Finally got myself an 838........got a couple questions:

1) With mine, the only way you can make the meters display VU levels insted of battery/tuning is if the record key is pushed down. Is that the way yours is too?

2) Do you prefer "biphonic" or "expanded"? Personally I prefer expanded, because it sounds like a good stereo-wide setting. I can't figure out what they were trying to accomplish with the "biphonic" setting. It sounds a little weaker than the other settings.

4) Why does it have both a Bias and an EQ switch for Chrome/Normal? Every other box I've seen just has one switch. What situation would you not put both of them on the same setting?

3) I guess the meter switch is supposed to double-duty as the on/off switch for the "binaural equalizer"? What exactly is that anyway? I think it sounds bad with it on, like it cuts off the highs and lows, so I leave it off.

Which model is it. Later one`s, ie, JW11, came with metal compatibility.

1. I just put the meter switch to "level"

2.neither. plain stereo sounds by far the best to me.

3.Dont know.

4.Dont know.

Plain stereo. Same here.

I listen To Biphonic and Expanded on Am and Sw,Fm Plain Stereo,Same as the other guys as far as the Vu meters mine work fine,no engagging the tape mechanism. There is really no middle Ground you either Love the 838 or hate it,like alot of other boxes i could name,personally i love mine,i waited a long time to get,(YEARS!!!) But when i did Wow,it was Soo Worth it Price was Awesome Too 65 bucks with ship!

quote:

Originally posted by r o y a l ®:
1. I just put the meter switch to "level"

If I do that, I need to crank the volume to get the needles moving. But pressing record makes them work even at zero volume.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaredscottfla:
I listen To Biphonic and Expanded on Am and Sw,Fm Plain Stereo,Same as the other guys as far as the Vu meters mine work fine,no engagging the tape mechanism. There is really no middle Ground you either Love the 838 or hate it,like alot of other boxes i could name,personally i love mine,i waited a long time to get,(YEARS!!!) But when i did Wow,it was Soo Worth it Price was Awesome Too 65 bucks with ship!

You are correct i hated mine she cost a 10nner i gave it to sombody who liked it.

Oh don't get me wrong, I love it, I'm a design freak and this box looks hot. I can't get enough of the tweeter guards. Everyone can tell it's an antique, wheras an M70 could pass as something still being sold in Latin American department stores.

It doesn't put out much bass at all, but the highs are good and the reception is very strong. It all depends what kind of music you listen to. If all you listen to is rap, this box isn't going to do it for you.

Let's put it this way, it doesn't sound any worse than an RX-5150.

I still like my 838 Way more then my my panny 5150,but hey whatever Floats Your Boat. Tim,I know Your NOT a Radio Nut. For the Tuner ,Especially on Sw The 838 Rivals ALOT of portable Sw Recver's And even A few Desktops,I'm serious!!! In Band scanning,Sw Coverage and Dynamic Range,Sensitivity,Selectivity It's pretty darn Good. Am Is def Acceptable if You Like To Dx The Am Band,And Fm stereo is Pleasant. it is The Cass player That is The 838's achilles Heal,But it still performs well. I Don't Want reli's post To turn into a i hate Jvc838 or i love Jvc838 deal,In This case We agree to disagree,But honestly Your freind who Got your 838 Got a great Radio,LOL!

jared im only stating my opinion the last thing i want to do is offend especially somone like you your probbly right the radio is probbly brilliant on it all bands but as you have stated i never listen to the radio hell im an old fart and most modern music is shi*e to me you have no worries my friend.

Absolutly Tim, No worries pal,I'm Just Trying To bring You over To The right Side of The Force!

quote:

Originally posted by Jaredscottfla:
it is The Cass player That is The 838's achilles Heal,

How come? Mine works good.

