Great cassette deck - reminds me of the Sony 3-head TC-K611S deck (reviewed on this site) in that the responses are slightly clunky - but the knobs and dials and buttons are totally responsive and after a slight delay, do what they are supposed to do. Playback is good, but I think all Technics decks' playbacks lack a little fidelity compared to some of the SONY 3-headers - nevertheless, and similar to the Sony 3'ers - the recording and monitoring function serves the recording process well. It's a shame that there is not a calibration function (like the Sony TC-K611S), but trusting your ears and monitoring while recording must be the rule of thumb here. The carriage is robust, a little on the clunky side when opening and closing, but the belts and capstans, after 20-odd years of careful maintenance, perform as they should on the first day of purchase. Technics have always, in my opinion, lagged just a tad (and I mean only a tad) behind the Sony 3-head decks, but while the 3'ers from Sony have a slightly (to be argued of course) better fidelity-tainted playback reproduction - the Technics machines seem to last longer than the Sony's, mechanically speaking. All in all, if you can't get your hands on a pristine, well-maintained Sony TC-K611S, get this chunky, robust baby. She'll serve you well with reliable performance and playback for years (with regular maintenance, of course ;-)
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