So, I've been after a 3 head deck for ages and when this one came up on Facebook marketplace it was like Christmas had come early! Only 30 pounds and only a short drive to go and collect it - happy days! The old guy who sold it to me had really looked after it and it is in immaculate condition with original box and manual. Just one problem, I cant get a decent recording out of it! I have cleaned the heads and tweaked all the knobs and done various test recordings but the recordings it makes are very dull and lifeless and lack clarity and treble. I have tried TDK SA chrome and various metal tapes but still the same result. My old Sony mini system MHC 2700 performs much better! Is this a known characteristic with these Technics machines? Is this model known for being not that great, or does it need proper servicing? Would demagnetizing the heads make any difference? [GALLERY=media, 1171]Technics RS-RXB606 by ianthepostie posted Nov 1, 2018 at 1:16 PM[/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 1172]Sony MHC2700 by ianthepostie posted Nov 1, 2018 at 1:17 PM[/GALLERY]
I think the service manual is in this thread on Tapeheads, the good ones have a troubleshooting chart. http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=46749
Since head demagnetizer is so cheap and needed anyway, why not trying it first? Then I would check all imaginable combinations: how it line-in and cassettes sound thru h/p out, how cassettes recorded on Sony sound on Technics and vice versa, how prerecorded cassette sounds on Technics vs Sony (but prerecorded cassettes usually pretty dull, thats their nature). I do not know for sure but myguess Technics is not a "discreet heads" deck, so heads misalignment should not be an issue with Texhnics-recorded tapes (unless previous owner adjusted azimuth at some totally crazy angle); same with tape speed. If no usable clues, then SM is needed...
Also take a really good look at the head, sometimes there's tiny pieces of tape on it. I don't know what kind of cleaning you did, people used to use cassettes made for cleaning and some worked ok but they wouldn't get rid of anything stuck on the tape path. Foam q-tips and IPA with less than 10% water always worked great for me.
Thanks for the all the advice guys! Have tried demagnetizing and cleaning with IPA but nothing made any difference. It seems to sound fine when playing, but recordings just sound like the heads are all caked up. Oh well, Its now been sidelined to the top of the wardrobe and my old single head deck which sounds much better has been reinstated.
