PIONEER CT-W910R VS. CT-S607R, comparison between dual deck and single

[MacGyver]

i recently found a low-use PIONEER CT-S607R at the local GW for $8.50. i have had many people insist to me that any single-well cassette deck is by default better than any dual-well. well, i am here to prove them wrong. the means? these two fine decks:


PIONEER CT-W910R (1989)










PIONEER CT-S607R (1989)











now admittedly, the CT-W910R was the 1989 TOTL dualie, while the CT-S607R was the 1989 midrange single. as such, a comparison seems unfair. still, both decks use the same transport, a similar transformer (the S607R's not being placed into an epoxy filled cast-iron case being the only real difference) and the W910R's higher quality components. as such, this is less a comparison than an assertion of these two decks' quality, and an assertion that the CT-W910R is the best dual well cassette deck that PIONEER ever made, and that it can hold it's own and even trump all but the best single wells. the S607R is no slouch, it being a poor man's CT-S800/CT-91 closely derived from the design of those two superlative decks:


CT-S800




CT-91




so, in sum, these two decks of the thread title are both quite solid, and both record and playback with excellent detail. still, the CT-W910R emerges the winner. with the ability to record any source with a jaw-dropping degree of transparency to the source, it is, in fact, able to use the legendary TDK MA-XG cassette blank to it's maximal potential. by direct A/B comparison, the S607R sounds stuffy and rolled off in the highs. IMO, the CT-W910R is the very best dual-well any PIONEER fan could ask for. by all rights, a double deck simply shouldn't be this smashingly good, but this one actually is. as such, it is HIGHLY recommended...

This post has been edited by MacGyver on January 20, 2009 11:25 am

[MacGyver]

SPECIFICATIONS: CT-W910R