Tascam 130 Cassette Deck

This Tascam 130 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B/C and HX-Pro noise reduction, it was first sold by Tascam in 1999 with a recommended retail price of USD $540 and discontinued a year later.

The main features of the Tascam 130 cassette deck are: 3 heads and no off-tape monitoring to save production cost, digital linear tape counter with 4 digits, tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and metal tapes.

Typical front loading cassette deck with the cassette compartiment located on the center of the deck. Tape eject is operated mechanically and the cassette needs to be placed with the side to be played facing forward in the cassette well.

Level meters used on the Tascam 130 cassette deck are generic digital peak reading meters. Full-logic transport controls used on the Tascam 130 let it respond to the slightest finger contact for fast and effortless transport function selection. Playback speed may be adjusted with pitch control.

Dolby C-type used in the Tascam 130 provides 20 dB of noise reduction above about 1,000 Hz, fully doubling the amount given by B-type. The Dolby HX PRO system provides precise bias control during recording to reduce distortion and improve linearity in the high-frequency range, the result is recorded sound that is highly faithful to the original. The 19kHz multiplex pilot slgnal present in FM stereo broadcasts can cause false triggering of the noise reduction system. The switchable MPX filter of the 130 filters out the pilot signal, and assuring proper Dolby processing of FM stereo programs.

For undisturbed listening a jack connector for a pair of stereo headphones is supplied. Connection to other audio components for plaback can be achieved by a RCA cable and recording from a source by a RCA cable. All main transport commands can be issued remotely with a wireless remote control.