This has a been a question I've been thinking of for a while. I do quite a bit of vinyl to cassette recording on my ghettoblasters, but now I have a few I'm trying to work out which one has the best quality for the job.

Currently the two with the best results have been my GF-777 and RISING 20/20, using some nice Type II Chrome blanks, but I'd much prefer some ideas from more learned s2go members.

I don't plan on buying a component deck to record my cassettes at all, and I realise theres a lot of variables with cassette quality and head condition, etc, but for the sake of simplicitiy, of all your portables, which one has recorded with the highest fidelity to audio cassette from a line in source?

Please state cassette type and model too!



Rock On.

Generally, many boomboxes are limited in recoding sound quality:

1-The amp circuits are noisy or limited
2-The recording level is fixed or compresses the dynamic range
3-the tape transport isn't the best relative to component decks
4-the tape bias adjustment (i.e. +/-10% for Normal and High) is almost always fixed in a boombox - thus you need to use a tape that has the same bias settings as the factory settings.
5-Most boomboxes have an MPX filter at 15,000 KHz to filter out the FM radio carrier frequency for recording on tapes. This can limit recording quality on line in.

Most boomboxes that have adjustable recording levels and meters, Dolby, and metal tape selector will have decent quality circuits and transports and thus record well.

Another reference is the owner's manual spec sheet. You want at least to 15,000 KHz for high end frequency response. Cheaper boomboxes will lucky to do 8,000 KHz and they'll sound dull.

Check out this post on which brands were used by the mfgs to set the bias:

http://stereo2go.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2486083774/m/21...171045502#2171045502

and...
http://stereo2go.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2486083774/m/35...371003382#1371003382

With the right tape from list matched to the deck and some decent equipment, you should get pretty good results.

I've had excellent results using Maxell XL-II and XL-IIS on JVC M70-C, and Sanyo M7770-K.

I don't Record as Much as I used To,Mainly i have Thousands Of cassettes,Don't Need More! LOL! But I have recorded on Some sealed Maxell's I got For TEN CENTS a piece at The thrift Store. I like My Sharp Gf 575 And Even More of a Suprise The Following Two,Arre Awesome For Cd to Cassette,and Taping Off The radio.
sanyo M9825K
Mitsubishi Tx 67

If there was a ideal boombox it would be the JVC PC-55. Hands down the best of the bunch.

Tempted to suggest that you don't use a boombox if you want quality.

A few hundred dollars will buy you a Sony D6C walkman which with the right cassette will give you better quality recordings than any current set-up.

If it MUST be on a boombox, the JVC M70 has a FANTASTIC tape drive for boomer. I am quite critical of my recordings and am very pleasantly surprised by the quality of recordings the JVC is capable of, but to be completely honest, they are not up to par with what my Onkyo can do. I also got good recordings with my GF-9292 back in the day, but I imagine tht is on par with what you're getting from the 777.

Seriously though, Uncle Ed has a Nak 582 3-head deck for sale for $125. I saw it posted somehere here in the forum. I know you don't want to hear this, but I would consider going that route. You really will get much, much better results vs. any boombox. For that matter, any Nak 2-head unit would do better than a boomer. They go for cheap nowadays.

Sharp GF-575 with a TDK SA-90 was pretty impressive.

Well, after all that I'm going to try going the component route. Picking this up off a local mate for $5 tomorrow. Newly belted and serviced.




I should expect it to record at a much higher fidelity than any of my ghettoblasters then?



Rock On.

Cool looking Yamaha deck and for a great deal! Congrats! That should do much better than a boombox. What kind of amplifier will your turntable and this deck be plugged into?

Best bang for buck cassettes that are safe recommendations IMHO are the TDK SA, SA-X and Maxell XL II and XL II-S type II tapes.

Good luck with your recordings.

quote:

Originally posted by oldskool69:
If there was a ideal boombox it would be the JVC PC-55. Hands down the best of the bunch.

Hi oldskool69-I totally agree-I have made some of the best recordings with my JVC-PC55JW hooked up to my Pioneer SXV-90 home unit.
Very precise and very adjustable recordings.Fantastic!!
Have a great one-GB.

My sansui CP-99W does a pretty good job

That's a sweet tape deck! I like the illumination of the VU meters. As JT said, that should definitely give you better recordings than almost all boomboxes out there.

Congratulations!

I most agree that JVC has good tape decks.
M70 and 838 (the ones I have) have good quality transports and heads. Some mechanical details give them very low wow and flutter.

Metal capability, recording level regulation (not ALS), AC erase (not permanent magnet) and bias (difficult to find in a BBX) are rigth clues that the BBX is targeted to be used as a deck.

quote:

Originally posted by JT:
What kind of amplifier will your turntable and this deck be plugged into?

Best bang for buck cassettes that are safe recommendations IMHO are the TDK SA, SA-X and Maxell XL II and XL II-S type II tapes.

Probably be using the Line Out or Monitor from my M-70 or 777, maybe my FH-150R, if that works. Will test things out tonight.

I have a few of those tapes JT, I just picked up some 'grail vinyl' this week (Ready For The World's Oh Sheila 12inch single and Falco 3) and definitely need to make some quality recordings of them. I have a nice still sealed TDK Pro SM30 I'd like to commit something permanently to as well.

Will post my experiment's failures/successes when I've tried a few combinations.

Thanks again brothers.



Rock On.

quote:

Originally posted by kittmaster:
My sansui CP-99W does a pretty good job

Yep, another good one. The thing about the high end component boxes is that they shared the same components as the home units. This I discovered when looking for parts. I could take JVC, Technics, etc. home deck parts and it would be a perfect match.

I had excellent results with a Prosonic PQR-9962 with any number of old school, still new in the wrapper, high end cassettes Id bought off of ebay.

The Prosonic has a great cassette mech!

quote:

Originally posted by JLF:
I had excellent results with a Prosonic PQR-9962 with any number of old school, still new in the wrapper, high end cassettes Id bought off of ebay.

The Prosonic has a great cassette mech!

I also am a Prosonic fan! Great recording.

Johnny

quote:

Originally posted by oldskool69:

quote:

Originally posted by kittmaster:
My sansui CP-99W does a pretty good job

Yep, another good one. The thing about the high end component boxes is that they shared the same components as the home units. This I discovered when looking for parts. I could take JVC, Technics, etc. home deck parts and it would be a perfect match.

I think I'll try my Denon H-55 then first then. It's amplifier component is designed to only run on AC power so it has a better possibility of having a higher quality amp than my other portables. Not sure if this will mean a higher quality signal or not, but will definitely give her a try.



Rock On.

That Yamaha's the way to go. Cheap and records great. It is factory set for TDK AD/SA/MA bias.

If you want to do this a bit more scientifically, you can get your hands on some Aiwa GX type II tapes, which I've read are actually pretty good. I've seen them for sale from batteriesandbutter.com for $0.80 each!!! In fact, I just ordered 32 of them on a whim.

Anyway, if you can find several copies of a decent tape, you can experiment running the phono signal through several amps until you find the best combination of components.

BTW, for critical listening when it comes time to compare, I'd resort to headphones, not boombox speakers...

I'm looking forward to hearing how this project works out for you...

Best of luck!