Onkyo TA-2700 Cassette Deck Review

Achieving better than average performance for a lower than average price seems to have been the plan for the new Onkyo TA-2700 cassette deck. It has three motors, three heads, a dual-capstan transport, Dolby B and Dolby C noise-reduction systems, Dolby HX Pro headroom extension, and a user-adjustable bias control. What the machine lacks are mostly frills, features that would boost its price without improving its sound or ease of use.

The TA-2700's three-head design enables instant comparison between the input signal and the recorded result. Record and playback elements are housed in a single casing, but their separate head gaps enable each to be optimized for its function: a wide gap for recording and a narrow one for playback. The heads are made of hardened Permalloy, which combines adequate wear-resistance with good playback linearity, and their coils have oxygen-free-copper windings.

The transport's dual capstans are belt-coupled to a DC servomotor; a second DC motor turns the cassette reel hubs. A third motor is used to swing the head assembly against the length of tape isolated between the two capstans (which minimizes wow and flutter).

The cassette well has no interior illumination, though a reflective surface behind the tape reels makes it possible to gauge roughly the amount of tape remaining on a side. Cassette labels are not visible through the window in the door. The back of the door contains a spring-loaded stabilizer mechanism and a pair of resilient pads to damp out any mechanical vibrations that might otherwise be transmitted to the tape. The door is removable for routine cleaning of the heads and capstans, though access to them is a little more difficult than in older Onkyo cassette decks that lacked the stabilizer mechanism.

The TA-2700’s central fluorescent display panel can be viewed either at normal or reduced brightness and can even be switched off altogether. Signal levels are shown on a pair of fifteen-element peak-holding displays calibrated from -30 to +10 dB. Dolby level is not specifically marked, but we were delighted to find that it corresponded to a 0-dB indication.

A four-digit electronic display reads out either the elapsed or the remaining time on a side. (For the remaining-time indication, you press a button for the cassette length being used.) The display panel also shows whether the source or the tape is being monitored and which noise-reduction option (if any) has been selected. Since the Dolby HX Pro headroom-extension system operates only during recording and does not require any corresponding playback processing, it is not switchable.

The deck sets bias and equalization automatically for the tape type in use based on standard identifying cutouts in the rear of the cassette shell. Since the optimum recording bias varies somewhat among cassettes within the same type, the TA-2700 also provides a user-adjustable Accubias control. The manual contains a table of recommended settings for many cassette brands and formulations. Proper bias can also be determined fairly accurately by ear by recording a treble-rich source such as FM interstation hiss. Use a low recording level ( —10 dB or below) and switch back and forth between tape and source, adjusting the bias control to minimize the difference between them.

The TA-2700 has an Automatic Music Control System (AMCS) that enables it to move rapidly in either direction to the next recorded selection. The user can preview the first few seconds before deciding whether to let the deck switch into play mode. The system also permits either the full side or a specific part of it to be repeated automatically as many as five times.

A switchable multiplex (MPX) filter is included to remove any residue of the 19,000-Hz stereo-FM pilot tone when recording with Dolby noise reduction from a tuner or receiver with inadequate internal filtering. The customary three-position switch for operating the deck from a timer is also provided. The TA-2700 does not, however, provide playback level controls either for its main outputs or for its front-panel headphone jack. Recording levels are set with a single large control and a supplementary input-balance control.

The Onkyo TA-2700 measures 17-1/8 inches wide, 5-1/8 inches high, and 13-5/8 inches deep, and it weighs 15 pounds. Price: $480, including infrared remote control.

Lab Tests

Our BASF IEC-standard playback calibration tapes showed that the TA-2700’s playback frequency response varied by less than ± 1 dB from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Our center-line sample of TDK MA (Type IV, metal) showed equally flat overall record-playback response to 20,000 Hz at the customary — 20-dB measurement level. Indeed, using Dolby C (which has a built-in antisaturation equalization curve for high-level treble frequencies), the overall response was almost as flat at a 0-dB level. Samples of both TDK AD (ferric) and TDK SA (chrome-equivalent) showed a slight rolloff above 18,000 Hz, but this was both within specification and audibly inconsequential.

The TA-2700’s level indicators read + 2 dB at the IEC-standard 0-dB level of 250 nanowebers per meter, which is a good choice for today’s cassette tapes. Total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD + N) reached 3 percent at indicated readings of +5 dB for the ferric and chrome-equivalent tapes and at +7 dB for the metal-particle cassette. At this distortion level and with Dolby C noise reduction, the A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) was 77 dB with TDK AD and very nearly 80 dB with TDK SA or MA, which is excellent performance for any cassette deck.

Speed was accurate to within 0.08 percent, which is excellent. The wow-and-flutter measurements of 0.039 percent weighted-RMS and 0.075 percent IEC peak-weighted were good though not outstanding. High-speed winding times were average, and the input and output levels were entirely normal. Dolby encoding errors were extremely low.

Comments

The Onkyo TA-2700 is certainly a comfortable deck to use. Its knobs are large and have a solid, smooth feel, and its display, even when dimmed halfway, is quite legible. The transport mechanism is entirely silent, and in our tests cassette handling in all modes was sure. The deck lacks such finishing touches as a power-assisted door and automatic take-up of tape slack on loading, but omission of these luxuries helps keep the price moderate.

The TA-2700’s sound quality was also extremely good, with smooth frequency response and (with Dolby C) inaudible distortion and noise. Stereo imaging was solid. If I were to find a fault, it would be that there seemed to be a slight loss of the "air" around the individual instruments in a group. The sound stage was not shifted, putting one instrument acoustically on top of another, but it was very slightly narrowed. Nonetheless, the difference between source and tape was so slight that the TA-2700 compared favorably with decks we have tested that cost very much more. It’s an excellent performer and an outstanding value.

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