hifistereo vcr for audio recording

[frankxbe]

I tried it some years ago with a four head Toshiba hifi/stereo VCR sounded good. Anyone else ever use a VCR to record audio ?

 

[CT-Boy]

I do. When laziness set in I just play my favourite vinyl recordings.

 

[Zygmo]

I have used them. Some of the nicer ones have great audio capibility. But, IMHO, there are just so many better ways to record audio that I don't use them anymore. If that is what you have though, there is certainly nothing wrong with it...they sound very good. :thmbsp:

 

[zenith2134]

I've done it at length, and the results can sound GREAT, imo. Be aware that VHS hifi has dbx built into its specification; which of course is a 'compander' system...In most cases this is fine and it's pretty transparent but with some music it breathes.

 

[wisslerm]

I did for my DIY wedding reception, I was nice, hours of music...and no chicken dance. I had 2 tapes, one for dinner and one for dancing. It worked out pretty well but it certainly wasn't critical listening.

 

[jsixis]

I use to own a mid level Quasar HI FI unit that had great specifications. It lasted 10 years and by then all that was left was the lowest level players available.
I have a sony Hi Fi unit but recording on it is a PITA so it only gets used for playback.
I've been thinking about buying the magnavox recordable VHS/DVD player they have since it has buttons for recording, play, FF Rev ect.
You'll probably get hammered for suggesting such a thing but I enjoy the 6 hours of un attended music playback.
Tape is going obsolete for hi end uses, it cost too much.

 

[prisoners]

I used to do that, but in truth an iPod is so much easier. Digital storage is cheap these days. Even the smallest capacity iPod can equal dozens of VHS tapes and it won't ever wear out. Making playlists (aka mix tapes) is very simple and can be played back with an inexpensive cable in almost any system, making it much more portable than a stack of tapes that needs a dedicated player. (try THAT in a car for a long road trip!)

 

[steerpike2]

I've used VHS hi-fi for audio since around 1986, the results have always been good. But I'm getting a bit worried now that parts for VCRs are becomming hard to find, if a critical component breaks - what then?
The more recent stereo VCRs are a bit too cheap & lightweight for my liking, and level controls & VU meters are often missing on those.

 

[zenith2134]

I hear ya on that, steerpike. Luckily my 2 machines are healthy now but I'd like to get another just for recording on. my current stash: Recording deck: 1990 Sony with a big ass remote and LED 'audio view' level display. Playback: later(1996?) Sony 4Head basic vcr.

Very infrequently, I'll get a momentary dropout where the machine reverts to the linear mono track but it's never been a big issue for me...I run vhs as a cost-effective alternative to R2R....So, only analog (from vinyl, or other tape) for me in this case.

Among the most important things to consider here-Use Fresh Tapes.

 

[chris35745]

I just dusted off one of my VCRs this past week and tossed in an old tape and put 6 hours of music on it. I have been hearing about this for some time and finally decided to try it. I am using an old mid-90s RCA Hi-Fi as the playback deck. My Sony DVD/VHS combo is the recording deck. It doesnt have controls for the levels, but that is ok with me. I am very pleased with the results. The RCA is hooked up to my HT receiver, and when I played the stereo tape on it, that receiver split the signal up and sent it to all 4 amps in the HT setup. It is really cool listening to the tape in 7 channel surround. Say what you will about multi-channel sound vs stereo, but you have no idea what you are missing until you hear what a stereo record sounds in full surround. I just went out this past weekend and bought a dozen brand new tapes at my local thrift for $6. Gonna put some vinyl on tape and listen to it in full surround.

 

[spl225]

I used to do that too. Hours of continuous music and it didn't sound bad. Great for parties.

 

[HiFiCanada]

I was thinking about it back in the 1980's, when stereo VCR's just started to be available. It was always hard to find a special track, that I would want to listen to, let alone trying to find a thirty minute sitcom.
There was a article in a Hi-Fi magazine, that explains how one could even use the Video secton of the VCR stricly for audio, using a DAC.
I got a second generation VCR, a tank and very well built, maybe some day, I will pull it out and get it working again.

 

[zenith2134]

That's true as well; that some Beta and VHS machines could be used in conjunction with a PCM processor to utilize the video signal....even edit it later on...But after doing a bit of research, a lot of the early processing units were 14 bit spec.

 

[tomwil]

That's true as well; that some Beta and VHS machines could be used in conjunction with a PCM processor to utilize the video signal....even edit it later on...But after doing a bit of research, a lot of the early processing units were 14 bit spec.

Years ago, I used a Sony PCM-501ES with a VCR to record a radio station that was changing its format from New Age to Contemporary music. I was able to obtain about a hundred hours of programming before the changeover, at 6-hour increments. The PCM-501ES was capable of 16-bit resolution.

The tapes were then transferred to PC and edited, and placed on CDs. Back then, you could not realistically record direct to PC because of limited hard drive sizes.

 

[steerpike2]

National even made the Technics SV-P100, a digital audio-only recorder that used a VHS mechanism,predating "VHS Hi-fi" by a few years.

 

[zenith2134]

Interesting, that Technics is....dare I say, it'd be cool to own one even today!

 

[acalunas1]

I had a NEC 5000U that made great sounding tapes.

If memory serves, there was a Toshiba model that actually made PCM recordings.