• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Cassette Deck Recommendations?

Lavane said:
I was given a Tascam MKV. It was rarely used if at all.
I just use it to play all the tapes I still have. It seems.like a solid deck.
When it comes.to dolby, I tend to play Dolby tapes with without switching on Dolby. A lotnof tapes I have that were made using Dolby sound worse when pushing the Dolby switch. I do have a few that sound great. It seems morw care was taken with some Dolby tapes.
Click to expand...

I usually leave any NR system off when recording or for playback.
 
Last edited:
Lavane said:
I was given a Tascam MKV. It was rarely used if at all.
I just use it to play all the tapes I still have. It seems.like a solid deck.
When it comes.to dolby, I tend to play Dolby tapes with without switching on Dolby. A lotnof tapes I have that were made using Dolby sound worse when pushing the Dolby switch. I do have a few that sound great. It seems morw care was taken with some Dolby tapes.
Click to expand...
So you’re thinking that Tascam 202 M3 might be a better way to go?
 
Toiler said:
So you’re thinking that Tascam 202 M3 might be a better way to go?
Click to expand...
It depends. They tend to be pretty rugged. As I said, I just use it for playback. If I didn't still have a bunch of tapes I wouldn't have taken it when it was offered. I didn't lookup the Mk3, so I don't know if it has Dolby or not,.or if you need it.
Sony did produce some nice decks though. I don't know if after all these years they would need new belts, etc. to make them work right again.
I was alao given an old Technics BPC dual deck from an old rack system that still works great even with the original belts.
 
Sgt Shultz said:
I usually leave any NR system off when recording or for playback.
Click to expand...
Ya, all the tapes I made in the 70's into the early 90's were made with Studio Series normal bias tape, no NR. They still sound good too. The small amount of hiss heard between tracks never bothers me. I even have some made from CD's. I still had cassette decks in my vehicles.
 
Lavane said:
Ya, all the tapes I made in the 70's into the early 90's were made with Studio Series normal bias tape, no NR. They still sound good too. The small amount of hiss heard between tracks never bothers me. I even have some made from CD's. I still had cassette decks in my vehicles.
Click to expand...

I have dozens of tapes I made off of Music Choice without even listening, I just put it on Blues, Jazz, Classic Rock, etc. and let it run. The tapes are marked Blues #1, Blues #2 etc. It was fun listening to them not knowing what I was going to hear.

Friends would hear them in my car/truck and want to buy them, I wouldn't sell them mine but I would make them one. But not listen to it, if I did I wanted it for myself lol.
 
I will rock the boat and ask.....Why ??

Why cassette ??

The wow/flutter, the noise, head wear, belts/capstan replacement, tapes themselves are getting rare and expensive and brittler by the day ???

Where is the up side beyond saying you have one ??
 
wmgwizard said:
I will rock the boat and ask.....Why ??

Why cassette ??

The wow/flutter, the noise, head wear, belts/capstan replacement, tapes themselves are getting rare and expensive and brittler by the day ???

Where is the up side beyond saying you have one ??
Click to expand...

For me it's for various reasons, just one being to play in the holy grail

National RX7000
maxresdefault (5).jpg
 
Well, it was cheaper to buy a blank tape and barrow a LP album, and then CD's, and record them. Plus I could listen to them in my vehicles at the time.
That was probably the main reason I made tapes. Being able to use them in a car or truck. I didn't buy all that many prerecorded tapes.
 
+1 for TEAC/Tascam but those are all quality brands. Check the wow/flutter specs and definitely test any candidates to be sure they work and/or check how difficult rehab would be. Changing a belt or roller on a lot of tape decks is like a puzzle box, and I mean one that includes tightly compressed springs holding 2mm ball bearings.

I also rarely use my tape deck - it is in storage. Seems kind of redundant to the superior recent technologies. But an attractive and good performing deck (and tapes!) for $50 would tempt me.
 
C Hart said:
+1 for TEAC/Tascam but those are all quality brands. Check the wow/flutter specs and definitely test any candidates to be sure they work and/or check how difficult rehab would be. Changing a belt or roller on a lot of tape decks is like a puzzle box, and I mean one that includes tightly compressed springs holding 2mm ball bearings.

