Denon DRR-M10 Recording Quality Troubles

[Justin Hogan]

For awhile now, I've had a Denon DRR-M10 as a secondary cassette deck. Playback quality sounds fine, but recording quality is not as good as I think it should be.

So, I set up an experiment. I took 3 blank tapes: one I thought was a good example of a type I tape (a NOS Sony tape), one I thought was a bad example of a type I tape (a Focal MP90 tape), and a type II chrome tape (Maxell XL II 90). I recorded the same song (the source being my computer btw) on those tapes on both my Denon DRR-M10 and Technics RS-TR232. I used Dolby C NR on both decks.

On the Denon, both the recordings on the Sony type I and Maxell type II sounded rather crunchy, while the Focal MP90 recording was downright awful. On the Technics, the type II recording sounded good, the Focal MP90 recording sounded infinitely less worse (albeit rather quiet), and then the deck started squealing like a pig when recording on the Sony type I which resulted in a rather satanic-sounding recording. When I played the Technics recordings back on the Denon, they all sounded very muffled with Dolby C still enabled. I already cleaned, demagnetized, and aligned the Denon deck way beforehand.

Some of the blank tapes I have to work with are the cheapo ones like the Focal MP90, though I have higher quality blanks as well. I'd like to get as much from the cheapo tapes as possible if I can. Is there any way I can go about fixing any of these issues?

 

[oldvinyldude]

You did not mention if you followed any calibration\setting levels, using the owners manual. I don't see a free user manual online for that model-you might consider purchasing one.

When I read 'crunchy', I tend to think excessive recording level\distorted. If you have another source available, like a TT or a known good 90's era pre recorded tape, you might want to repeat your tests.

I would suggest working with good tape. Type 1 tape made by Sony, Maxell, TDK can sound very good with a good deck. If you are trying to get the best performance with a type 1 tape, stick with reliable brands. I would abandon the Focal tape, and the Sony tape you had issues with, and start with a fresh tape.

 

[Justin Hogan]

It appears that I forgot to mention that the Denon deck has automatic level and balance control, while my Technics has those manual. I also did test recording with both a turntable and a radio tuner, and they both sounded about the same. Also, yeah, I figured maybe someone would say to completely abandon the Focal and other similar tapes. Good thing I have other type I tapes from actual brands that I would assume to be higher quality. Oh well, thought it would be worth a shot anyway.

 

[oldvinyldude]

Automatic level control certainly does pose an issue. You have isolated the issue to the deck, obviously. If you misaligned the Denon, that can account for poor playback on the Technics.

Compare playing a commercially recorded tape on the Denon vs the Technics. If the highs are off on the Denon, I might look at the alignment on the Denon.

 

[Justin Hogan]

Alright, I got the heads re-aligned on both decks so the highs should be good there. However, I'm still getting the same "crunchy," distorted sound from recordings using the setup I had initially (where I used my computer as the input source). When I was playing the music from my computer, I had the computer's volume cranked all the way up. So yeah, it was loud, but I also tried the radio tuner and it also sounded just about as loud. Something tells me the automatic level control isn't working as it should. There are trimmers on the inside of the deck to adjust record/playback volume for the left & right channels. Is it time to start playing with those or should I wait a little longer?