![]() ![]() If the original is recorded at a high level, the copy may overload. Most double decks do not allow you to adjust the recording level of the copy. Since HX-Pro is not a noise reduction circuit and needs no decoding, it is transparent when copying. This in turn confuses the Dolby circuits when you play back the copy. This is because level variations on the tapes and within the machine changes the Dolby level of the tape. Copying a Dolby tape straight through from one transport to the other, with both of your machine`s Dolby circuits in the off (or ''out'') position results in a lower quality copy. When copying a tape already encoded with Dolby noise reduction, always decode the tape during playback, by leaving the Dolby circuit turned on and re-encode the tape in Dolby on the recording side. Light passes through the clear leader to a photocell that signals the deck to reverse the tape in one to two seconds without playing the leader tape to the end. The better autoreverse models, often labeled ''quick reverse,'' employ a light beam to trip the reverse. ![]() That means you miss several seconds of sound while the clear leader tape plays through and tugs on the hub. The least expensive autoreverse models depend on tape tension to trigger the reverse. The better models feature automatic reverse. The least expensive basic decks require you manually to flip the tapes by hand to copy both sides. The result of high speed dubbing, is that unless you use the best tape on the best decks, the treble sounds dull or muffled. The altered playback level of high speed dubbing also affects how the Dolby noise reduction circuits operate. When playing back the new copy at normal speed, the top frequency response sags to 10,000-12,500 Hz. Doubling the record speed only increases recording frequency response to about 20,000 to 25,000 Hz. Doubling the playback speed doubles the highest frequencies from 15,000 Hz to 30,000 Hz. High-speed dubbing penalizes sound quality. This moves the tape at double speed in both transports, halving the time needed to copy a tape. It has no place being anywhere near the list of best decks, of any category (2-head, 3-head, double-deck, etc).Nearly all double decks include high-speed copying, or dubbing as they say in the industry. The W-1200 is indeed a double cassette deck, but in my view, that is all it is. Then there are the heads themselves, the implementation of NR circuitry, the power supplies, the build quality, etc.I can go on and on. The transport mechanism plays a monumental role in the product's ability to properly move the tape across the heads which has an immediate and direct impact on sound quality. Features alone don't make up the machine. The RTZ feature and the ability to record on both drives are features found on a great many other decks. Even the cassette sections of good boomboxes from their glory era were superior to this cassette deck. Perhaps on its own it is acceptable, but put it up against any - and I do mean any - entry level double cassette deck from the late 80s into the 90s, and the W-1200 is simply out of its league. The problem is, almost anyone interested in cassette decks even mildly will instantly spot this deck's limitations, which start with its cheap build quality and horrible cassette transport mechanism, relatively speaking. The W-1200 is merely a remnant, a leftover of the format that Teac decided to give one shot at, in the hopes that because everyone else abandoned the format, at least they would reap all the sales. If it was that easy to achieve such high performance from the cassette format, why did so many manufacturers invest heavily and develop ground-breaking techniques and technologies to push the format forward in the 1980s? The W-1200 doesn't even begin to qualify as a deplorable cassette deck, in my opinion.
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