I used a Nakamichi BX300 with regular maintenance (de-mag, roller cleaning) for years and the Dolby C was amazing…you could instantly verify this since it was a 3 head player. Could be that Nak just did it right somehow…the machine is retired (no room in my rack..damn…) but served me well!
Dolby NR encoding - did it ever work
What I mean is, if you record something with Dolby NR engaged, the sound should have the high frequencies boosted and the noise floor unaffected during playback without Dolby NR engaged. I had a Kenwood tape deck that would reduce the noise floor during recording, which isn't right. I am considering buying a new, collectible tape player.