View Full Version : Cassette Players , Anyone use them ?
Audio Al
06-08-2015, 13:55
OK Fess up
Who still has and uses a cassette player ?
ME :D
Nope,
I have a couple in the loft somewhere, and I even have a cassette drive in my computer which I used to use for digitizing purposes, but I've not used any of them for years.
Gordon Steadman
06-08-2015, 14:15
We have two players. I last used one of them for transferring Under Milk Wood onto the Mac (sorry Guv but I didn't know at the time that is was illegal see, I thought I have already paid for it)
The sound is still pretty good but I guess it really is about convenience. Even LP is quicker to move from track to track. It might be said of course, that encouraging us to listen to the whole thing is a good idea.
DarrenHW
06-08-2015, 14:27
I do, I use it for recording albums for the Volvo. Far nicer sounding than the CD player and doesn't skip on rough roads.
I enjoy making cassettes too, reminds me of making cassettes to listen to in my Walkman whilst doing my paper round.
I have a Technics RS-AZ7 which I picked up at a carboot for £1!
Audio Al
06-08-2015, 14:58
I have a Technics RS-AZ7 which I picked up at a carboot for £1!
Lucky you :eek:
Audio Al
06-08-2015, 15:03
My next machine will be one of these
Sony K-611S (3 head) Dolby S cassette deck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY87gA-CI_k
Kindly donated by a WW member , its being collected Friday so hopefully I will have it Monday
New belts ordered from Germany :)
DarrenHW
06-08-2015, 15:04
To make it even sweeter I preferred it to the Nak BX125E I had at the time so stuck that on eBay. Can't remember what it sold for but I did well out of the deal as I'd pulled the Nak out of a skip, happy days!
DarrenHW
06-08-2015, 15:06
My next machine will be one of these
Sony K-611S (3 head) Dolby S cassette deck
Nice! Looks like it has a real time counter?
Gordon Steadman
06-08-2015, 15:17
Sony TC-RX50 and Pioneer TC757. Not sure how they rate in the grand scheme of things but he Pioneer certainly sounds very good. The Sony awaits a service.
I have a Nakamichi BX-125, which I had optimised for TDK metal tape. I also have a Nakamichi BX-2.
Used them to make tapes for the car and to tape music off the radio and TV; so about 200 cassettes in all! Use neither machine now and have disconnected them from my system. I'm thinking of selling them.
My next machine will be one of these
Sony K-611S (3 head) Dolby S cassette deck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY87gA-CI_k
Kindly donated by a WW member , its being collected Friday so hopefully I will have it Monday
New belts ordered from Germany :)
It was a Sony machine (can't remember the model number) I once had that made me realise I could make tape copies to the same level of quality as those I made on my Ferrograph 632T reel-to-reel machine. With a lot less fuss, trouble and expense!
Pioneer CT-W505R bought in a bundle with a Pioneer multiplay CDP, Goodmans (!) Amp, Tuner & Graphic Equaliser & some Sony AV speakers all for the princely sum of £2.20. I mainly use it for playing old mix tapes from the eighties and nineties, brings back some memories.
dantheman91
06-08-2015, 17:24
I have a DENON DRR-M10 / YAMAHA KX 580SE / MARANTZ 5050M
THAT,LL DO......:D
Arkless Electronics
06-08-2015, 18:15
I have several but no I don't use them at all ever.... I was glad when better (digital) methods came along for convenience use and the damn things could be relegated to history. They were never a truly hifi medium other than one specific make and model............ yes obviously the Nak CR7E! I do still use reel to reel though as it sounds superb!
Still got 2 but not currently using. I was last year
Skip loads! Over the years E.g.
Departed- Nak 680ZX, CR7E, ZX9
Clinging on- ReVoX B215, Sony EL-7 Elcasett.
I have a 611 sitting in my rack...just to fill up the gap!
My next machine will be one of these
Sony K-611S (3 head) Dolby S cassette deck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY87gA-CI_k
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY87gA-CI_k)Kindly donated by a WW member , its being collected Friday so hopefully I will have it Monday
New belts ordered from Germany :)
Pete The Cat
06-08-2015, 19:29
Yamaha KX-580 (gift from a good friend) for the labour of love of converting many years' worth of my own and friends' mixtapes, radio programmes, concerts and, ahem, boots to digital. It doesn't matter that the same content can be often sourced online nowadays, nothing beats hearing those actual Peel, Vance et al shows just as I recorded them at the time.
