TAPEDECK REVIEWED
~COLORCK2.FIL~          
                               'Virtue doesn't stay lonely for long 
                                she will soon gain neighbours' 
          
                                Confucius 
          
         ---------------
         TAPEDECK REVIEW 
         --------------- 
         by Slimer 
          
         The thermometer reads over 30 degrees celcius, a big fan is 
         trying to cool the almost overheated monitor. Grey clouds 
         slowly glide through the sky and soft rumble of thunder can 
         be heard in the far distance. A light depression seems to 
         take possession of me. Lenny Kravitz tries a feeble attempt 
         to cheer me up, but even on my new tapedeck he is annoying. 
         It's stuffy weather, inside its to hot and outside to wet. 
         Now Lenny gets really on my nerves *EJECT* maybe Marillion 
         will do the trick...*PLAY* Ever heard a fish sing? Well I'm 
         listening to one at the moment...   

          
         I have decided to phone my mate and see what he's up to.
         He's coming by in half a hour and then we go to the local 
         shopping promenade. I also asked him if he would like to
         go to the swimmingpool this weekend, his answer as usual 
         was: 'I rather jump in the pond nearby and catch a nasty 
         disease !'.... Maybe I can conclude from this answer that 
         doens't want to go .....!? Lucky for me the sun has won the 
         hide and seek game with the clouds and they are now on 
         their way to a next target. Peeking through the blinds 
         I see their inheritance, wet streets and big pools of 
         water... 

          
         Hey this strange state of mind seems to be having a 
         positive effect on my poor writing abilities, not bad for a 
         guy who learned most English from scrollines and T.V. 
         series ! *EJECT, Flip the cassette* Nice piece of technique 
         this new Denon Tape Deck, especially with Van Halen playing 
         'Running with the Devil' at the moment. Hell, lets turn 
         this article into a Tape Deck review (which was the general 
         idea anyway), 
          
          
         A MAN WITHOUT A TAPEDECK ... 
          
         Some months ago my old 'Aiwa' tapedeck started to do things 
         that were not described in the manual. It decided to play 
         my tapes in the fastforward mode. The Carpenters sounded 
         like a speed metal band and sometimes it seemed that the
         'Smurfs' had taken over my tapedeck. Not being able to 
         play my fave tapes anymore drove me almost nuts. A music 
         pirate can't live without a tapedeck, so a new one had to 
         be bought ... As usual I visited my number one Hi-Fi store 
         to check out their new equipment. I talked to one of the 
         guys there, who showed me a few decks that he thought would 
         satisfy my demands. He showed me a 'TEAC' and a 'Denon', 
         further examination revealed that the Denon had a dual 
         capstan which the 'TEAC' lacked. A price reduction made the 
         'Denon' even more attractive as it was the last model. So, 
         I took it home for some extensive testing and decided to 
         buy it ...

          
         THE REVIEW 
          
         Device        : Tapedeck 
         Brand         : Denon 
         Type          : DRM-710 
         Configuration : 3 heads + twin capstans 
          
         Price approx. : 435 dollar, 750 Dmark, 800 Dutch guilders  

          
         DUAL CAPSTANS EXPLAINED, 
          
         The old 'Aiwa' had only one capstan and two heads which 
         made it a simple device. People don't always seem to 
         understand what a big difference a dual capstan 
         configuration can make to the recording/playing of music. 
         Two capstans keep the tape taut and guide it without 
         slipping over the heads. The result is a far more steady 
         music image than that of a single capstan deck. You don't 
         have to be an audiophile to hear it.  

          
         3 HEADS EXPLAINED, 
          
         In order to record and monitor the recording at the same 
         time, the 3 headsystem was created. The principal is 
         simple; just place the play head beside the recording head 
         (combination head). While recording you can press the 
         monitor button and real-time listen in on the recording.  
         If you have a 2 head system, you probably play back the 
         whole tape after the recording for a final check.  

          
         There is another advantage with 3 heads; you can switch 
         between the source and the tape to check out the 
         difference. Handy, if you're looking for the right tape to 
         match with the quality of the CD player. 

          
         FEATURES, 
          
         The 'Denon DRM-710' is equipped with a digital display that 
         shows all the important functions. The tapecounter is 
         indicated in minutes and seconds which is a useful to see 
         how far the tape has travelled(yesterday I found one of my 
         tapes in cellar). You have to set the right tapesize first 
         before you start to record/play something.  

          
         Standard features can be found in the shape of Dolby HX PRO 
         and for noise reduction you can use DOLBY B/C. The HX PRO 
         feature provides the most suitable value of bias by 
         calculating the recording signal and the recording bias as 
         a whole. HX PRO is not a noise reducer and can not be 
         turned off. There is also a bias manual control present on 
         this deck for the most optimal sound recording. Other 
         standard features include a MPX filter, to filter out the 
         'pilot' tone in FM broadcasts and a headphone jack.  