No No I didn't Mean it was Not Functional i meant on A Grading Scale Related to The Box as a Whole and All it's Features Imho The Cass player is Just The weakest Link With the 838 in Paticular,It's Just My Opnion, Don't get Nervous!

jared be a snob like me and buy an m90. . It has 8 wave bands to choose from to be honest i dont know if any of mine work apart from fm.

i'd have to ask for a loan though,Tim

I just go without food or anything seriously the box comes first i bought royals wx1 i have food sunday no food after that till wednesday

quote:

Originally posted by Jaredscottfla:
No No I didn't Mean it was Not Functional i meant on A Grading Scale Related to The Box as a Whole and All it's Features Imho The Cass player is Just The weakest Link With the 838 in Paticular,It's Just My Opnion, Don't get Nervous!

What makes it weak though? Just curious. The keys feel good, it sounds good, that's all I know.

quote:

Originally posted by Reli:

quote:

Originally posted by Jaredscottfla:
No No I didn't Mean it was Not Functional i meant on A Grading Scale Related to The Box as a Whole and All it's Features Imho The Cass player is Just The weakest Link With the 838 in Paticular,It's Just My Opnion, Don't get Nervous!

What makes it weak though? Just curious.

The keys feel good, it sounds good, that's

all I know.

Buy a decent box and you will find out.

Egnore me im pishhed .

Tim That Was GOOD!
Reli,I just Hold My Boxes on a little Higher Plain Sorty of Speak When it comes to the cassette Player,Comparing it to an M-90 don't own but heard,or My Conion Is just Not fair,They are Not in The same League,I can Compare it to say my Trident or My Crown, or My Marantz,and JUST,Again Just,in sound Quality,and Rec Quality and Overall CASSETTE perf i think The 838 Falls Short in This,Heck Feel Free To disagree,Nobody Certainly Not Me Says I'm 100% Right in This,It still doesn't detract From The fact That for Me personally as on My Profile Here the 838 is STILL one of My top 5 Fav's,and i Use That Box Arguably More Then just about any of The over 100 I have! It is Special,But to me The cas Perf Just falls short. Hope i clarified it,I hope you enjoy Yours and Gets Lots of Happiness and good use out of it,and Glad to see you appreciate it,and Like it,Take My opnion as a grain of salt,i'm Not preeching to convert the masses Looks Like i'd have little shot anyway,Tim made his opnion Pretty clear on that,LOL!

Well the tape player doesn't sound any worse than the radio, so in my opinion that's a sign that it's a good tape player. On most boxes the tape player doesn't sound as good as the radio.

In JVC's ad they said it only had a 0.07 wow/flutter. And in terms of motor stability and overall feel of the controls, it's definitely better than the deck on my Telefunken Studio 1.

That's True To a large extent. Jvc Put alot of Thoughtfullness and Charector into the design of the 838,some things are always there for the chopping block,i always liked Aiwa by brand But look at alot of The Aiwa Boxes,No Fine Tuning For Example Take the Aiwa Mini's Like a 210 ,or W330,Compare it To Any Of The Jvc Mini's Or Better Yet Sanyo Mini's See The diff in The Quality of The tuners. Cass Again It's Just an opnion,I honestly Don't Hold To The stock of The Ad,or The Info,Maybe That proves I'm wrong,Dumb,and have a Tin Ear Maybe All 3 ! Again I was Simply Stating MY own Obersvation and Opnion,

quote:

Originally posted by Reli:
Well the tape player doesn't sound any worse than the radio, so in my opinion that's a sign that it's a good tape player. On most boxes the tape player doesn't sound as good as the radio.

In JVC's ad they said it only had a 0.07 wow/flutter. And in terms of motor stability and overall feel of the controls, it's definitely better than the deck on my Telefunken Studio 1.

you have a studio1 and prefure the 838 something wrong there.

uh oh,it's gun totin time

quote:

Originally posted by Jaredscottfla:
uh oh,it's gun totin time

That statment almost had me pissin myself with laughter certainly not im up for discussion just like the rest

quote:

Originally posted by Rimmer:

quote:

Originally posted by Reli:
Well the tape player doesn't sound any worse than the radio, so in my opinion that's a sign that it's a good tape player. On most boxes the tape player doesn't sound as good as the radio.

