Made in Japan.

Pioneer's take on the Automatic Tape Calibration routine, the BLE in the name standing for Bias, Level and Equalisation. Basically what happens is that when you insert a blank cassette tape into the recorder and press the BLE button the recorder will automatically record a number of test sequences onto the blank tape, then read the test sequences back and calculate from the results what the optimal bias and equalisation settings are, it will then record new test signals onto the tape then read them off the tape to verify that the original calculations were correct, and if they are not redo the whole process until an optimal solution is found. When optimal results have been archived they are then stored in memory and are used while that tape is in use. Some high end recorder models even store information on the beginning of the tape so when you reinsert the tape later on for rerecording or playback they will optimally adjust to the tape.

    Tape Type 4 - Sony MetalXR