Pioneer CT-93 Tape Decks

Pioneer CT-93 Tape Decks 

DESCRIPTION

3-head tapedeck with dolby S

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-6 of 6  
[Oct 10, 2016]
Jarvis
AudioPhile

This is an all time great deck, one of my best. Recording quality is fantastic, better than my Nakamichis DR-1 and DR-8, equal to or very close to my Marantz SD-72. But playback is not better than my DR-1 or DR-8 or Marantz SD-72 or SD-62, at least using either my Arcam Delta 290 or my Naim Nait 5i amps, and Jamo Classic 10 speakers.
Bought the CT-93 for 200 Euro used and this is very little money for such high quality. I highly recommend this deck for both rec and play, it's one of the best there is out there.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 01, 2003]
Rick Price
AudioPhile

Strength:

WIDE frequency response and S/N. Dolby S, (The first one that truly "gets it right". Truly great ergonomics.

Weakness:

No on the fly azimuth adjustment.

The CT-93 is indeed by many standards, a "DRAGON KILLER". It has extremely sophisticated tape handling features and is a good example of the incredible refinement that has been applied to the cassette format. Under non "Telarc Cannon" circumstances it is probably indistinguishable from the source and that is quite an accomplishment. Where it isn't quite a Dragon (or DR-1, which I also own.)is in the area of azimuth adjustment on the fly in playback. After years of setting up decks to factory spec I've discovered one awful truth. There is factory spec, and then there are about a gazillion prerecorded tape azimuth alignment standards (or perhaps I should say "practices", they might've all been aiming at the same target but, WOW, did some miss!). When aligning non Nak decks, I always start with a factory spec alignment tape and wind up compromising to a place that makes prerecorded tapes sound good but none sounding "perfect". (Not a big derivation but real enough to warrant comment.) The CT-93 is a worthy grandchild of the legendary CT-F 1250 and supersedes that "grand master" of Pioneer's cassette tape legacy only in the areas of application of the Dolby technology and quietness of operation. (The latter of which I could care less about as the 1250 operates with a solid mechanical "thunk" when it's solenoids actuate that is comforting to me in a "No, I'm not underpowered or underengineered" kind of way. The movement of the transport is precise and non "negotiable". Ordnarily I'd decry anything made as recently as the CT-93 was with a "boo on black plastic goo" epithet. However, it is solidly built, (upwards of 20 lbs.) and feels and performs professionally. If it were made out of the machined aluminum stock that it's grandaddy was it would've cost more than a Dragon.

Similar Products Used:

Oodles.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 02, 2001]
jay eitch
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

cd quality recording/dolby b,c,s, AND hxpro. each tape individually and automatically adjusted for bias!

Weakness:

none

without a doubt, the absolute best recording deck that i have ever used. the specs dont lie...the recordings are perfect. as noted above, bias is automatically adjusted for each tape. great level meters, adjustable. can sync with cd player AND can link with pioneer equipment for remote control.

looks good, too!

Similar Products Used:

many

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 17, 1999]
Ton Philippo
an Audio Enthusiast

I noticed that there were only doublecassettedecks reviewed of Pioneer, so I wrote this one about a single deck.I have a complete system of ,as they call it in the States, the "elite" series of Pioneer. however in Europe they had this set with a class A amp ( 2 channels ) and a single cassettedeck. I bought mine about half a year ago, It was a showmodel but with two years warranty on it ( it had been in the shop for about 5 years ! ). It's a real heavy piece of equipment and has wooden side-panels on it. I never had a Dolby S deck before, and after I recorded my first tape on it, I listened to it carefully. To my ears it sounded even better than the cd itself! It sounded much more warmer and the noise was equally low to the noise on the cd. So now I know what dolby S does! There are also two things that I find annoying. The balance knob has a very small turn. So you cannot make a precise adjustment on it. In other words keep it in the middle. The second thing is, it has no remote control option.

Besides that it's a really good and well build deck

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
[Mar 24, 2001]
Seth
Audiophile

Strength:

Excellent fidelity and reproduction; calibration feature; dolby B, C and S;

Weakness:

Not the easiest unit to maintain and get into for a thorough cleaning.

I have used this deck since 1992 when it first came out. It has been a work horse and has never gone down once. I am now just finding that the recording heads need replacing, but that is by no means a surprise considering how many hours have been logged on the unit. It is quiet and records excellently. I have certainly gotten more than I would have expected out of a unit like this.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Sep 01, 2000]
Paul Keum
Audiophile

Strength:

Excellent features, incredible specs for the price, and gorgeous looks

Weakness:

Not as reliable as expected from an Elite Pioneer product. One stop functioning after 2-3 years of use.

Needing to replace an old Sony 3 head tape deck, which was showing signs of exaggerated wow and flutter (bad motor?), I went to this place to see what they had available. I first bought a Yamaha 3 head tape deck, which I returned, unsatisfied at its lack of smoothness when handling tapes fast forward etc . . . I bought the Elite, because of its looks and its oustanding features. The salesperson also stated that this was the "Dragon Killer" (refering to the NAKAMICHI DRAGON deck), sonically, it satisfied me to a great extent, nevertheless, with its mechanical failure after just about 3 years of medium to light usage (after all, how much time did I have to tape things while studying to get a grad degree?), I realized that no Pioneer could ever stake the claim to an esoteric brand that had proven itself for decades on end.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 6300, MONITOR SERIES 3 head tape deck

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
Showing 1-6 of 6  

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