Pete
PaulStewart
06-08-2015, 19:43
I have several decks in use regularly. The main system is a 3 head Dolby HX Pro/C Pioneer CTS800 a great machine with a copper honeycomb construction chassis. I also have a couple of Denons and 2 Sonys. One of the Denons is in my studio and is a broadcast unit. From my days as a record producer and music publisher (I still do both part time) and my time on the radio in the states, I have hundreds of demos and pre release tapes, which I still like to play. Sadly, the two decks i want I no longer have. I launched them onto the UK market for JVC, the KD95 the top of the range audiophile unit which was based on a broadcast deck made for the home market and the KD-A8, this was around 79 and was top of the first range of cassette decks to work with pure metal tape. It also featured Bias, Eq and Sensitivity Tunwing B.E.S.T., a system for optimising the unit for each tape before it was recorded. We launched them is association with 3M who developed the first pure metal tapes. Tandberg did have a R2R that would work with metal, but their first go at a C-Deck kept bursting into flames as the heads couldn't take the energy. So we got the first ones onto the market.
I sold both of mine when I moved to te States for a few years along with my QL-8 TT. My next C-Deck will be some kind of Nakamichi I think
Audio Al
06-08-2015, 19:56
I have several decks in use regularly. The main system is a 3 head Dolby HX Pro/C Pioneer CTS800 a great machine with a copper honeycomb construction chassis. I also have a couple of Denons and 2 Sonys. One of the Denons is in my studio and is a broadcast unit. From my days as a record producer and music publisher (I still do both part time) and my time on the radio in the states, I have hundreds of demos and pre release tapes, which I still like to play. Sadly, the two decks i want I no longer have. I launched them onto the UK market for JVC, the KD95 the top of the range audiophile unit which was based on a broadcast deck made for the home market and the KD-A8, this was around 79 and was top of the first range of cassette decks to work with pure metal tape. It also featured Bias, Eq and Sensitivity Tunwing B.E.S.T., a system for optimising the unit for each tape before it was recorded. We launched them is association with 3M who developed the first pure metal tapes. Tandberg did have a R2R that would work with metal, but their first go at a C-Deck kept bursting into flames as the heads couldn't take the energy. So we got the first ones onto the market.
I sold both of mine when I moved to te States for a few years along with my QL-8 TT. My next C-Deck will be some kind of Nakamichi I think
Paul
Sounds like you have a amazing history in music and broadcasting :)
Yamaha KX-580 (gift from a good friend) for the labour of love of converting many years' worth of my own and friends' mixtapes, radio programmes, concerts and, ahem, boots to digital. It doesn't matter that the same content can be often sourced online nowadays, nothing beats hearing those actual Peel, Vance et al shows just as I recorded them at the time.
Pete
Gave up on that ghost Pete when I gave my (unused binbag full of) cassettes to someone.
Convenience and (sadly) sound quality allowed digital recording to take precedence and it didn't matter to me anymore.
That said, hear you on remembering where you were when you recorded that "thing on radio".
That's why I got back in to vinyl...its hands on, dirt under the fingernails involvement I remember where I was when I first heard that song, bought that album...etc.
Digital cant do that. :)
Analogue recording, honestly, its worthy and worth spending money on...
..but only if you have a reel 2 reel...can even a Nak do what that does? (Heard a R2R recently and was blown away)
Audio Advent
06-08-2015, 21:06
Yeah, I have one and use it occasionally as I've quite a few cassettes from when you could buy them in charity shops. They tend not to sell them any more.. but when you do and you get a good sounding album for 25p it helps make a happier day. Used to listen much more to cassettes though when I had one in my car. Different car now and made the mistake of getting something slightly fancy with ipod control but it's a pain to use whilst driving. Think I'm going to go back to a cassette machine and just use the fm transmitter I have for my phone..
Quite a few albums I only have on cassette like certain Kraftwerk - too expensive on vinyl and why CD when I could download or copy the cassette to digital. They sound great on cassette.
tommy6206
06-08-2015, 22:25
I have a few in use.Nak MR1, Pioneer CT-1250 and the granddaddy of them al Technics rs9900
topoxforddoc
06-08-2015, 22:33
Just got one now - my Nak Dragon, rebuilt by Alex Nikitin with a full set of ANT4066 mods.
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 05:20
Just got one now - my Nak Dragon, rebuilt by Alex Nikitin with a full set of ANT4066 mods.
My DREAM machine :eyebrows:
Paul
Sounds like you have a amazing history in music and broadcasting :)
lucky guy,must have earned it,charlie
jandl100
07-08-2015, 07:07
What?!!? - no willy waving yet? Tsk, tsk -- shame on you lot.
Here's mine (my cassette deck, not my willy) ....