I also rarely use my tape deck - it is in storage. Seems kind of redundant to the superior recent technologies. But an attractive and good performing deck (and tapes!) for $50 would tempt me.
Click to expand...

The dual well 202MKIII is not one of their better machines with a wow & flutter of .25 almost 8x that of the 122, and 5x the Sony K707ES.
 
Agree the Sony looks like the pic of the litter after a short online review. If I am down that way I will definitely send you a ping, Sarge.
 
I got a Sony TC-366 reel-to-reel when I was about 14. I built my Dyanco SCA-80 integrated maybe a year later. Then I got a pair of AR-7 speakers and a Phillips turntable. So I had a certain baseline level of quality, and I was really into my music. I never had a cassette deck back then, and I didn't consider them to be up to my baseline.

I went to work in a stereo store when I was about 24, and I still had no cassette deck of my own - I had yet to run across many that rose to the baseline. Then Dolby C came out. My evaluations showed me that a good tape encoded then decoded with Dolby C finally lived up to my baseline. I bought my first cassette deck - a Denon DRF-7. It was a three head deck, so I while I was recording an LP, I could use the monitor switch on the deck to compare what the source to the tape. It was much less loss than I had ever heard with my reel-to-reel.

Later the noise reduction systems got even better, but you generally had to have an outboard decoder (I still have half a dozen Nautilus DBX discs). But the better car decks had Dolby C and I have a nice collection from those days.

But it seems to me that anyone who ventures down the cassette road these days can easily be disappointed, depending on their baseline. I think a lot of younger people don't realize the abysmal gap between the quality of pre-recorded commercial cassettes and a good tape.
 
Last edited:
swechsler said:
The Tascam is a newer dual well deck that lacks Dolby.
Click to expand...
I'm going to correct this. The OP mentioned the MKIII, but I was actually referring to the MKVI which is a current Tascam model. The MkIII actually has Dolby B, C and HX. However, both the MkIII and VI are Chinese-made, so I doubt they are of the same quality of the older Japanese-manufactured Teac/Tascams and Sonys.
 
C Hart said:
Agree the Sony looks like the pic of the litter after a short online review. If I am down that way I will definitely send you a ping, Sarge.
Click to expand...
OP here. Just a note to say thank you for your posts. I am going to add a post with a few of my comments. Cheers.
 
Sgt Shultz said:
The dual well 202MKIII is not one of their better machines with a wow & flutter of .25 almost 8x that of the 122, and 5x the Sony K707ES.
Click to expand...
OP here. Thanks Sgt! Appreciate your thoughts and comments. I am going to add a post with a few of my comments. Cheers.
 
daveshel said:
I got a Sony TC-366 reel-to-reel when I was about 14. I built my Dyanco SCA-80 integrated maybe a year later. Then I got a pair of AR-7 speakers and a Phillips turntable. So I had a certain baseline level of quality, and I was really into my music. I never had a cassette deck back then, and I didn't consider them to be up to my baseline.

I went to work in a stereo store when I was about 24, and I still had no cassette deck of my own - I had yet to run across many that rose to the baseline. Then Dolby C came out. My evaluations showed me that a good tape encoded then decoded with Dolby C finally lived up to my baseline. I bought my first cassette deck - a Denon DRF-7. It was a three head deck, so I while I was recording an LP, I could use the monitor switch on the deck to compare what the source to the tape. It was much less loss than I had ever heard with my reel-to-reel.

Later the noise reduction systems got even better, but you generally had to have an outboard decoder (I still have half a dozen Nautilus DBX discs). But the better car decks had Dolby C and I have a nice collection from those days.

But it seems to me that anyone who ventures down the cassette road these days can easily be disappointed, depending on their baseline. I think a lot of younger people don't realize the abysmal gap between the quality of pre-recorded commercial cassettes and a good tape.
Click to expand...
OP here. daveshel I do appreciate your taking time to comment. Much learnings for me. I am going to add a post with a few of my comments. Cheers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom