Exceptional quality from CBS again.

I just got a collection of Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra
carts, all in good condition with one CBS/Mastro/Reeves cart done in
Dolby "B", and they go further to confirm the axiom that Columbia and
its subsidiary and distributed labels probably had the best overall
recording quality of any US-made cartridge tape. The first
("Discovery," a double platinum release for Lynne) one was distributed
by Columbia for Jet Records, and is of the highest quality. The top
end was quite good and undistorted, and it appeared that there was no
Dolby mistracking, usually the sign of a badly done dub. It was
almost as good as the LP! The others, "A New World Record," "Three
Light Years," and "Out Of The Blue," were on UA (notorious for crappy
quality in any format) and were done on later Ampexes. The
degradation of quality was quite apparent from the CBS-released album,
with so-so top end, truncated bass and generally too much compression.
People like Ampex blanks (I like the better quality blanks; 381's only
so-so, but LOUD), but, for my money, their dupe plant output was of,
at best, fair quality.

dB

carts, all in good condition with one CBS/Mastro/Reeves cart done in
Dolby "B", and they go further to confirm the axiom that Columbia and
Does your machine have a Dolby function? I am
guessing Dolby was only at the tail-end of the 8 track era and only on high
end machines. Hard to find in the hordes of Emersons, Lloyds, etc. that are
to be encountered in most thrift stores.
I have no player that has Dolby capability. I have one that has a
low/high filter and a loudness switch. I am unsure of what these switches
are doing but can perceive some difference in sound when they are applied.
WWW

On Thu, 01 Dec 2005 22:23:30 GMT, "William W Western"
wrote:

Does your machine have a Dolby function? snip

Yes.

I am
guessing Dolby was only at the tail-end of the 8 track era and only on high
end machines snip

It's on the Wollensak (Sanyo-built) 8075 and 8075A and C. The canuck
variant, the 8075C, has a slightly better power supply arrangement and
better fusing, thanks to CSA.

Hard to find in the hordes of Emersons, Lloyds, etc. that are
to be encountered in most thrift stores. snip

All fodder for the dumpster...or Noodles' auctions.

I have no player that has Dolby capability. I have one that has a
low/high filter and a loudness switch. I am unsure of what these switches
are doing but can perceive some difference in sound when they are applied. snip

Dolby "B" equipped decks I've encountered so far a

Wollensak 8075
Pioner H-100
Marantz 830
(Superscope variant of above is electrically the same)
One of the better Rat Shacks...TC-803? Can't remember.

Dolby "B", when properly aligned and when using properly recorded
source matter, increases the noise floor at 10 KHz by a full 10 dB,
and around 5 dB best case at around 1 KHz, which is quite noticeable,
when coupled with the lower noise tape oxides out there. A properly
aligned Dolby circuit won't exhibit the "dullness" or "pumping" that
was found to be the chief complaints from non-technical end users back
in the '70s and '80s. What makes Dolby a pain is variances in tape
sensitivity when doing a record/playback cycle, or a badly recorded
prerecorded album on tape. In the former case, adjusting the Dolby
record sensitivity for each individual brand of tape one might use is
a real pain in the butt, similar to readjusting bias current for each
tape to get optimal top end and lowest distortion. I have modified my
8075 with an external bias rheostat that allows me to set bias for
most of my preferred brands, within certain limits, and this deck
turns out recordings superior to most mass produced prerecorded tapes.

dB

The Dolby system takes too much high end out of the music, while trying
to remove tape hiss. You get better sound reproduction with the Dolby
off. Using Dolby on an 8-track really robs the high end- stuff like
cymbals, etc. will be attenuated.