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Pops and Clicks on playback....

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Posted on June 30, 2014 at 17:01:11
Sprezza Tura
Audiophile

Posts: 4585
Location: New York City
Joined: August 24, 2012
 Hi All:

A good friend of mine has a vintage Sony TC-530 R2R. It is in fine condition. With one issue. On playback there are random, low level clicks, almost like LP surface noise. They are not on the tape, as those noises disappear on another deck.

Any ideas? He already Demagnetized. Leaky capacitor? Loose wire?

Thanks in advance.

 

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RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on June 30, 2014 at 19:36:14
Dave Pogue
Audiophile

Posts: 11689
Location: DC Area
Joined: October 9, 2001
 Maybe a mechanical noise. Say, a slightly warped tape reel hitting a tension arm. I've had something like this happen.

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on June 30, 2014 at 20:54:35
Sprezza Tura
Audiophile

Posts: 4585
Location: New York City
Joined: August 24, 2012
 No, it is electrical in nature. It gets captured by recording devices on all outputs of the deck.

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on July 1, 2014 at 04:46:02
stellavox
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: June 23, 2004
 Can the machine be "forced" into play without having a tape run through - by defeating the tape motion sensor? If you still can hear the pops and clicks (with no tape playing) then it's definitely something electronic - maybe a noisy preamp transistor.

Charles

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on July 1, 2014 at 09:48:30
Sprezza Tura
Audiophile

Posts: 4585
Location: New York City
Joined: August 24, 2012
 Interesting notion..I will see if he can try that. I think you may be right about the transistor.

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on July 1, 2014 at 15:18:13
tom418
Audiophile

Posts: 35
Location: New England
Joined: October 16, 2010
 What Stellavox said.

I had the same problem with my AKAI GX 650D, years ago (1984). Their Edison, NJ facility replaced a transistor in the right channel preamp.

60 cents for the part, and $32 for labor, including replacing both pinch rollers (that was 1984, remember :) )

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on July 1, 2014 at 17:08:11
Sprezza Tura
Audiophile

Posts: 4585
Location: New York City
Joined: August 24, 2012
 Well guess what..it turned out to be magnetized heads after all.

The Sony demagnitiser he bought (brand new NOS, made in Japan late 60s) on ebay was a 220V version. He had no idea, so it was doing nothing when he plugged it in. When double checked the box he realized it was stamped "220V". He bought a voltage transformer and used it again, and the noises are gone. $35 fix all together.

 

A new mystery., posted on July 2, 2014 at 05:32:19
Dave Pogue
Audiophile

Posts: 11689
Location: DC Area
Joined: October 9, 2001
 Glad the deck is working, but darned if I understand why and how magnetized heads could cause clicks and pops. Usually they just shear off the high frequencies. Obviously they're now gone from those tapes he's been playing, especially if he played them more than once. Weird.

 

RE: A new mystery., posted on July 2, 2014 at 10:03:05
Sprezza Tura
Audiophile

Posts: 4585
Location: New York City
Joined: August 24, 2012
 Actually, rolled off highs may be true for magnetized heads on some machines, but according the Sony manual, it can cause random noise.

While the Sony machines from the 60s and early 70s are not coveted like Studer, Teac, Otari, and other brands, they are decently robust and were very good consumer machines in their day. His has a nice, warm, rich sound.

 

RE: A new mystery., posted on July 3, 2014 at 08:26:19
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 I've heard same and remedied the problem via demag. Doesn't surprise me that someone like you that takes good care of gear hasn't run into this.


ET
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on July 8, 2014 at 09:14:51
Inmate51
 You've gotten some good advice, and apparently the problem is solved. But I thought I'd throw this into the mix anyway, for future reference.

Some tape decks, including some versions of the Revox A77, have an issue with static electricity in low humidity environments. Specifically, the A77 will periodically emit a static spark between the right side tape guide and the deck faceplate. This can be remedied by grounding the faceplate to the chassis so there isn't an electrical potential difference between it and the rest of the machine.

A similar situation and remedy may apply to other brands/models.

:)

 

RE: Pops and Clicks on playback...., posted on July 8, 2014 at 13:08:40
Sprezza Tura
Audiophile

Posts: 4585
Location: New York City
Joined: August 24, 2012
 Interesting, thanks for that tip. I own two A77s. However low humidity is not an issue on the east coast. :)

 

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