**If you are in a hurry, just try to tell me how to adjust the azimuth on an Onkyo tape deck (after looking at the picture of the head assembly); otherwise, please read it all!
My dad and I are currently in the process of transferring some tapes to the computer that he recorded off the radio over 20 years ago. I know many of you may say why bother: just get digital copies of the songs. Actually, some of the songs actually sound better (to my ears at least) on his tapes, compared to the versions on itunes, for example. I think this is partly due to dynamic compression on the radio; today's radio stations use it way too heavily, but in the 1980s, the amount of compression was just right, so that there is an added "punch" to the sound, but the music still sounds natural and has enough dynamic range. The tapes still sound amazingly good, in spite of the following factors:
1. they are over 20 years old
2. they were recorded off the radio
3. they were recorded on a middling Soundesign system, which gave great sound but was not top of the line by any means
4. they are all type 1 (normal bias) tapes, although they are either TDK D 90 or Maxell LN 90, which were probably the best normal bias tapes at the time, and they are almost certainly better than any normal bias tape available today. In fact, the Maxell LN 90 label boasts a flat frequency response from 50 to 20000 Hz, although this is very hard for me to believe.
5. we are using an Onkyo TARW255 deck to play the tapes, which is a high quality deck but it's not top of the line by any means either
6. WE NEVER ADJUSTED THE AZIMUTH TO SUIT THESE TAPES
Azimuth is really the only important factor mentioned above, because the other factors can't really be changed at this point. We have already transferred all of the tapes, but we were thinking of doing a second round after adjusting the azimuth, if that would improve the sound at all. Currently, with the original transfers, the sound on the tapes extends up to about 15 khz, and there is almost no sound besides hiss and other noise above 15 khz. In fact, the frequency graph on Audacity (the sound recorder program) rarely touches 15 khz, and when it does, the signal is apparently very weak at that frequency. On the other hand, neither one of us can tell that any treble is missing, and I would have never known had I not seen the graph. Still, if we can improve the sound even a little by adjusting the azimuth, we would be willing to re-transfer the tapes.
My question is, taking into account all the factors I mentioned, is it reasonable to expect any frequencies above 15 khz from these tapes? Even if we can get up to, say, 16.5 khz by adjusting the azimuth, it would definitely be worth it. Considering that they are normal bias tapes that are over 20 years old, is it likely that they contain any sound above 15 khz? Remember that the card for the Maxell LN 90 tapes boasts a flat response from 50 to 20000 Hz (I don't believe it either)! Also, radio stations have a maximum frequency that they can reproduce. We tested some of today's stations, and the limit was somewhere around 18 khz, so I am assuming that it would have been similar back in the 1980s. My dad and I are just interested in getting the best sound possible from these tapes, without buying a Nakamichi deck of course. We can't afford it, unless someone is willing to lend theirs for a few days!
Either way, can someone tell me how to manually adjust the azimuth on the Onkyo deck, if it is even possible? The toughest part is to find the optimum azimuth for these tapes, since the Onkyo does not have an azimuth adjusting feature. I have a picture of the head assembly above (I can definitely post a better one if necessary), so could someone tell me which screw to turn in order to adjust the azimuth? Also, does anyone know of a way to remove the door so that we can turn the screw while the tape is playing, and find the optimum position that way? This would be tons easier (and less stressful for the tape) than starting and stopping the tape for every single position to see which one is best. Any ideas???
Thanks a bunch.
