Onkyo TA 2700 vs Yamaha K-720 ....which one to buy?

[brarig219]

I have the opportunity to buy either a Onkyo TA 2700 or a Yamaha K-720...both at the same price.

Could anyone recommend their experiences or which one may be the better buy?

There are also options to buy a:
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[TD="class: xl67, width: 208"]Sony TC-WE405 or an [TABLE="width: 208"]
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[TD="class: xl67, width: 208"]Onkyo TA-RW313. Both of these are duel cassette players. I don't really need the duel cassette feature, and figured the single cassette options (listed above) would be more "bang for their buck" Again, same price for everything (duel and single cassettes)


Any recommendations?[/TD]
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[laatsch55]

Wish I could help, not knowed up on cassettes but there are folks here who are, hang tight.

 

[speakerman1]

Any reason you want a dual?

 

[brarig219]

No real reason for a duel. I would primarily be using it to back up tapes to make digital copies in case (heaven forbid) something would ever happen to the actual tapes.

 

[jbeckva]

Hey there, good to see a new guy - welcome to Phoenix!

Now, my opinion here.. The Yamaha is a 2 head/auto-reverse while the Onkyo is a 3 header. The Onkyo has the advantage, as you're able to listen to the recording as it's being recorded. The auto-reverse on the Yamaha can be finicky as well. My vote - the Onkyo with a slight hesitation on the Yamaha having dbx noise reduction. Dbx is pretty good if properly calibrated - yet another "try it first" opinion..

 

[brarig219]

Thanks for the suggestion jbeckva.

I am by no means educated on these tape decks. I have to make the decision in 4 hours, and it's hard to find good advice by just searching for them both online - thought I would ask people who actually know what they are talking about!

 

[brarig219]

Being able to listen while it's recording sounds like a real winner. These are spoken word tapes that may have some dead space at the end, so being able to hear when they actually finish up would be key. So far, the Onkyo sounds like the better choice.

 

[jaetee]

Both are good decks. The Onkyo TA-2700 is from 90-91 and the Yamaha K-720 was made from 85-88. Both were around $500 MSRP and both have Dolby B,C & HX-Pro and all of the "basics" you would expect in that price range. But the Onkyo has a bit more... I'll go ahead and assume both decks are at the same level of working condition...

BTW, you can verify features and see photos of these decks at www.vintagecassettes.com (not affiliated)

Condition and operational status being the same (and not to take anything away from the very good 2-head Yamaha) there are two major things about the Onkyo that I think make this a slam dunk for the TA-2700.

1) The TA-2700 uses "discrete heads" (aka: 3-head design) which means you have separate heads for erase, record and playback function. Generally this provides better overall tape deck performance from a sonic perspective, and it also allows you to monitor your actual recording "as it just happened." That said, 2-head decks (such as the Yamaha in your case) can also make fantastic recordings, but they use the same head for playback and recording and only allow you to hear the source during recordings. Erase heads are always separate.

2) The TA-2700 has Onkyo's "Accubias" feature. This feature is intended to be used as part of your "pre-recording" process. Basically, the deck uses a programmed series of transport functions to record a test tone on a short portion of the tape, analyzes the recorded tone and automatically sets the ideal bias setting for that cassette tape formulation. I've used this feature first-hand on a TA-2058 that I used for years of mastering DJ mixes and it worked very well with Sony, Fuji, Maxell and TDK cassettes.

Good luck, and tell us how you like your deck when it's all set up and making noise!!!

 

[speakerman1]

I have one of these left. Tascam 302.

 

[brarig219]

Thanks guys.

And jaetee...thanks for your lengthy (this is a good thing!) input. I had been to vintagecassettes.com before, and even before I posted, I had been leaning towards the Onkyo. I think that's where we are gonna go with this.

It's not 100% that I have it available to me - probably about 75 - 80% that I'll be getting it, but hopefully it works out! Thanks for the thoughts!

 

[orange]

I have one of these left. Tascam 302.

When I get mine and kick the idler tires I'll see about it if you haven't sold it Larry, don't quote me and you guys may not realize what you'd be getting...

THIS IS AN IMPRESSIVE DUAL DECK, WORTHY OF THE TITLE.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=3&gs_rn=1&gs_ri=hp&cp=10&gs_id=z&xhr=t&q=Tascam+302&pf=p&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Tascam+302&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1355325884,d.cGE&fp=b2f977bb34bcb38b&bpcl=39967673&biw=1592&bih=608

www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/jul96/tascam302.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-mcqjyLXwE and other links on that page...the Judas Priest song is worth is alone...the cat picture is pretty cool as well!

 

[orange]

I have the opportunity to buy either a Onkyo TA 2700 or a Yamaha K-720...both at the same price.

Could anyone recommend their experiences or which one may be the better buy?

There are also options to buy a:
[TABLE="width: 208"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl67, width: 208"]Sony TC-WE405 or an
[TABLE="width: 208"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl67, width: 208"]Onkyo TA-RW313. Both of these are duel cassette players. I don't really need the duel cassette feature, and figured the single cassette options (listed above) would be more "bang for their buck" Again, same price for everything (duel and single cassettes)


Any recommendations?
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I recommend you show me how you made the dual box like that?