Teac V-8030S

Last biggie cassette recorder for the other most respected home-taping brand.

The V-8030S is basically an evolution of the previous V-7010 ('89) and V-8000S ('91) siblings - the similarity is present even to the specifications which are, audio-wise, distortion-wise, absolutely identical.

Same r/p heads made of 14 layers of Amorphous Cobalt, both PC-OCC wired up to the magnetic coils, same dual-capstan Quartz Locked mechanism with different flywheel sizes to avoid cyclical redundancies.

Same capstan surface with 1µ pattern groove to avoid potential tape slippage. Same sturdy steel chassis holding sub and sub-sub-chassis, same non-resonant ceramic compound underneath the drive and in the four feet. Antistatic stabilizer behind the door, too, zinc head cast support, and a motorized door.

Same electronic and display features with margin reset, bias/level settings, auto-monitor, MPX filter, Dolby B, C & HX-Pro, CD direct input, FET inputs etc.

Differences lie in the internal structure, the amount of copper-plating (absolutely none in the 8030S, a lot in the 7010 and 8000S), and the famed but arriving too late (- to save a drowning witch) Dolby S which the 7010 doesn't have but the other two do.
If Dolby S never really made it nor finally convinced that many people, it certainly came too late : those that had jumped the way of DAT before S was even rumored to maybe happen really didn't care anymore about tape hiss and high-frequency losses...

Looks also differ a lot, showing the late 1980s to mid 1990s trends : black Star Trek door and wood sideburns for the 7010, shiny gold and composite sideburns for the 8000S, discrete frills, broadcast transport pads and no sideburns for the V-8030S.
The 8030S was also available in champagne colour (much better) and so was the V-6030S sibling which mainly swapped a Direct-Drive capstan motor for a cheaper DC-Servo and lost 1kg.

But all three are basically varied versions the same recorder which all use the same mechanism and heads ; the last one, the V-8030S, having the more "industrial" and common build quailty.
It should be noted that the V-7010 and V-8000S were made by Teac Corporation in Japan, therefore perhaps by Alpine, while the 8030S/6030S were made in Taiwan, therefore perhaps by somebody else than Teac or Alpine.
Sign of the times.

The V-8030S is a contemporary of the Sony TC-K555ESJ and TC-K333ESJ which both sold much, much better : Sony made its own mechanisms, heads and Dolby chips, copper-plated everything and then some. Sales-wise, back then, it showed.

As for many TEAC cassette recorders, the V-8030S is likely to use a mechanism sourced from Alpine - TEAC's core business was reel-to-reel, not cassette.
Teac took some four years before developing its very own CD mechanism (the famed VRDS, after the 1983 NEC and 1984/85 Sony outsourcing) while relying on others as well for anything beyond... reel-to-reel.


Detailed nudies of a gold 8030S here.