Cassette Deck advice please

[knaithrover]

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a cassette deck to play the multitude of cassettes i have in my loft and garage and was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction of a good 2nd hand model.

Ive been looking at Marantz/Pioneer/Technics/NAD on ebay which seem to go for buttons but don't want to buy completely blind so any pointers would be appreciated

 

[Thompsonuxb]

The main problem with cassette tape is the cassette tape.

The player may be fine but the medium is...... not that great has a storage medium - it's worse than vinyl when it comes to wear.

Google the players you are considering or go for the one in the best Nick.

The nature of tape makes it a lottery over time.

I know some of my best mix tapes from back in the day did not fair we'll after extensive use in cars or my Pioneer sk-757l.

Unless you're able to redo them it's pot luck regards what you'll get even with a quality deck.

 

[empacher]

You should also look at Nakamichi and Teac. An older 3-head Nak, like the CR3a is an excellent deck. Because Nak has a bit of a cult following, it is not impossible to find technicians around that still work on them (at least in my parts). Teac made some nice decks that would be cheaper. Don't know enough about their line to recommend a model.

 

[hg]

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a cassette deck to play the multitude of cassettes i have in my loft and garage

Are the tapes still useable? If you haven't checked it might be worth popping one or two in somebody else's cassette player first before spending any money on hardware.

If you are buying second hand hardware then the state of the machine may be more important than the brand.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I have a Teac V-1050, which was always excellent when I used it, but it's now boxed up, and in the attic. I considered selling a year or so ago, but it was going for less than a small round of drinks at the time, so I decided not to bother.

If you could find one of those for £10 - £15, you'd have got yourself an absolute bargain.

 

[MeanandGreen]

Aiwa and Yamaha were among the best of the entry-mid level decks.

 

[knaithrover]

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a cassette deck to play the multitude of cassettes i have in my loft and garage

Are the tapes still useable? If you haven't checked it might be worth popping one or two in somebody else's cassette player first before spending any money on hardware.

If you are buying second hand hardware then the state of the machine may be more important than the brand.

Yes ive tried them - my Wife's Mini Cooper has a cassette deck and the ones I've tried sound fine.

i don't intend to spend much, certainly going by the prices on ebay for clean looking decent brand kit i shouldnt have to spend more than £50

 

[andyjm]

Ive been toying with the idea of getting a cassette deck to play the multitude of cassettes i have in my loft and garage

Are the tapes still useable? If you haven't checked it might be worth popping one or two in somebody else's cassette player first before spending any money on hardware.

If you are buying second hand hardware then the state of the machine may be more important than the brand.

Yes ive tried them - my Wife's Mini Cooper has a cassette deck and the ones I've tried sound fine.

i don't intend to spend much, certainly going by the prices on ebay for clean looking decent brand kit i shouldnt have to spend more than £50

The binder (glue) used on tapes to stick the magnetic compound to the backing from the 70s onwards was hygroscopic. Depending on the specifics of the manufacturer, the tape and how it was stored, the binder absorbs water and deteriorates. The result is that after a few playings, the tape transport mechanism is bunged-up with tape residue and the playback quality of the tape iteslf deteriorates as the magnetic material is stripped off the tape. Tapes can be recovered for a few playings by baking the tape in a controlled manner, but it doesn't last.

If you have a rare recording or master tape and you want it preserved, there are tape restoration specialists who bake, playback and re-record to new stock. If you have a few 'top of the pops' C60 tapes left over from the 70s, I wouldn't bother. Even when new, cassettes were pretty rubbish, playback from your iPhone will wipe the floor with them.

 

[matthewpiano]

Aiwa AD-F410, Yamaha KX-580, Sony TCK-611S and Technics RS-BX501 are all decent enough tape decks and should be available for next to nothing now.

 

[knaithrover]

Aiwa AD-F410, Yamaha KX-580, Sony TCK-611S and Technics RS-BX501 are all decent enough tape decks and should be available for next to nothing now.

