Worth Every Penny!! Great machine Though! Nice Clean Sound & Has Auto Reverse!!!

WHY SONY?

Many years ago, I used to own Sony stereo components. Eleven years ago though, I bought a Technics dual cassette
deck. It lasted for a good 10 years. Lately, & a while before that, the unit started to act up. It would simply stop in the middle of playing for seemingly no apparent reason! Or it would stop immediately after pressing the play button! This went on for a long time. Then, just last week the thing had started playing way out of speed as if it were recording at high-speed & had eaten up the tape that I had tried to play in it! I dared not try to record anything else with it! I then had decided that enough was enough. So, i went on a search for another Technics dual-deck recorder. While online & everywhere else that I tried to buy a Technics unit, I kept being told that they are no longer availible, as the company has stopped making stereo components!

Even the salesman who sold me the Sony TC-WE475 told me that Technics was getting out of the stereo component business because of the small self-contained mini units gaining great demand in popularity. I told him that they may be good, but they lack the wattage power & features that the larger separate components are noted for.

WHAT THEN?

I then had decided to buy the Sony TC-WE475 because I like the many features that it has & I figured that it comes from a well-known company that has been around & making great stereo components for many years!

My stereo component system is mainly Technics, the receiver, 5-CD changer, equalizer & the turntable. Now, only the tape deck & stereo headphones are the main break-up, as they are made by Sony.

HOW DOES THE UNIT PERFORM?

It sounds incredibly fresh & exciting!! It's like giving your old or existing stereo system a new lease on life!!! It has some things that the old Technics unit does not have.
I was also lucky to be able to still get it in black, as some of the makers of stereo equipment have just gone back to the early '80's style of silver color. Some companies do offer components in both black & silver.

DO YOU REALLY LIKE IT?

Yes! I'm glad I make this choice. Besides, it had come to the point where I just had to get rid of the old unit, or every tape that I'd try to play in it would certainly end up being destroyed ( eaten up ).

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES & FEATURES?

The advantages & features are many! They are as follows:

1. High-speed recoding ( dubbing ). This mode can be selected to record your material at twice the speed of regular recording, making your tapes ready to play in approximately half the time it would take to record at the regular speed, about 45 minutes for a ninety-minute tape, for example.

2. Regular speed recording.

3. Pitch control ( first time I heard of the feature being on a tape deck ). Usually found only on turntables & some high-end CD changers, this feature lets you conveniently adjust the speed of the tape that's being played from slow to fast or anywhere else in between! But please be advised that this feature only applies to the play-only ( left-hand side ) deck on the machine. Has its own on / off button.

4. Automatic Music Sensor ( AMS ) with memory button on BOTH decks. This feature " senses " the silent spaces in your tapes between each & every song to let you automatically find the beginning of the next song, which helps to eliminate the guesswork involved in manual searching. In both forward & reverse play, this feature can be used. After the search, the unit will automatically play the song desired!

5. Frequency response is 30Hz to 19 kHz.

6. Full Logic Controls.

7. Two decks for your complete total long uninterrupted hours of music listening pleasure!

8. Direction Mode switch lets you choose which side of a tape you want to hear, whether it's Deck 1 or Deck 2, one side only, both sides, or all sides in both decks!

9. Dolby Noise Reduction switch lets you adjust noise level from either normal level ( hissing ), B level ( medium quiet, or C level ( super quiet - no hissing at all ).

10. Peak audio level indicator display lets you view playing & recording levels at a glance! Cool to look at!

11. Digital tape counters with reset buttons on both decks.

12. Auto Record Level measures the peak level & automatically adjusts the recording level.

13. Fader lets you fade in or fade out the beginning or end of a song that's being recoded so that the song does not appear to be suddenly cut off. Handy when there isn't much room left on a tape for a complete song.

14. Remote control capability when used with selected Sony receivers. This feature is useless to me since I do not own a Sony receiver.

15. Has Auto Reverse on both decks.

16. Manual is very straightforward in English only &
includes a section at the beginning to help you identify the controls on the panel.

17. Full one-year parts & labor warranty.

ARE THERE ANY SHORTCOMINGS AT ALL?

Yes. My only few shortcomings are these: That the pitch control can only be used for Deck 1. No quick reverse feature, as with my old unit. Recording can only be done through Deck 2. Lacks the power outlet on rear panel.

FINAL THOUGHTS?

Yes! Even though this unit lacks a few of the features that I would have preferred above under the shortcomings list, it still is a very good buy for the money! You can't possibly go wrong if you buy it!!! Makes a great replacement for your old malfunctioning unit, or a great welcome for those of you who longed dearly for a quality dual-deck unit that really makes the difference!


Thank you for taking the time to read this review.



-Daquan.