a pleasure to use and the sound of the
tapes is so clear and perfect that sometimes, it can even fool you
as to whether the CD is playing or the recording.
The only thing I hate is that I'm probably gonna end up using it less
and less. But it warms my heart to know that I have such a good
specimen of technology past.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andruzzo
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 9 members
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