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Any Casseiver Fans out there ?

melofelo

melofelo

Addicted Member
are they any good ?
just snagged one off the bay for £10 plus postage...and awaiting delivery...
something for my pc / study area...
looks cool in a chunky late 70's kinda way...
hoping she sounds ok and cleans up nicely...
anyone else got a soft spot for these quirky all in ones ? :scratch2:
 
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The Casseiver is a hugely compromised concept. Not a great receiver. Not a great cassette deck. Basically an inexpensive way to get the features of both. But, I've yet to hear one that I was impressed with.
 
..

i figured there must be some compromise in a casseiver concept...as i tend to prefer spearates anyway..
but i guess all those shiny buttons got the better of me :D i hope to use it for my pc sound card output..a few mp3 and the odd bit of radio /cassette listening while i'm at my desk...maybe sticking a pair of wharfedale diamonds on the speaker terminals...

if it sounds half decent..i guess its a bonus ?? :scratch2:

makes a good door stop anyhow....all £10's worth :D
 
Melo -- It is what it is. If you enjoy it.....that's fine by me! As for me, I've got limited space. Something has to earn its keep. :D

-- Chris
 
Melo -- It is what it is. If you enjoy it.....that's fine by me! As for me, I've got limited space. Something has to earn its keep. :D

That has to be one of the nicest of the Casseivers. At one time there was even an RTR/Receiver combo by Harman/Kardon. So, there have been all manner of variations. Personally, I like the Mitsubishi X-11 Turntable/Recevier which recently sold on E-Bay for $300.00 BIN after countless re-listings.

-- Chris
 
i was originally looking for a cheap vintage amp as a line out amp for my pc's soundcard but...prices are getting a bit silly in the uk for vintage equipment... :thumbsdn:
so i gave myself a strict budget of £10 for something to power some small KLH speakers i have lying around...
and presto...
a bit of aiwa retro with shiny knobs will do very nicely.. :D
 
melofelo said:
i was originally looking for a cheap vintage amp as a line out amp for my pc's soundcard but...prices are getting a bit silly in the uk for vintage equipment... :thumbsdn:
so i gave myself a strict budget of £10 for something to power some small KLH speakers i have lying around...
and presto...
a bit of aiwa retro with shiny knobs will do very nicely.. :D
Click to expand...

For what you need, it should do just fine! Have fun! But, I'm not about to become a Casseiver Fan!!

-- Chris
 
the eccentric in me made it irresistible at that price... :D
why heck.. :scratch2:
i might even stick an el cheepo turntable in the phono socket...for some 7" 45's i have lying around that i wont let near my main turntables..
its even got a second tape loop..as well as the aux input...
seller said the tape might need new belts...
a packet of which i have lying around somewhere...

it might even sound better than some of those plastic all in ones with a bit of tlc... :thmbsp:

lo-fi can be a much fun as hi-fi ! :music:
 
That Aiwa system is actually pretty good,I would'nt balk if I seen it in a thrift or flea market!!It has some decent specs.,the cassette deck gets up to 17000hz with CrO2 tape,and the amplifier is rated to 50 watts...nothing to complain about there :music: So enjoy..and here's a scan from the Aiwa brochure I have :yes: Rob
 
These combos abounded for awhile in the lower mid-fi market place. Nothing wrong with them for what they were designed to do and that was to provide a system on a budget and in a limited space. Many were not much more than the lower end of the separates lineup on a common case. I have a Sears unit sitting on my desk in need of the deck having a mechanical problem fixed. Never opened it up but it is heavy and the meters are neat since they are combination VU for the tape and tuning and center channel for the tuner and when on aux are power meters. The receiver section wipes out the micro system in the office and when I get the cassette fixed, I'll add a CD and use the Minimus 7s and dump the micro.

1 of the best I ever saw of this design was a unit from Lafayette. The model wes well built and the receiver was worth the price and the cassette was as good as most separates. I think many of the companies learned from the 8-track era that if they were going to succeed in selling to other than mass market with this design they had to be more than an el-cheapo unit.
 
I think more vintage buyers than would care to admit it choose their gear, at least in part, based on looks - to me, this explains the popularity of receivers relative to separates.

Your unit looks awesome, in a very 1970's kind of way! Very cool!

:thmbsp:
 
thanks for the scan retro keeper :thmbsp: and also for the comments above... :thmbsp:
will give a sound evaluation when she arrives :yes:
 
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aiwa cassiever

she finally arrived yesterday..and i must say...she's a beauty.. :D
hardly a mark or scratch anywhere...
neither tape nor tape counter worked so i figured some belts needed replacing...
i know zilch about electronics but thought i'd pop the hood... :nono:
24 hours later...lots of cursing and squinting...
finally got the tape running...
i didn't expect much from a cassiever but this unit sound clear and powerful on tape and fm..and hangs on the stations like a leech..
using a tdk sa tape the sound isn't the highest fidelity but enjoyable all the same...lots of clear treble and bass...fairly decent midrange...albeit lacking a little space and a touch grainy compared to the sound of my sansui au719..
judged on its own though its...definately listenable for music and radio...and sound pretty powerful too..
as for the looks...
this thing look cool with a capital K.. :D
especially when the room is dimly lit... :music:
conclusion ?
much better than i expected..and probabaly better than most of those all-in one systems you can get today... :smoke:
the engineering inside reminds you of a time now lost...when even in a humble cassiever...someone not only sweated over the details...but didn't seem to have an accountant looking over their shoulder when they put this unit together...
a good solid unit...and very well put together..
weighs an absolute ton too..
can't wait to hook it up to my pc.. :D
 
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This is the only one I ever had. The cassette needed a belt, and I couldn't ever figure out how to get deep enough into it to replace it, so this one went back to the swap pile at the dump (from whence it came). This JVC, though obviously later than your nice looking AIWA, was hefty and well-built.

JVCcombo.jpg
 
melofelo, a nice find for the price. I am guessing, but probably right, in assuming this is not your prime unit. For a system connected to a PC, it looks like a perfect fit.

Cheers,
Joe
 
thats a sweet looking jvc :thmbsp:
..i know what you mean about changin the belts...once i went inside..it took at least an hour to work out how to get to the belt..never mind the two hours of fiddlin and loosening circuit boards just to get the old belt off..
...
damaging the grub screw on the motor pully when installing the new belt wasn't fun either :no: but i managed to fudged something that seems to work ok...

as a second system though...a cassiever in good working order does make sense to me now...

"melofelo, a nice find for the price. I am guessing, but probably right, in assuming this is not your prime unit. For a system connected to a PC, it looks like a perfect fit. "

thanks mantoulin...
yup..its not my prime unit....just an impulse buy...
my main system gives a great sound so i just wanted something that sounded clear enough with the output of a soundcard..am currently running a portable minidisc through the aux input and recording to tape..and it sounds pretty decent to my ears...been listening to fm all day too and its better than my akai at 2250 tuner with just a bit or wire.. :thmbsp:

the amp section quite clear..with a 'retro' sound balance..

this aiwa is a keeper for sure.. :yes:
 
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You gave 10 quid for it ? You ain't out nothin. Sounds like you got a good deal on something that looks great & sounds reasonable. Methinks you did all right.
 
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