Hey Hugo, just a quick update on this: I spent a few days disassembling my CT93, found the two cracked solder points (pins 50 and 51 off the display, IIRC) and fixed them, only to find that the display itself is only semi-functional so I am exploring a transplant from a similar deck. I guess the moral is, never stop trying?
I absolutely love these decks, especially the HX-Pro that puts them ahead in sonics and recording capability, I also love pioneer at this level... Congratulations and stunning deck.
Thanks James! Yes, it looks absolutely gorgeous. It's piano-like black laquered finish makes it pop against the rest. However, the HX-Pro doesn't make a big difference at all. At least, I could not heard it yet. I've did some testing with my K909ES time ago (which also has the HX pro switch) and could not hear any difference. I have to test it again with better headphones and a metal tape (I think I did the test with my GRADO SR325 and an UX-Pro). On a curious note: no Nakamichi had the HX-Pro... And I'm sure they could had implemented...
the HX-Pro only makes a difference to the recording, you can push it to higher level with it, its not the same as Dolby it doesn't affect the sound just the recording levels.... hope that helps. Wikipedia quote below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_noise-reduction_system#Dolby_HX/HX-Pro Dolby HX/HX-Pro Dolby HX-Pro[10] was invented in 1980 and patented in 1981 (EP 0046410) by Jørgen Selmer Jensen[11] of Bang & Olufsen. B&O immediately licensed HX-Pro to Dolby Laboratories, stipulating a priority period of several years for use in consumer products, to protect their own Beocord 9000[12] cassette tape deck. Magnetic tape is inherently non-linear in nature due to hysteresis of the magnetic material. If an analogue signal were recorded directly onto magnetic tape, its reproduction would be extremely distorted due to this non-linearity. To overcome this, a high frequency signal, known as bias, is mixed in with the recorded signal, which "pushes" the envelope of the signal into the linear region. If the audio signal contains strong high frequency content, in particular from percussion instruments such as a high-hat, this adds to the constant bias causing magnetic saturation on the tape. Dolby HX Pro automatically reduces the bias signal in the presence of strong high frequency signals, making it possible to record at a higher signal level, leading to its name: HX = Headroom eXtension. HX-Pro only applies during recording; the improved signal to noise ratio is available no matter which tape deck the tape is played back on, and therefore HX-Pro is not a noise-reduction system in the same way as Dolby A, B & C, although it does help to improve noise reduction encode/decode tracking accuracy by reducing tape performance non-linearity. Some record companies issued HX-Pro pre-recorded cassette tapes during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Thanks for the info, James. I already knew all that; when I said I did testing, I mean I was recording and monitoring the recording and while focusing my hearing in HF, switched the HX Pro on and off to check for differences. But even doing that I could not find any in my SONY K909ES using an UX-Pro if my mind doesn't fail to me... Yes, HX system in theory improves HF by dinamically adjust the bias in real time, depending on the HF of the music itself. That's because the HF in the music can act as bias signal, and it actually erases itself a bit, so the HF readjust that to get better HF. All that sounds pretty good, but I guess the difference is less than 1dB or so...
I found that I could push a Sony Metal Master on Yamaha KX1020 about +2db more than normal which was incredible. On my A807 I can push the envelope on ATR master to +12db which sounds outrageously good. I suppose it depends on the circuitry and tape type.
Very cool deck.On the wish list for me! Since we talking deck a topic that intrests me It would be nice to see more posts on ''High end decks stored for the future'' for the experienced collectors in here!Cheers for that one!
Regarding the Yamaha, it could be a matter of different VU scales. It depends on what deck you put the tape in, same recorded levels can go higher or lower. What really matters is how much above the Dolby mark they are, which will remain the same in every deck out there... I'd like to write a guide on "what deck to buy" soon...
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