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF0306_zps64c0feed.jpg (http://s262.photobucket.com/user/jandl100/media/DSCF0306_zps64c0feed.jpg.html)
Just had it refurbed; new belts, alignment fettled etc .... and it is sounding mighty fine.
I've a fair sized collection of commercial pre-recorded tapes courtesy of local charity shops. Dolby on the cassette deck turned off, just dial in the treble cut on the Marantz receiver appropriate to the emphasis used on the tape (they are all different!) and lovely music ensues. :thumbsup:
Gordon Steadman
07-08-2015, 07:15
What?!!? - no willy waving yet? Tsk, tsk -- shame on you lot.
Here's mine (my cassette deck, not my willy) ....
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF0306_zps64c0feed.jpg (http://s262.photobucket.com/user/jandl100/media/DSCF0306_zps64c0feed.jpg.html)
Just had it refurbed; new belts, alignment fettled etc .... and it is sounding mighty fine.
I've a fair sized collection of commercial pre-recorded tapes courtesy of local charity shops. Dolby on the cassette deck turned off, just dial in the treble cut on the Marantz receiver appropriate to the emphasis used on the tape (they are all different!) and lovely music ensues. :thumbsup:
That's proper man's hi-fi that is Jerry. Just can't beat some nice big blue meters zapping back and forth:)
disgusting, showing off your deck like that, and first thing too![emoji2] Love it Jerry, so you dont get persecuted all alone
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/07/645e3435b1ba8a3bd76974664c6b5f2a.jpg
jandl100
07-08-2015, 07:35
ooo, yum - love that Akai, Grant.
Shameless, you are, shameless. :lol:
Gordon Steadman
07-08-2015, 07:43
I'm being sorely tempted by this. I can't believe any comapany would seriously use the expression 'Direct - o- matic'!! Sounds more 50's than 79/80's.
seen those before... nice decks with the no cover just small levers that pop down to hold the cassette in position. easy to clean heads too. have a lead in system too. late 70,s i think.
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 09:51
A Classic combo Jerry , Very nice
I found a seller at the local boot sale who was asking £1.50 each for cassettes :eek:
Beobloke
07-08-2015, 09:51
I have a Sony TC-K61 and a WM-D6C Walkman Pro that are my main cassette sources. I also rescued a Yamaha K-850 from being thrown away and spent three hours on it the night before last but it still needs more fettling. I also have a Sanyo RD-XM1 hi-fi microcassette deck that some of you may have seen at Scalford this year.
And I'm sure there's something else compact and neat that I've got tucked away somewhere. Let me think.......oh yes, I remember - a Technics RS-9900!! :D
http://www.thevintageknob.org/technics-RS-9900US.html
I used to have one a few years ago and found it a tiny bit disappointing to be honest. No metal tape compatibility and limited abilities on chrome due to the type of heads fitted (record levels had to be kept low). However, it did sound superb on Normal and FeCr tapes (yes, I found 3 NOS ones on eBay!). However, after months of not using it I rashly decided to sell it (to Alex Nikitin as it happens) and that was that, or so I thought....
The trouble was, I kept seeing pictures of them and reading the occasional tales of people buying one and I realised I missed the big, ugly brute. So when I chanced upon one on eBay that had 3 hours to go, was just around the corner from a friend I happened to be visiting that weekend and wasn't attracting much attention due to the two leads that connect the two units being missing, I had to give it a go. I won it and still haven't done anything with it three months later, but it's creeping up the 'jobs' list!
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 09:57
but it's creeping up the 'jobs' list! :)
Nice kit Adam , Am I getting any nearer the top of the " Job List " :lol:
Gordon Steadman
07-08-2015, 10:01
Tempted to have a listen and it ain't half bad. Of course there are those that say it's not hi-fi but the music is there, it is entirely enjoyable and I just relaxed and listened to the music:eek:
As said previously, I think the reason not to use them now is convenience rather than any hi-fi snobbery.
I'm waiting for Nick to join in with his Studer cassette machine. Now we're talking!
Tempted to have a listen and it ain't half bad. Of course there are those that say it's not hi-fi but the music is there, it is entirely enjoyable and I just relaxed and listened to the music:eek:
As said previously, I think the reason not to use them now is convenience rather than any hi-fi snobbery.
Whist it is true that Phillips invented the cassette for use as a dictaphone medium, the subsequent development by tape manufacturers meant that the SQ obtainable from cassette is very high indeed. After using a Sony machine to make some cassettes for the car, I realised that when played back through my system the quality was as good as that obtained recording on my Ferrograph 632T machine at 7.5ips. I also learnt that using Sony's own formulation tape was better than using any other C90 Fe tape.
