Denon DR-230

[derek92994]

Picked this gem up recently for next to nothing. I don't see much info on the net about it, but it sounds great and has a good transport system. Gave it a service and is functioning perfectly. I really like the denon sound, and the led VU meters are some of the best I have seen, fast responding, lots of them and very bright. Looks great with my collection of other silver decks (Denon DR-F7, Nakamichi 480). You'll notice there is idler tyres on both of the reels driven by a belt on the 2nd motor, there was not much slippage at all to my surprise and these are original belts and idlers! All they needed was a clean with alcohol, surprised me because the DR-F7 had all sorts of issues with its single idler tyre setup when I got that unit, although that one is sorted now too. Did a quick video with just crappy camera sound, are you Shpongled?

Video: http://youtu.be/zm9jXszvvGQ

 

[laatsch55]

Nice job D2!!

 

[derek92994]

Nice job D2!!

Yes, I have DMT running through it at the moment, 530am in the morning here must show some restraint. Getting ready for work, big money on sundays, 4th day of work in a row, a first for me in a very long time.

 

[laatsch55]

Finally bagging some hours eh??

 

[derek92994]

Finally bagging some hours eh??

Taking everything they throw at me, because there may not be so many hours next week.

 

[laatsch55]

Ah.....

 

[eminence1963]

I love a good cassette deck, I just hate working on them. You are master clock fixer I take it? Now them make my nerves frazzel

 

[Web Police]

A deck that old can play Shpongle?

 

[laatsch55]

My wife's 2000 Ranger can play it....

 

[Lazarus Short]

Well done! I love Denon decks, and have owned more of them than any other brand. My present deck is a Denon, a DRM-510, IIRC.

 

[Elite-ist]

You have a knack for getting life out of most of the cassette decks you find, Derek. I haven't seen much about that model of Denon. Do you have any information, spec or feature-wise about it?

And Geri remarked how nice your mix tape selections are on the tapes I just received from you. We were listening to Side A of the Sony Metal XR, beginning with the Toto tracks.

Nando.

 

[derek92994]

I love a good cassette deck, I just hate working on them. You are master clock fixer I take it? Now them make my nerves frazzel

Im self taught and have learnt the hard way. Good with mechanical but not so good at circuit boards. It has taken many years to learn what goes wrong with decks and the tape mechanism in general. Most times these days I get them right and running smoothly bringing out the best in a deck otherwised destined for the trash by the average user.

A deck that old can play Shpongle?

Haha. When you have a deck running smoothly and demagnetized/cleaned/aligned it will play tapes nicely provided they were recorded in a quality deck in equal condition. Pre recorded tapes vary greatly no matter how good the manufacturers claim their alignment/tape machines are. This denon dr-230 has the advantage of having a full sized playback head vs the half size playback head of the 3 headed denon dr-f7.

Well done! I love Denon decks, and have owned more of them than any other brand. My present deck is a Denon, a DRM-510, IIRC.

I dont know what the late 80s/early 90s denon decks are like but if they have kept their good form like the earlier decks im sure they would be nice sounding machines.

Sent from my mobile so excuse any grammar/spelling errors

 

[derek92994]

You have a knack for getting life out of most of the cassette decks you find, Derek. I haven't seen much about that model of Denon. Do you have any information, spec or feature-wise about it?

And Geri remarked how nice your mix tape selections are on the tapes I just received from you. We were listening to Side A of the Sony Metal XR, beginning with the Toto tracks.

Nando.

Not much info on the net about it. Its somewhere between 1979-1982 model. 2 motor belt/idler drive system. Has old style dolby nr. Metal tape/fe chrome tape capability. Bias fine tuning. Very heavy build quality. But those led vu meters just top it off nicely being so many, bright, and fast responding.

Great pics of the mix tape in the mighty pioneer dual capstan deck. I bet it sounds great. I hope my new phono cartridge sounds more detailed than the old one to your ears. My recording technique has improved as I have learnt more.

Glad to hear geri likes the selections. Sounds like a tape you can both enjoy together.

 

[Elite-ist]

Derek: Now that my weekend has arrived, I should have time to play both of your mix tapes and offer up some feedback later this week. I have improved my recording skills since I first became involved with mix tape exchanges with members a few years back, so we all learn from each other.

My Pioneer CT-F950 and Nakamichi BX-150 both have been used in playback of your tapes with great results. I would say your new cartridge shows exactly that for sq. Listening to your YouTube clips also reveals the difference, too.

Nando.

 

[derek92994]

Derek: Now that my weekend has arrived, I should have time to play both of your mix tapes and offer up some feedback later this week. I have improved my recording skills since I first became involved with mix tape exchanges with members a few years back, so we all learn from each other.

My Pioneer CT-F950 and Nakamichi BX-150 both have been used in playback of your tapes with great results. I would say your new cartridge shows exactly that for sq. Listening to your YouTube clips also reveals the difference, too.

Nando.

Thanks Nando, its all about progressing with sound quality and having a blast doing it =). I should test out this Denon DR-230 for recording as my Denon DR-F7 is dead in one channel on the line in, a real shame as apparently its an outstanding recorder with its auto bias tuning system.

When testing the 230, it apparently didn't erase the tape it recorded on, but it was not connected to any input/output at the time, will see if the de-ox I done on it, maybe fixed the problem.