2. analog
  3. 1112326533

Advent 201 tapedeck: Is good for a modern setup?

I just came across an Advent 201 in good working condition. It's famous for being the first true Hi-Fi tapedeck (an ancestor of the Nakamichi Dragon somehow), and some people even say that it "blows away" modern tape decks.

While it has a good reputation, I have doubts that it's suitable for my non-vintage setup. I do not have a tube amp, so having the sought-after Hi-Fi analog sound is probably not possible.

The #1 use of this deck will be to transfer my collection of old demo cassettes to digital archives. I want maximum playback quality, even if the tapes were dubbed on bad equipment or pro-duplicated at a cheap factory. It's possible that vintage equipment might not be right for the source or destination material. Any thoughts on this?

How would the playback quality compare to a modern tapedeck? This is the original 1971 design. While it supposedly has high-quality heads and a great drive mechanism, how might it compare to a 3-head Nakamichi for example? I expect that I will only need the included Dolby-B noise reduction since C tends to screw up DIY recordings in my experience.

(Stupid question: On multi-head tape decks, how many heads are used for playback?)

Either way, I think I'm gonna buy a copied manual to calibrate it properly. Before this, I was seeking out a Nakamichi and I'm really wondering if I'd be any better off. I like to learn as much as I can about audio, so I'd appreciate any input.
demogorgod4cc

Showing 2 responses by demogorgo

demogorgo
2 posts
 
Thanks for the info, bigtee.

I don't know what other company built from the 201, but Advent did make a 201A. Nakamichi's name is brought up a lot when people talk about the 201's design, but I don't know if they really made a deck that was based on it. I did notice that those old Wollensak tape decks that come with film projectors look almost the same.

This one has actually been sitting in storage for almost a decade. I "upgraded" to a junky dual Sony deck that I'll never be able to get rid of now. It's a good thing that I didn't copy any good music with it.

I'm sure I can find a good home for this if I get a 3-head Nakamichi. The controls haven't snapped off, the head works and the the roller actually held up pretty well.
demogorgo
2 posts
 
You make a good point, but it's impossible to know what equipment any of them was duplicated with. However, this web site has some very useful information, and I would have saved hours of research if I knew about it sooner. It's such a useful link.
More to discover