Wind forward a few years and I show that recording Beethoven's 4th and 5th piano concerto using TDK metal tape in a die-cast metal cassette housing on a Nakamichi B-125 machine (with the bias optimised by Bowers & Wilkins to suit TDK metal tape) the resultant recording is indistinguishable from the CD source.
However as many have found, cassettes are a dated medium, I no longer have the need to use cassettes and both my Nakamichis are now languishing in a spare room.
Gordon Steadman
07-08-2015, 11:13
Whist it is true that Phillips invented the cassette for use as a dictaphone medium, the subsequent development by tape manufacturers meant that the SQ obtainable from cassette is very high indeed. After using a Sony machine to make some cassettes for the car, I realised that when played back through my system the quality was as good as that obtained recording on my Ferrograph 632T machine at 7.5ips. I also learnt that using Sony's own formulation tape was better than using any other C90 Fe tape.
Wind forward a few years and I show that recording Beethoven's 4th and 5th piano concerto using TDK metal tape in a die-cast metal cassette housing on a Nakamichi B-125 machine (with the bias optimised by Bowers & Wilkins to suit TDK metal tape) the resultant recording is indistinguishable from the CD source.
However as many have found, cassettes are a dated medium, I no longer have the need to use cassettes and both my Nakamichis are now languishing in a spare room.
Surely they should be out on display as art? My growing collection upstairs will be on display as soon as we finish the big lounge. listened to or not!
jandl100
07-08-2015, 11:26
Not hifi? Pah !!!
There is nothing wrong with the sound from a decently fettled cassette deck at all :nono: -- it sounds like a fine music source, imo. I bet I could do an A/B comparison with mine against any other music source and you would be hard pressed indeed to say that one was superior to the other -- you might even prefer the cassette, there's a real analogue sound to it that feels very right and musical. :)
£1.50 each for cassettes, Al? :eek: -- I'd pay 50p tops, more likely 25p.
Quite decent summation on Sony's Elcasett system,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CkGMJBqZawA
Sony also leased their Elcasett tech to a handfull of peer companies Viz. TEAC, Hitachi, etc. etc.
Nice YouTube of WEGA's EL-7 model.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHwJk4XC6Q
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 11:44
Quite decent summation on Sony's Elcasett system,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CkGMJBqZawA
Sony also leased their Elcasett tech to a handfull of peer companies Viz. TEAC, Hitachi, etc. etc.
Nice YouTube of WEGA's EL-7 model.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QMHwJk4XC6Q
Cassette's on steroids :)
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 11:46
Not hifi? Pah !!!
There is nothing wrong with the sound from a decently fettled cassette deck at all :nono: -- it sounds like a fine music source, imo. I bet I could do an A/B comparison with mine against any other music source and you would be hard pressed indeed to say that one was superior to the other -- you might even prefer the cassette, there's a real analogue sound to it that feels very right and musical. :)
£1.50 each for cassettes, Al? :eek: -- I'd pay 50p tops, more likely 25p.
Me as well ;)
Gordon Steadman
07-08-2015, 11:49
Not hifi? Pah !!!
There is nothing wrong with the sound from a decently fettled cassette deck at all :nono: -- it sounds like a fine music source, imo. I bet I could do an A/B comparison with mine against any other music source and you would be hard pressed indeed to say that one was superior to the other -- you might even prefer the cassette, there's a real analogue sound to it that feels very right and musical. :)
£1.50 each for cassettes, Al? :eek: -- I'd pay 50p tops, more likely 25p.
Ah, now there is the thing. As soon as I started playing the Pioneer, it sounded natural and bass has a totally different quality to digital. For me, it's always the bass that I prefer with analogue. Forgetting MP3 and compressed formats of course, digital sounds terrific but..........
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 11:54
Ah, now there is the thing. As soon as I started playing the Pioneer, it sounded natural and bass has a totally different quality to digital. For me, it's always the bass that I prefer with analogue. Forgetting MP3 and compressed formats of course, digital sounds terrific but..........
Analogue IS music ;)
I've been using a Sony TC-K81 mainly for taping from the tuner. I also scour ebay looking for interesting tape job lots. I managed to get 25 soul cassettes for £5 plus postage! Cheap music. The Sony is a 3 head dual capstan machine and, imo, a great sounding deck for pin money. Review here (http://zstereo.co.uk/2014/06/27/sony-tc-k81/).
http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p753/neradi/Sony%20TC-K81/2015-08-07%2013.04.31_zpsvoqdoxjt.jpg
Audio Al
07-08-2015, 12:31
These must be a bargain then
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-audio-cassettes-/131566734521?hash=item1ea1fd0cb9
:eek:
Surely they should be out on display as art? My growing collection upstairs will be on display as soon as we finish the big lounge. listened to or not!
