Now this really is a rare find. Another one to add to the Dolby C reference list.

I was lucky to stumble over not one but two extremely rare Kenwood CP-M7 players. One in a matt black and another in a glossy metallic blue colour.

Both players fired up straight away without issue. The black one had some battery corrosion to the case, but this has been cleaned off. It also had an issue with some plastic trim scuffing against the capstan pulley wheel internally, that has been fixed.

From what I can guess, the CP-M7 seems to be a Sharp OEM. Maybe someone here on the forum can confirm that guess or suggest otherwise.

After a head, capstan, roller clean and demagnetise a TDK SA tape was inserted. The CP-M7 has an auto tape selector, so one less thing to adjust.

Sound quality wise it is very good - very bright with a modicum of bass and a wide stereo stage. The amp is reasonably loud as well.

There are two bass modes - Bass and Ex Bass. Strangely applying either also adds a deal of hiss to the playback. The Bass modes can only be activated or de-activated from the headphones only (why did manufacturers do this - especially you Panasonic). Once activated though a normal pair of headphones can be substituted to continue listening with bass (and the hiss). Dolby B and C both work perfectly to eliminate tape hiss, but is a pointless feature when the Bass modes are activated.

There are a few touches of detail on the CP-M7 such as the Kenwood logo on the door release switch, the red battery LED incorporated into the Kenwood logo on the control panel, and an animated Kenwood log on the LCD display on the remote controller. A Hold switch helps to prevent accidental presses on both the remote controller and the unit itself.

Overall the CP-M7 is a good player, with a few modern touches. Just don't bother with the bass modes and you will be alright.

I don't have a DC2, but comparing this to the DC6, I think the DC6 wins it. The DC6 is the most neutral sounding. The PC202 has a little extra depth, but is pipped by the WM-F701C simply on the feature set. The M7 is a good player, but there are better ones out there.

In order of my preference for playing Dolby C tapes.

1. WM-DC6 - This is just the daddy of all personal tape players. No additional bass, but hey it's a really good recorder and perfect for making more Dolby C recordings. Alas a bit too cumbersome to take to the streets with.

2. WM-F701C - Very bright sound. Bass is superb, I usually like the bass off but I quite like Sony's implementation of bass enhance and would set it to DBB Mid if I want some extra oomph (no additional hiss unlike the CP-M7)

3. HS-PC202 - A very competent player. I like it's sound. A touch on the spartan side though.

4. HS-JX929 - I have to say I like the upgraded JX707 it has a much better head / transport than it's predecessor. BBE and DSL are nice to have. I don't particularly like Aiwa's implementation of DSL in this model. This unit is just fully loaded.

5. CP-M7 - Good player with full logic control and blank skip

6. HS-PX401 - Not a bad player but I like the others above more.

7. HS-JX707 - QC issues with the tape alignment in the transport really let this potentially very capable player badly down.

I have to admit I’m not a fan of Dolby or bass boost in my recordings, they do nothing for the music but add more complexity that does not help.

When I had Aiwa’s HS-JX101, HS-JX303, HS-JX505, HS-JX707, HS-JX909 and HS-PX1000 and a few more that I can’t remember I loved the implementations of BBE and DSL. I thought BBE and DSL worked very well.

To be honest, the DSL in the HS-JX707 is ok, but it could be a lot better. The trouble with the DSL in the HS-JX707 is that depending on the type of music being played (usually tracks with quiet and loud parts), it can sometimes take the DSL circuitry by surprise and you get a huge wallop of bass before it settles down again. I have experienced this phenomenon in all the HS-JX707s that I have ever owned. I can see what Aiwa were trying to achieve with the DSL in the HS-JX707, but the auto level bass control algorithm used just could have been implemented better.

IMHO Dolby C is very heavily dependent on head alignment. I do agree that if you get it wrong Dolby C really sounds awful (even worse than Dolby B), but get it right and when listening to quiet passages of music it does what it was designed originally for killing tape hiss.

One problem I use to get with the Aiwa HS-JX series of personal stereos is that sometimes when they finish side a and it goes to side b, it starts playing at high speed. I think nearly all the HS-JX series personal stereo I had did the something.

Yes you are correct Dolby C is very demanding. I have Nakamich tape decks and Sony D6C’s, DC2’s and DD9. All Dolby just kills the sound no matter how well set up they are. My Nakamichi CR-7 goes back to Nakamichi service centre about every 2 years for service so I know it’s correctly setup.

To me Dolby is just bad for music.

I made some mix tapes for Dottor Walkman, they where made in Dolby C and no Dolby. The same songs on the tapes one Dolby C and the other no Dolby. Dottor Walkman prefers the Dolby C version.

I have a very revealing system and it just shows Dolby as being bad. Yes you get a little hiss at quite passages but once the music gets going you do not notice it.

Music without Dolby sounds more natural and life like, Dolby processing makes the music sounds dull like you have a blanket over the speakers.  

IMHO Dolby C is very heavily dependent on head alignment. I do agree that if you get it wrong Dolby C really sounds awful (even worse than Dolby B), but get it right and when listening to quiet passages of music it does what it was designed originally for killing tape hiss.

TheLion I did not know about the anti-slack mechanism, It did not work for me it was just a pain. I did have the Blank Skip on all the time.