I recently picked up a Sony Dual cassette 4-band tuner boombox model
CFS-w365s for a song at a consignment shop. This possibly decade-old
portable dustbin turned out to be in perfect shape with a lot of
cleaning and shots of compressed air. I then cleaned both tape decks
and de-magged the play heads.

Both played crisp and clear until two days later, the left(Play Only)
deck lost all it's treble! I performed a quick azimuth alignment on
it, recovering just a little treble. It is still dull compared to the
right(play record) deck.

I then jiggled the cassette in the well and pushed and pulled on the
head(gently of course) and wiggled the wires to the play head - none of
this affected the sound - adversely or otherwise.

What else could cause loss of high-frequency response like that?
Thanks for any tips.

-ChrisCoaster
"Keepin' the old school alive!!"

It is very common that defective capacitors in the audio path will cause
poor frequency response. The characteristics of the failure are depended on
the particular arrangement of the failed parts.

Considering the age of the machine, I would not rule out the head being warn
down, and thus causing the fault. You may be able to find a universal
replacement head by calling around the various parts suppliers. You may also
find an original from Sony if you call one of their authorized parts
distributors.

I have a feeling that this was an regional fault in this unit, and that is
why the former owner sold it. Most of what I have seen being sold as used,
is defective in some way or another. Most people don't sell their things,
unless they are dissatisfied with its performance.

--

Jerry G.
======


"ChrisCoaster" wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently picked up a Sony Dual cassette 4-band tuner boombox model
CFS-w365s for a song at a consignment shop. This possibly decade-old
portable dustbin turned out to be in perfect shape with a lot of
cleaning and shots of compressed air. I then cleaned both tape decks
and de-magged the play heads.

Both played crisp and clear until two days later, the left(Play Only)
deck lost all it's treble! I performed a quick azimuth alignment on
it, recovering just a little treble. It is still dull compared to the
right(play record) deck.

I then jiggled the cassette in the well and pushed and pulled on the
head(gently of course) and wiggled the wires to the play head - none of
this affected the sound - adversely or otherwise.

What else could cause loss of high-frequency response like that?
Thanks for any tips.

-ChrisCoaster
"Keepin' the old school alive!!"

ChrisCoaster wrote:

I recently picked up a Sony Dual cassette 4-band tuner boombox model
CFS-w365s for a song at a consignment shop. This possibly decade-old
portable dustbin turned out to be in perfect shape with a lot of
cleaning and shots of compressed air. I then cleaned both tape decks
and de-magged the play heads.

Both played crisp and clear until two days later, the left(Play Only)
deck lost all it's treble! I performed a quick azimuth alignment on
it, recovering just a little treble. It is still dull compared to the
right(play record) deck.

I then jiggled the cassette in the well and pushed and pulled on the
head(gently of course) and wiggled the wires to the play head - none of
this affected the sound - adversely or otherwise.

What else could cause loss of high-frequency response like that?
Thanks for any tips.

-ChrisCoaster
"Keepin' the old school alive!!"

Look closely at the head gap. chances are if it was working OK, that
a micro sized piece of crud is lodged over the gap. Scrub it and scrub it
aggressively again with a Q tip and cleaner.

Also, check to make sure the head mount screws are not loose or missing.

Bob

one thing you may want to check is whether the head mech slides fully
towards the tape when play is pressed - i have seen a few old sharps
etc. where the head platter actually was not sliding properly (old
grease) and not making full contact with the tape, hence muffled audio.
its a long shot, i know....

cue and review mechs may have this also if they are out of condition
-Ben

Head wear. Happens all the time, and on a cassette it's usually the left side
first, that's because it's the edge track.

On a decent cassette deck there used to be EQ and Dolby calibration pots,
enough of a control set to restore the sound if the head amp is quiet enough,
but I doubt it's possible on a boombox. On a good deck if you could actually
hear treble and it wasn't too hissy you could recalibrate it for the worn head.
You wouldn't attain original specs., but you could make it sound decent. In
your case you should probably replace the head. They are cheap if you know
where to get stuff. The problem is changing it.

If you go that route, when you align it run the output into a mono amp or a
switched to mono amp, I mean mixing both channels. This will allow you to do a
much more accurate azimuth alignment.

Since the problem happened all at once for you, it's likely that the head is
not completely roached, but the wear is making the oxide from the tape scrape
off into or over the gap.If you want to be cheap you might polish it or
something. . . . . .

JURB