Tascam 102MkII Cassette Deck

3U rack-mountable cassette deck. Dolby B and C noise reduction with HX Pro headroom extension. 2 motor IC logic transport control system.

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customer reviews

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14 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 6 out of 10

1 Person wrote a review :

* * * * * * * * * * 3 out of 10

"Consumer product disguised as professional equipment. I was willing to pay more."

Feature:
Rack mounting hardware.

Quality:
It does contain a linear power supply with a heavy transformer. The display unit is foggy. Very loud, clunky tape handling makes longevity seem unlikely.

Value:
No.

Desirability:
Rack mounting rates high. It looks and feels cheap. My 20 year old Teac deck is made much better.

Sound:
The 102 MKII is used for shortwave utility work. It does have excellent signal to noise, and wow and flutter. Also, it is advertised as having two motors, the included manual states one motor, and I believe the manual. The front of the unit is all plastic, providing little or no shielding. It seems the VU meters are probably out of calibration. The display unit is foggy. Tape handling is loud and cluncky. This deck does not deserve the "professional" moniker.

Support:
I emailed Tascam about the "two motor" advertising two days ago, and have had no reply thus far.

Overall:
I would not buy another Tascam product. Signal to noise was my highest requirement, but I would be willing to sacrifice that for better overall quality. I wish I knew it had 1) two motors, 2) a metal face-plate, 3) a smoother tape handling system 4) better harmonic distortion (unspecified by manufacturer). Best parameter is S/N ratio. I feel robbed.

Submitted: 5/19/2004

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About This Product!
Description
Docs
Best value mixdown cassette deck for the serious musician. This precision-built, rack-mountable cassette deck sounds great due to its extremely wide frequency response, Dolby noise reduction, and HX Pro sound technology. A legendary Tascam rugged transport means years of trouble-free operation.

Features
- 3U Rack mountable cassette deck
- Dolby B and C noise reduction with HX Pro headroom extension
- 2 motor IC logic transport control system
- Electronic digital tape counter
- Auto tape selection
- Fine tune bias control
- Unbalanced RCA inputs and outputs

Quality Mixdown Cassette Deck for the Serious Musician
Your demo tapes can make or break your budding music career. When mixing your music down to cassette, you've got to be certain that the same sound quality you've crafted in the studio comes through to the master tape. Because if the quality's not there, your tape won't get a second listen. That's why musicians, project studio operators and production houses choose the 102MkII rack-mountable stereo cassette deck for basic stereo mixdowns. The 102MkII consistently produces only the highest quality tape recorded output. Its 3-unit rack-mountable design means there's no need for added adapters. An improved overall 60 dB signal-to-noise ratio combines with extremely wide frequency response for high-fidelity sound reproduction, using any type of cassette tape. So budget-minded musicians don't have to skimp on sound quality.

Captures Highest Quality Sound on Tape
To ensure your tape sounds great on any audio system, the 102MkII features Dolby B/C noise reduction. Dolby HX PRO sound technology extends high frequency performance up to 6 dB and minimizes distortion. The advanced bias-sensing electronics resident in the 102MkII automatically chooses optimal recording settings for the type of tape you load in — Normal, Metal, or Cr02.

Rugged, Reliable Tape Transport
The 102MkII features a standard 2 head center-mounted tape transport system, with 1 erase head and one combination record/playback head. Like all Tascam designs, it's as resilient and tough as it is accurate in sound reproduction, so you can count on getting results every time.

High Quality Results Made Easy
The 102MkII is a pro-quality cassette deck, with advanced tape bias support and transport systems. Still, it's about as simple to use as any consumer electronics deck. And because it's designed with an IC logic control mechanism, there are fewer mechanical parts to worry about. Even the tape transport buttons are fully electronic (not spring-triggered mechanisms). Computerized Program Search enables you to quickly scan forward or reverse for the next track, and the Intro Check function gives you a brief preview of each selection. Plus, 1 button puts CD synchronous dubbing at your fingertips. Noise reduction selector, stereo balance control, and the master recording level control are all within easy reach. The Multi Function display provides instant feedback on which controls are selected and which features are activated. And the deck connects to your source with standard RCA type cabling and similarly sends the signal to a power amp and external speakers for monitoring.

High Performance and Studio Polish
Pushing 1 button places a consistent 4 second pause between songs or sections. The 102MkII makes it easy to produce high-quality cassettes that will sound great on a variety of systems, from car stereo to pro audio equipment.

Advanced Tape Mastering Features
- Auto Tape Type selection for optimal recording with any cassette
- Multi Function display clearly indicates transport mode, tape counter position, Dolby system, tape type, and level indicator
- Multi-Counter with both Tape Counter and Run-time modes
- Independent L and R stereo level controls and Master Record Level control
- Record/Mute autospacer automatically inserts 4 seconds of silence between songs or broadcast segments
- Dolby HX PRO for sparkling high frequency performance and minimized distortion
- Dolby-B and Dolby-C noise reduction technologies
- Bias Fine Tuning lets you customize high frequency response
- Timer switch for unattended recording (commercial timer required for use with this function; not included).

Technical Info

Track Systems: 4-track, 2-channel stereo

Heads: 1 Erase and 1 Record/Playback

Tape Speeds: 4.76 cm/sec

Wow Flutter (WRMS): 0.06%

Frequency Response: (Overall,-20dB)
Metal Tape: 25 - 19,000 Hz
Cr02 tape: 25 - 18,000 Hz
Normal tape: 25 - 17,000 Hz

S/N Ratio:
59 dB (NR off, 3% THD level, Weighted)
69 dB (Dolby B NR on, over 5KHz)
79 dB (Dolby C NR on, over 1KHz)

Fast Winding Time: Approximately 110 seconds for C-60

Inputs: 97 mV, 50KW
Outputs: 0.52V for load impedance of 50KW or more
Headphones: 1mW (8W)

Power Consumption: 10 W

Dimensions (W x H x D): 435 x 144 x 286mm

Weight (net): 4 kg

Standard Accessories: Input-Output connection cords
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