3.50 Recording Bugling GuideEThio,(003,(L Complete Directory-descriptions,specs,and prices Tape Decks Blank Tape Microphones Headphones Signal Processors NA Videocassette Recorders Mixers Car Tope Cxnponents Accessories PLUS: 7 FEATURES BONUS: 9 TEST REPORTS 0 14024 14262 Nakamichi Sound Research Center Co-icert Hall Nakamichi Commitment To Excellence No great work of art-no master- where the creation and recreation of our staff-engineers who are in love piece of music-is created without music are directly compared. with music, in love with sonic per- commitment. Every great artist- The concert hall symbolizes fection. Our philosophy sets us every musician-is driven by an in- Nakamichi Philosophy-a dedica- apart from others and, more than ternal need to express an emotion. tion to creativity, innovation, and mu- anything else, has helped establish At Nakamichi, we understand that sical excellence. Its location in our our enviable reputation for innovation need. We too are committed-to combined headquarters and re- and musical perfection. excellence-to perfection in the search lab is symbolic in itself for This philosophy created the leg- realm of recorded sound. In short, the Nakamichi Philosophy per- endary Nakamichi 1000-the we are committed to high fidelity! meates our entire organization. world's first Discrete Three -Head What does that mean? What is We are proud to be small enough Cassette Deck-the first cassette "high fidelity?" For a company with for our President to have a drafting recorder worthy of the name "high - Nakamichi's reputation for outstand- board in his office and a sketch pad fidelity." It led us to develop the ing specifications, it may be sur- at hand as he prowls the laborato- Nakamichi 680-the world's first prising to learn that specifications, ries keeping his finger on the pulse high-fidelity half -speed recorder. It in themselves, do not concern us! of research. We are proud to be guided us in developing Hi -Corn We are interested only in perfect large enough to have the finest staff II-the world's first 20 -dB noise -re- music reproduction. When we attain and the finest test instruments in the duction system without audible side that goal, excellent specifications industry. And we are proud of our effects. It produced the Nakamichi follow automatically for they simply dedication to music and to re- 1000ZXL-the world's first cassette document technical performance. search-research that creates the deck with true random-access pro- We believe that excellent specifi- products of the future-the prod- gram selection. cations are the effect-not the ucts of the next decade and Nakamichi Philosophy-the un- cause-of high fidelity-the re- beyond. ending search for sonic perfec- sull-not the means-of attaining This philosophy-this dedication tion-has now created the world's our goal! to imagination and creativity-at- first automatic playback azimuth All too easily, this distinction is tracts the very finest engineers to correction system-NAAC! blurred and ultimately forgotten! Nakamichi Auto Azimuth Correction Specifications become an end in is found only in the incredible themselves. This is not surprising for Nakamichi Dragon and Mobile specifications are easily quantified Sound System. NAAC-the unique and naturally appeal to the techni- technological breakthrough that cre- cal minds that create high-fidelity ates sonically perfect reproduction products. DRAGON Auto Reverse Cassette Deck in a bi-directional playback system! Not so at Nakamichi! We are un- NAAC-from Nakamichi-where like many audio giants. To serve as devotion to music creates the prod- a constant reminder that our goal is ucts of the future-today! music reproduction, we constructed an excellent concert hall as part of For more information, write to Nakamichi U.S.A. Corporation our headquarters/research facility. 1101 Colorado Avenue, We consider the concert hall our Santa Monica, California 90401. Ultimate Test Instrument-a place TD -1200 Mobile Tuner/Cassette Deck Nakamichi Taiiis Recording & B C Buying Guide19841 FEATURES Tape Recording: State of the Art Julian D. Hirsch.... 4 Home Taping: Sin, Crime, or Right? Carl Kaplan... 10 How to Choose a Cassette Deck Craig Stark... 14 Cover Equipment: A-Pioneer RT-707 open -reel tape deck; B --Realistic 31-2005 graphic equalizer; C-dbx 4bx dynamic - Taking Care of Your Tape Deck David Ranada... 17 range expander with remote control; D-JVC HR3CU video camera; E-RCA VCP900 videocassette recorder with remote The Basics of Live Recording David Ranada... 20 control; F-Videotape (left to right) JVC, TDK, Maxell, Sony, How to Make Good Tape Recordings David Ranada... 26 Fuji, PDMagnetics, BASF; G-Kenwood 1022 cassette radio; H-Audio-Technica AT9200 microphone; I-Nakamichi Dragon A Vocabulary of Tape Recording David Ranada... 