It is a very bad idea to do so from today’s perspective, but I read a lot on the internet that it is supposed to sound very good. Does anyone of you know a review comparing a DCC recorder to high-end analog tape decks?
If I compare it to both the Nakamichi’s 505 and Dragon the results are ok, but not great.
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Thank you, then it is not worth it in any case damaging the heads if they are only okay.
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The dcc300 and 600 sound better than the 3rd generation. Don’t know about first could be that they are even better. Flutter is noticeable on 3rd generation even when new. Not so much on the 300/600. Sounds equal to middle class cassette decks. Usable but in the light of the shortage of replacement heads not advisable.
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I have the DD-82 and I can tell you analogue tape playback was no where near my TEAC V3000.
It was ok but not the quality you would expect from say a good manufactured analogue tape deck.
I have a feeling that it will probably come out wining with A++ compared with the modern tape decks being thrown together. LOL
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Hahaha… definitely! These new decks are horrible!
I’m a little late to this thread but can add I don’t think analog playback on DCC is very good compared to high end analog tape decks.
I compared my DCC 900 and 951 to my Revox B215 and the sound is rather dull and lifeless, not worth the trouble (or risk of damage).
I stick to my B215 (or Akai GX75-mk II or Nakamichi CR-4) for analog and to the DCCs for digital recordings / playback.
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Against those analogue decks DCC is in trouble…
For analog yes, but DCC has its own strengths.
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If you happen to have an analogue tape that was originally recorded on a deck with a record-head that had a not perfect azimuth, i.e. the head was tilted, then that tape would play badly on a good analogue deck where the heads are positioned correctly. You would get phase errors and the treble playback would suffer a lot.
The analogue heads on a DCC deck (which btw are always perfect aligned in respect of the tape due to the ALP and FATG mechanisms) apparently don’t suffer that much from the problem with the high end of the audio spectrum. Because the head gap is so tiny, the angle does not matter that much as in conventional heads. The phase problem remains, however.
So it is worth to try old tapes with bad recording azimuth and see how they play on a DCC deck. I must admit I do not have much experience with this however.
But always keep the playing of ACC tapes to a minimum, because of the wear on the DCC heads and always clean the heads, capstans and pinch rollers immediately after playing.
-Philip.
EDIT: I read this somewhere, but now I can’t find it, yet.
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The Technics RS-AZ6 & AZ7 use a DCC-like playback head. They play analog cassettes, even if recorded on the most busted decks, always perfectly… I have AZ7, it always plays perfectly any type of cassettes.
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