Worth dumping another $100 into a Sony TC-666D?

[CheeseofBorg]

I found a Sony TC-666D 4 track R2R in near perfect condition a few months ago with its cover still intact. It is a 50hz unit that somehow ended up in the United States, so I printed a 60hz conversion pulley to compensate. After installation, the speed is still a little slow. I have been advised that it needs motor capacitors replaced, and I will be bringing it to Fred Longworth for repairs. I expect the replacement to cost about $100 bucks, which will be on top of the 30 bucks I paid for the unit and the 20 I paid for the the pulley. What do you all think about the worth of this unit? It seems to be a upper mid range unit for the time. Would I be better off putting the money toward a higher end unit such as the Akai GX-77 (I have a lot of the matching units) or the Pioneer RT-707. I already have a high end 2 track unit, so I am looking for a 4 track.

 

[audiojones]

Personally I wouldn't sink any money into it all since it doesn't even have separate record and playback heads. It uses combination rec/play heads for forward and reverse which is fine if you're just going to use it for playing tapes, however IMO for any kind of serious recording you've got to be able to hear what you're actually laying down on the tape which can't be done on a machine with combo heads.

I'd put that money towards a good quality three head (or four to six head in the case of auto-reverse) tape deck with a better build like a TEAC A-2300, A-4300, A-3300, A-6300 or maybe a Pioneer 1011 or 1020L. The GX-77 decks sound great but they are kinda quirky and trouble prone with all the mechanical gizmos Akai put in there. The RT-701 and RT-707 machines are nice too if you can find one that's affordable and isn't completely worn out. If you have the room and can find one consider a Sony TC-755, 756 or 758 deck, these machines are awesome performers and built to a very high standard. You'll need a heavy duty shelf or table for those big Sony decks though, they are heavy.

In short, you can definitely do better with your $.