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keithant
12-25-2003, 10:56 AM
First off Merry christmas to everyone,I have a chance to buy either a Sony TC-K677ES or a Aiwa AD-F810 cassette deck,both are 3 Head Closed loop dual capstan decks with almost the exact same features and both were made in 1991 and both are in mint condition and are the exact same price.My question is which one would be the better deck,which should i spend my money on?I want to know which one will hold up the best and which one is built the best?Any help in helping me make a decision will be greatly appreciated..Peace to all,Keith H.

Kursun
12-26-2003, 07:00 AM
First off Merry christmas to everyone,I have a chance to buy either a Sony TC-K677ES or a Aiwa AD-F810 cassette deck,both are 3 Head Closed loop dual capstan decks with almost the exact same features and both were made in 1991 and both are in mint condition and are the exact same price.My question is which one would be the better deck,which should i spend my money on?I want to know which one will hold up the best and which one is built the best?Any help in helping me make a decision will be greatly appreciated..Peace to all,Keith H.

I own a Sony TC-K815S which I rarely use, but have been happy with. I'm not familiar with the models you mention. I would look for the following options:
1- Option of manual adjustment of bias and Dolby levels. I don't believe auto bias adjustments are precise enough.
2- Dolby S noise reduction. This is superior to both Dolby B and C, and its playback is compatible with decks with Dolby B or even with no Dolby.
3- A real-time tape counter. It is really handy when recording.
4- A non-auto-reverse deck if you are after quality. Older Akai decks I believe had fixed 4 gap heads, but the later auto reversing decks all had rotating heads of questionable precision.

BTW I believe all decks have Dolby HX pro, which enable slightly higher levels to be recorded on tape.