Cheap good “starter” cassette deck

[ramsden]

Hi guys.
After exploring this topic I am still undecided to what deck should I go with from present choices on SH market.

This is my temporary selection, but I am open to other advices.

Denon DR-M22 (£90 + £20 petrol)
Technics RS-B665 (£90 offer + £10 shipping)
Technics RS-B565 (£80 starting bid +£13 shipping) (clean condition, from house clearance)
Denon DRM-800 (£110 + £9 shipping)
Denon DR-M10 (£25 starting bid + £7 shipping)
Aiwa AD-F850 (£90 just serviced, no original power switch)
Technics RS-AZ6 (£130 + £16 shipping)
Yamaha KX-300 (not available atm)
Yamaha KX-330 (£60)
Yamaha KX-580SE (£70 + £10 shipping)

Nowadays “cheap” is not extremely cheap like 10-20 years ago, that’s why this topic.

I also would go for Sony ES (QS) range to match my amp, but those are more expensive.

I also found Nakamichi BX-150E for £120, unfortunately no answer at all from seller on FB market.

Most of those players above are not serviced (except one) and all are advertised as fully working.
Visually mostly in good/ very good shape.

I plan to use original tapes, and perhaps to make some compilations, not many.
Thus playback quality is perhaps more important to me.
Also direct drive is appealing, but if simple servicing can be done by myself, why not.

No idea about deeper servicing/ upgrade prices and who does it in South Yorkshire, if you have some knowledge, please share.

It perhaps would be best if the deck will be easy to operate, reliable, and no tricky adjustments for various tapes etc.

Maybe you have some decks to offer too.

Thank you for the comments.

[struth]

the aiwa was fairly decent.. 3 head if memory serves. seems its been serviced so if done right it would be good. ive still got a denon front tray loader; denon stuff was decent too

[ReggieB]

I think Yamaha cassette decks are a good option secondhand. They are solid decks and tend to go under the radar so often a bargain.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Just remember that its going to be hard to get these things fixed if they break.

[ramsden]

Just remember that its going to be hard to get these things fixed if they break.

Yes, that’s why it should be too expensive. That it can be replaced..

[ramsden]

the aiwa was fairly decent.. 3 head if memory serves. seems its been serviced so if done right it would be good. ive still got a denon front tray loader; denon stuff was decent too

Thank you, yes, I did some research, from price point, the humble Denon DR-M10 might be sufficient for me. Probably not many people have experience with direct comparison of it and let’s say higher range DR-M22 or newer or other models from list. All of them are tempting, perhaps direct drive ones from Technics also - without problems with belts.. hard choice. If working, but actually unknown condition, would I be able to service it or would it needs to go somewhere for servicing/ adjustments.. additional costs for unknown money. Only DR-M22 is one I can go and check it before purchase. If it would be for £50, I would go for that one..

[ramsden]

I think Yamaha cassette decks are a good option secondhand. They are solid decks and tend to go under the radar so often a bargain.

Yes, the people say they are good. I just have a little inner prejudice based on other middle/ lower range of Yamaha other components like CD players and amplifiers.. from what I had chance to listen to.. Like other brands, there is logical compromise in quality/ performance ratio going down from top products. While top ones can be amazing, the compromises down the line can be too much.. that was my feeling regarding Yamaha, who knows, maybe it’s just me..

[struth]

there is a serviced aiwa ad f450 on ebay that looks in decent condition for a ton,, only 2 head but its hard to get a 3 for anywhere near that kind of cash even now.

[AJSki2fly]

I think these were not bad, actually pretty good, if you can go to £200

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225931187...Bk9SR8Tj9eCUYw


See https://www.hifidatabase.com/Technics_RS-BX606_2018.php

and

[ramsden]

there is a serviced aiwa ad f450 on ebay that looks in decent condition for a ton,, only 2 head but its hard to get a 3 for anywhere near that kind of cash even now.

Yes, hard to find anything serviced for that price. The servicing adds roughly £100-200 more to unserviced decks, in this case less then that. I guess I need to go with unserviced one, and if I will like it, then look for next solution..