          
         There are also a couple of non standard features on this 
         deck. One of these features is a 'music search system'. 
         This system looks from 4 second intervals(or longer) of 
         silence between songs and activates play ! Quite a handy 
         feature. I know that this system already exists a couple of 
         years but its not always regarded as a standard feature ! 
         You can also find a REC RETURN button on the deck. This 
         baby rewinds the tape to the starting point and switches to 
         record standby mode ! Last but least is the fact that the 
         deckmechanism operates extremely silent which couldn't be 
         said of my incomparison noisy 'Aiwa' ! 

          
         RECORDING/PLAY PERFORMANCE, 
          
         Gadgets can be quite exiting but the sound quality is much 
         more important. The real audiophile won't be out buying 
         cheap equipment with unneccasary knobs and lights. He knows 
         that most of the top audio manufacturers won't bother with 
         the extra 'garbage'. Extra displays, lights and knobs often 
         DON'T have a positive influence on the SOUND QUALITY ! It's 
         the sound quality that counts and that is what the biggest 
         part of this review will go about.... 

          
         All tapedecks are adjusted to a certain brand of tape which 
         will give the best possible performance. The 'Denon 
         DRM-710' has to use 'Denon DX' or 'HD' cassette tapes for 
         the most optimal recording result. However you can let your 
         Hi-Fi store or the manufacturer re-adjust the tapedeck to 
         the cassette tape you prefer. I was out of luck because the 
         'Denon' tapes were sold out at the time. So I used a 'Sony 
         XR' metal for the first test recording which was a song from
         the CD 'Soul Cages' of Sting. When I played it back there 
         was clear difference between my old deck and this new one, 
         a more stable music image could be heard ! The dual 
         capstans are a sound for sour ears (or was it sight for 
         sour eyes ?)! A slight sound difference can still be heard 
         between the tape recording and the original CD. 'Normal' 
         people won't notice any but a veteran (ahum) like myself 
         will. My mate couldn't hear it no-matter how hard he tried 
         but I could, with my eyes closed and by switching 
         randomly between both sources ... There was just that tiny 
         less treble on tape recording that my sensitive (according 
         to my mate) ears picked up. I must also state that the bias 
         will fix it but I didn't get round to that yet ! My final 
         conclusion can only be made after I obtain a 'Denon HD 
         tape' and perform several tests with it. 

         
         Now some words about the overall sound quality of the 
         'Denon' the stereo image is very good and stable. Noise
         is low, so you won't be bothered with loud hissing between
         songs (also depends on the tape used). 

          
         CONCLUSION, 
          
         Putting all the facts and features together gives me a 
         great overall impression of the tapedeck. A good and steady 
         recording quality combined with excellent (neccesary) 
         features make this a top tapedeck. According to the local 
         Hi-Fi shop the 'Denon DRM-710' will be replaced soon by  
         another type. This new type will have all the same features 
         but will cost 45 dollar more... 
          
         Also recommended are the TEAC tapedeck and CD player series 
         as they seem to be rather good ! 
          
          
         SPECIFICATIONS, 
          
          
         TYPE .............. Vertical tape loading 4-track 2-channel 
                             stereo cassette player (what else did 
                             you expect ?). 
          
         HEADS ............. Record & playback (combination head) x 1
                             Erase (Double gap ferrite head) x 1
                          
         CAPSTAN ........... Capstan  (DC servo motor) x 1
                             Reel     (DC motor) x 1
                             Actuator (DC motor) x 1
                          
         TAPE SPEED ........ 4.8 cm/sec 
          
         FAST FORWARD,
         REWIND TIME ....... Approx. 100 sec. with a C-60 cassette 
          
         RECORDING BIAS .... Approx. 105 Khz. 
          
         OVERALL S/N RATIO
         (AT 3% THD LEVEL) . Dolby C NR on ... more than 75 dB 
          
         OVERALL FREQUENCY
         RESPONSE .......... 20 - 20,000 Hz +/-3 dB
                             (at -20 dB METAL tape)
                             
         CHANNEL SEPARATION  more than 40 dB (at 1 Khz) 
          
         CROSSTALK ......... more than 65 dB (at 1 Khz) 
          
         WOW & FLUTTER ..... 0.038% wrms(JIS methode) +/-0.1%
         w.peak 
          
         INPUTS,
         LINE .............. 80 mV ( -20 dBm) input level at maximum
                             input impedance: 50 kohm unbalanced
                              
         OUTPUTS
         LINE .............. 620 mV (0 dB) output level at maximum 
                             (with 47 kohm load, recorded level of
                             200 pwb/mm)
                              
         POWER CONSUMPTION . 16 W 
          
         DIMENSIONS ........ 434 (W) x 124 (H) x 275 (D) mm 
          
         WEIGHT ............ 4.2 kg                     
                                                                                 
