The Last Of A Kind, Teac V-7010 Cassette Deck

The Teac V-7010 finished in Champaign gold, and dark colored wood cheeks, tape counter window & transport buttons on the left, peak level meter display with recording level knobs and selector on the right! The whole fascia design is very elegant with this nice Champaign finish.

Teac was probably the last of the cassette deck manufacturers to issue Dolby S noise reduction system in their product line up, by 1993 in the V-8000 series. That makes the 1992 Teac V-7010 the last of the Dolby C equipped TOTL deck by then, which itself is a facelifted model of the V-7000 series launched in 1990. By the time of the Teac V-7010, ten years has passed since the Kenwood KX-1100G that I last reviewed. The newer Teac has broadly similar specs to the Kenwood, except for the motorized tape well door & remote control capabilities. By this time in 1992, the CD format already reigns supreme at home hifi front, but in the car audio world, CD players were still a novelty, as manufacturers were finding ways to isolate the CD transport from the car's suspension movements which adversely affected the playback smoothness of the CD transport. CD players in cars would only start become the mainstream just before year 2000. Hence the market for cassette deck at this stage, was shrinking fast.

  

The Teac V-7010 is a nice weighty machine at almost 10kg, thanks to it's real wood cheeks & multi compartment for rigidity chassis, which is distinctively divided in to 3 unequal areas, on the left is power supply & regulation board, the front middle section is where the 3 head, dual capstan, direct drive transport remains isolated in it's own compartment, and the rest of the area behind the transport compartment & right side of box is dedicated to audio recording & playback circuitry. While some people may comment that the Teac V=7010 looks very spartan inside, I think that was possibly in the design brief to make things as simple as possible for shorter audio signal path to good sound.   

Inside the copper shielded chassis, the Teac V-7010 was the last to get this premium treatment, as the Dolby S equipped V-8000 series released in 1993 no longer have this treatment. 

As I have just taken delivery of the Kenwood KX-1100G about 2 months ago, along came this Teac V-7010 in which I was offered first right of refusal by a buddy who no longer sees the need for it. It was a hard decision for me as I am still warming up to my new toy, and I had secretly harbored to someday get a Teac V-970X which is another TOTL cassette deck from another by gone era. So the Teac V-7010 didn't exactly fit in to my plans, but I went to see it any way, how could I not?

At first glance, I have fallen head over heels for the Teac V-7010, this example in mint condition, finished Champaign gold, dark wood cheeks & a look behind the back panel which still has the importer(Auvi Malaysia Sdn Bhd) warrantee sticker on it, really just blew my mind! I could remember I was just a young adult at the time, just starting my first job, marveling at what was possibly this very unit on display at Auvi's showroom in SS2(which later became the iconic Mungo Jerry BKT shop), which I could not afford it's grand asking price back then. The icing on cake was that my buddy said, "this unit just came back from service by Mr Oh!" and that statement, sealed my fate! I was a happy dandy walking out from my buddy's house, with the Teac V-7010 in my arms.

This remote is from the same vintage but made for the model Teac V-5000, which has a belt driven 4 DC motor transport supplied by Sankyo.  The V-7000 is a direct drive transport supplied by the same manufacturer.

I went straight home, unplugged the Kenwood from my system, swapped the Teac in with high anticipation, and from the first time I pressed the play button, heavenly sound was coming from the tape format. Coming from the Kenwood, The Teac immediately impressed with it's quiet transport, no clunky noise here or there. Next the high frequencies were well extended with good refinement, the mid range has a lower bloom, which makes vocals sound like it has more meat compared to the Kenwood, and the bass is as solid & as tuneful as the Kenwood. Speed stability is impressive as well , just like the Kenwood, is direct driven. I am beginning to see that direct drive transport designs do have their advantages over belt drive designs. Being direct drive doesn't mean there are no pesky transport rubber belts to deal with, but just lesser only.  However, in terms of sound stage, the Kenwood does throw a wider & deeper, plus more layered picture. For the Teac, this was was a slight downer, but it's OK, the V-7010 still sounds very good by the way.

An official photo release of the Teac V-7010 cassette deck. 

Due to the unit didn't come with the originally issued remote control as my buddy had lost it during his last home move, I felt the unit was some how incomplete. So I scour the www in search of hopping to find one for sale, and after 2 weeks, found at remote specimen for sale at Yahoo Auction Japan. While this was not the exact original, which has a few more buttons, it was close enough and the asking price was sensible, unlike those Sony ES series remotes. About a month later the remote arrived and works! I later found out the remote unit I bought was for the Teac V-5000/5010 was has the missing open/close function for the tape well.

