I was interested to read Barry Willis's Opinion column in the September issue in which he explored the continuing appeal to audiophiles of reel-to-reel tape decks. By coincidence, I have just refurbished my 4-track twin-speed Dokorder 1120 deck, which hadn't been switched on since the mid-'90s and had been in storage while I lived overseas. I bought it in January 1976 and paid £299 for it. (I'm sad, I still have the receipt.) Amazingly, it works, despite my fear that the capacitors would have dried out and the drive belts deteriorated. Not a bit. I listened to a Heifetz recording of the Korngold Violin Concerto that I recorded in December 1976 on standard BASF tape using a normal bias setting. It's perfect. Outstanding sound - no hiss, all four tracks. Most of my tapes are lOVkin back-coated Maxell 35-180B, which give 192 minutes of play in both directions. Onkyo knew how to build a good solid product. Remarkable after all these years.
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