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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 1 response by pryso

pryso
1,977 posts
 
Interesting that you resurrect this old post Norm.

I have a good quality Pioneer deck (settled on after owning HK, Tandburg, Nak, and Akai models) and at least 100 carefully made cassettes.  It needs a belt replacement (for the auto door, not an easy task with this model) which I should do so I could access that music again.

I was never impressed with prerecorded tapes, ones I made sounded much better.  Problems with hi-speed duplication I suspect.  Advent had the reputation for quality prerecorded cassettes but I didn't have experience with those.

Anyway, I've read there is somewhat of a renewed interest in cassettes, but I doubt it will parallel the resurgence of vinyl.
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