In a way, getting this Teac V-7010 cassette deck made me forget about the Teac V-970X as an idea, as I am blissfully enjoying what I got now. Some times, I guess fate does not give you what you wanted, but even then when you've being given something else, you'd be thankful with the end result. For me, I am enjoying my cassette deck collection journey to the max now!

VRDS Dreams, Teac VRDS-20 CD Player

Teac VRDS-20 CD player. The bottom footer at the bottom of the four corner pillars are adjustable for height and compensate for stability if one uses a spirit level

I've always wanted an Esoteric or Teac VRDS series CDP. So when this Teac VRDS-20 unit appeared in the classifieds, I wasted no time making it mine! Amongst the Teac VRDS series CDPs, I feel the VRDS-20 is a bit of an odd ball, styling wise. It just looks like a VRDS-7 or 10 but with 4 pillars on each corner which comes with adjustable metal cone feet! I guess a bit of audiophile touches here & there wouldn't hurt. The funny part is the next in line, the VRDS-25, reverted back to the generic square box of the VRDS-10 looks! Otherwise the Teac VRDS-20 share all the family looks of the VRDS series CDPs from Teac of the early 90's era. The Teac VRDS-2- was sold from 1992-1997, and that was era of the TDA-1547 Bitstream DACs from Philips, which this unit uses a pair for it's balance output configuration and also technically, to give a more linear frequency response on both L & R channels.

This Teac has a very brutish business look, and the chassis is at least double layer copper coated in no less than 8 internal compartments. The internal construction has a no expense spared look, which I like. This unit is using the mid tier VRDS mechanism, essentially a heavily modified Sony KSS-151 transport. As a mid tier VRDS, there are some compromises to be made, but overall I feel this is still acceptable as an engineering solution. The transport is not copper coated, the bridge holding up the VRDS clamp is not die cast metal, but some kind of bulk mould compound with enough solidness to anchor the VDRS clamp, which is again a compromised solution of compound coated metal, instead of copper coated aluminum of the most premium of VRDS.  My personal view is to disregard the later economy versions of  VRDS transports with bulk mould compound bridge & plastic CD clamp, like those that currently resides in the Esoteric K-05 series CDPs. The Teac VRDS-20 was available in Champaign gold or Satin black back then. I like that little quarter window on the top casing panel to allow viewing of the VRDS CD clamp at work.

 

The back panel is simple digital out, which includes Toslink & Co-axial on the left, a acptive power cord in the center, and analog outputs(RCA & XLR) on the right

My Teac VRDS-20 came with this OEM remote, but is functional enough with a matching Champaign gold color scheme

I plugged the Teac VRDS-20 in to my system, in place of my usual Sony CDP-X7 ESD, using it's balanced, XLR output. all else remains the same in the system. From the very first disc I spin, the tonality of the Teac was rather flat, with a slight mid range centric emphasis which make vocals stand out slightly in from of the sound stage. The Sony by comparison, while had a warmer tonal color, has a flatter less mid range centric presentation. The Teac also sounds slightly less detailed by comparison. 

Overall, the Teac has a very agreeable sound when listened on it's own merits. The highs are polite & laid back, the mid range as I have mentioned, and bass for my preference, could be snappier. Where it falls a little short is the emotional connection or musicality as normally referred as. At this level, I think the Teac has a slightly more dynamic sound compared to my very previous Marantz CD-16D which is a machine of similar sound specifications but only slightly more musical in presentation.

Form the 2 comparison above, i.e. Teac VRDS-20 vs Sony CDP-X7 ESD or Teac vs Marantz CD-16D, I feel the latter is more of a fair comparison as both are Bitstream implementations CDP clad in copper chassis, both are closer in price point, but both using different transport & other audio parameters of CD player build up. If just looking by the eye, the Teac looks the winner with it's more impressive transport, multi layer/compartment chassis & internal layout. The Marantz however do sound somewhat better musically if judge using one's ear. I think what could've being the final arbiter? The KI(Ken Ishiwata) factor I guess, the man's not considered in the industry a "Golden Ear" for no reason!

The impressive innards of the Teac VRDS-20

Too bad the Teac VRDS-20 coaxial out didn't managed to signal lock with the input of the Teac UD-501 DAC, otherwise another sound dimension may have been possible!  

