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Making audio sound BETTER??


Cassettes?? I remember those. :D The thing about Dolby noise reduction is it depends on just HOW the audio was recorded in the first place and what type of tape,normal, metal, or chrome, all of which require a different recording bias. It has to be recorded in Dolby and has to be recorded at a higher lever, typically 6 dB higher. Also use of a noise reduction is highly subjective as every listener has a preference as to how much bass or treble they like. Having spent 22 years in the broadcast industry I can say that you can never please everyone all the time so why even try. EVERYTHING was recorded with a flat frequency response within 1 dB from 20 Hz to greater than 15 KHz. This allowed the listeners to tailor the sound however they wished as again, everyone has a different opinion of what sounds good.Having been in the industry I have a different opinion that someone else and I am often appalled at what some consider to be good. When i hear a singer on stage that is ear shattering LOUD but sounds like they are muffled and far too bassy then it is not good nor are vocals that are covered by the band but it is amazing just how many times you hear that crap on a stage.
 
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I had a high end ($275.00)Radio Shack(read Kenwood)car stereo/cassette player with Dolby A&B noise reduction. With a tape recorded and made for Dolby NR,it really sounded good(1980's). My first stereo amp was a Radio Shack 50 watts RMS@channel amp which was made by Kenwood. I have a Blaupunkt Bremen MP76 nowadays
 
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dolby on a quality tape deck did worked to reduce tape hiss and still allow you to hear the high frequencies, if the tape was recorded with dolby it should sound very bright & hissy when replayed without dolby,

some reasons a dolby tape may sound better with dolby replay turned off

master tape not recorded correctly
crap player ( 99.9% of all car stereo )
crap quality tape
poor quality recording/ bias not set right for tape etc
dirty head
replay head azimuth not aligned to the machine that made the tape
poor hf response in the system more likely speakers
poor hf response in your ears
 
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I got a DSP circuit board and plans from CBC International - books plans kits modifications repairs for CB radios .
It utilizes speech compression. The component assembled board can be bought for $42. The plans show how to tailor the sound and mod/volume levels. I think that would help and the right mic. The circuit to control audio tone would help too. I posted on another thread a YouTube video some guy built one for a D104.
 
dolby on a quality tape deck did worked to reduce tape hiss and still allow you to hear the high frequencies, if the tape was recorded with dolby it should sound very bright & hissy when replayed without dolby,

some reasons a dolby tape may sound better with dolby replay turned off

master tape not recorded correctly
crap player ( 99.9% of all car stereo )
crap quality tape
poor quality recording/ bias not set right for tape etc
dirty head
replay head azimuth not aligned to the machine that made the tape
poor hf response in the system more likely speakers
poor hf response in your ears



I agree. We used to have Tascam (Teac) 122 Mk2 professional cassette decks in the studios back in the mid/late 80's or so. Back then they were about $1200 each and had Dolby B and C as well as well as normal/metal/chrome settings that would be set automatically when you inserted a tape. That's when I first learned about the little holes in the cassette shell and what they were for. LOL. With properly aligned heads (we did our own with proper alignment tapes) a cassette recorded in Dolby could sound REALLY good believe it or not.
 
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