Stereo2Go Forum Reader

minty - 2010-12-10 04:08

Greetings all.

I have just bagged myself a really nice aiwa hs-jx303 cassette player. Been after one for a long time now. One of the finest ever made by aiwa. This one is in spotless condition.

Has anyone got one? What is the sound quality like? I will post pictures when i receive it.

plop - 2010-12-10 06:49

Which one is it a PX303 or a JX303?

minty - 2010-12-10 12:27

Sorry. It's the PX-303.

plop - 2010-12-10 13:06

Ahh... a PX303. I believe The Lion has one. I just got myself a PX30. It will be on it's way to me in the new year.

minty - 2010-12-11 01:04

Yea. I was lucky. This one had a buy it now price of only 22 euro. Looks mint and has a really high end set of aiwa headphones included. No wired remote, although i can get my hands on a set. Should receive it next week.

plop - 2010-12-11 01:51

The wired remote was built into the original headphones that would have come with the unit when new. The one that I have bought have these included.

minty - 2010-12-11 02:38

Yes i understand that. But i have seen a brand new set for sale that would have came with this model. I will wait and see what the unit is like before i purchase them.

walkman.archive - 2011-01-04 16:05

quote:
Has anyone got one? What is the sound quality like? I will post pictures when i receive it.

Hi Derek,

I've got one, but it doesn't work. I took it to a service to repair (they had repaired some walkmans for me, sometimes is the belt that matter, sometimes capacitors, etc..).

I'll tell you when I receive it if it's repaired

Regards,

walkman.archive - 2011-01-16 04:14

I've just picked up my PX303 repaired and now it sounds very, very good. The sound has changed completely (when I received it, at level 10 I could hear a sweet sound; changed capacitors and leaked acid), and now it's powerful, clear and the parametric DSL system sounds very well. Specially, I noted that the L frecuency position at level 2 has an incredibly deep bass amplification. It's awesome!
I think there's only one bass system that sounds close to that, and is the DOL in Boodo Khan, but the PX303's one is deeper; I mean: pushes up lower frecuencies.
I think that this only can be felt with very high quality headphones.

regards,

plop - 2011-01-16 05:23

Bravo Hugo!

Good to read another old Aiwa has been given a new lease of life.

If it is anything like the JX505 that I've replaced the capacitors on, then I can well imagine how good it sounds. The bass on the JX505 is incredibly deep and powerful. However the PX303 also has variable DSL control on two levels, so I cannot wait till I receive my PX30 to see just how having an additional variable control will help enhance the bass.

walkman.archive - 2011-01-16 08:04

Yes, it's awesome how it sounds now. My jx505 doesn't have a rich DSL, so I think more capacitors have to be changed...
I also have just repaired a JX303 (same problems as PX303) and sounds pretty good, but higher frecuencies are not so crisp as PX303, and DSL sounds almost exactly as PX303 on H position...

regards,

thelion - 2011-02-07 22:10

Greeting all,
It's been a while for me, but here I am again.

Thanks Plop, indeed I Have a PX303 (PX900 the American version, PX30 Japanese).
As a matter of fact I have 2 of them one is black and a silver one ;-)

The sound is amazing!! Bass is Excellent i believe, like Derek said, it is one of the best AIWA made. (I prefer the PX101) but in order to really enjoy it, it has to be fine calibrated. If you can't hear enough Highs it means it is not adjusted properly.

this machine has Bi-Azimuth adjustment for both Forward & Reverse. if you have it very fine calibrated you will enjoy it even with the Dolby C ON.

Cheers

TheLion

plop - 2011-07-14 07:50

I have to agree with comments regarding the bass from the PX303. This unit with a good pair of ~32 Ohm headphones would sound amazing. I listened to it using a pair of 24 Ohm Sony headphones I have, and the bass drive is really deep, low and powerful on the "L" and "2" positions.

I believe this is due to AIWA's choice of selecting 470uF capacitors on the final output which would enable higher impedance headphones to drive the bass even lower.