After playing the Teac VRDS-20 for a few weeks, I thought I'd try plugging the VRDS transport to my newer Teac UD-501 DAC using a co-axial digital cable, to see how the great transport can compliment a newer design DAC. The UD-501 is using the much newer AKM DAC design capable of DSD decoding, which itself is the manifestation from the continuous development from Bitstream. Unfortunately, for some reason, the Teac UD-501 DAC refused to lock in to the VRDS co-axial digital signal output once the cable was connected. I tried a couple of times but to no avail. You've gotta give up at some point, right?

Finally after like more than a decade of lusting after a Teac or Esoteric VRDS type CDP transport, my dreams came thru with this but only with a slightly underwhelming feelings on the musicality factor. Perhaps a slightly more musical cable can elevate the Teac VRDS-20? one only has to try.........  

IEC Socket Improvements?

IEC power socket

 

Typical standard factory installed power cord with molded 2 pin plug

 

As some of our avid readers will know that I have 2 cassette deck in my collection. I have a Teac V-670 & a Nakamichi DR-2. Both decks came with a standard factory power cable built in to the back panel, with molded 2 pin plug, as pictured above.

In my past DIY tom foolery, I also know that replacing that standard factory power cable with 2 pin plug with an IEC socket, which would then allow you play & experiment with power cords can bring about sonic differences or sound advantage. So I went about and did just that to both my cassette deck.

In any IEC socket replacement project, the major work is in drilling, cutting & filling out that rectangle hole, in which the IEC socket needs to sit in to. The Teac V-670, with it's plastic body & rear panel was a relatively simple task. All I need was to heat up my cutting knife and slice thru the plastic back panel to create the approximate opening, do so filling to even the finishing, solder the wires to the L &N pins of the socket, make sure to get the polarity right. Drill in 2 screw holes and use 2 pieces of self tapping screws to tightened and you're done! My work was completed in less than half a day.

With the Nakamichi DR-2 going thru the socket process is not so easy. Due to it's high build quality, the Nakamichi had proper steel 2U chassis, with a 2 layer steel back panel! I had to first drill, cut & file on the inner back panel as part of the 2U chassis. Then have to align the hole on the outer back panel, by drilling, cutting & filling over the same rectangle hole, but only this time, I need to be more precise as this is cosmetically exposed. It took me more then 2 days to complete the job!

Now that both the tape decks got an IEC socket, I can start to play with power cords. I had a piece of Gotham 85025 power cord measuring 1.5 meter & terminated it with US style NEMA-5 & IEC Copper Color plugs. These are realistically beer budget priced plugs with decent build & sound quality plugs. 

Copper Color power plugs, available in choice of copper, silver, gold or rhodium coating. IEC side is also available. Very good value for money to build & sound performance ratio. Serving most of my HT plug requirements now. Goes well with Gotham 85025 power cords too 

Now with my power cord completed, I can start listening for sonic bonuses. First up is my Teac V-670 cassette deck. Now with the capability to use the Gotham power cord, I find the Teac gave much better clarity and vocal focus. A layer of white or tape hash just wiped away. Highs are crispier, more well defined and bass is now less wobbly. The addition of the IEC socket & after market power cord brought a world of sound improvements to my Teac cassette deck!

Next to be played is the Nakamichi DR-2, now plugged in using the same Gotham power cord, nothing can prepared me the big counter surprise!  I was expecting some kind of sonic bliss, even if small, as from my knowledge, Nakamichi had a much bigger transformer & superior power supply design, with multi stage regulation. With an improved power supply in the Nakamichi, I was some how still expecting some improvement if not as dramatic in sound quality. I listened real...... hard, but I heard no difference what so ever in sound. I mean it still sounded as well as it could be, before or after the installation of the IEC socket & use of aftermarket power cord! However, as I listened on....... hoping to hear some sound difference, all I got was same old, same old, no better, no worse for sound!

So in the end I have to accept the conclusion that NOT all equipment may benefit from the fitting of an IEC socket or after market power cords. I think most do, but others like the Nakamichi do not. I think some equipment's power supply design is already well optimized, and will leave no scope of benefit from using after market power cord. Unexpected, but true!

And I just wasted 2 days of blood(really), sweat(elbow grease, lots) & tears(no sonic rewards)...........

