Teac x1000 Sound issues poor Hi frequency response (please read)

When playing tapes recorded on my X 1000r, they seem to sound flat on the highs and mushy on the lows. Tapes recorded on other machines (my dads old pioneer 1011) sound crisp and clear, but I recorded them at too low a level so I used to get a lot of background hiss. This got better when I learned to record hotter, I was a novice back then.

Now they are the only tapes that sound somewhat correct on the Teac. When I record a tape on the teac, or playback tapes that were recorded on and perfect sounding on my teac they sound dull and lifeless. This happens on all tape types and settings I use. It doesn't change with DBX on or off or if I switch tape formulation buttons (EE, LH1, LH2). It was perfect one day then the next time I used it. a month later it was like it is now.

It is around McIntosh amps with the big transformers and autoformers. Could these have magnetized the heads? I have never de-magnetized the heads. I clean them religiously with 90% iso alcohol they are spotless. The sound is deficient in both directions.

Are my heads magnetized or worn out?

Would I demag them all (erase, etc) or just the playback or record?

This was an excellent sounding deck until this happened. My recordings on good grade Ampex, or Maxell EE or XL2 with Dbx on were, IMO, better that the albums or cd's I was copying from. Much warmer and involving than the sources, again, IMHO.

Also It happened sometime after when I re-arranged my system from one room to a bigger one.It took about a month to set up the new room. However its not accoustics...all other sources sound correct.


I don't own a demag. I can't find one around here locally. Could I make one or use something else to try to demag the heads (if thats the real issue?) Demag units are plentiful on line, but I dont want to waste the money, or make things worse if thats not the issue.

If thats what i need can someone suggest a good brand that wont break the bank?

Again this thing is close to (within a meter or so) of 6 McIntosh amps with those big iron Autoformers, that would probably put out a lot magnetism.

Issue is the same on both channels.

Any thoughts on this, or am I missing something staring me in the face?

I have switched patch cords and tape monitor inputs and outputs already with no effect improvement.

This thing is in perfect condition physically and otherwise. I would rather not take a chance on shipping it out and no one repairs these locally within drop off distance. I have seen what shipping company's can do to the best packaged heavy stereo equipment..too many bad experiences seen and heard about on this forum and personally!

Thanks for any hints or tips in advance.


Phil

If the heads are worn out, well you should realize that..
Can you post a pic of the heads?

If are not worn out (and if a month ago the recorder worked fine the heads should be ok), they could be magnetized

I don't think they wore out moving from one room to the other, (not trying to be smart, sorry) This was an abrupt issue. The unit has 2 playback, record and erase heads, I cant imagine all 6 wearing out that quick and all at once. They look perfect under a magnifying glass with no signs of wear or indents worn into any of them, but thanks for the idea! :yes:


Phil

macman007 said:

I don't think they wore out moving from one room to the other, (not trying to be smart, sorry) This was an abrupt issue. The unit has 2 playback, record and erase heads, I cant imagine all 6 wearing out that quick and all at once. They look perfect under a magnifying glass with no signs of wear or indents worn into any of them, but thanks for the idea! :yes:


Phil

Click to expand...

Right!..
so, it is probably that the heads are magnetized..
you should get a de-magnetizer, it is a very useful tool for RTR..
You should buy one specific for RTR, the little ones for cassette recorders are not good

Can anyone recommend a decent demagnetizer for a good price? Nothing to loose at this point. But do they really work or is it all just hype?

I'm sure since I have never done it in 25 years, it's long overdue! :yes:


Phil

R.B. Annis Han-D-Mag is recommended.

Lots on E-bay to choose from. See "care of cassette and open -reel" at top of main tape page for instructions.

macman007 said:

Can anyone recommend a decent demagnetizer for a good price? Nothing to loose at this point. But do they really work or is it all just hype?

I'm sure since I have never done it in 25 years, it's long overdue! :yes:


Phil

Click to expand...

The manual on the deck tells you after 10 hours of use to demagnetize the heads and tape path. Sometimes you don't have to if there is a lot time between use. I have never had a problem but I demagnetized and clean the heads every time the heads and tape path needs cleaning.

"I have never de-magnetized them the heads."
===============================================
that's the very first thing i would do.
how long have you owned this deck?

Sorry bout the bad grammar...!!!!

I have owned it since 1985. It was purchased for a good price from a stereo shop going out of business. The tapes I recorded on the Pioneer 1011 were done on my dads machine in the late 70's thru-out the late 80's until he put his Pioneer in storage and went into his CD "Phase".

Now his Pioneer is back out and he's spinning Vinyl again and recording. He kept his albums but his B&O TT went in the dumpster (when it broke and was unrepairable) But I gave him a Music Hall MMF7 with the Goldring Cart Fathers day last year.

His tapes sound great on my machine (old and new) but my old tapes from my machine are getting worse and it is recording (progress ably) worse as well. My machine has many more hours on it than his..like 5 times...

I'm sure a new headstock is available for a Teac but pricey. I think I will go with demag first then see where it takes me. If not, who is the best Teac repairman on this site? Bear in mind I live in Baltimore Md and I'd rather hand deliver as oppose to ship because of possible damage issues. My only other option is to continue to seek professional help locally unless someone would like to walk me thru a basic diagnostic.

None of the local shops will look at it and I'm not sure I'd trust Teac for an "honest" estimate. Something tells me by the time they are done I'd be owning a new Tascam 2 channel with some sort of outboard DBX if they even make a 2 channel analog unit anymore.And I'm sure the Dbx would be impossible to find new.:thumbsdn:

Bottom line, I want my Teac working properly, I love that machine and dont want to part with it.


