Cassete deck or cassete tape problems?

[Chet63]

hi,
i am trying to find some answers to my questions...right now i have 2 decks, hitachi d-980 and luxman k-106...regarding sound quality it is no contest, hitachi is way better....

but, my hitachi have problems playing almost every second vintage factory pre-recorded tapes...it has problems with playing, sometimes even with ff/rw...at the same time, luxman is playing them normally...? i mean, it plays them with no detectable problems in sound...on hitachi, it is unlistenable...

i sent hitachi to my repairman, he checked it, change some belts and pinch rollers and said it works perfectly...but, problems with mostly pre-recorded tapes is still standing...he even play some of mine problematic tapes on some other deck and said it's the same thing, tape is bad...

what i am trying to find out...is hitachi simply sensitive to lesser quality tapes, or some tapes are just that, bad for whatever reasons? but, how is luxman handling them ok if they are certainly bad? or hitachi have some problems which i have overlooked?

 

[radiokom]

i sent hitachi to my repairman, he checked it

Replace repairman. Deck is good but need knowledge to work with it.

 

[Chet63]

Replace repairman. Deck is good but need knowledge to work with it.

what else should be checked (besides belts and pinch rollers)?

 

[radiokom]

what else should be checked (besides belts and pinch rollers)?

The usual list. Tape path with mirror cassette, torque, tension, idler rubber etc. Impossible to say by distance. Find good cassette deck repair tech and send deck to him. How you know belts and rollers are OK, if your repairman is not competent? I am sure he is problem Nr.1.

 

[nakmandan]

A lot of old, mostly pre-recorded, commercial tapes are now bad and may have problems playing in some or all machines. This can be caused by different factors. Sometimes it is a mechanical problem, such as the slip sheets or rollers inside the shell have gone bad. For these situations, simply transferring the tape and reels into another shell may be all that is required. Some are sticky shed syndrome (SSS) like in open reel tapes. Some the tape is degrading and actually shedding the particles, with every pass dumping tape oxide on the entire tape path. Some tapes have lost their lubricity and fight or refuse to be dragged over a head. They may audibly squeal while doing this. Usually these tape FF and REW fine, and feel loose when you turn the reels by hand, yet will not move or fight and play slow when tried to pass over the heads. It's almost like trying to pull a piece of adhesive tape over the head! Some machines can deal with this better than others, and it depends on take up torque, idler tire (and condition of it) or gear drive reels, single or dual capstan, pressure pad lifter used or not, etc. Many of these tapes may be able to play once or twice more but then degrade to the point that they are destined for the trash. If you have a loved tape that has the signs of degradation, you may be able to play it one more time and record onto another tape. But most of these will further degrade and eventually end up in the trash. I've had several commercial tapes that I have played many times over the years and then one time I try to play it again and it now refuses to play. 99% of the time this is with commercial, pre-recorded albums, but I have had a few quality Maxell, Sony and TDK blanks that have gone bad too.

 

[titanstats]

hi,
i am trying to find some answers to my questions...right now i have 2 decks, hitachi d-980 and luxman k-106...regarding sound quality it is no contest, hitachi is way better....

but, my hitachi have problems playing almost every second vintage factory pre-recorded tapes...it has problems with playing, sometimes even with ff/rw...at the same time, luxman is playing them normally...? i mean, it plays them with no detectable problems in sound...on hitachi, it is unlistenable...

i sent hitachi to my repairman, he checked it, change some belts and pinch rollers and said it works perfectly...but, problems with mostly pre-recorded tapes is still standing...he even play some of mine problematic tapes on some other deck and said it's the same thing, tape is bad...

what i am trying to find out...is hitachi simply sensitive to lesser quality tapes, or some tapes are just that, bad for whatever reasons? but, how is luxman handling them ok if they are certainly bad? or hitachi have some problems which i have overlooked?

I have come across many prerecorded tapes that will not play even though they spin freely and it seems like they should. Seldom play them anyway as my old chrome tapes sound 1000x better and play on all decks

It’s probably the tapes, they were made as cheaply as possible

 

[Chet63]

I have come across many prerecorded tapes that will not play even though they spin freely and it seems like they should. Seldom play them anyway as my old chrome tapes sound 1000x better and play on all decks

It’s probably the tapes, they were made as cheaply as possible

yes, and as far as i can tell, double capstan deck doesn't help either....they are far more sensitive to any imperfections...

on mine other single capstan deck, it plays everything you throw in them...so, go figure...

