Hi, I recently restored a DC2 (changing center gear, cleaning, lubrication etc). It sounds really good but I have now done some good recordings on a chrome tape on a good deck and realise the treble is a little lower than on the deck or on a WM-D3 with the same cassette. I wouldn't call it muffled or cut-off it just feels a little lower like adding a small EQ adjustment would fix it. It sounds like I would like to have a setting between normal and chrome tape to make it sound perfect if that makes sense Where should I start looking for the cause of this? As the walkman works well sounds sounds good I don't want to mess with it too much so I would like to find out which actions could have most benefit: Change Pinch roller, didn't do that before as it looked good Demagnetise head Head is worn out? Any electrical adjustments (didn't find anything obvious in the service manual) Azimut adjustment (no real experience of this) Tape path adjustment (no real experience of this) Do nothing, accept the sound and be happy with it? Change capacitors? What's your opinions? What would you start with? Very grateful for your insights.
It should not sound like that, the DC2 is a better sounding unit than the D3. I wouldn't know where to start as I don’t do my own repairs, I would recommend you contact Deb64 or Magnetic Blood by PM on this site. They are both experts technicians, send it to them for a full service.
Regarding Azimuth the azimuth on any tape recorder should always be perfect when plaing back its own recordings. The reason for the adjustment is to get the azimuth to match other machines, including the ones used to make pre-recorded tapes. So if you only notice a difference when playing back a tape in a different machine that is when the azimuth needs adjustment.
Or it could be just a need to demagnetise the head in the DC2. Often a muddy or less than "bright" sound indicates a dirty head or head needs demagnetising. However, if the DC2 plays tapes other than those from the deck without EQ loss it won't t be that of course but I have never messed with azimuth adjustment in 50 years of tape use myself. I notice a bit of loss of treble going the other way from a Walkman D6C recording to playback on my CT-F1000 deck but tapes recorded on the deck are fine. So I use the amps EQ to compensate. Cheers BD
Thanks for your replies. I don't know why, but I have a hunch that it's not azimuth adjustment that is needed but maybe I'm just not comfortable to try it.The head has been properly cleaned so maybe I'll try to demagnetise, I don't have this equipment so I'll get it. I've read/heard so many different opinions on this matter from demagnetise every week to never do it so I'm a little confused. What is the opinion on this forum? Is this something you do to your walkmans and decks? Do you notice a difference?
@Rune Lindman The problem you are describing sounds familiar, as I encountered the same problem on a DC2 that I serviced very recently. The culprit was a bent pinch roller bracket, which was messing up the azimuth. I will post a separate thread regarding that, however I won't show the detailed procedure to straighten it back as there is a chance one can make it worse if not careful. Another possibilities are: - azimuth is not adjusted correctly: check if the head is parallel to the head bridge. Note that for perfect adjustment you need a 2 channel oscilloscope and a test tape. - the head could be worn: this is also something that is usually (but not always) visible by the naked eye. I recommend checking this out: https://fixyouraudio.com/instructions/worn-head/ If you can see pittings as the ones in last picture and they are near the head gaps, the head may need lapping. Please note all 3 things mentioned are possibilities and NOT a diagnostic on your unit. The real problem may be different from all above mentioned points. In regard to demagnetising heads, as you said yourself the opinions are very different. I do demagnetise the heads when I service a unit (as preventive maintenance), but in my experience I have seen only a handful of situations where this was really the problem. Of course, if the procedure is done correctly it's something that cannot hurt. If we were to compare the service manual specs for WM-D3 and WM-DC2, we can see the following: - WM-D3: 60Hz - 15kHz (-3dB) - WM-DC2: 40Hz - 15kHz (-3dB) It can be seen that the only difference is in the lower part of the spectrum, the DC2 going lower. Although the D3 is more hissy and does not sound nearly as good as the DC2, the treble response should be at least similar.
I feel like I've been chasing a ghost, done a lot more recordings and listening on both Type I and Type II tapes and now the results are as expected, treble very similiar to D3 but overall clarity and quality better on DC2. Wondering why, could it simply be old tapes and equipment (both Walkmans and Nakamichi deck was bought recently so not used by me before) not being used for many years? The tapes were old but unused, maybe they need some playtime to work optimal, Anyway, very grateful your suggestions. Really enjoying listening to tapes and quite amazed how good it sounds, don'r remember it sounding this good back in the days.
A followup on this old topic: After learning quite a lot more and getting more experience I did this since last post: Changed tape deck to a Sony 3 head deck with calibration possibilities Learning more about old tape issues and how to visually detect them Calibrated Dolby levels on the DC2 Now my recordings sounds wonderful (way better than the D3) and very stable and consistent on the DC2 very close to the D6C.
Hey Rune Lindman, happy you have it working properly now. By the way what was the Nakamichi deck you have / had?
It was RX-202, it was great for playback but too limited for recording. Very cool autoreverse though.
I know the RX-202 is only a 2 head deck, but it should still make good recordings. Have you had it serviced and brought back to factory spec?
No, I decided it would be better use for someone else so I sold it making enough profit between purchase cost and selling price to buy a deck where I could monitor recordings and alter bias. I am primary recording onto many different type 2 tapes and some of them BASF that requires quite a lot of bias adjustment to sound good. My current deck a Sony TC-KB920S has worked really well for me recording using Dolby C, especially after calibrating my Dolby C Walkmans (DC2, D6C and DD9). If I would use a deck for listening I might have kept the RX-202 but I only record tapes to listen on Walkmans.
I do this: Check if the tape is flat and not curved on the sides. This makes the tape go uneven on the head. Checking the surface on the tape to see if it is matt or grainy looking instead of glossy and even. Checking if there are indents on the tape by slowly rewinding it by hand while looking at it with a lamp. Some tapes seems sensitive to long term storing and creating indents. Generally I found better success with used older good quality tapes rather than newer lower priced NOS. Older used BASF Chrome and Maxell tapes have worked well for me. I have bought some NOS cheaper Type II tapes such as Maxell SQ, at least half of them was unusable.
Interesting I don’t even re-use my own cassettes let alone use someone else’s. I only record on cassettes once. I personally will not buy used cassettes, I guess since I still have plenty of brand new TDK MA-XG’s unopened I have nothing to worry about. I am sure other people like you have good luck with used cassettes, me I take no chances.
Tapes were supposed to be rerecorded. That's why you have tooth on the normal position - if you remove it, it won't record again (till you somehow patch it). The problem isn't exactly rerecording, it is erasing. I would say if you have well serviced at least midrange deck you shouldn't have problems with rerecording tape. By now availability of NOS tapes is low, prices go up and it not gonna be better. Thanks Rune.
Raul I don’t have problems re-recording, I have a Nakamichi CR-7. TDK MA-XG’s have the tabs you can flick over to protect your recording and can flick back over to re-record, I choose not to re-record as I don’t have to and have no need to.
I'm just saying that it's what tapes were for too. As they say, for each their own. When you have so many great tapes and you can why not using them as you please
