Onkyo Ta-2035 Cassette Deck Review

The Onkyo TA-2035 is a two-head, single-capstan cassette deck with Dolby-B and Dolby-C noise reduction and a microprocessor that controls both the transport functions and an automatic music search system. The record/playback head of the TA-2035 is made of hardened permalloy. The capstan is belt-driven by a servo-controlled d.c. motor. A second d.c. motor is used for the supply and takeup hubs, and a third is used to operate the head assembly in order to eliminate the jarring shock usually caused by solenoid action. Cassettes are inserted, tape openings downward, into slides on the back of the mildly damped cassette-well door, which is easily removable for head cleaning and demagnetizing. A transparent window in the door provides a clear view of the tape hubs.

Transport modes may be changed without going through stop, and the light-touch record, playback, and pause keys have LED indicators. An AUTO SPACE key can be used to record a blank section of approximately 5 seconds (longer if held down) between selections; after recording each blank section the deck automatically switches into the re-cord-pause mode. The Automatic Music Selection System (AMMS), which operates in either tape direction by use of a rocker switch, permits quick location of the beginning of each recorded selection. The selection is then played for 15 seconds, after which the deck automatically skips to the next selection unless the play button is pressed, which returns it to normal operation. There is also a record/playback TIMER switch that keeps the tape mechanism from being activated until a remote timer applies power.

Four large pushbuttons switch the noise-reduction circuitry in or out, select Dolby-B or Dolby-C, insert an FM-multiplex filter, and select either manual or automatic tape-type bias and equalization setting. When the last switch is in the auto position the deck uses the standard cutouts on the rear of the cassette to set bias and equalization for ferric, CrO2,-type, or metal cassettes. Since a number of metal cassettes do not have such cutouts, the manual switch position is used to set the deck to operate with such tapes. An adjustable accubias control permits optimizing recording bias for non-metal tapes, but since no built-in testing facilities are provided, users without extensive test equipment should probably not move this control from its detented center position except with tapes for which recommended settings are listed in the owner’s manual. LED indicators below the meters show the type of tape in use, the status of the auto/manual selector switch, and whether Dolby-B or Dolby-C noise reduction is operating.

The TA-2035 has a three-digit mechanical tape counter, and a peak-reading fluorescent display is used to indicate recording level. The display has only ten segments per channel and is calibrated from —20 to +6 dB. Dolby level is not specifically marked, but we found that it coincided with the 0-dB indication. A large dual-concentric knob is used to set recording level for both line-level and microphone inputs. (Plugging microphones into the front-panel phone jacks disconnects the high-level inputs in the rear.) There is a headphone jack and a switch for external timer-controlled operation, but there is no playback output-level control.

The rear panel contains the usual line-level input and output jacks as well as a DIN-type socket for attaching an optional remote-control unit (the RC-5T, $49.95, which has a 13-foot cable and duplicates all of the tape-transport controls). The TA-2035 is 16-1/2 inches wide, 4 inches high, and 9-5/8 inches deep, and it weighs approximately 10 pounds. Price: $300.

Laboratory Measurements

Both the owner’s manual and the tapes supplied with our test sample of the Onkyo TA-2035 indicate that it was factory optimized for Maxell UDXL-I (ferric), Maxell UDXL-II (chrome-equivalent), and Maxell MX (metal) cassettes, though the range of the accubias control (±5 dB at 15 kHz in our measurements) and the table of recommended settings for other formulations ensure that comparable performance can be obtained with many well-known brands. For our measurements, however, we used the specified Maxell tapes at the detented center position of the accubias control.

Playback-only response was measured with our IEC standard BASF 120-microsecond (ferric) and 70-microsecond (chrome and metal) test tapes. Frequency response was +2.5, — 2 dB between the 31.5-Hz and 18-kHz test-tape limits in the chrome/metal equalization position; with the ferric test tape response fell to — 3 dB at approximately 16 kHz ( — 6.5 dB at 18 kHz), though it remained within the manufacturer’s specifications. A somewhat similar difference between the ferric and СЮ2 record-playback frequency response (measured at the customary — 20-dB level) is also shown in the graph for the Maxell UDXL-I and UDXL-I1 tapes. At the 0-dB (Dolby) level, the greater high-frequency capacity of metal-particle tape—nearly a full musical octave—is clearly shown, though at the —20-dB level the response is only slightly extended.

Third-harmonic distortion of a 315-Hz tone at an indicated О-dB input level measured 0.5, 1.1, and 0.7 per cent with Maxell’s UDXL-I, UDXL-II, and MX tapes. Raising the distortion to the 3 per cent point used for signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) measurements required increasing the input levels to +6.2, +4, and +5.3 dB, respectively. Referred to the outputs at the 3 per cent points, the unweighted S/N’s without Dolby were 55 dB (UDXL-I), 53.6 dB (UDXL-II), and 55.5 dB (MX). Using IEC А-weighting and Dolby-B increased these figures to 66.8, 65.8, and 67.3 dB, respectively; Dolby-C and CCIR/ARM weighting brought the S/N readings for the three tapes up to 75.1, 74.5, and 76 dB, very impressive figures indeed.

Using our TEAC MTT-111 test tape, wow-and-flutter measured 0.32 per cent wrms and 0.45 per cent DIN peak-weighted. The Dolby systems tracked within + 0, -2 dB (-2.5 dB for Dolby-C) out to the high-frequency limits of the deck, though the dropoff in response started about 2 kHz lower (1 kHz lower for Dolby-C) than is shown in the —20-dB record-playback response curves. Fast-forward and rewind times averaged 75 seconds for a C-60 cassette and 112 seconds for a C-90. At the line-input jacks a signal level of 0.056 volt (56 mV) was required to obtain a 0-dB reading; output at this level was 0.5 volt. The microphone inputs required 0.26 mV for 0 dB and overloaded when the input exceeded 26 mV, which is typical for cassette-deck microphone preamplifiers.

Comment

The single record/playback head of the TA-2035 precluded the kind of direct input/output listening comparisons we like to make, but it was certainly clear that the deck could make excellent dubs of all but the most sonically demanding material using either ferric or CrO2-type tapes. Program material with extended high frequencies called for metal tape. The additional noise reduction provided by Dolby-C was immediately audible when we dubbed musical material with a wide dynamic range. With prerecorded cassettes the frequency response needed a little treble boost from our preamplifier, but this was noticeable only in direct comparisons with our reference cassette deck. Tape handling was quiet and positive, though we found the transport buttons a little harder to manipulate than on some other machines. The absence of the usual tape-type selector switches was a bit disconcerting at first, but most users should find the TA-2035’s automatic selection system very convenient. For those who like to listen only to certain selections on a cassette or to jump around from one selection to another, the Automatic Music Search System is also a great convenience. Overall, we found the Onkyo TA-2035 a very good example of how much performance and operating ease can be built into even a quite modestly priced cassette deck today.

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