Choosing a Tape Deck

[The_Lhc]

Picking this conversation out into its own thread to avoid contaminatiing the Major's thread.

The question I asked was, what's a good 2nd hand tape deck for ripping old cassettes to PC:

Look for mid-range or top-end examples of players from the late 80s and early 90s which don't seem to have been thrashed and you'll be ok.

How do you tell if it's been thrashed?

Anything good from Akai, Denon, Technics, Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood;

Well that's kind of the question, how do you know which are the good ones? I presume these guys made decks at all price levels, I'd like as good a one as I can get, although I don't want to spend hundreds (or even thousands that some of the Naks seems to be commanding).

If you're ripping tapes recorded from lots of different machines (which you will be if you're ripping commercial tapes), buy a cheap set of jewelers screwdrivers so you can adjust the azimuth correctly for each tape before you rip. It might even be slightly different from side A to side B. (Setting the azimuth on most three head decks is a PITA so avoid those). Oh and expect to end up cleaning the heads once every tape, as old cassettes are often found to be shedding quite badly.

Hummm, suddenly this doesn't sound like much fun and it was a 3 head decks I was looking at recently, I thought they were supposed to be better? I don't even know how to clean the heads (in fact I'm not even sure which bit is the heads!).

 

[simonlewis]

How about this.

 

[sashavlad]

I must say I had quite a good giggle following your link. I would never have imagined such a thing, but alas it exists!

Good find, Simon!

 

[MajorFubar]

As always, first question is what's your budget. I'll make an assumption you're looking for a good used deck and not a new one (not many new ones made now anyhow). Oh and look on YouTube about how to clean cassette player heads. Forgive me, I forget that these kind of skills are not second nature for everybody these days, and I didn't even for one second give it a thought that you wouldn't know how to clean and adjust the heads. But don't let that put you off, it's not hard to clean cassette player heads.

 

[chebby]

There is a good Yahama KX-580 SE on ebay at the moment for £90 BIN + £15 postage from Cheltenham Hi-Fi (their feedback looks good).

You'll get most of that back when you have finished with it and sell it on.

I used the same machine for over a decade and gave it to my older brother who is still using it. Very slick machines, very even winding/rewinding, good quality sound.

Use a new cotton bud with a drop of tape head cleaning fluid to clean the heads and the capstan drive 'needle' (do that bit whilst 'play' then 'pause' are pressed so that the black rubber wheel is dis-engaged). Use the corner of a lint free cloth slightly moistened with water to clean the black rubber wheel. (Any alcohol will remove rubber as well as dirt and - after a while - could lead to it running eccentrically.)

 

[The_Lhc]

As always, first question is what's your budget.

Dunno, hadn't thought about it that far! Just been looking at decks on ebay and would have made a judgment on it as the auctions reach a close. Probably £1-200 but certainly no more than that.

I'll make an assumption you're looking for a good used deck and not a new one (not many new ones made now anyhow).

Yup.

Oh and look on YouTube about how to clean cassette player heads. Forgive me, I forget that these kind of skills are not second nature for everybody these days, and I didn't even for one second give it a thought that you wouldn't know how to clean and adjust the heads.

I haven't even looked at a tape deck for about 8 years or so.

But don't let that put you off, it's not hard to clean cassette player heads.

How would you know when the heads need adjusting though? What are you listening out for?

 

[The_Lhc]

There is a good Yahama KX-580 SE on ebay at the moment for £90 BIN + £15 postage from Cheltenham Hi-Fi (their feedback looks good).

You'll get most of that back when you have finished with it and sell it on.

I used the same machine for over a decade and gave it to my older brother who is still using it. Very slick machines, very even winding/rewinding, good quality sound.

Ok, one to add to the list, ta.

Use a new cotton bud with a drop of tape head cleaning fluid to clean the heads

Makes a lot of sense I guess!

and the capstan drive 'needle' (do that bit whilst 'play' then 'pause' are pressed so that the black rubber wheel is dis-engaged). Use the corner of a lint free cloth slightly moistened with water to clean the black rubber wheel. (Any alcohol will remove rubber as well as dirt and - after a while - could lead to it running eccentrically.)

No worries, what could possibly go wrong!?

