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Belt kits for Denon cassette deck

cj66

cj66

pfm Member
Inspired by a recent advert for a DRM14 and opening a box of cassettes, many of which I have no other copy of but also for some nostalgic fun.

I have an old DRM44HX that I wish to pull from storage. The belts and possibly pinch rollers will be toast, almost for sure.
I remember a guy in the States used to sell belt kits, is he still going (business name "Mars...."?or similar)? Any others?

I may need to clean and regrease the mechanism as well, any recommendations there would be helpful too.
I'd like to gather all the necessary before I dive in, rather than a discover and wait approach.

Yes, I could simply listen/download the music digitally but where's the fun in that :cool:
 
You might be lucky - I have a DRM34HR from 1989 which spent a good 15 years unused and has never been serviced or opened but worked just fine when I came back to it, as it still does today. The only issue mine has is a rather exuberant eject mechanism.

I don't know this for certain but seem to recall reading that these Denons have quite robust pinch rollers and belts (and may not use as many belts as other decks do), so after a clean of the heads and tape path I'd give it a go.

You may get some help on here but I'd expect the TapeHeads forum to offer more.
 
I've had peak inside.

The belts are not a guest mess as I feared and the pinch rollers look ok.

In operation the mech. can be reluctant to engage, especially FF and RW. Possibly running marginally slow on play as well.

The fly wheels belt is definitely loose so a new belt may be all it takes to get the beastie going properly....
 
Marrs has been ... problematic for the past five years or so.

You can try this, although I have no idea of the quality:

https://webspareparts.eu/products/d...for-cassette-deck?_pos=1&_sid=24c151917&_ss=r

Better check tapeheads.net for info on the DR-M44. Dual capstan decks are usually very picky and bad belts can be the source of many problems.

If there is an idler in there it may be glazed, requiring heavy running-in again or replacement.


Here is a tool for checking speed and wow&flutter: http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/Tape_Recording/Service/wfgui_8.zip

And (real) test tapes:

http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/index.php?cat=post&qry=alignment_tapes

https://www.ebay.de/sch/hanspeterroth/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

Beware of improperly made test tapes offered on ebay and such: these are generally useless, as you really cannot make a valid alignment tape on an ordinary consumer deck. Except for speed.
 
Thanks for that. Already have a lead from tapeheads and those links may come in handy too :cool:
 
cj66 said:
I found the appropriate thread at tapeheads,
https://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=15599

I was even close on the supplier "Marrs Communications".

Making contact to see if he's still around and can supply...
"Website suspended", damn.
Click to expand...

Fred’s dead baby, Fred’s dead.

His daughter Krista took over and ran the business alongside her Tarot reading ‘service’ She learned her customer service skills from her old man and took them to a whole new level by not taking 6 months to ship after taking your money to not shipping ever.

Then she tried to scam a Go Fund Me by saying her house and business had burned down, but the picture was of a different address entirely…

https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/marrs-not-shipping-again.832433/

2nd time this week I’ve had occasion to post this information!
 
Crikey, Marrs was always a little erratic but that's a very damning link.
Many eons ago I had a Nak 505e belt kit from him. Took a while but did the job nicely.
I've contacted a European outfit given on tapeheads...
 
Yes Marrs used to be good but declined in recent years and now stopped trading, reading tapeheads numerous people have been left our of pocket. Which is a shame as they did sell good belts 10 years ago but started charging a fortune for shipping...

The Denon M44 is direct drive so not as fussy about belt size as belt driven decks. PRB list the FRW9.1 belt for the M4 which uses the same DD transport. You could also try the FRSP9.2 belt.

This one from CPC is worth a go at this price: https://cpc.farnell.com/unbranded/belt7/belt-flat-77-0x4-1mm-diaxw-0-6mm/dp/AVBELT7
 
Thanks for that, still waiting for the recommendation from tapeheads to reply o_O so may try this if they remain silent.
 
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