Based on the low frequency roll off calculation F=1/(2CPiI)

F=Frequency (Hertz), C=Capacitance (Farads), Pi = mathematical constant, I = Impedance (Ohms)

This yields the following results

220uF is a standard value as used for quite a lot of AIWA models

32 Ohm @ 220uF

22.6Hz

24 Ohm @ 220uF

30.1Hz

16 Ohm @ 220uF

45.2Hz

470uF as used in the PX30/303 and PX50/505

32 Ohm @ 470uF

10.6Hz

24 Ohm @ 470uF

14.1Hz

16 Ohm @ 470uF

21.2Hz

thelion - 2011-07-14 08:32

Plop,

Do you think it's possible to replace other units with 470uf Caps to achieve this possibility? Do you think they could accept them or they might get burned?

plop - 2011-07-14 08:47

It is theoretically possible, as practically every AIWA I've seen use electrolytic caps for audio coupling to block out DC. Of course the main stumbling block is the space constraints. For example it would not be possible to fit them into a JX707, you can barely squeeze in a pair of 220uF.

thelion - 2011-07-14 09:43

What if I solder them with some wires and not directly to the main board? is it still possible? wouldn't they burned out or maybe the board. I mean 220 to 470uF it's more then twice the value.

plop - 2011-07-14 15:42

If you solder them with wires you will likely mess up the audio signal as you would introduce inductance through the wires.

No they would not get burned out. This is essentially a high pass filter circuit. The capacitor is acting as a filter to block DC voltage and allow AC voltage. Music is essentially AC voltage, but depending on the size of the capacitor it will let AC voltage of a certain frequency higher through. This is determined by the impedance of the headphones and also the capacitance of the capacitor. That relationship is in the formula given in a previous post above.

AIWA selecting 220uF caps is essentially a financial decision most likely based on that 220uF caps are cheaper than 470uF caps, also 220uF caps are smaller and therefore occupy less space.

To put this into context, I have only seen 470uF in the PX30 and PX50 models and 330uF in PL30 and PL50 models. Everything else is 220uF. For example, both the PX410 and PX30 share the same pre/main amp, a Toshiba TA8115F. I see no reason why the PX410 couldn't have a pair of 470uF fitted, but instead it has 220uF fitted.

givemethebeatboy - 2012-02-24 15:18

Hi all,

I have 3 PX303, 2 in near mint condition, 1 has a very slight dent. All 3 have a sound issue; volum too low. Most likely the cap problem here descibed.

With one the buttons are screwed up not following the designated commands.

I have no idea how to soder or replace the caps despite the excellant guidance by plop Pro.

Can anyone repair them for me?

What kind of quote would be fair for all three?

Would the option repair two for me keep one for yourself be reasonable?

Thanks for any reply

walkman.archive - 2012-02-25 02:39

Hi givemethebeatboy,

You can ask RetroPCDos; look at the Tech talk walkman forum, beside this one and you'll see.

index.php?board_oid=193392314111653483&content_oid=259683493435201163

plop - 2012-02-25 08:24

Originally Posted by givemethebeatboy:

Hi all,

I have 3 PX303, 2 in near mint condition, 1 has a very slight dent. All 3 have a sound issue; volum too low. Most likely the cap problem here descibed.

With one the buttons are screwed up not following the designated commands.

I have no idea how to soder or replace the caps despite the excellant guidance by plop Pro.

Can anyone repair them for me?

What kind of quote would be fair for all three?

Would the option repair two for me keep one for yourself be reasonable?

Thanks for any reply

Hello givemethebeatboy,

I see you plea for help, but sadly there are many reasons as to why I don't generally service AIWA walkmans for others at present. Ultimately it boils down to time, cost and distance from me (FYI - I am based in the UK).

Without hijacking the original topic anymore, I am happy to explain this further or offer you any advice privately if you want. (To start a private discussion, from the menu at the top select Dialogs > Start Dialogs; and add me as a participant).

As hurodal has previously mentioned, retrodos is going to offer repairing AIWA walkmans soon, he currently offers a belt replacement and general servicing for Sony and Panasonics.

plop