M-119 MXR Compander Noise Reduction Units - Any good? [Archive]

ke6igz

08-08-2008, 04:38 PM

I saw these on craig's list:

M-119 MXR Compander Noise Reduction Units

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/ele/788833001.html

They are local to me. I just got my first reel to reel. While the tape hiss is very low compared to what I was used to on cassette its still there. Is one of these worth having? I have a Teac 3340S.

Scorpion8

08-08-2008, 05:10 PM

I remember those units, but can't say I ever heard one. If you could get it cheap it might be fun to play with. dbx or Dolby were the other prevalent reel tape noise reduction systems. The best ability to reduce noise on reel systems is speed (record at 7-1/2 ips compared to 3-3/4 ips) and you can drive the tape a little harder in recording to get more signal since the tape is wider and usually thicker than cassette tape. Otherwise there will be some noise, but most of us tune that out after awhile.