 

[titanstats]

yes, and as far as i can tell, double capstan deck doesn't help either...

I’d never thought about double capstan being a problem, but you may be correct; I haven’t has a single capstan deck in quite some time.

The XDR cassettes, in particular all the Beatles cassettes, became unplayable for me. I tried a few other random tapes last night and a few would not play as well.

Fortunately there are usually other fine sources for music than prerecorded cassettes, so I don’t pay it much heed. I’ve never had a quality cassette fail to play properly in a quality deck.

 

[hemiram]

Only about 10% of a friend of mine's prerecorded cassettes play well at all at this point, but I always thought most of them sounded awful compared to the ones I made anyway. I have about 20 of my old tapes, all high bias Fuji, Maxell or TDK, and they sound ok. I don't know about cassette tapes, but in VHS, Fuji is king. I have one of some TV I recorded back a few days after I got my first VCR in Oct '79, and even after it sat in a box for a dozen years, it played well on the first pass, and on the second it was pretty much as good as it was on day one. The worst tapes I've ever used were the video Korean cheapo ones. The stuff I recorded on them is lost forever. You get what you pay for.

 

[Chet63]

Only about 10% of a friend of mine's prerecorded cassettes play well at all at this point, but I always thought most of them sounded awful compared to the ones I made anyway.

yes, mine percentage is high as well...and even if they work fine, the sound is not great either...

from what i gathering around there are 2 school of thoughts: one is saying how my tape deck isn't calibrated very well, and second thinks how some tapes are just bad...i am into second camp...

since i have 2 tape deck i am pretty sure (ymmv), how better 3 heads 2 capstan decks are simply more sensitive to any cassette imperfections, be it tape peeling, bad tape transport, improper handling and storage, tapes gathering dust in the car, tape played too frequently or played in bad cassette decks, etc...they somehow play ok in single capstan decks, but its sound is not so great though...

 

[Bradbrews]

I have a handful of prerecorded tapes that developed unlistenable levels of wow and flutter. Some decks can deal with them but have audible mechanical squealing when I play them. It gets worse quickly once it starts. This has only happened on tapes I got that I suspect lived their whole lives in tape suitcases in cars. Storage conditions likely are a factor.

 

[Nimbley]

It's most definitely your tapes. Weather it's sticky tape or mechanical problems with the case, or both. Some decks are just able handle tape better. I had figured out early on as a kid that home made recordings will almost always be better than pre recorded tapes, and not just by a little. Mainly because a mass producer for a record label will use as cheap as parts that they can get away with to maximize profit. Blank tapes were made to a price point and you could select the quality of tape depending on how much you wanted to spend. From mere pennies for drug store blanks to a few dollars a cassette for the good stuff. I always preferred a good Type II or super ferric Type I. I didn't have a machine to take advantage of a metal tape to spend the money on them.

 

[Nimbley]

I have a handful of prerecorded tapes that developed unlistenable levels of wow and flutter. Some decks can deal with them but have audible mechanical squealing when I play them. It gets worse quickly once it starts. This has only happened on tapes I got that I suspect lived their whole lives in tape suitcases in cars. Storage conditions likely are a factor.

That's sticky tape. Its more based on the tape formula. Those tapes would likely do the same even if left brand new in the package all this time. You should hear a 1/4" reel to reel tape squeal. It'll make your ears ring. Also, if you hear that, throw the tape away and clean your deck. Squealing tapes almost always leave a mess in the tape path and on the heads.

 

[radiokom]

That's sticky tape. Its more based on the tape formula.

If it is Ampex what has similar symptoms. Cassette tapes does not suffer from SSS, like reels with polyurethane binder. Commonly they are dried out. Many old cassette tapes, especially type 1 has this problem. Sometimes removing pressure pad (if deck has no pad lifter) can help. But it is not related to dual capstan, they squeak on fixed parts - on shell, heads, guides.