The custom moulds are definitely the key with ER-4s, they are the ONLY IEM to use when doing binaural recording due to the pinnae and canal compensation. I bought a pair in the 1990s for that purpose, and then my dog ate the ear molds (gross!) so I used them with silicone cone inserts for years and they were just not as great. The ER4s strength is low-level detail, not max SPL, so external isolation is god with them. Two years ago I finally got new moulds and love using them once again.
If done correctly it could possibly recover some of the data which gave an error on the first pass. Also as was stated earlier, the servos in CD-ROM drives are typically faster, and the beam and spot geometry of a CD-ROM drive is often different than most CD-Audio only drives, so these factors could help in some circumstances, especially with longer-play discs with tighter track pitch and slower surface speed. The biggest issue with multi-spin drives is noise...hopefully they figure that one out!
Cheers,
Howie
The Naka 100ZXL did not use (an internal) Dolby C™ processor. Instead, it could be supplied with an external Dolby C™ or Hi-Com™ processor. The internal Dolby B™ processor used matched UA7300PC chips. Here is the datasheet:
UA7300PC Datasheet - Fairchild Semiconductor - Datasheets360.com
That ReVox cassette deck was an average performer. It used the same combo head that AIWA used in their 3 head machines. A long way behind Naka in every way. Except one. Toughness. Those ReVox decks were very long lasting, reliable decks.
I once had to replace a reel motor in one. It was a Maxxon motor. You know: The same guys who build motors for the Mars landers! Possibly the most beautiful motor I've ever seen in a domestic appliance. Hand built by those wacky Swiss (beautifully, machined parts, assembled with a flat blade srewdriver). I emailed them with the code number and they dutifully built one and delivered it ON TIME. US$250.00, as I recall.
There is a freeware tool for performing surface scans on CD/DVD media if anyone wants to try it: VSO Inspector: free CD, DVD and Blu-ray scanning reporting tool for testing your medias and burners
-- I had an early all discrete Dolby circuit I used for recording (sometimes)... Advent 101 ?? maybe. But later when Dolby went to IC and everything from receivers to recorders used it. Wasn't a great performance IC for high quality audio.
THx-RNMarsh
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Perhaps it wasn't, but my Naka 1000ZXL (purchased new) performed exceptionally well. It was very difficult to pick the difference between the LP recorded and the tape. Objectively, it easily exceeded 27kHz at -3dB.
For sure, fantastic machines! Nak addressed the factor which provides the biggest aural cue that you are listening to a cassette: scrape flutter due to the felt pressure pad right over the tape head. The noise sidebands it generates really muddy up the sound, with it lifted those Naks sounded like reel-to-reel decks. The lifter on all higher-end Naks was an ingenious device, but required a highly advanced dual-capstan drive to provide stable tape tension to ensure contact at the repro head gap.
As Chris rightly pointed out, doing this required careful attention to the condition of the capstan and it's surface characteristics. The way a dual capstan drive works is by establishing a speed differential between the leading (speed regulating) and trailing capstans. This would result in a steadily rising tension but the capstan surfaces were textured and trailing pinch roller pressure moderated to provide the correct amount of creep. This allowed the tension to be highly stable at the desired level. Since we had many 1000ZXLs and MR-1s in mastering and QC duty, for years we ordered new capstan/flywheel assys from Nak in bulk in foam trays.
As happens with all obsolete technologies, companies go out of business and parts become difficult to find. We stayed in the cassette business until 2013, and for the last decade or so of that time we were vapor-blasting old capstan assys to refinish them in lieu of new unobtanium. I purchased the remnants of the Nak parts inventory when my company folded and it is a single sad box of parts for 1000ZXLs and MR-1s as well as the A.B.L.E. alignment box and all jigs. I figured if I need to I could go back into Nak servicing, but Chris knows how difficult that can be without parts! The one gem in the lot is a brand-new 1000ZXL Gold repro head. These were specially selected heads for the gold-plated edition of that deck and we installed them in our reference transducers in the QC lab to verify test tapes. Properly set up with a mild peaking eq their response was good to 30kHz or so...amazing devices.
Perhaps the coolest device we made was the transplanting of a Nak repro head into a Studer A-80 QC 0.150" reel-reel deck with custom repro/eq amps. Studer machines are indeed built like tanks and mechanically work for years but their heads and electronics are unremarkable. The Nak/Studer A-80 QC was how we verified pancake reels of test tapes we made for in-house use.
We done with Nak Talk yet?
How about those noise-cancelling IEMs?
Cheers,
Howie
No freaking out, just me, open back headphones are as far as I go. Unless I'm flying to Europe or Asia I never listen/watch anything while traveling, that includes my car.
I wont use in ear monitors unless for running or exercise.
I don’t like feeling totally removed from my environment. I like to be able to hear the world around me.
NPR or a podcast like S*Town is my preferred driving / traveling accompaniment.
A while back linkwitz wrote something on a pair of shures with I promptly scooped and have been happy with.
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Reference earphones
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