I purchased this Pioneer ct-s830 cassette deck locally near where i live and wow didnt realise that audio cassettes could sound so good. recording from cd or minidisc to chrome or metal tape with dolby s engaged sound fantastic and add a lovely analogue sound which i prefer to listen too. a beast of a machine with build quality to match. no wow or flutter and virtually silent operation complete this deck..pure quality!!! recommended...

I have used a CTS 830S since 1997. In that time, I have archived over 500 albums from my Pink Triangle Anniversary/SME V/Lyra Lydian deck as well as listening to pre-recorded tapes and self-recorded tapes and the sound quality is superlative using TDK SA, Maxell UDXL and a variety of metal tapes.

It's easy to use, utterly reliable (never needed any attention) and has both an extended frequency response and low tape noise.

One of the best pieces of audio equipment I've owned and recommended unreservedly.

I've just revisited and read Jochen's rant. I agree with him that Japanese engineering is excellent, which is why I was surprised that the transport of my deck broke down. Failures, in my experience, are the exception rather than the rule.

By way of an update, and in fairness to Pioneer, the capstan motor was replaced by my dealer and the deck has continued to make superb recordings ever since. If I was rating the deck only on sound quality I'd give it 5 stars. The 3 star ratings reflect my (possibly unlucky) experience with the mechanics.

I bought this one about three years ago after a big disappointment with Sony.Until now it is the best analog recorder I ever heard. Some HiFi mags rate it higher than the top Nakamichis but I did not have the opportunity to make a direct comparison so far.

Features:
- dual capstan
- three heads
- reliable automatic tape calibration
- additional manual bias correction possible
- very robust drive
- Dolby B/C/S/HX Pro

We made a blind test with my brother-in-law´s DAT recorder (Teac). OK, the Teac finally won, but we were both surprised how long it took to find the differences. For the Pioneer we used a TDK MA (metal) tape and Dolby S. Metal tapes are pretty cheap in Germany nowadays (C90 = DM 3,95 = US-$ 2,20 per piece)

This deck was bought on the basis of rave reviews about two and a half years ago. It has spent at least one year in for repair on several different occasions with a tape chewing problem. My advice is do not even consider it as an option. I certainly will not be buying any more tape decks by Pioneer. The rest of my equipment, by the way, is British made by companies like Roxan, Pink Triangle, Heybrook and Musical Fidelity - and it all works!

Having heard this deck over a friend's place there was no doubt this was one of the best sounding cassette decks I have ever heard. Previously I had an Aiwa ADS-950 3 head Dolby S deck, but this was plagued by a bad flutter problem. Not so with the Pioneer, no matter how hard I try, and on how many different occasions, when loaded with a TDK MA90 blank cassette I cannot pick out wow or flutter, indeed sometimes when I thought I had, it turned out to be the original source.
There is minor treble lift but this doesn't detract from a deck which I can trust. Unlike others I have tried the performance doesn't vary from deck to deck. Cassettes made on my friend's 830S play just as well on my deck. It also makes highly compatible recordings which sound good in anything from a tranny to a car stereo cassette deck.

The deck's frequency response is easily better than CD (extends up to 25KHz) so there's a lot of un-used potential there. Dynamic range isn't the highest due to the meters only showing to +6dB instead of +8 or +10, but this doesn't detract from a deck which actually feels like you've spent £500 on it.

To those who have had a bad experience with cassette decks, this is one to renew the faith. If you've had problems with an 830S, you're in the minority and should get the deck replaced not repaired.

Build, sound quality.

none

Replaced my cts550s and previous Sony & Teac decks. Sound quality, as reviewers say is up with Nakas I've heard. Earlier reviewer (with all British equipment) bemoans reliability, well for anyone to serious claim that British electronic build quality is BETTER than Japanese is the most ridiculous, ill-educated, partisan, head in the sand twaddle I've heard since...well...EVER! As is mentioned by various people in the PIONEER PS-S06 CD player it review, it trounces higher priced British kit for build and finish,...but sadly there still seems to be a "we're better than them" attitude in a few audiophile circles. They pay £4000 for a cd player purely and solely because the majority of people can't afford one so it makes them feel elite and superior to us commoners who shouldn't be allowed HiFi. You only have to compare Pace and Amstrad's "take home now, incinerate later" crap to their equally priced competition from the likes of Sony and Toshiba in TVs and Videos etc to get a taste of British finish and reliability. Miles Hand also comments on a problem he had but he does it objectively, and in my wide experience any reliability problems with Pioneer or for that matter any good Japanese maker is the exception rather than the rule. Sorry to rant, but I really get irritated by generalised jingoism. Anyway, upshot - good player, go buy one.

Similar Products Used:

varous

It makes fine recordings. Dolby S is very successful.

It breaks.

I also bought this deck on the basis of reviews which emphasised its high quality engineering, and it certainly seemed to record and play without any trace of instability. I was very disappointed when the transport packed up after 13 months, but my dealer repaired it for free on the grounds that it shouldn't have happened to such a top notch machine. Yesterday 22 July 2000, the transport failed again.

In a recorder which is supposed to give a Nakamichi a run for its money, a failure every twelve months is unacceptable.