32 cassette deck; J-Aiwa AD -F770 cassette deck; K-Denon DR - M4 cassette deck; L-Tandberg 3014 cassette deck; M-Bang Abbreviations 35 & Olutsen Beocord 9000 cassette deck; N-Sony MDR-4L1S 36 headphones; 0-Cassette tape (left to right): Denon, Sony, Directory of Manufacturers Scotch, PDMagnetics, TDK, Yamaha, Maxell, Fuji, Memorex, Tape Equipment Test Reports Hirsch -Houck Labs... 37 Nakamichi, Loran, BASF; Accessory: Nagaoka by MicroFidelity Wash -Up Four cassette deck cleaner; Open -reel tape: BASF, Harman Kardon CD9I Cassette Deck; Jensen RE530 Auto Cassette Denon. Radio; Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck; Onkyo TA -2035 Cassette Cover Photos: Geoffrey Rosengarten Deck; Revox B710 MkII Cassette Deck; Sherwood S-6000CP Cassette Deck; Sony SL5200 Videocassette Recorder; Tandberg 20A -SE Open - CONSUMER COMPUTERS 8 ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE DIVISION Reel Tape Deck; Vector Research VCX-800 Cassette Deck. President: Larry Sporn Vice President, Publishing Director: J. Scott Briggs Vice President, General Manager: Eileen G. Markowitz PRODUCT INFORMATION ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY SECTION 1 Cassette Decks 54 President: Richard P. Friese President, Consumer Magazine Division: Albert S. Trains SECTION 2Open -Reel Tape Decks 69 Executive Vice President, Marketing and Circulation: SECTION 3Blank Audio and Video Tape 72 Paul Chook Senior Vice Presidents: Phillip T. Heffernan, SECTION 4VCRs and Video Cameras 78 Sidney Holtz, Edward D. Muhlfeld, Philip Sine SECTION 5Autosound Tape Components 84 Vice Presidents: Baird Davis, George Morrissey Vice President, Annuals: Jerry Schneider SECTION 6Headphones 100 Treasurer: Selwyn Taubman SECTION 7Microphones 106 Secretary: Bertram A. Abrams SECTION 8Mixers 117 Editorial, Executive, and Circulation Offices SECTION 9Signal Processors 119 One Park Avenue New York, New York 10016 SECTION10Tape Accessories 127 Advertising Director, Brian E. McCabe National Advertising Mgr., Richard J. Halpern Eastern Advertising Rep., Charles P. Watson Midwestern Office The Pattis Group J. SCOTT BRIGGS Publisher WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE Editorial Director 4761 West Touhy Avenue WILLIAM A. BURTON Directory Editor Lincolnwood, Illinois 60646 312-679-1100 BORYS PATCHOWSKY Art Arnold S. Hoffman RAY DOUGLAS HYDE, JR., MARGARET RENNER LIDZ Editorial Assistants BRIAN McCABE Advertising Director Western Office 3460 Wilshire Boulevard RICHARD J. HALPERN National Advertising Manager Beverly Hills, California 90010 213-387-2100 Japan lwai Trading Co.,Ltd. TAPE RECORDING & BUYING GUIDE is published annually by Ziff -Davis Publishing J.S. Yagi 603 Ginza Sky Heights Building Company, One Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016. 18-13, Ginza 7 -Chrome COPYRIGHT® 1983 BYZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHINGCOMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 104 Telephone: (03) 588-0165, 545-3908 1984 TAPE RECORDING & BUYING GUIDE is published annu- PERMISSIONS: Material in this publication may not be reproduced ally by the Ziff -Davis Publishing Company, One Park Avenue, in any form without permission. Requests for permission should be New York, N.Y. 10016. Also publishers of Stereo Review, Com- puters & Electronics, Experimenter's Handbook, Invitation To directed to Bette Amado, Ziff -Davis Publishing Company, One Park Electronics and Stereo Buyers' Guide. Avenue, New York, New York 10016. TAPE RECORDING & BUYING GUIDE Foryearsyou have pretty toI stories been lei Denonoily about some makes cassettetape. necessarily DX -Series one claimfor equate tc will playCassettes.We Most musicality. will on the dontsaythey manufacturers` sury ve moon; wecont specificationsare based Perform being say they measu-ements, on static a recordingthistalfor hope thatthey baked in steady the tape's joi_rself. or shatter won't tip ov?ii. s. We test first on DamnEX \lake your over -our tones.Denonresponse to listening -Cassette that chair CasseteTape DX -Series to Ilia Tape Deron stemware.We cnly also goes one playbackyour DX source. Then sound DX -Series say m nimizes step compare the -Tape wore like Cast-_e Tape distort Dynamic further:it re:orzinga -d other realmusic will on created Distortion, The brandon the thai signals. by actual the messagetwo.3x.).eren:-..es. is market. any musical in the "YOUDON'T rusiz. LISTENTO "DENON YOU 'THE WILL LISTEN TOSPECIFICATIONS; BECOME Most MUSIC' AUDIOPHILES DEMON cassette True CASSETTE tries to tape audiophiles TAPE" The impress adieu_sing testing is realize trouble you with not thereal the A -B is that specffications. quality.Only gauge of extended sound specificaticnsdo not you if a listening component-or can tell superior. a tape-is A CASSETTE Nippon E TAPE Colu-nbia Co., Ltd., No.14-14, REAL 4-010ne..Akasaka, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 107, MUSIC' Japan Denon America,Inc. 2: lawCri.9.., CIRCLE