Splendid thanks Matt I will look out for one of these

 

[Rimse]

I am using technics rs-az6 deck mostly for recording music on metal type IV tapes. No iphone or any other portable mp3 player can't compete oldy goldy sony walkman sound quality.Studio recordings made on chrome tapes 15 -20 years ago sounds amazing .

 

[MeanandGreen]

Aiwa AD-F410, Yamaha KX-580, Sony TCK-611S and Technics RS-BX501 are all decent enough tape decks and should be available for next to nothing now.

Splendid thanks Matt I will look out for one of these

if you're looking out for the Aiwa ADF-410 also keep an eye out for the ADF-450, ADF-460 and ADS-750.

 

[andyjm]

I am using technics rs-az6 deck mostly for recording music on metal type IV tapes. No iphone or any other portable mp3 player can't compete oldy goldy sony walkman sound quality.Studio recordings made on chrome tapes 15 -20 years ago sounds amazing .

Hmmn. The cassette was originally designed by Philips for dictation machines. The tape is too slow for decent frequency response, and too narrow for decent channel separation. There is not enough room in the cassette for a reasonable 3 head set up, and the capstan is too thin. A high quality studio machine (Nakamichi or similar) might just manage 20KHz if it was using new tape and had been cleaned and adjusted the day before, home machines were lucky if they saw 12KHz.

A halfway decent mp3 player would walk all over this.

Jesting apart, given the undeniable technical deficiencies in cassettes, it might be worth asking why they sound better to you? Perhaps your equipment has issues, or your hearing might be down on high frequencies?

 

[MajorFubar]

look on ebay for a well cared for Nakamichi DR3. Ignore the Buy It Now prices from no-hopers who think they're worth hundreds. They're not, they don't sell, and they are are relisted ad-nauseam week in week out. You'll get a cracker for about £90 and as a playback machine it'll lay to waste any old midrange three head deck from the likes of Aiwa, Sony or Technics

 

[Marvindodgers]

I use my Yamaha KX-580 from time to time and it's still a great bit of kit and was always a 5 star product at the time (hence why I bought one). I had a quick look on eBay and you should be able to get one for £30-40 I would have thought.

 

[knaithrover]

I use my Yamaha KX-580 from time to time and it's still a great bit of kit and was always a 5 star product at the time (hence why I bought one). I had a quick look on eBay and you should be able to get one for £30-40 I would have thought.

Thanks - I like the look of the 580, its got to be worth a punt at that price

 

[knaithrover]

look on ebay for a well cared for Nakamichi DR3. Ignore the Buy It Now prices from no-hopers who think they're worth hundreds. They're not, they don't sell, and they are are relisted ad-nauseam week in week out. You'll get a cracker for about £90 and as a playback machine it'll lay to waste any old midrange three head deck from the likes of Aiwa, Sony or Technics

I'd never heard of Nakamichi until recently, they are universally highly spoken of online but there's no way i would fork out hundreds on something i may not be using that much. I will however hold out for a deal on one....

Thanks for the advice

 

[MajorFubar]

If you want to play old tapes as opposed to recording new, be wary of budget and mid-range decks from mainstream Japanese manufacturers. I haven't tried the Yamaha KX580 but I've tried many, many decks over the years from the likes of Sony, Aiwa, Technics, Pioneer, Akai, at many price points, and the one trait that's all too common is that the budget/midrange models sounded great playing back their own recordings but all too often sounded absolutely lousy playing back tapes made on other machines, including musicassettes. Some people just blame azimuth differences but more often than not the problem is due to the playback equaliation (PB EQ) of the deck being - often purposefully - way off. Pre-recorded tapes sound dull and lifeless, which is exacerbated by Dolby NR. Some decks (including the Yamaha KX580) and many units from NAD had a play-trim feature which allowed the user to tweak the PB EQ ahead of the Dolby circuit, to inject a bit of life. Sounds like a great feature, but having never owned the KX580 or a NAD, I haven't tried it and I can't vouch for its effectiveness. I can however say with absolute certainty from personal experience that a Nak DR3's PB EQ is absolutely spot-on out the factory.