 

[MajorFubar]

How would you know when the heads need adjusting though? What are you listening out for?

Usually if you've cleaned the heads but the treble is still muffled and burbly on tapes recorded on another machine, sometimes tweaking the azimuth screw a quarter-turn one way or the other fixes the problem. Another big clue is when you switch to mono and the treble gets even worse (it's easier to set the azimuth in mono, but not vital). It doesn't mean the heads are wrong on your deck, it just means they're not aligned with the tape at exactly the same angle as the recorder. Most people probably wouldn't worry about it, but from the perspective of making 'archive quality' rips from tape, and if your OCD is as bad as mine, it can be beneficial. On a machine where the the cassette is loaded tape-side down (so most of them), the azimuth screw is the screw on the left hand side of the RP head and has a small spring behind it to keep the head in consistently the same place.

 

[The_Lhc]

Ah ok, very useful, thanks very much!

I will have forgotten all that by the time I actually get hold of a machine of course but it's much appreciated anyway!

 

[MajorFubar]

No worries, I don't know very much about modern digital HiFis and AV, so it's a pleasure when someone asks about ancient forgotten skills that I can actually help with.

 

[Anonymous]

Take a look on Gumtree - search for ' Cassette Deck ' lots for £ 20-30, there is a Nak for £ 178. The problem with old decks are the rubber drive belts, they rot if not used on a regular basis. You can sometimes pick up a replacement set on Ebay. I would try before I parted with cash. Take your headphones as most will have a headphone output. I would also ask to connect it to a source and record a couple of tracks, this will give you an idea of the maximum quality of playback. I listen to old tapes ( FM live broadcasts 1970-80's ) they are OK but not up to modern Hifi standards. Other things to consider are the tape types you have - the bias type's are Normal, Cr02 and Metal and if you cannot switch to match the tape type the audio quality could/will be poor. Also has Dolby or DBX noise reduction been used on the tapes, you have to be able to match this as well. - Hope you find a good deck.

 

[MajorFubar]

While a lot of what you say is true, I think you've just frightened the bejaysus out of him.

 

[The_Lhc]

No, not really, I know about chrome and metal and nr and all that, the only issue is I'm unlikely to be able actually try any out before I buy, I simply don't have the time to travel anywhere really, so it'll have to be a "blind" purchase unfortunately.

 

[chebby]

Or you could just buy a brand new deck (one even has onboard USB recording)...

http://www.teac-audio.eu/en/Cassette-Decks-84577.html

http://www.harrowaudiohifi.co.uk/products/1300-teac-w890r-w-890-r-w890-r.aspx

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/teac_ad800.shtml?googlecpc

 

[formbypc]

"How do you tell if it's been thrashed?"

Look at the general condition. Open the cassette door and look at the tape head and capstan assembly with a good strong light or torch.

The tape head should have a curved profile, and shouldn't show excessive wear. If there's a valley worn across the middle of the head, the same width as the width of the tape, the deck should be avoided. A tape head that still looks untouched is generally a good sign. Look in google images for 'tape head wear' or similar terms - I would post some here, but we don't seem to have picture upload options..

Someone mentioned earlier that 3-head machines were more of a pain to azimuth-adjust than 2-head; surely this is irrelevant to the OP, who will be using the deck for playback only, and hence adjustment of the separate record head will be irrelevant?

 

[formbypc]

Sorry, didn't see that you'd said you had to buy blind before I typed that last missive....

 

[formbypc]

This Denon on UK eBay is described as New, but you may want to check this with the seller - currently at £6.05, 1 day 12 hours to go.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Denon-DRM-600-Stereo-Cassette-Tape-Deck-/140879022992?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Cassette_Tape_Players&hash=item20cd0b4b90

If you can collect from Newton Abbott, this one is described as Never Used, and the seller can offer a warranty

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DENNON-DRW-695-PRO-DOUBLE-CASSETTE-DECK-NEW-NEVER-USED-/181016412098?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Cassette_Tape_Players&hash=item2a256b3fc2

Brand-new Technics for £150

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-Technics-RS-BX404-Cassette-Recorder-Player-Deck-/321004079567?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Cassette_Tape_Players&hash=item4abd5589cf

From a brief look at their listings, any of these would be worth considering