Beautiful Cassette Decks

[Virtual-Symmetry]

The thing with Cassette decks is there is usually something about the Aesthetics somewhere that puts me off , ie horrid door design or ugly switches.I also believe totally flat facias & knobs make for nice looking decks, modern rounded shapes do not

'TC-K950ES' & '333/555ESG' is a beauty & example of how i believe a deck should look like.. Its a shame all these nice decks did not have proper VU's

yLpp6SdSwFg

[The Black Adder]

Lovely. I've got a lovely Trio deck. Again, no VU meters, in fact just one combined meter which isn't great but it sounds great.

Thing is, what happens if these things go wrong? Are they still serviceable? Are Sony decks like their cd players for instance?

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Thing is, what happens if these things go wrong? Are they still serviceable?

I don't see why not, if you do not buy something so obscure & expensive i suppose you could pick up a spare at some point. But ive had no problem stripping old decks & servicing them..I just stay clear of a certain overrated Japanese deck ;)

[Clive197]

........I just stay clear of a certain overrated Japanese deck ;)

So, what's wrong with Hitachi? :scratch:

[Virtual-Symmetry]

So, what's wrong with Hitachi? :scratch:

:lol: No its not Hitachi

[Clive197]

Well it can't be Toshiba as they did not make many cassette decks. I know... Aiwa.

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Give u a clue
Most Hi-Fi twonks feel they must have this brand to be worthy of the title 'Serious Hi-Fi enthusiast' ;)

[Firebottle]

This was my first cassette deck, I thought it was attractive in an understated way :)

http://www.audio-vintage.pl/img/p/2/0/6/206.jpg

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Why do those VU meters look like Groucho marx eye brows?

:D

[Firebottle]

:lol: Good spot, it's because they are lit from a single bulb in the middle.

[Lodgesound]

I found one of these in a skip about 10 years ago - all works now. Complicated but nice machine.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh1YZKG_VkM

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Stewart: I have only ever seen one of those in the flesh the once, but it was a black version, Must have been mid 80's cos i was still working at the record shop at the time..

[walpurgis]

Very nice. Good find.

[Macca]

I always lusted after a posh tape deck and now I could afford one there is no point.

One question to ask God when you die -if he exists and you get there - 'Life was okay but what was the deal with all the irony?'

BTW the brand I think Andre is referring to is Nakamichi.

[Virtual-Symmetry]

I always lusted after a posh tape deck and now I could afford one there is no point.



Im on the look out for a Cassette deck for my new re-vamped man cave, I have a few sit up & beg models but im looking for a standard front loader.. I am mega fussy tho. I know it will most probably be a no frills vintage-ish Technics deck like an 'M85' or summert. Now this may seem very strange to a lot but what i have on CD that i don't vinyl will be transferred from CD to audio cassette for listerning.. Call it a mid life crisis or just going back to roots or just generally fighting against CD/Files i dunno.

:sofa:

[Clive197]

Thanks for the clue.

I know, I know, it has to be AkaI.....no, it's Kenwood (Trio in US).....no, it's Tandburg.....no it can't be they were Danish. Ok its SONY. There got it!

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Nop none er them

:D

[struth]

Still like my Denon cd style loader. Nothing fancy but it just works

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160612/1fbe58898d44b91fad596ffd4d5617f5.jpg

[jandl100]

Ooo, cassette decks.

Sorry but I have to post this pic again :eyebrows:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF0306_zps64c0feed.jpg (http://s262.photobucket.com/user/jandl100/media/DSCF0306_zps64c0feed.jpg.html)

[Spectral Morn]

Give u a clue
Most Hi-Fi twonks feel they must have this brand to be worthy of the title 'Serious Hi-Fi enthusiast' ;)

Nakamichi

[struth]

Always fancied trying a nak cassette but never got the chance. How much better they are is imo debatable. Some of the lesser names seem to me to be very good, and surprised more folk dont use them still

[Macca]

Naks have a bit of deliberate bass lift which I quite like. So do some Technics.

[Clive197]

Nakamichi

Now that's a possibility. No, that would be too easy, is it?

[hermit]

I have two from 1980. Both are handsome designs imo and sound very decent:

Yamaha K-950

http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p753/neradi/Yamaha%20System/2016-01-07%2014.41.07_zpsdnwfizvs.jpg

Sony TC-K81

http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p753/neradi/Sony%20TC-K81/2015-08-07%2013.04.31_zpsvoqdoxjt.jpg

[Arkless Electronics]

The looks of cassette decks? Give me strength...