Phil

jayk said:

"I have never de-magnetized them the heads."
===============================================
that's the very first thing i would do.
how long have you owned this deck?

Click to expand...

bad grammer on my part...off topic..you own some beautiful examples of analog tape equipment...and Kitty tooo!



Phil

Another potential reason for dull highs when a taping is when a tape is over-biased. What kind of tape are you recording on, and which bias setting are you using?

Maxell EE on EE setting, Maxell UD on LH1, Scotch 207 On LH2, Ampex 457 on LH2, cheap Concertape on LH1, Maxell UdXL 2 on LH2. All except the Concertape is/are 35/180 on 10" NAB wheels. These were the best bias settings I found with meters set at 0 Db with peaks to +2 db, with no saturation or distortion when the unit worked correctly.

All tape types are used with Dbx on to decrease hiss. I have tried it with Dbx off nothing improves and the hiss becomes obvious, so the Dbx function is working properly, on both playback and record.

I Cycle the Dbx button several times a month as I do all buttons and dials to keep them clean.I have no scratchy pots or switches.



Am I doing it right?

Thanks,

Phil

macman007 said:

bad grammer on my part...off topic..you own some beautiful examples of analog tape equipment...and Kitty tooo!

Phil

Click to expand...

thank you!

re, 'owning a new tascam 32'. not possible.
only r2r deck still being made anywhere by anybody, is the otari 5050bIII, iirc. $5K+ !

macman007 said:

Maxell EE on EE setting, Maxell UD on LH1, Scotch 207 On LH2, Ampex 457 on LH2, cheap Concertape on LH1, Maxell UdXL 2 on LH2. All except the Concertape is/are 35/180 on 10" NAB wheels. These were the best bias settings I found with meters set at 0 Db with peaks to +2 db, with no saturation or distortion when the unit worked correctly.

All tape types are used with Dbx on to decrease hiss. I have tried it with Dbx off nothing improves and the hiss becomes obvious, so the Dbx function is working properly, on both playback and record.

I Cycle the Dbx button several times a month as I do all buttons and dials to keep them clean.I have no scratchy pots or switches.

Am I doing it right?

Thanks,

Phil

Click to expand...

maxell tape-ok:thmbsp:
concertape-NOT ok:thumbsdn:. has 'sheddicus maximus'. (it sheds big time. i found out the hard way, took me 30 mins to clean gunk off machine.)
scotch 207:scratch2:-not sure re shedding.

jayk said:

maxell tape-ok:thmbsp:
concertape-NOT ok:thumbsdn:. has 'sheddicus maximus'. (it sheds big time. i found out the hard way, took me 30 mins to clean gunk off machine.)
scotch 207:scratch2:-not sure re shedding.

Click to expand...

Why on earth did you put a concertape on any deck to begin with

Unit and heads. Sorry bout the pix quality.



Thanks,


Phil

jan_stevns said:

Why on earth did you put a concertape on any deck to begin with

Click to expand...

welllllllllllllllll, ummmmm, ahhhhhh:scratch2:, oh, i know.:yes:

it was a year and 5 months ago when i dug my first akai 630dss out of 18 years of storage. and i had no other decks at the time, so no reason to lookup all this good info on i'net re r2rs.
so upon powering up the akai after the long term storage (tapes too) and having no info re shedding, i naturally had to see what my maxell and concertapes sounded like.

and that's how i put concertape on my akai r2r and why i spent 30 mins cleaning the gunk off.:sigh:

but lesson learned; never again.:nono:

now i do it with scotch 226 (last month). it too shed:tears: but i just had to test it-hoping i'd get lucky.

Seriously, I have only had 1 shred from the 1/2 dozen or so I own and it wasn't bad, just a little squeak from time to time. I removed and trashed it when that happened. Cleanup was easy 90% isopropol and on the road again.

I had a Scotch 206 do it and a few Basf, but just 1 of the crappy RS concertape. BTW I used it for band rehearsals and such, nothing important or played a lot. Just "junk" tape to use for miscelaneous audio stuff. Maybe thats why only one shred so far..

I'll check them over for anything important and archive it to Dat for now, then trash em. I wouldn't miss them..they were cheap...I'f you say they will shed and stretch if used regularly they are history. I can put the saved stuff from Dat back on open reel when I sort these other problems out.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll tell dad too, he has stuff from the late 60's and 70's on concertape...piles of em...mostly radio and live stuff...never told me of any shredding issues. He listens to them time to time, I never heard them shread...maybe he's one of the lucky ones. You know what they say, ignorance can be bliss....here's a few for target practice


Phil.

macman007 said:

Seriously, I have only had 1 shred from the 1/2 dozen or so I own and it wasn't bad, just a little squeak from time to time. I removed and trashed it when that happened. Cleanup was easy 90% isopropol and on the road again.

I had a Scotch 206 do it and a few Basf, but just 1 of the crappy RS concertape. BTW I used it for band rehearsals and such, nothing important or played a lot. Just "junk" tape to use for miscelaneous audio stuff. Maybe thats why only one shred so far..

I'll check them over for anything important and archive it to Dat for now, then trash em. I wouldn't miss them..they were cheap...I'f you say they will shed and stretch if used regularly they are history. I can put the saved stuff from Dat back on open reel when I sort these other problems out.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll tell dad too, he has stuff from the late 60's and 70's on concertape...piles of em...mostly radio and live stuff...never told me of any shredding issues. He listens to them time to time, I never heard them shread...maybe he's one of the lucky ones. You know what they say, ignorance can be bliss....here's a few for target practice
Phil.

Click to expand...

hey, more power to ya if your c'tapes don't shed. i'm just going by what happened with my c'tapes and what i've read.
maybe some batches of it were better than others.