                                                      

 

The Entry Level 2021, A New Set Up

The Entry Level Set Up

It's been a while since my last article, but it doesn't mean I have not been busy. If you've been following my restoration of a pair of  Acoustic Research M6 Holographic Tower Speakers, link here if you wanna read: http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2020/09/another-classic-restoration-acoustic.html

A buddy of mine have been rather keen to take it up for use as a simple system to relax in his bed room. However, he is an everyday guy with up to date everyday needs, meaning he wants to wireless stream music & remote control the system from his smart phone, plays MP3 music files on a USB stick and the occasional CD, if he is in the mood for sound decent sound quality. His needs are more of a practicality & connectivity, with absolute sound quality being less of a priority. i.e, he is not strictly dyed in the wool audiophile, but rather someone who wants decent sound quality, but with connectivity of a modern lifestyle system. And yes, he has provided a budget for me to work on too!

I set about studying the features he needs and the available components that will meet his requirements. but yet still providing high enough quality sound, while meeting his budgetary concerns.

Teac PD 650-B CD Player With USB Input

After going through the products that meet the budget, and lifestyle vs sound requirements, I have decided to start the set up with a CD player c/w front panel USB input for MP3 convenience, which lead me to the Teac PD 650-B model with see here. Retailing at just MYR 1380/unit, it's quite possibly the cheapest CD player with USB input and hifi brand credibility. After all, Teac used to make many good studio grade components. 

The plastic finished front panel still looks & feels solidly built, despite it's humble price tag. The satin black finished unit still looks & feels very decent to touch. The weight is not too heavy of course, but enough not to make it feel cheap. The central CD drawer design ejects in & out smoothly and all front panel buttons work with an reassuring "click".  The unit comes with a basic plastic remote for convenience too.

  

Yamaha R-N602 Receiver

The next star in this system line up is the amplifier, the heart of any self respecting hifi system, or in this case rather, a receiver, which in these days seems to be making a comeback of sorts. This Yamaha R-N602 is handsome, with pseudo classic looks that is functional and well built at one go. The Yamaha comes with all the modern feature that any audiophile or otherwise could want in a receiver. It has built in wifi, which could be wireless or wired, USB input for smart phone connection or just for playing MP3 music files, and it even connects to your smart phone via Bluetooth. Last but not least, once wifi is set up & connected, one can down load Yamaha's Musicast  app to your smart phone to access the Yamaha receiver wireless. Musicast app can be used as a remote control function or, play music flies stored on your smart phone. As a bonus, the receiver also come with FM/AM tuner.

The Yamaha receiver is rated at 80W RMS power output and the internal bits, such as beefy EI transformer for power supply, and over size heatsinks tells me the hardware is serious stuff! There are multiple RCA inputs at the back and the amp section can drive 2 pairs of speaker at once if required. 

Acoustic Research M6 Holographic Tower Speakers

The speaker in this system is my recently restored Acoustic Research M6 Holographic Tower Speakers. These are considered pinnacle of 90's speaker design and frankly, it still sounds pretty darn good today. Tonal balance is on the rich side of things, and the speaker is capable of projecting a big open sound space that is very transparent, yet managing to sound musical. With a built in sub woofer at the bottom cabinet, a nice weighty, low bass is there to anchor the music. This is an efficient speaker design and the Yamaha's 80W RMS feels comfortable pushing this speaker to it's fullest potential.

Ancillary items used in setting up this system includes a pair of Cardas Hexlink 5C RCA cable, a pair of Belden speaker cables, and a Weiduka AC2.2 power bar for power conditioning. Setting up the simple 3 component system was easy as A,B,C!

  

Once hooked up, the overall sound of this system was high musical of the foot tapping kind. I played The Best Of Yazoo CD from the Teac CD player and I was dancing to the music. Yazoo's blend of punk pop fusion music is synthesizer heavy and can sound distractingly jaunty and tiring in the wrong system, but here it actually sounded very nice. The near neutral tone with just a tinge of warmness from the Yamaha saved the day. Now, how did I tell who was doing what sound wise?

You see, both the Yamaha & the Teac allows USB input, and that is where the similarity and sound differentiation can be easily identified. When playing some of my old Canto pop music on MP3 via the USB stick, I first plugged in to the Teac CD player and then do the same via the USB input of the Yamaha  receiver. From the Teac, the sound was as per described earlier as playing CD, only less details and resolution, and maybe just a tad higher noise floor(white hash basically). However the same USB stick played via Yamaha, the sound turned even more musical, more danceable, and those MP3 files gained an analog like texture which to my ears are more sympathetic to the low res files. I also managed to stream music to the Yamaha from my smart phone and got very good results as well, with no signal drop of or anything as such.