Performance wise I've heard nothing that even comes close to a Nak CR7E. It's in a league of it's own. But fairly pointless as a R2R is much better still and probably cheaper in many cases.
I don't consider cassette a hi fi medium in general.... but I'll make an exception for the CR7E ;)

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Rubbish. you are basically saying its the best cassette deck" Cassette not considered Hi-Fi :lol: cant sound that good regardless of your exception then can it ;)

[Arkless Electronics]

95% of cassette decks sound total pants and are definitely not hi fi. Yes I make an exception for the CR7E as in my considerable experience they are in a different league to anything else. I am very sensitive to wow and flutter and find it obvious on most cassette decks for a start, then there is the obvious hiss, top end loss, compression, soft bass etc. They were only intended as dictating machines when they came out of course;)
I didn't miss them at all when they became obsolete.

Anyway your new avatar shows you to be totally misguided on other subjects as well :ner:

[Barry]

95% of cassette decks sound total pants and are definitely not hi fi. Yes I make an exception for the CR7E as in my considerable experience they are in a different league to anything else. I am very sensitive to wow and flutter and find it obvious on most cassette decks for a start, then there is the obvious hiss, top end loss, compression, soft bass etc. They were only intended as dictating machines when they came out of course;)
I didn't miss them at all when they became obsolete.

Anyway your new avatar shows you to be totally misguided on other subjects as well :ner:

Depends on the cassette body. TDK made some zinc-aluminium metal cassette bodies to a far higher tolerance than the usual plastic bodies. There was no wow and flutter using those with my Nakamichi. Recordings made of piano concertos were virtually indistinguishable from the CD

[The Black Adder]

That 5020 looks like a nice one. Alas I'm not toomuch in to cassette, I think I had enough of them in the 80's, lol. Some are 'definate' audiophile stuff like the ones shown.

I have a cassette in the car, sounds nice to me. A bit hissy but then it's quite an olde player. I'll get a pic of my TRIO later on. It's not exactly toppythetoptop range but it's well made and sounds superb.

[Virtual-Symmetry]

95% of cassette decks sound total pants and are definitely not hi fi.



And that is because you have heard 95% of all the cassette decks? :lol:

Things is tho my earholes aint yours ;)

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Recordings made of piano concertos were virtually indistinguishable from the CD

Regardless of some other persons drivel, i have also heard cassette decks that are to say they apparently aint H-Fi is very odd don't you think?

[Barry]

When I discovered my first cassette deck (a Sony TC-K45) could make recordings (on Sony tape) that were the equal of those made on my Ferrograph 632 2-track machine at 7.5 ips, I abandoned R2R machines and their bulky tape reels in favour of the convenience of cassette.

http://vintagecassette.com/sony/tc-k45

Moving on to Nakamichis only reinforced my impression.

[Arkless Electronics]

Depends on the cassette body. TDK made some zinc-aluminium metal casette bodies to a far higher tolerance than the usual plastic bodies. There was no wow and flutter using those with my Nakamichi. Recordings made of piano concertos were virtually indistinguishable from the CD

I've still got some of those somewhere... I can't say I noticed any improvement over other good quality cassettes TBH. It's a VERY rare cassette deck that has low enough W&F for it to be unnoticeable on piano music.

As an aside, and not aimed at anyone specifically, it gives me confidence in my own critical faculties, experience and opinions when I see folk who would claim to hear impossible and non existent improvements, from foo such as mains cables, actually can't notice the bloody obvious issues with something like a cassette deck as source material!! Similar to the "golden eared" ones who have been happily oblivious to a blown tweeter (or speakers out of phase) until I have pointed it out after a 10 second listen to their systems... yes really, and several times over the years! No doubt the same people would claim to hear when their mains plugs need re-Brasso-ing!

:sofa:

[struth]

You silly billy:doh:

[Arkless Electronics]

When I discovered my first cassette deck (a Sony TC-K45) could make recordings (on Sony tape) that were the equal of those made on my Ferrograph 632 2-track machine at 7.5 ips, I abandoned R2R machines and their bulky tape reels in favour of the convenience of cassette.

http://vintagecassette.com/sony/tc-k45

Moving on to Nakamichis only reinforced my impression.

Again the CR7E is the only cassette I've heard that could come close to a R2R and then live recording with full dynamic range would soon show the R2R to be superior. The Ferrograph 632 is hardly a top R2R also..... (yes I've owned one).

