bored so thought I would write a few reviews.
Pioneer CT-F1000 - was not Pioneers TOTL deck too long as it was soon replaced by the CT-F1250, but although not their best, the CT-F1000 is one really nice deck. Build quality is outstanding. That is not just all empty space in that big cabinet, it is a heavy unit for a cassette deck.
Pretty much standard controls for a high end tape deck with the feature that i use all of the time and really think helps keep the tape hiss to a minimum is the built in 400hz oscillator. Simple to use with the controls easy to get to, really no excuse not to do a quick check on tapes before you make a recording to get the best results.
Most people moved out of tape decks a long time ago and their memories of them is one of a lot of tape hiss. I would like to try to dispel that notion. Yes, they are not absolutely quiet between songs, but I have heard a lot more hiss in flacs then I have heard in one of my recorded tapes. You will not get total silence like you would with a good quality cd, but recorded properly, there should not be enough noise present to take away from the enjoyment of the music.
I have had a few people come over to hear some of my other gear and i always insure I have my tape deck ready to go. I never tell them what the source is until after the song is over. Usually when they check the gear out, the tape deck only gets a cursory look, more like a novelty item, plus the CT-F1000 really is a beautiful piece, but it is a tape deck after all.
Without fail though, after a couple of songs, I always let them know we were listening to a cassette tape - most have been stunned, some did not believe me. They had not heard a tape deck in ages and as mentioned above, all they thought about was tape hiss. They are always shocked that they do not hear more noise between songs.
It is by no means a dead silent quiet, but unless you are doing your most critical listening on a good cd with a good dac, you will not be disappointed.
Now it could be that they were recorded on the same model deck as I have now, but I have cassettes that were recorded back in 1978 that sound just as good now as they did when i recorded them.
Down sides are few in my opinion, with the biggest one being high bias tapes are no longer a walk in and buy item, usually have to buy them mail order.
Major upside, imo, no need to worry about the quality of the DAC here, analog thru and thru.
While the CT-F1000 was not their best deck, purely subjective here, but for me it was their best looking deck, but I say that as i am a big fan of VU meters over lights, just something about VU meters that trips my trigger.
If you happen to be in the market for a good quality tape deck that came close to matching the specs on many reel to reel machines, you could do far worse then a pioneer CT-F1000. It has always been my favorite deck, easy to set up and record with and stands the test of time.
Brief side - I believe one reason most people think of tape hiss when they think of a tape deck is they must have played a lot of pre-recorded tapes.
I personally have never heard a pre-recorded tape that even comes close to your own recordings. Pre-recorded tapes were mass produced and not set up for any particular machine. When you record your own tape on a hq deck, the settings are tailored specifically for that machine to get the best quality recording. While the tape will still sound better then a pre-recorded one on a different tape deck, played on the machine that recorded it, one is quickly reminded why audiophiles enjoyed their music back in the "old" days as much as they do now.
Not quite the same as watching those big reels spinning, but the sound of the CT-F1000 can come awful close to replicating the sound of the rtr's and unless you have very high end equipment, you may never notice the difference.
Pioneer CT-F1000 - was not Pioneers TOTL deck too long as it was soon replaced by the CT-F1250, but although not their best, the CT-F1000 is one really nice deck. Build quality is outstanding. That is not just all empty space in that big cabinet, it is a heavy unit for a cassette deck.
Pretty much standard controls for a high end tape deck with the feature that i use all of the time and really think helps keep the tape hiss to a minimum is the built in 400hz oscillator. Simple to use with the controls easy to get to, really no excuse not to do a quick check on tapes before you make a recording to get the best results.
Most people moved out of tape decks a long time ago and their memories of them is one of a lot of tape hiss. I would like to try to dispel that notion. Yes, they are not absolutely quiet between songs, but I have heard a lot more hiss in flacs then I have heard in one of my recorded tapes. You will not get total silence like you would with a good quality cd, but recorded properly, there should not be enough noise present to take away from the enjoyment of the music.
I have had a few people come over to hear some of my other gear and i always insure I have my tape deck ready to go. I never tell them what the source is until after the song is over. Usually when they check the gear out, the tape deck only gets a cursory look, more like a novelty item, plus the CT-F1000 really is a beautiful piece, but it is a tape deck after all.
Without fail though, after a couple of songs, I always let them know we were listening to a cassette tape - most have been stunned, some did not believe me. They had not heard a tape deck in ages and as mentioned above, all they thought about was tape hiss. They are always shocked that they do not hear more noise between songs.
It is by no means a dead silent quiet, but unless you are doing your most critical listening on a good cd with a good dac, you will not be disappointed.
Now it could be that they were recorded on the same model deck as I have now, but I have cassettes that were recorded back in 1978 that sound just as good now as they did when i recorded them.
Down sides are few in my opinion, with the biggest one being high bias tapes are no longer a walk in and buy item, usually have to buy them mail order.
Major upside, imo, no need to worry about the quality of the DAC here, analog thru and thru.
While the CT-F1000 was not their best deck, purely subjective here, but for me it was their best looking deck, but I say that as i am a big fan of VU meters over lights, just something about VU meters that trips my trigger.
If you happen to be in the market for a good quality tape deck that came close to matching the specs on many reel to reel machines, you could do far worse then a pioneer CT-F1000. It has always been my favorite deck, easy to set up and record with and stands the test of time.
Brief side - I believe one reason most people think of tape hiss when they think of a tape deck is they must have played a lot of pre-recorded tapes.
I personally have never heard a pre-recorded tape that even comes close to your own recordings. Pre-recorded tapes were mass produced and not set up for any particular machine. When you record your own tape on a hq deck, the settings are tailored specifically for that machine to get the best quality recording. While the tape will still sound better then a pre-recorded one on a different tape deck, played on the machine that recorded it, one is quickly reminded why audiophiles enjoyed their music back in the "old" days as much as they do now.
Not quite the same as watching those big reels spinning, but the sound of the CT-F1000 can come awful close to replicating the sound of the rtr's and unless you have very high end equipment, you may never notice the difference.
