Technices RS 1520

[Ludovic.blachez]

Hello,

I am 100% new to tapes. Just acquired a nice Technics RS 1520 and few TP tapes on ebay. Does anyone have a good user manual for the RS 1520 (I am plugging it to my Marantz 7C) and good recommandations to start using it with TP tapes?

Thank you,

Ludo

[Tim]

Be aware that this deck does not have true IEC EQ (needed for the Tape Project tape).  The EQ switch on the front panel only changes the high frequency EQ to IEC.  The bass EQ stays at NAB, which means 50 Hz with be down 3 db.  There is a circuit mod to make bass flat (IEC)

Also be aware that you deck very likely has leaking capacitors.  Very common in this series due to age.  A full re-cap is recommended.

All pots and switches in the deck will need to be cleaned if that has not been done recently.

[docb]

There is a circuit mod to make bass flat (IEC)

That's pretty tough to do because there is no agreed upon bass rolloff for IEC. The bass boost in the IEC curve theoretically goes to infinity at 0 Hz. So a designer has to pick some arbitrary bass rolloff frequency while considering the limit of the repro amp gain structure and call it good. We use around 17Hz in our repro amps, just below the generally accepted lower frequency threshold and not so low as to require a ton of gain. Chances are that's what the mod does, an approximation to make the response mostly flat.