The Tandberg TCD440A machines I have were £650 new, have 3 heads, 3 motors, dual capstans, metal compatible, azimuth adjust, Actilinear recording and had rave reviews in their day. I don't consider them a truly hi fi source and don't use them ;)

[danilo]

That 5020 looks like a nice one. Alas I'm not toomuch in to cassette, I think I had enough of them in the 80's, lol. Some are 'definate' audiophile stuff like the ones shown.

I have a cassette in the car, sounds nice to me. A bit hissy but then it's quite an olde player. .

;) Have a Sony KC something.
Was quite decent when new. Not a Nak but not that far off.
Still occaisionally use (old) tapes in my car.. sounds OK actually (Radio is too brain deadening).
Haven't recorded a fresh tape in 20 years in truth, as it's a genuine PITA to do one (decently well :-). Levels, bias, cueing flipping etc.
Did buy a box of NOS Maxell cassettes a couple months ago .. about as far as I got tho
Dread the thought of recording on them tbh.

[Arkless Electronics]

You silly billy:doh:

Very strange comment.....

[Barry]

I should add that I had my Nakamichi machines optimised for use with TDK metal tape, and yes using metal-bodied cassettes, I couldn't in all honesty hear any wow on piano recordings.

These days I don't use cassette any more and no longer play cassettes. I do however, still retain a reel-to-reel machine (a Nagra IV-S, is that good enough for you?) with which to play back some radio plays I recorded.


Anyway this discussion is perhaps best continued in the Show Reel room.

[Spectral Morn]

Again the CR7E is the only cassette I've heard that could come close to a R2R and then live recording with full dynamic range would soon show the R2R to be superior. The Ferrograph 632 is hardly a top R2R also..... (yes I've owned one).

The Tandberg TCD440A machines I have were £650 new, have 3 heads, 3 motors, dual capstans, metal compatible, azimuth adjust, Actilinear recording and had rave reviews in their day. I don't consider them a truly hi fi source and don't use them ;)

CR5e comes very close to the 7.

[Ian7633]

This is my lovely old Marantz SD230, purchased new in 1984. It's a very basic deck with only Dolby B but is very well constructed and nice and sturdy. It's had two services and one new head in all those years, it is still running but the drive bands are perished and need replacing, I bet they'll be fun to find. It always sounded very good and could even give my Nakamichi BX125 a run for it's money. Doesn't really get any use these days but I wouldn't want to part with it.

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g345/ian7633/20160612_1757591_zpsa1gnh1b0.jpg (http://s1097.photobucket.com/user/ian7633/media/20160612_1757591_zpsa1gnh1b0.jpg.html)

[struth]

very nice Ian



belts

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Riemen-fur-Marantz-SD-230-SD230-SD-230-rubber-belts-Cassette-Tape-Deck-/161464786915?hash=item25980d1fe3:g:1IsAAMXQrhdTSs8 v

[Ian7633]

very nice Ian


belts

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Riemen-fur-Marantz-SD-230-SD230-SD-230-rubber-belts-Cassette-Tape-Deck-/161464786915?hash=item25980d1fe3:g:1IsAAMXQrhdTSs8 v
Thanks for the heads up Grant, I'm going to order them and overhaul the old beast as my next project.

[Audio Al]

Thanks for the heads up Grant, I'm going to order them and overhaul the old beast as my next project.

Gents

I would advise AGAINST the belts from Revox DE , I have had belts from this supplier and they are NOT the correct lengths :doh: always shorted resulting in being to tight and causing speed problems , I now buy my belts form Turntable needles in the USA
Also they are NOTING to do with Revox just using the name :(

http://www.turntableneedles.com/Drive-BELTS_c_2.html

:)

[Virtual-Symmetry]

This thread is getting quite exciting all the secret Cassette fan boys are coming out the closet :eyebrows:

Any more chaps & chapesses?

[Audio Al]

Try mentioning 8 Track players :eyebrows:

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Still have an Akai 'CR-81' with Emerson Lake & Palmer cartridges. Darnt play em tho incase it eats em up :D

[Audio Al]

Still have an Akai 'CR-81' with Emerson Lake & Palmer cartridges. Darnt play em tho incase it eats em up :D

I have one as well and it works without eating any tapes :)

[ceejaydee]

I recently cleaned the heads on my Technics RS-BX404 and recorded a track from a CD and was pleased with the results. :reel::reel:
I've owned this cassette deck from new and would not part with it now after 20+ years.

