The Best Logic deck in a Portable?

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Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
OK, here is a subject I no NOTHING about!

Recently I bought a Sharp QT93 in full working condition with dual full logic decks. By far and away the best decks I own.

So it got me wondering :hmmm:

What do you guys feel are the best portable logic decks in a traditional boombox?
(battery powered, handle, what we all consider to be a boombox)

Please explain why one out shines the other, features, recording???
 

im_alan_partridge

Member (SA)
I used to have a QT-95 which looked the same as your 93 and yes, the decks were good, mainly because I don't have too many boxes with working decks :lol:
 

Superduper

Moderator
Staff member
The M90 decks are amongst the best; they are very well built and designed, work great, do not rely on a record bar and almost bulletproof for the most part, excellent audio performance too. The only thing I don't like so much is that the playback level seems muted moreso than the radio or aux playback modes.

Also candidates for best logic decks are the ones on the Panasonic RX-7000/7200. They work really smooth and has a good selection of cool features such as autoplay after rewind, etc. The deck eject action of the rx-7200 is totally to die for, and the quality of the construction separates the men from the boys.
 

floyd

Boomus Fidelis
i agree about the m90 . might add that the pc55 has prolly the most sophisticated deck in any boombox and the controls have no equal.these are awesome machines but when they break they don't even make good door stops.
 

Superduper

Moderator
Staff member
Which is why I regarded the M90 so highly. The deck by comparison is really quite easy to work on compared to many high end decks which are so very hard to keep running. I got a grundig party center courtesy of Reli and the deck is really nice, multiple motors etc BUT a nylon gear that are most probably broke on most examples by now which renders the deck a really really pretty paperweight; needless to say, I'm not nominating this deck as a "best" candidate.
 

Superduper

Moderator
Staff member
In my experience Chris, 3-piece boxes do have good decks, especially the higher end models, the JVC's, the Sony FH's. But have you ever tried to rebelt one? Not fun at all and oftentimes, the issues are more than a simple rebelting. If we are talking brand new, that's one thing. But 35 years later, reliability and serviceability simply must be considered.
 
I know it's not a logic deck but the deck from the M9998 has to be the best sounding deck for both playback and recording I've heard. Whilst many of my boxes' tuners sound better than their decks, the big Sanyo's deck just sounds so bloody fantastic easily beating the sound quality of the 'good' sounding tuner. I've got a few fully working and good condition logic decks that don't sound anywhere near as nice as the old school piano key style M9998 deck. :-)
 

Reli

Boomus Fidelis
Worst logic deck: MX-920.

There is a long delay in the action, and it clunks so damn hard.
 

superlew

Member (SA)
I only have two boxes with logic decks - both fairly modern boxes: The JVC B90 Kaboom and the Panny DT-707 Cobra.
The 707 decks are great. They are instantly responsive, have excellent music search (although they only search one song at a time), and like a lot of dual-deck Panny's, it has continuous play. And, believe it or not, the decks are really easy to service.
The B90 deck is nice, but not very "feature-packed."

SANY0767.JPG
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
I have read here on Boomboxery that some logic decks can be a NIGHTMARE to service and I have looked at a few (Non-Logic Aiwa) decks and I simply said "No Way!".

The "Piano Key" decks seem like a reliable way to go, less complexity, but they also seem more "Neanderthal" compared to the precision of a logic deck AND I have often wondered if the "Piano Key" decks aren't doing some level of damage to the cassette tapes themselves.

When I press PLAY and I hear the tape start to engage and I hear the music "Slide up to speed" doesn't fill me with confidence OR while using the music search function on non-logic decks, it sounds like the tape is being SCRAPPED clean!

Is there any damage being done with this happens?
 

THAFUZZ

Member (SA)
JVC Floyd said:
i agree about the m90 . might add that the pc55 has prolly the most sophisticated deck in any boombox and the controls have no equal.these are awesome machines but when they break they don't even make good door stops.
I was just about to suggest this one as well. It is amazing.
 

k2j

Member (SA)
Lasonic TRC-920 said:
I have read here on Boomboxery that some logic decks can be a NIGHTMARE to service and I have looked at a few (Non-Logic Aiwa) decks and I simply said "No Way!".

The "Piano Key" decks seem like a reliable way to go, less complexity, but they also seem more "Neanderthal" compared to the precision of a logic deck AND I have often wondered if the "Piano Key" decks aren't doing some level of damage to the cassette tapes themselves.

When I press PLAY and I hear the tape start to engage and I hear the music "Slide up to speed" doesn't fill me with confidence OR while using the music search function on non-logic decks, it sounds like the tape is being SCRAPPED clean!

Is there any damage being done with this happens?
Yep, give me a neanderthal piano key deck any day over the full logic nightmare. The less belts/motors/mechanisms the better IMO.

As far as the best logic deck, I have no idea. Every time I have tried to open up and fix/rebuild/work on one I get too scared and close it back up. Then grab my M70 or another piano keyd boombox and jam the cassette of choice.
 
Lasonic TRC-920 said:
I have read here on Boomboxery that some logic decks can be a NIGHTMARE to service and I have looked at a few (Non-Logic Aiwa) decks and I simply said "No Way!".

The "Piano Key" decks seem like a reliable way to go, less complexity, but they also seem more "Neanderthal" compared to the precision of a logic deck AND I have often wondered if the "Piano Key" decks aren't doing some level of damage to the cassette tapes themselves.

When I press PLAY and I hear the tape start to engage and I hear the music "Slide up to speed" doesn't fill me with confidence OR while using the music search function on non-logic decks, it sounds like the tape is being SCRAPPED clean!

Is there any damage being done with this happens?
It all depends on the deck. True 'piano style decks' have the tape the right way up. 'Upside down' decks cover a huge range of quality from the very first tape decks to nice sounding more modern units like the M70. There are a lot of cheap crap boxes too that have this arrangement.

If I hit play on my M9998, the tape gets up to speed almost instantly. By the time the amps kick in, the tape speed is correct so there is no 'speed up' period.

To protect the tape, the better decks will drop the head height slightly when operating in music search mode - just like the logic decks do.
I'm interested in sound quality more than how softly I have to press the play button to play a tape. More complexity equals more things to go wrong IMHO.

How many logic decks do members have that will likely never play again?! Now think about how many members who got their GF-9191/9292s etc decks working after only a little work?
 

skippy1969

Boomus Fidelis
I think the decks on the JVC PC55 or PC550 are some of the best I've ever had.
I also like the deck on the Sansui CP5/CP7.
 
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