I find it highly satisfying being able to enjoy music from an entry level system, costing even less than most of those high end cables that audiophiles prized. With the latest crop of budget hifi products on offer as represented here, I see a glimmer of hope for an industry coping with changes of modern life style. Lovely indeed! And lastly, after setting up this system in my buddies house, he sent me a thank you note, saying he was very satisfied with the sound of the system and will be so until he hit the jackpot, then he will consider an upgrade! 

For this project, I did all my shopping at Style Laser in Kuala Lumpur, a cash & carry outlet. 

My Humble CAS, Asus Tinker Board & Teac UD-501 DAC

Asus Tinker Board in it's most basic form

I first experienced CAS in 2010 and quickly adapted to it with excitement back in 2011 in the form of Bryston BDP-1 & DAC-1 combo. It's now more than 10 years since, and at one point, even before I started my hifi sabbatical in 2016, I had already given up on CAS. Somehow, I still prefer physical medium for my emotional connection to music. While the conveniences of CAS and sound quality can be highly achieved indeed, I somehow still have a preference for physical medium when it come to music. Something that you can hold in hands just feels more real. Should you feel otherwise, then to each his own. I am not one who likes to argue and get stressed over hifi matters.

I have also since learned not buy packaged music streamers & DAC sets such as the above mentioned Bryston duo. As technology moves too fast, and so does the rate of depreciation. It's a killer blow, never mind the sound!

Then a buddy of mine, Simon introduced me to this dinky little CPU called Asus Tinker Board, which is the equivalent of the Raspberry Pi CPU. Coupled to Volumio Music Player interface app on one's smart phone, it's an easy & cheap solution to music streaming. Simon says the Asus Tinker Board can be used as a HTPC too, but with different set up & interface app. Now, who wants to play a game of Simon says?

Power supply goes in from side, unused HDMI output, and all other USB inputs/outputs & LAN from the back. Note the blue/black Oelbach USB cable which connects to the Teac UD-501 DAC

Simon had the Asus Tinker Board set up in a small plastic casing with window top. The Asus allows 4 USB input/output, and 1 LAN input. On the side, it has a Type B Micro USB power connector, and HDMI output. The Asus can be powered from any Android phone 5V power supply with the above mentioned connector. While any old Android phone power supply or charger will do the job, the Asus does sound a whole lot better when powered by a 1.2 Ampere, 5V  linear power supply. There are now plenty of such power supply to choose from, mostly China of origin. I got mine from a Asus users group buy sometime back.

The good part about using the Asus Tinker Board or any Raspberry Pi CPU as streamer is that it will adapt to any music storage resolution formats such as WAV, FLAC, or DSD at no extra cost. The only question is, can your DAC process it? With this, I took the opportunity to pick up a used unit of Teac UD-501 DAC, which can do all the resolution format available today, and for a half sized hifi component, it also has XLR analog outputs, which are definitely my preferred connection. Back in 2014, when this unit first became available, I had a go with it and really liked it. A few years later today, the latest Teac UD-505 DAC model revision still bears much functionality and design cues based upon the UD-501.  

The whole CAS set up from left: Teac UD-501 DAC, Multi USB Input, 5V Linear Power Supply(bottom) & Asus Tinker Board(Top) 

I used USB Type A to Type B cable from Oelbach to connect between the Asus & the Teac. With the overall tonal neutrality of the Teac DAC, it was actually the music file ripping quality doing the talking most of the time. The system was totally transparent & highly revealing of the rip quality. Using Cardas Neutral Reference XLR cable from Teac DAC to pre-amp, I did gain back some of that much needed warmth to make some of those busy sounding hi-res audio just bearable. 

For me this very cheap(costing less than MYR3000, excluding cables!) & cheerful CAS set up is all I have to continue with convenience music,or when I just need some back ground music.

Another Classic Revival, Teac V-670 Cassette Deck

The Teac V-670 Cassette Deck, sitting below my Aesthetix Janus pre-amp.

I've been playing with cassette decks since the 70's, as it was my first music medium experience, when it comes to hifi. Vinyl medium experience came a good decade later, followed by CD medium experience after that. There's something nostalgic about a cassette player since my student days. Back then, to make a mix tape for someone with songs you think they would like, to show how much you cared for that person. Not to mention the Sg Wang hey days in the 80's where one could walk in to any of the many music stores and ask for a mixed tape be made for you. You simply select the song on their available song list and choose the tape type(Type I, II & IV) you wanna record on to. The tape Type I means normal or standard tape, Type II means Chrome tape & Type IV means Metal tape. Chrome & Metal tapes means hi-end in the cassette world.

