I just got done restoring my beloved Yamaha K1020 tape deck. I replaced all the rubber in the mechanism and pulled apart the capstan motor to replace a faulty speed control IC. I also re capped the entire power supply and preamp coupling stages using Panasonic EB in the PS and Nichicon Muse ES between audio stages. It was a struggle finding parts for the mechanism but now I can enjoy my favorite cassette deck again.
My question is, does modding a tape deck even make any sense these from a practical perspective? I can definitely hear a difference in character for the better, but its still not as dramatic as doing the same with a digital source component. What are you're thoughts?
My question is, does modding a tape deck even make any sense these from a practical perspective? I can definitely hear a difference in character for the better, but its still not as dramatic as doing the same with a digital source component. What are you're thoughts?
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I would do that with my 35 year old tape deck as well. Fortunately it still works as is.
I changed the dissolved rubber belt in my 1990 sony walkman and enjoy it, for pure sentimental reasons.
Very nice tape deck you have, by the way!
It is definitely worth it if it's going to be used. Besides, it's always good to have a good set for the purpose of digital transfer of, say, old family / personal recordings. However, it would've been nice if playback means were non-contact (like the ELPs) for lack of spare parts,
Thats what I wanted to hear, but sometimes its easy to get carried away with things that don't matter so much. Yes, I use this deck for transfers I do when someone needs a tape converted to PCM. As it does all the common noise reduction schemes (including DBX), there isn't much it can't play properly. It has sendust head rec/pb heads which don't really wear out, making it suited for heavy use. I already converted the plastic real drive idler to the more reliable brass piece from an older Nakamichi deck. This uses the great Sankyo transport that Nakamichi and other high end dual capstan decks use, so parts aren't hard to find. It does mean they come at a penalty being associated with the Nakamichi name. Lol
Now that I said that, I just jinxed myself with a problem it has when trying to calibrate the playback levels coming from the head amp. I'll have to start a new thread on that one.
Now that I said that, I just jinxed myself with a problem it has when trying to calibrate the playback levels coming from the head amp. I'll have to start a new thread on that one.