Denon DX3, DX4, and HD-M (pictures)

[Mr. Lin]

These just came in the mail yesterday, I was very excited. I bought two of the DX4's so I wouldn't feel bad about immediately recording onto one of them, and I also scored two more of those TDK SA-XS tapes that I've yet to try.

Last night I recorded Stevie Wonder Talking Book onto the DX4. When I listened to the first side it sounded good but there was one vocal part in the beginning that somehow got a little distorted, and that's not acceptable. So tonight before I gave it a serious listen I simply recorded the first five songs onto to side A again. It's the first time I've let the Nak's erase head do that, by the way, I normally use a tape eraser. Low and behold, it sounds fantastic.

There is about the average amount of hiss you'd expect from a type I, I think, and remember that I don't use any kind of NR. This seems to be a warm-sounding tape, with a little emphasis on low mids and bass in general, but it's pleasant, not overwhelming. Dynamics seem to be the DX4's biggest strength, the impact of instruments is what stood out for me immediately. Interestingly, I pushed the levels a little higher than I probably should have, yet the tape is never saturated. The peaks regularly hit 3db, and sometimes 5db. The tape is not fazed.

Maybe I should have started with the DX3. *idea*

Eventually I'll crack open that HD-M, but for now I enjoy looking at it. IMO the NOS Denon tapes have the coolest-looking wrappers and are the neatest-looking cassettes, at least from what I've seen. They really had something nice going on there.

Pictures below.

[braxus]

These just came in the mail yesterday, I was very excited. I bought two of the DX4's so I wouldn't feel bad about immediately recording onto one of them, and I also scored two more of those TDK SA-XS tapes that I've yet to try.

Last night I recorded Stevie Wonder Talking Book onto the DX4. When I listened to the first side it sounded good but there was one vocal part in the beginning that somehow got a little distorted, and that's not acceptable. So tonight before I gave it a serious listen I simply recorded the first five songs onto to side A again. It's the first time I've let the Nak's erase head do that, by the way, I normally use a tape eraser. Low and behold, it sounds fantastic.

There is about the average amount of hiss you'd expect from a type I, I think, and remember that I don't use any kind of NR. This seems to be a warm-sounding tape, with a little emphasis on low mids and bass in general, but it's pleasant, not overwhelming. Dynamics seem to be the DX4's biggest strength, the impact of instruments is what stood out for me immediately. Interestingly, I pushed the levels a little higher than I probably should have, yet the tape is never saturated. The peaks regularly hit 3db, and sometimes 5db. The tape is not fazed.

Maybe I should have started with the DX3. *idea*

Eventually I'll crack open that HD-M, but for now I enjoy looking at it. IMO the NOS Denon tapes have the coolest-looking wrappers and are the neatest-looking cassettes, at least from what I've seen. They really had something nice going on there.

Pictures below.


I've got two boxes of those same HD-Ms, but they have gone bad so Im not using them for anything to serious. I also got some DX-4s and maybe some DX-3s off Dr. Bo. The DX-4 is a very good tape. Ranks up there with the AR-X and XL-IS tapes.

[Mr. Lin]

I've got two boxes of those same HD-Ms, but they have gone bad so Im not using them for anything to serious. I also got some DX-4s and maybe some DX-3s off Dr. Bo. The DX-4 is a very good tape. Ranks up there with the AR-X and XL-IS tapes.

Yeah that's who I got it from. Have you used the DX3 at all?

I'm listening to the very last song on Talking Book and I'm very happy with the way this tape came out. The sound is great, the only drawback is the hiss, but I guess that's what you get with a type I and no NR, and frankly it doesn't bother me at all. You know it's a success when you want to sit through the entire album start to finish, which is not what I meant to do about 45 minutes ago. *headache*

[braxus]

Have you used the DX3 at all?

Not yet. I haven't been taping very much because my turntable has a hum problem, and secondly my two best decks are needing servicing. I'd rather get them fixed then re-tape them again when they are ready for use.

[Marc Hugo]

I've got two boxes of those same HD-Ms, but they have gone bad so Im not using them for anything to serious. I also got some DX-4s and maybe some DX-3s off Dr. Bo. The DX-4 is a very good tape. Ranks up there with the AR-X and XL-IS tapes.

Braxus,

Please tell me about your HD-M tapes. About them going bad. What happened there?

Marc

[Mr. Lin]

Braxus,

Please tell me about your HD-M tapes. About them going bad. What happened there?

Marc

Yes please do, because I'm thinking of getting more and I hope it's not a common thing.

[braxus]

Braxus,

Please tell me about your HD-M tapes. About them going bad. What happened there?

Marc

They have severe dropouts and the bias is way off on the tape. It did not sound like the source when recording, but actually lost some high end. Not good for a metal tape. I tried a second one and it was a little better, but still suffered from dropouts.

[Mr. Lin]

They have severe dropouts and the bias is way off on the tape. It did not sound like the source when recording, but actually lost some high end. Not good for a metal tape. I tried a second one and it was a little better, but still suffered from dropouts.

Wow, maybe I'll just stick with the one I already have...

[Marc Hugo]

They have severe dropouts and the bias is way off on the tape. It did not sound like the source when recording, but actually lost some high end. Not good for a metal tape. I tried a second one and it was a little better, but still suffered from dropouts.

Wow..do you think that was a storage issue? MH

[braxus]

I would say yes since this is usually what causes the problem. But I got those tapes from a stereo shop, so its hard to say what happened.

[Mr. Lin]

I just won a few more of the DX-4's, along with a whole bunch of other NOS tapes. More on that later.