I had many Sony Walkman units as a student, and when I finally had enough money(I worked part time as a student), I splurged on a 3 head tape deck to reward my self. It was a Teac V-670 that you see here, bought in 1988! Yes, this tape deck is 32 years old.  Like everyone else back then, Nakamichi decks were the rage, and the still rock to this day. Budgetary concerns means I have to consider other brands, such as Teac, which is still good as they have good representation in the professional side of things.

Inside the Teac V-670. Note the plastic molded chassis instead of the usual 2U metal. Left side top is the power supply and transport mounted to front panel, on the whole right side is the power supply regulators and audio circuits. 

As a student and later as an young working adult, I had much fun with cassette deck. As a student, I made many recordings for my Walkman use and also mixed tapes for my friends, and when working, I made many CD & turntable recordings for my car stereo. You see, I still feel cassette was the perfect medium for people on the move. Of course that role now is done by our smartphones!

As car CD players became the standard, my Teac V-670 deck was boxed up in storage. I never saw it again until 2018, when I packed up to move. Seeing this cassette deck brought back much memories, but all I could do at that point is to box it up again and wait again for another opportunity to unbox. And by the end of 2019, that opportunity came calling, as I was setting up my hifi again.

I check the deck condition and it powered up, must basic functions still works, but only barely. So I decided to get it serviced, do a little DIY, so to speak. Upon opening up the chassis, the first thing spotted was four leaky caps in the power supply section of the main PCB board. I proceed to pull up the PCB board from the main plastic chassis, to extract the old caps, clean up the brownish oil stains off the PCB with IPA, then proceed to insert and solder the new caps in to it's original place.

See the laeky cap stains on the PCB board?

All cleaned up and caps changed.

Next up was the transport section of the cassette deck. The whole transport assembly was removed from the back off the front panel with 5 Philips screws. the transport is a 2 motor design, one for the tape pulley, the other for the rubber capstan. The are 2 rubber belt that drives from motor to pulley to the capstan idler gear. All the dried oil in the transport was cleaned and re-greased. Now everything was re-assembled, and ready for the final stage.

The 3 head, 2 motor transport module awaiting removal.

Working on the idler gear & pulley and rubber belt replacement.

Since I didn't have the calibration equipment required to do the fine tuning job, I sent the Teac to bro Azeem at Cheras. Azeem is a fine lad I met on FB, and have since helped me in other hifi restoration projects. With a Wow & Flutter test tape. the cassette deck hooked up to an oscilloscope, the fine tuning of Wow & Flutter can be completed.

Wow & Flutter test tape.

Wow & Flutter of both Left & Right channels.

Now both channels are well aligned.......

After the Wow & Flutter tuning is complete, we proceed to play some pre-recorded tapes. The cassette deck never sounded so wonderful! I brought the Teac home, hook it up to my system, and have been playing tape after tape since. Like the wonderful turntable, there's still much life left in cassette as a format. However, the big question is can the cassette revival be as strong as the vinyl revival? Only time will tell.

Test play with pre-recorded tape in progress.

This 1988 Teac V-670 cassette deck is an UK model I am told, hence there's very little information about it on the internet. As far as I know, the V-670 is the entry level 3 head tape deck with HX-Pro certification & Dolby-C noise reduction filter. As an entry level 3 head, 2 motor tape transport design, it does sport some cost saving features compared to it's similar looking flagship V-870 model. The whole chassis is plastic molded rather than 2U steel or copper coated. The transport is 2 motor only compared to the 3 motor V-870 model. And the Eject button mechanical, rather than a motorized solution. The V-900 sport extra recording adjustment parameters and also an IR remote.

As a cassette playback and recording medium, the sound is very good, despite it's obvious budgetary design compromises. It playback & records best with Type II Chrome & Type IV Metal tapes, so investing is high quality blank tapes pays off! My favorite high end tape is the all aluminium bodied TDK MA-XG series. In 1988 MYR price it was a cost of nearly 50 bucks a piece! For comparison a common branded Type I Normal rated tape would retail about MYR 8.00-10.00 a piece. I did most of my recordings from either a CD player or turntable as source, utilizing the Dolby-C noise reduction for a super quiet background. I would playback without using the Dolby-C though as I preferred the airier sound without the Dolby masking effect.

With this restoration, I can again enjoy many years of fun with cassette tapes!