Well my surplus Quad 33, FM2, FM3 and AM3 are on display in the TV room. So too the Cambridge P50, T55 and B&O 1700 tuner. I ought to add the Quad AM1 tuner as that is a real objet d'art! :)
Gordon Steadman
07-08-2015, 20:08
Well my surplus Quad 33, FM2, FM3 and AM3 are on display in the TV room. So too the Cambridge P50, T55 and B&O 1700 tuner. I ought to add the Quad AM1 tuner as that is a real objet d'art! :)
This is the corner of our spare bedroom!
jandl100
08-08-2015, 06:12
This is the corner of our spare bedroom!
How cool is that. :)
Gordon Steadman
08-08-2015, 08:32
How cool is that. :)
Naturally there is some working gear too!!
Naturally there is some working gear too!!
Is the Sugden C51/T51 in use? How is it powered? Nice to see the Quad gear, but I think the speakers are too close together and should be further apart.
Gordon Steadman
08-08-2015, 15:00
Is the Sugden C51/T51 in use? How is it powered? Nice to see the Quad gear, but I think the speakers are too close together and should be further apart.
Hi Barry. Yup, the Sugdens are in use and sound great with the 303. Alan (Firebottle) rigged me up a modified wall wart to provide the volts and wired in a couple of phono sockets for output. The Sony APM20ES speakers don't sound too bad there strangely. As the whole unit sits where a fireplace used to be across the corner, there is nowhere else they can go without messing up the entrance to the room. The bedroom is number 2 so it would only be for guest use (unless I blot my copybook of course) so I'm not that fussy about it. It's nice to keep things rigged up and give them the occasional blast.
When I first did it, there were small Tannoys which sat on the top and were further apart. They are now doing duty in the kitchen as the Sonys are so much better.
Sorry to arrive late to this thread: I still use cassette, but mainly to listen to a large collection of spoken word tapes.
For those who do still use cassette, it amazing the quality of cassette deck you pick up very cheaply second hand nowadays. I never thought I'd own a Nak, and certainly not for the £40 I bought mine for.
Audio Al
10-08-2015, 17:18
Currently listening 2 THRILLER cassette
Wow it sounds good :)
PaulStewart
13-08-2015, 13:03
Just playing the original demo cassette of Cilla Black's "Unfinished Mixes" what a voice :)
Beobloke
13-08-2015, 13:14
Temporarily gone off cassette. Spent another couple of hours working on my Yamaha K-850 the other night and the damn thing still won't rewind properly and still doesn't work in one channel!
:steam:
Audio Al
13-08-2015, 13:25
Temporarily gone off cassette. Spent another couple of hours working on my Yamaha K-850 the other night and the damn thing still won't rewind properly and still doesn't work in one channel!
:steam:
I know someone on the forum who fixes things , His name is Adam
Oh hold on :scratch:
Audio Al
13-08-2015, 13:30
Just playing the original demo cassette of Cilla Black's "Unfinished Mixes" what a voice :)
Hi Paul
Would you know where I could get a cassette speed tape ?
PaulStewart
13-08-2015, 17:09
Hi Paul
Would you know where I could get a cassette speed tape ?
I use these guys for all my alignment sources :) Not cheap but bloody good :)http://www.gennlab.com/index.html
stuartypoorty
13-08-2015, 17:29
We have seven, four of them in everyday use. Have never tired of tape, nor had any of the issues with the medium: proper service and deck maintenance, optimum cassette storage and full winding to the end sees to it. Just like the technology. Maybe a demag now and again, isopropyl cleansing and blank tapes from BASF, Denon, Maxell, Sony TDK, TEAC and That's help too.
www.tapeheads.net
Beobloke
13-08-2015, 19:08
I know someone on the forum who fixes things , His name is Adam
Oh hold on :scratch:
:lol:
Audio Al
13-08-2015, 19:56
I use these guys for all my alignment sources :) Not cheap but bloody good :)http://www.gennlab.com/index.html
Gulp
I agree NOT CHEAP :eek:
Firebottle
14-08-2015, 05:50
Would you know where I could get a cassette speed tape ?
If only you had asked the question a couple of days before Al. I have one you could have borrowed but it is in the UK and I am now back in France :doh:
Audio Al
14-08-2015, 10:24
I have one you could have borrowed but it is in the UK and I am now back in France
Well get in your car and nip back 2 the UK :lol:
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