An excellent VCR for making audio only, Hi-Fi stereo recordings is the Harman Kardon VCD1000. I purchased one of these new in 1985 for around $700. A few years ago I cleaned out my shed and gave a ton of stuff to a local thrift store including the VCD1000. I later realized what a stupid mistake I had made and with a stroke of luck I was able to obtain another one from Craigs List for $30. After a full service, ie: belts, friction wheels, cleaning and lubrication, etc. the VCD is up and running perfectly. I still have the original owners manual and sales brochure.
This deck was the HK flagship VCR from '85 through '87 and was based on the top of the line Mitsubishi deck with cast aluminum transport, transformer power supply and no expense spared electronics. HK then added an audio section of their own design which allowed for audio only to be laid down on the tape using a built in sync signal without vidio information. This unit is a heavy, rock solid, made in Japan VCR, not to be confused with the flimsy units of recent production.
For analog recording of vinyl to tape from my TD-124 w/ SME3009 and Sure V15 Type IV, I have a Nak CR-3A, Luxman K-105 and Sony TC-K677ES cassette decks and also a Teac X-7R reel to reel.
The VCD1000, in my opinion as well as others that have listened, has the greatest dynamic range, no hiss and most faitful to the vinyl reproduction. All VHS recordings were made using the best Maxell or TDK VHS Hi-Fi tape in SP mode, and Maxell XL tapes were used for the standard recorders.
I highly recommend the VCD1000 for VHS audio only recording. Be sure that the deck is serviced and adjusted properly, set it for audio only recording in SP mode, use high quality Hi-Fi tapes and use the same machine to record and play back the tapes. The service and owners manuals are available on the web, and an early Mitsubishi VCR remote works well with the VCD1000.
If you find one of these decks and set it up properly, you won't be disappointed.