[danilo]

Small caveat;
When My Son and my Sony Kc (whatever) were ~2 years old. The Rascal stuffed something ugly into the heads area.
Took Me 2 days work to reassemble the thing after the necessary repair dismantle.
One helluva learning curve. An astonishing mechanical complexity, something Rube Goldberg would have penned IMO.
Solenoid controls.. to make button pushing effortless.. Really! ?
Swore then that IF it ever broke again... it was immediately for the Trashbin.

[Ian7633]

Gents

I would advise AGAINST the belts from Revox DE , I have had belts from this supplier and they are NOT the correct lengths :doh: always shorted resulting in being to tight and causing speed problems , I now buy my belts form Turntable needles in the USA
Also they are NOTING to do with Revox just using the name :(

http://www.turntableneedles.com/Drive-BELTS_c_2.html

:)
Oh dear, read this too late. Hey ho, you never can have too many rubber bands

[Virtual-Symmetry]

I have one as well and it works without eating any tapes :)

Well the thing is i lined the heads up as per service, played a cart & it ate it up. But im certain the machine is fine, the cart was a Ampex made jobbie with the shitty pich rollers issue, i think that was the cause but im not chancing mi ELP's nay way

[Audio Al]

Well the thing is i lined the heads up as per service, played a cart & it ate it up. But im certain the machine is fine, the cart was a Ampex made jobbie with the shitty pich rollers issue, i think that was the cause but im not chancing mi ELP's nay way

Did you have the small foam support piece in place behind the tape ? These do play a important part and running with out this causes tape eating problems
I have used draught excluder sticky back as a replacement the sort you use around a door frame , it comes on a roll ;)

[struth]

Gents

I would advise AGAINST the belts from Revox DE , I have had belts from this supplier and they are NOT the correct lengths :doh: always shorted resulting in being to tight and causing speed problems , I now buy my belts form Turntable needles in the USA
Also they are NOTING to do with Revox just using the name :(

http://www.turntableneedles.com/Drive-BELTS_c_2.html

:)

Ive usex their belts b4 and was ok with me so hey ho lol.

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Did you have the small foam support piece in place behind the tape ? These do play a important part and running with out this causes tape eating problems
I have used draught excluder sticky back as a replacement the sort you use around a door frame , it comes on a roll ;)

Yes the pressure pad was fine.. it's a documented issue with those tapes Al

http://www.8trackheaven.com/archive/openex.html

[Ian7633]

This is my lovely old Marantz SD230, purchased new in 1984. It's a very basic deck with only Dolby B but is very well constructed and nice and sturdy. It's had two services and one new head in all those years, it is still running but the drive bands are perished and need replacing, I bet they'll be fun to find. It always sounded very good and could even give my Nakamichi BX125 a run for it's money. Doesn't really get any use these days but I wouldn't want to part with it.

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g345/ian7633/20160612_1757591_zpsa1gnh1b0.jpg (http://s1097.photobucket.com/user/ian7633/media/20160612_1757591_zpsa1gnh1b0.jpg.html)
Well the overhaul is done, the new belts arrived from Germany this morning so after much swearing and playing hunt the spring that flew out the belts have been changed, extensive cleaning, heads cleaned and re-aligned, new pinch roller and felt pad it's up and running and sounds remarkably good for a 32 year old basic machine. No excuse now for not transferring my old muso cassettes to the pc.

[Audio Advent]

I'll move this post over from the other identical thread that was started 3 mins before this one (what happened there?), mainly so I can say that Tanderg is Norwegian rather than Danish, whoever said that earlier:

I think the Tandberg 3004 is a great looking deck in a late 70s fussy kind of way:

http://oi61.tinypic.com/vfy1dz.jpg

[Audio Advent]

I just stay clear of a certain overrated Japanese deck ;)

This reminds me of someone who must be Mr Hyde to your Dr Jekyll who used to post on here. He was on the look out for a Nakamichi 700 and started a thread about people's favourite Nak decks. He had a similar name, something like Anders ?


This is easy for me as i would not bee seen dead with a machine that does not use Moving Coil VU's.. as much chance of that as you have me owning a Pick-Up arm with a sprung loaded Anti-Skate :D

My fav is the '700 Mk.II' {The one im presently looking for}

:D Did something change your opinion of Nakamichi in the last year or so?

[Audio Advent]

And from that thread (why I was looking for it and my own post), here's a real beauty in my opinion, including those superb looking meters !


