Pioneer CT-F 1000

Pioneer Model CT-F 1000,

a stereo Dolby cassette deck with monitoring (separate recording and playback) head configuration, in metal case.

It is a beautiful machine. Not only does it glitter with Pioneer's traditional care in front-panel detailing, but without going beyond that panel the user can see the two-in-one head, and feel the elegance of the click-stopped level knobs and of the solenoid-controlled drive system via the transport buttons.

The drive speed is unaffected by line-voltage changes and has extremely low wow and flutter in the lab's measurements. Not only that, but its playback speed is adjustable, from +13,4% to -10,6% of normal , or approxmately a whole tone in either direction – to tune the recording to a live performance or to correct tapes made on off-speed machines. The adjustment system does not affect recording speed and has a very positive detent in the control at the normal playback speed, which, while 1,3% fast in absolute terms, matches the recording speed exactly.

The metering system strikes us as very good, admirers of peak metering though we are. The meters themselves are of the averaging type with good ballistics and wide calibration range (from -40 to +5). In addition, there is a peak LED that triggers at the +5 level.

Playback response from the standard test tape is unusually fine. The chrome-tape record/play response is extremaly flat, with extended, smooth bass and a high end that remains very flat up to the beginning of rolloff, which occurs at a higher than average point. Ferrichrome response is a little less flat across the band but is flatter than most ferrichrome curves and extends very high at the top end.

Specifications

Speed accuracy: record and detented playback position 1,3% fast no measurable difference at 105, 120 and 127 VAC

Wow and flutter: playback 0,05%, record/play 0,08%

Rewind and Fast-forward time (C-60): 58 sec

S/N ratio (re 0VU, Dolby off,CBS weighting):

playback: L ch 54 dB, R ch 54,5 dB

record/play: L ch 50,5 dB, R ch 51 dB

Erasure (333 Hz at normal level): 70 dB

Crosstalk (at 333 Hz):

record left, play right: 43 dB

record right, play left: 43 dB

Sensitivity (re DIN 0 VU):

line input: L ch 64 mV, R ch 67 mV,

mike input: L ch 0,33 mV, R ch o,33 mV

Meter action (re DIN 0 VU):

L ch: 6 dB high, R ch: 7 dB high

Maximum output (re DIN 0 VU):

L ch: 0,95 V, R ch: 1,0 V

Dimensions: 16-1/2 x 7 inches (front), 13 inches deep