Pioneer CT-F1000

The Pioneer CT-F1000 Cassette Tape Deck (1977-79).

2 motor, 3 head design, with dolby-B, MPX filter, 400hz test tone, bias adjustment, pitch control, big vu meters with peak lamp, analogue counter with memory stop function and more!

The CT-F1000 really was a supreme piece of engineering which, apart from the blue lamps in the meters, is all original and still going strong. She came with SA-9500 MKII and matching tuner and they didnt come cheap. Sadly the tuner is faulty in stereo mode but all units in very good condition, with manuals and schematics!

 

When you take off the lid, the inside is filled with goodies, big transformer (for a tape deck), big solid looking transport, a nice array of circuit boards on the right standing up on end. Everything looks good, the inside matches the outside and this has some serious looks!

The transport buttons are solid aluminum with engraved icons. The head is "UNI X'TAL FERRITE" what ever that means. You have a 400hz test tone which can be used to fine tune your recording. Dual capstans help ensure low wow & flutter and is surely a tell tail sign of superior build quality.

 

So, how dose she sound?

Well for those of you who think tape sounds better than CD...you'll get no joy here. No cassette deck is really going to match a high-end cd player. The top end is just not there, 16khz upwards is very nonexistent and the sub-base? forget it. But most of us wouldn't expect such standards from an older format that was never intended to be super high-end. Even so, I have to admit I was ever so slightly disappointed with this beast. It had the looks and the build quality but the sound did nothing for me. Its a good machine and sounds fine but Its nothing like an RS-9900 and Im sure the more recent cheap & cheerful direct drive machines from Technics had far more clarity than this old Pioneer thing.

Am I pleased I bought her? You're dam right I am, but I probably wouldn't buy another.

If you're looking at buying one of these to simply mate with the rest of your Pioneer stack, you should be very pleased. If you're looking for good sound from a cassette deck, maybe give this one a miss. Better still, get a reel to reel machine!

Until the next time, zzzzzzzzzzz

Bang & Olufsen Beocord 5000

Bang & Olufsen Beocord 5000 Cassette Deck

Designed by Jacob Jensen and released 1984 - 1987 to accompany the 5000 series, which all share the same amazing styling.

This was in fact a very serious piece of kit in its day. It offered a very high standard of sound reproduction and featured an HXPro head. Dolby B and Dolby C noise reduction, digital counter and meter levels. 

 

The front panel slides toward you, motor driven, and reveals the transport and control buttons. To open the unit you push the bottom left corner of the face-plate. You feel a satisfying click, then she opens up, smooth and rigid.

 

When she arrived she wasn't well, no rewind and the draw couldn't fully close. The faulty draw was due to a piece of metal trim on the underside of the top cover. A metal bar running across the lid had fallen down one end, jamming the draw and preventing it closing. I was able to glue the metal bar back in place but if something heavy were place on top or if you lent on it, getting to the back. It would probably break again and I suspect this is what happened in the first place. So keep a look out on ebay for 5000s with draws not closing fully, could be an easy fix

 

The rewind issue was fixed by winding the mechanism by hand and a little blob of oil on any sliding parts. There is one other fault I later found which is a little annoying. The cap-spin teeth can slide up and down but it looks like the springs have lost their bounce because the cap spin teeth get stuck down and fail to engage with the cassette. You have to take out the cassette , pull up the cap-spins and replace your tape.

 

I haven't heard this playing because it has a 7 pin connector for audio and remote control. I haven't bothered putting phono sockets on the back yet but thats the way to go. Retain the original connection and add the phono sockets. Two holes, two connectors, four little wires, job done.

Untill the next time zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Technics RS-9900 Cassette Transport and Reproduce Amplifier

The one and only Technics RS-9900 Tape deck unit`s`

Unit is currently under renovation but is fully working.

Pictures are from the day I got her ;)