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| pop982:
Hi i recently got hold of an old Akai x-360 reel to reel recorder with a built in amplifier but the left side has much less volume and almost no bass. I tried cleaning and measuring the volume, bass and treble pots but that didn't help. Anyone got any ideas what i could try? |
| GLouie:
The service manual is available online, such as hifiengine.com. If you are looking for simple fixes, you should exercise each audio switch/button, especially any multi-pole switch for RECORD mode. In other words, operate each button several times, and put it into RECORD mode several times. I am unfamiliar with this model, but it is likely that it uses a multi-pole switch to change the circuitry from play to record mode, and these commonly get dirty and corrode over time. Check that the tape recording is good and the correct track format, and the heads clean and at least appear aligned correctly. Check the line outputs to determine if the problem is in the tape machine or the amplifier/speakers. |
| pop982:
Thanks for the anwser but the recorder works perfectly at line level and it is only when the internal amp is used that the problems start |
| ocw:
It sounds like a bad DC blocking capacitor in the left audio path which has lost most of its capacitance--more likely an electrolytic... |
| james_s:
That was going to be my suggestion as well, coupling capacitor. A schematic will make your life much easier. A small test amplifier with AC coupled input is a handy troubleshooting tool for this sort of thing, you can buy a module for about $1 from China, or build something yourself with a LM386, or salvage something and then probe around and follow the signal to see where it degrades. |
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