Cassette decks...new or used?

[weegee]

My Sony deck died. As I looked around there only seems to be low grade new machines for sale and very few of them. (I may be overlooking something.)

Where are you are with buying cassette decks nowadays? Do you look for used decks or just make due with what is currently being made?

 

[N8Nagel]

I'd personally try to find a higher end older one, if you can hold out, see if there's one with three heads and Dolby B and C NR (not that the latter will really be relevant but is a sign of a "better" deck.

Be aware that you may have to clean the heads and possibly replace belts. Get pics of the heads if you can to make sure they're not worn to heck. Probably want to demag it as well.

Or maybe your Sony is fixable? What is it doing/not doing?

 

[petes'picks]

Could be a $10 belt will get yours going again. Tons of options under $50 for cassette decks. Last year I picked up a Onkyo dual well from a estate sale of a neighbor that passed and it recorded and sounded as good as most of the ones I have heard. Instead of paying $150 for a new one I would get a refurbished Nakamichi 480 instead, saw one go for $150 or so last week. Many of the folks over at Tapeheads claim it sounds as good as the $$$ 3 head decks. I would head over to that site and youtube to see if anyone has posted a step by step on replacing the belts in yours. You may find a late 90's deck with low usage beings everyone jumped over to CD after those late model purchases.

 

[analoge4ever]

New decks no longer feature Dolby noise reduction, the licensing agreements have expired.
If you buy an older deck odds are it will need repairs so do your research first. In some cases replacement parts can be hard to source and the tiny pieces can be difficult to work on.
Also, although heads can be lapped on a R2R for most cassette desks badly worn heads spell the end of the deck's life, so make certain of the condition of the heads before you buy.
Sony made some good decks, if yours is one of the better ones and doesn't have too many hours on it the deck might be worth fixing.

 

[HTHMAN]

• I would suggest a 90's deck also. I have a late 70's JVC with piano keys. Although it looks great with its big analog meters, it does not compare with my early 90's Nakamichi or JVC for sound.

 

[N8Nagel]

This might be an acceptable new deck if you simply do not want to fuss about with old units and their possible repair needs

https://tascam.com/us/product/202mkvii/feature

It doesn't appear that that allows you to record cassettes with NR however, but TASCAM is aimed at the pro market so it's not going to be complete crap. It is, however, a 2 head unit and the frequency response isn't super great.

 

[weegee]

Thanks for the help. Wish it was just a belt. My deck does nothing. The transformer or whatever it is makes a very slight humming sound but deck does nothing. I need it for transcribing audio, not hi class music.

 

[Taketheflame]

Honestly, the main options for quality decks are all going to be the used/vintage machines - and depending how well (or not so well) maintained they are, they may need work, like your Sony. On the other hand, most good used machines are still considerably cheaper than the best new option available today (That Tascam dual deck N8Nagel posted - I think they go for $400 or $500 new, but while not crap, they're pretty mediocre overall spec-wise).

I'd look into seeing what can be done w/the Sony first. If it's a good model worth fixing, and the repair wouldn't be too much $, that may be the best route. Otherwise, you could look into a basic late 80s/early 90's 2-head deck, or maybe something like a Nakamichi 480 for something older. All of those should outperform the best brand new options spec/SQ-wise if the deck is in good working order.

 

[Encyc Brown]

Yes, I agree with the posts in regards to the Tascam (TEAC). The deck is pretty nice compared to any other NEW deck out there, which is not saying much as there is not much out there new today. However, the Noise reduction is for playback only, can't be used when recording tapes. Unfortunately, the resurgence in new tape stock (National Audio Company & RTM (Recording the Masters) FOX tapes have not translated into new decks coming out. I have purchased used decks via e-bay and have definitely invested time and money into getting them back to factory spec and performance. I am stuck in the middle. I live in a rural area of the country. However, I am blessed that there is a fine service department in Lee Hartman & Sons in Roanoke VA that is a 2.5 hour drive each way. I drop a deck or two off and, when they are ready, I drop another deck or two off. Doing this rotation has gotten my 13 cassette decks back in order. I also went a bit ape with the last stock going around for the previous couple of years in regards to BASF Chrome pancake tape being turned into "new" tape by National Audio Company, ATR , Delta Media.com, Duplication.CA, etc. I helped wipe out the national stock that was left as I have about 2000 new Type II tapes ready to carry me through the golden years. I use the type II for very special recordings and go with the new Super Ferric by NAC and RTM type I for the majority of recordings and am pleasantly surprised on the high quality. It is work to enjoy and keep the tape medium up and running to say the least. But it is sure a heck of a lot of fun! I am at least grateful there are companies out there that have a passion for manufacturing analog tap (both reel and cassette) to such a small niche market. Unfortunately, the cash just isn't there for manufactures to get back on board with high end decks.

 

[oldvinyldude]

I need it for transcribing audio, not hi class music.

Not sure how you define "transcribe", but if it means transcribing voice, you could get by with a cheap "Walkman" style unit, you could get that for very cheap, new. No vintage look\feel, but is should suffice for voice transcription.

Next up would be a thrift special, of (relatively) recent vintage. I have a Teac unit that just keeps on truckin. It's just for testing tape inputs, etc. Bring along a known good cassette, and test-let it play, if possible for 30 minutes. Sometimes belts will work for a short time, then completely fail.

 

[RonaldP]

Late 90s 3 head is what I recommend, it was the end of the era. It sounds as close too as good as it gets if everything is right. Buying end of era or peak in sales hi end equipment is in my opinion way to go for source components (Except Vinyl/ Phono as what you can buy now appears to be as good if not better) The problem I face with cassette is you cannot buy belts from manufacture (Sony) and the one after market sell just do not last as long. I buy all vintage equipment and 50% of the time I have to work on it to get it to sound right and in my case subsequent repairs are required that I did not expect so soon.

 

[50nstillhifi]

Agreed... getting a good and "useable" cassette deck really depends on the demand and performance you expect.. particularly with vintage models. I have repaired several different decks, models from Akai to Technics. They all demand a different part or method to repairing the drive mechanism, usually multiple belts involved. After repair however most operate well.. given most are abandoned just for the broken belts to begin with .

On another note, there are basic models, usually piano key models, that work well because of their simplicity. Then there are the advanced models that followed, functions such as Auto Reverse, Double Auto Reverse, adjustable tracking, superior noise reductions, etc... that merit a lot more know-how and care to fix.

It sounds as if the OP is just looking for something "simple" and this can be had in a basic deck, easy to find on EBAY or the like for small dollars investment.

After cycling through many a deck that both disappointed and surprised in performance. I use an Onkyo for taping, auto-rev, with B/C NR, it works great! I then use a very basic Kenwood, no frills, single direction for tape play and reviewing.. basically it checks the Onkyo's recordings.

So.. performance depends on the demand.. you need not stress over "quality" and such if it does.. what is does

 

[hbucker]

Just personal experience here, but I've been impressed with a couple of Yamaha Natural Sound decks I've bought used over the past 10 years. Both were mid-90s decks and they perform like new. Compared to some other decks from other companies that have absolutely shown wear, the Yamahas are still plugging away.

This observation is anecdotal because there is no accounting for how the used decks I've owned have been previously used, stored or maintained. - Fair enough. All I can say is that the Yamahas I've purchased have been really good performers.