Tandberg 9200 XD Review
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1974 Tandberg 9200 XD jack is designed to drive 8-ohm phones, but provides an adequate level f\ or most higher impedance units. Two small knob switches have signal lights above them to indicate that t\ hey are in use The S-ON-S switch cross-connects the recording and playback amplifiers for making sound-on\ -sound recordings (in mono) by copying one track onto the other, with new material added. The DOLBY NR \ switch has several operating modes, and it is the most distinctive new feature of this recorder. Its \ three positions arc NORM. FILTER, and DOLBY FM. The first is for Dolby recording from any source other than st\ ereo FM, and for playing back any Dolbyised tape. The FILTER position introduces a 19-kHz notch filter to \ prevent the stereo-pilot carrier from interfering with the Dolby circuits when recording FM broadcasts. The DO\ LBY FM mode has two distinctly different uses. When recording a Dolbyised FM broadcast, it bypasses the\ recording Dolby circuits but feeds the playback signal through the Dolby decoders. This avoids the need for\ "double Dolby" recording, while permitting the program to be heard with full quieting and correct freque\ ncy balance during recording. The second purpose of the DOLBY FM mode is to listen to Dolby FM without mak\ ing a recording. The Tandberg 9200XD is 15¾ inches wide. 16¼ inches high and 5½ \ inches deep: it weighs 34 pounds. It can be operated either vertically or horizontally. Price: $949. Optional acc\ essories include carrying case ($40), plastic dust cover ($12), and a remote-control box ($99.50). Laboratory Measurements. The playback frequency response, with Ampex tes\ t tapes, was within 1 d B over the 50 to 15,000-Hz range of the tape at 7½ ips. and within 1.5 dB from 50 to 7,500Hz at 3¾ ips. The overall record-playback frequency response, with Maxell UD35-7 tape (for which \ the recorder was biased) was 1 dB from 40 to 11,300 Hz at 1 ips, 2 dB from 32 to 20,000 Hz at 3¾ ips and 2dB from 30 to 26,500 Hz at 7½ ips. The meters of the 9200XD are calibrated differently from most\ we have seen, so that a standard Dolby-level tape gives a meter reading of – 10 dB and a 0.5 volt audi\ o output. Since tape saturation begins rapidly at 0 dB or slightly above, peaks should be kept below that level\ as much as possible for best results. We measured a reference 3 per cent distortion in the playback outputs wi\ th a recording level of 0 dB at 1 ips, +3 dB at 3¾ ips and + 1.5 dB at 7½ ips. The unweighted noise \ levels referred to these were respectively – 50.5 dB, -58 dB and – 61.5 dB. With IEC A weighting to attenu\ ate the less audible low frequencies, these improved to –56.5 dB, -64.3 dB and –68 dB. Finally, when we added \ the Dolby system, the noise levels became –64.7 dB, -71.5 dB and –74 dB – all of them exceptionall\ y good. The noise contributed by the microphone amplifiers (which are outside the Dolby system) was very sm\ all until the microphone gain controls were set to more than about 85 per cent of maximum. Considering the high\ gain of these circuits, that level will never be required with most microphones. At maximum gain, the noise\ increased by 5 to 14 dB depending on the impedance of the microphone used. The line input for a 0-dB recording level was 0.1 V (the microphone inp\ uts required only 100 microvolts with a 600-ohm source) and the playback output was 1.23 volts at 7½ ips, de\ creasing to 0,78 V at 1 ips. The tape speeds were exceptionally accurate, with errors of +0.11% at 7½\ ips and +0.5% at 1 ips (the 3¾ speed was exact). Wow was at the 0.01 per cent residual of our test tap\ es, and flutter was 0.06 per cent at 7½ ips, 0.07 per cent at 3¾ ips, and 0.16 per cent at 1 ips. In fast-forward and rewind, a 1,800-foot reel of tape was run through in 70 to 72 seconds. The meters read 100 per cent of the\ ir steady-state values on 300- millisecond tone bursts, with negligible overshoot and a visibly slower \ decay. The Dolby circuits tracked very accurately, affecting the overall frequency response by less than 1 dB a\ t all frequencies up to 16,000 Hz. The multiplex filter had no effect up to 15,000 Hz, but reduced the 19-kHz r\ esponse by more than 24 dB. Comment If you do not become careless and let the recording levels climb\ too far into the red area of the meters, the 9200XD makes virtually perfect recordings at all three speed\ s from FM radio and discs. We did file:///P|/9105%20werkdirectorie/Manufacturers,%20Manuals/Tapedeck/tests\ /9160CMTAN-REV-9200xd.htm (2 of 3)1-11-2003 11:03:11
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1974 Tandberg 9200 XD not use it for live recording, but would expect it to be equally outstan\ ding for that purpose, especially at the two higher speeds. The Dolby system, as expected, had its greatest subje\ ctive effect at the slower tape speeds, but nevertheless made a worthwhile contribution at 7½ ips. Ob\ viously, when recording from microphones, it is desirable to keep the recording level controls at a r\ easonable setting to prevent microphone circuit noise from negating the effects of the Dolby system. We also fou\ nd the Dolby FM mode was convenient for listening to Dolby FM broadcasts. The 1 ips performance of the 9200XD is in all respects, comparable to that of\ a good Dolby-equipped cassette recorder-but with the numerous advantages of open-reel tape, su\ ch as longer playing time, easy editing. This is not an insignificant achievement since most open-reel d\ ecks fall well short of top-level cassette- deck performance at that speed. Having previously tested and used a Tandberg 9000X, we had no difficulty\ becoming accustomed to the 9200XD. Compared with the usual tape recorders it is somewhat different \ in its operational characteristics, but all in all it is one of the easiest and most enjoyable we have used. file:///P|/9105%20werkdirectorie/Manufacturers,%20Manuals/Tapedeck/tests\ /9160CMTAN-REV-9200xd.htm (3 of 3)1-11-2003 11:03:11