In JVC's ad they said it only had a 0.07 wow/flutter. And in terms of motor stability and overall feel of the controls, it's definitely better than the deck on my Telefunken Studio 1.

you have a studio1 and prefure the 838 something wrong there.

I'm just talkin about the feel of the motor and the keys. In my opinion the Telefunken has a crap deck. The motor is loud, and you can hear it still going for 1 second after you stop it. Also, the keys are absolute junk, they feel chintzy, and a couple people here said their whole key mechanism broke loose and fell down. It's just not a very confidence-inspiring deck, it makes you afraid to use it for fear that it will break.

Wow... That is Wild.... I honestly Don't Have one and Unless Things Economically Chg,Doubt I'll have one for A long Long Time...
I've Honestly NEVER heard Anything Negative related to The Telefunken,But again I defer To someone with First hand Knowledge.

quote:

Originally posted by Reli:

quote:

Originally posted by Rimmer:

quote:

Originally posted by Reli:
Well the tape player doesn't sound any worse than the radio, so in my opinion that's a sign that it's a good tape player. On most boxes the tape player doesn't sound as good as the radio.

In JVC's ad they said it only had a 0.07 wow/flutter. And in terms of motor stability and overall feel of the controls, it's definitely better than the deck on my Telefunken Studio 1.

you have a studio1 and prefure the 838 something wrong there.

I'm just talkin about the feel of the motor and the keys. In my opinion the Telefunken has a crap deck. The motor is loud, and you can hear it still going for 1 second after you stop it. Also, the keys are absolute junk, and a couple people here said their whole key mechanism fell off.

yea nothing beats jvc mechs i had no coplaints about the deck just the overall sound quality, heck i think ill buy another to satisfy my curiosity damn i also need to get an m70 some people rant about them and some say there ok i dunno. Anyway nice chattin with you reli and jared im off to bed ive been up all night peace out guys.

And with that.........Back to the absolute pimpness that is JVC RC838



Here is the best feature right here......the throttle-like volume control. I could play with this thing for days, it feels awesome because it goes thru 12 clicks as you move it. It feels like something an aircraft would have.

DEFINITLY!

No-one`s mentioned the little 828. That`s a nice sounding box. Cassette keys are a lot more solid than the 838`s.

quote:

Originally posted by Reli:
And with that.........Back to the absolute pimpness that is JVC RC838



Here is the best feature right here......the throttle-like volume control. I could play with this thing for days, it feels awesome because it goes thru 12 clicks as you move it. It feels like something an aircraft would have.

you are right about the VOLUME slider, i have one of these 838 and love it!! to me the 838 in pic looks ugly but in person is amazing.

If I would ask about the 838 mecha quality ...
I deffinetily say that is nearly the more well made I've ever seen. Only think about the flywheel weight. And the stop sensor (electronic).

About biphonic, as I remember (a lot since I don't run my 838) shielded weak bass.
Since the 838 is a bit lazy talking bass perfomance .. biphonic is not for me.

I guess that bias options are used to match different kinds of tapes that belong to the same tape position. Even a new CRO2 tape won't work like a hardly used one. Perhaps you will need to change the bias from one tape to another .. even when both are crome position.

bias is for recording and eq is for playback, right?

For me is like you say. To be honest I'm not almost sure
That I've heard is something like that:
bias adjust the carrier frecuency were the audio signal is modulated prior recording. Cass players feed head coils with a signal that it isn't the audio signal itself ... but one that it's function of the audio signal and it's intended for polarization of the ferromagnetic media.

"biphonic" is great for tape~~
sounds like live perfomance
"stereo" is good for line-in~

Tim, seriously, food should come before boomboxes.

My priorities have changed over the years but for me it's.

1. Food
2. Health
3. Family
4. Work
5. Stuff (cars, house, boomboxes, etc)

Just noticed something else I like.....There's a cool strip of reflective trim under the meters.....Don't know if this picture will work but...

By the way the volume slider reminds me of the Star Trek transporter controls