I much prefer the look of the Nakamichi 700 ZXL above those with old-school meters.

http://www.audioscope.net/images/nakamichi_700_zxl-2.jpg

[Virtual-Symmetry]

Remember Sam i was a collector. Never intended using it. As mentioned before ever Nak ive owned broken down. For everyday use it would deffo be another make of Cassette Deck..

[Audio Advent]

Fair enough. That Sony you mention I would expect to run and run!

[Ali Tait]

I'll move this post over from the other identical thread that was started 3 mins before this one (what happened there?), mainly so I can say that Tanderg is Norwegian rather than Danish, whoever said that earlier:

I think the Tandberg 3004 is a great looking deck in a late 70s fussy kind of way:

http://oi61.tinypic.com/vfy1dz.jpg

Lovely. Would like one to complement my TD20A..

[Arkless Electronics]

Lovely. Would like one to complement my TD20A..

I can help with the one down from that one, the TCD440A :D

http://www.cassettedecks.org/tandberg/tcd_440_a/forsale

[Ali Tait]

Wot colour is it?:D

[Wilbur]

Again the CR7E is the only cassette I've heard that could come close to a R2R and then live recording with full dynamic range would soon show the R2R to be superior. The Ferrograph 632 is hardly a top R2R also..... (yes I've owned one).

The Tandberg TCD440A machines I have were £650 new, have 3 heads, 3 motors, dual capstans, metal compatible, azimuth adjust, Actilinear recording and had rave reviews in their day. I don't consider them a truly hi fi source and don't use them ;)

Can I have one then Jez :)

[Wilbur]

Ha,beaten to it!!!
:lol:

[Arkless Electronics]

Wot colour is it?:D

Black.

[BTH K10A]

I have a Nak 600, not TOTR or especially beautiful but a very competent performer.

Unfortunately just doesn't get used much nowadays

[Pete The Cat]

Yamaha KX580 here. Lots of knobs and good for transferring those Peel / Vance / mix tapes to digital.

Pete

[337alant]

Here is mine not particularly beautiful but a good functional Cassette Deck and i love VU meters

https://c5.staticflickr.com/2/1645/26124700100_47606d8db6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FNxVaN)IMG_2578 (https://flic.kr/p/FNxVaN) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr

Alan

[Audio Al]

Here is mine not particularly beautiful but a good functional Cassette Deck and i love VU meters

https://c5.staticflickr.com/2/1645/26124700100_47606d8db6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FNxVaN)IMG_2578 (https://flic.kr/p/FNxVaN) by Alan Towell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/69508926@N05/), on Flickr

Alan


Nice deck Alan , i have the MK111 :)

[Eagle owl]

This was my first cassette deck, I thought it was attractive in an understated way :)

http://www.audio-vintage.pl/img/p/2/0/6/206.jpg

I thought it was the same as my first one but after having another look I was wrong, mine was a GX46D.

[Alex Nikitin]

http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/Tape_Recording/Dual/Dual_C844_3.jpg

Cheers

Alex

[Gazjam]

http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/Tape_Recording/Dual/Dual_C844_3.jpg

Cheers

Alex

That is very very sexy...

[Macca]

You could, indeed, eat your breakfast off of it.

[Barry]

IMO it would look better in black.

[p147]

After 6 months trawling the net and placing wanted ads I have finally picked up one of these to finish off or at least for now my collection of Pioneer reference system.

http://i.imgur.com/xcApaZCl.jpg

[topoxforddoc]

Thought I would resurrect this thread, as I'm listening to my Nak Dragon this evening.

https://i.vgy.me/kXnXoK.jpg

[gninnam]

Very nice and jealous :)

[Wakefield Turntables]

I've had an on/off relationship with wanting to join the tape fraternity for quite some time now, I also seem to end up talking myself out of the proposition. :scratch:

[337alant]

Thought I would resurrect this thread, as I'm listening to my Nak Dragon this evening.

https://i.vgy.me/kXnXoK.jpg

Very nice Charlie :eyebrows:
Im just in the process of fixing a Nak BX300E for a mate

Alan

[jusbe]

Nice Dragon. Still can't decide if I want the hassle of one.

Get regular use out of my ZX-7 though. It's really very good and was serviced just over 18 months ago. Old shot but we're having a new hi-fi rack made so will update shortly. Also have a few Tandberg TCD-440A, with feet.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7813/47554585881_f0b201ec67_b.jpg