Top 10 holy grail cassette decks?

[Kingshead]

Not a Holy Grail find but still a nice deck that could be had for decent money; the Nakamichi MR-1 Pro deck.

 

[jazzyguy]

and on the thread subject. All really depends on the purpose of getting a deck. If you make a list of 10 greatest decks that could be gems in a collection it will be one list, if you need a workhorse deck that will be serviceable for years to come and with a good sound quality to boot it may be a completely different list. And you need to take into account that there is almost zero chance to find a deck out of either of these two potential lists in a fully working condition if is not from a reputable service technician. Any deck of this level would need quite a lot of work done on it before it can be anything more than a collection item. And many could only be collection items now.

A simple example - the pioneer ct-f1250. One of the better looking decks - sure. But if you expect it to work well - not many chances, really, without a full service and a new head. And where exactly can you get a new head for it? And if something breaks in that deck you are more or less stuck - many bits only can be cannibalised from a donor unit.

Another example - top nakamichi decks. Some of these are great, but on many now the heads are worn up to a large degree and when the pb head is gone you are stuck again - the only way to restore the deck is to find another with the same heads in a better condition.

Imho, we need a different kind of list of best 10 decks for people who want to use them daily and not just admire the looks.

Cheers

alex

so right as usual!:d

 

[jazzyguy]

Can you spot something related to this thread on the photo?

It is from the National Audio Show 2012 in the UK. We were using a cassette deck as the second source in that system. No one coming to the room did realise that it was a cassette deck playing when we had it on. No noise reduction, 3.75 ips, about 70dBA dynamic range.

Cheers

Alex

I remember that! It was a Tascam 122MarkIII

 

[trhee]

The best of the best for me are:

- Nakamichi CR7
- Nakamichi Dragon
- Nakamichi 1000ZXL
- Nakamichi ZX-9
- Nakamichi ZX-7
- Tandberg TCD-3014
- Tandberg TCD-910
- Aiwa XK-S9000
- Akai GX-95
- Akai GX-Z7100
- Revox B-215
- Harman Kardon CD491

The best buys of the bunch in terms of "bang for the buck" are the HK CD491 and the Nak ZX-7.

 

[jan_stevns]

My "holy grail" is the Hitachi D980m casette deck .....

I had one ages ago - but lost it in a house fire along with the rest of the stereo ;(

It is a daunting quest to restore that 1984 setup .... but as of now, i'm only searching for
the casette deck - all other parts "recovered"

picture from 1984:

 

[fortycoats]

Yamaha is easy to keep going? I've had a KX-W602 & a KX-W952, both of them had/have bad motors in the "B" deck, and No One (technicians/repair shops) wants to deal with them. One tech told me they were junk, not worth fixing, can't get parts & to toss 'em... I liked them & they sounded great, but it seems like they're problematic & becoming unrepairable...

So both of those were probably twin-decks? Just guessing cos most manufacturers, for some reason, stuck a "W" into the model names/numbers of their twins. Yamaha are one of the more stocked up makes when it comes to parts for old stuff. Give them a call -- they'll be more than happy to charge you ridiculous prices for parts that they'll throw in the bin if nobody buys!

 

[bg3009]

The different brands, and even models within the brands pursue various ideologies. Within Nakamichi for example, the different models were created with different aims in mind - some being great records, whilst others were great playback machines. They had different sonic characters while still being a Nak. Akai pursued a different path as did Sony. Aiwa made some fantastic machines as well. This is just warming up in Japan!

System synergy, tastes and features are all important as is condition of the machine. I love reading here how some decks that we might pass on are actually well regarded due to a variety of reasons. I love this hobby!

 

[fortycoats]

Currently listening to a factory Michael Jackson - Off The Wall (which cassette I reckon is around 25-30 years old) on a Yamaha KX-690, Dolby-B engaged -- nothing wrong here and now

 

[river25]

Yamaha is easy to keep going? I've had a KX-W602 & a KX-W952, both of them had/have bad motors in the "B" deck, and No One (technicians/repair shops) wants to deal with them. One tech told me they were junk, not worth fixing, can't get parts & to toss 'em... I liked them & they sounded great, but it seems like they're problematic & becoming unrepairable...

I've been running a late 70s TC-720B without a problem, except it needed new belts, which can be purchased. Also got a KX-393 and a KX-800, and both work flawlessly and can get parts (belts etc) for them.

My experience is totally different to yours. I find them easy to work on and very reliable.

 

[7134axel]

best decks

I've got to add the nak zx-9,jvc kd-65, akai gx-f31 and the yamaha kx800u to some of the best recording and sounding.

 

[markdi]

I bet the aiwa 6900 mk 2 belongs on this list

I have 2 that are in great shape that need repair

Maybe some day i will fix them

 

[TheNLOwner]

The NAD 6100 and 6300 belong in the top 10 for sure!

 

[Ultralyd]

It's amazing what decks people tend to think belongs in the top ten.

They should know that there's not room for 500 decks in top ten.

 

[TheNLOwner]

It's amazing what decks people tend to think belongs in the top ten.

They should know that there's not room for 500 decks in top ten.

What about a personal top ten? Ofcourse you'd crack that idea down with your "golden ears" and absolute garbage attitude, but you're known for that!

 

[Ultralyd]

What about a personal top ten? Ofcourse you'd crack that idea down with your "golden ears" and absolute garbage attitude, but you're known for that!

Well you could start counting how many different decks are mentioned in total in all the "Top of the cassette decks" threads around.

But, hey, thanks for the gesture and "kind words".

Are you known for that?

 

[TheNLOwner]

Again, it's people voicing their opinions, something you seem to have a huge problem with. But face it, the world is full of opinions you might not agree with. It's best not to crack down on them, it's a waste of time either way!

 

[Ultralyd]

Again, it's people voicing their opinions, something you seem to have a huge problem with. But face it, the world is full of opinions you might not agree with. It's best not to crack down on them, it's a waste of time either way!

You are the cracking one here.

I just mention that there's only room for ten decks in a "top ten".

And then you start yelling (and maybe cry - seems a little like that).

 

[TheNLOwner]

You are the cracking one here.

I just mention that there's only room for ten decks in a "top ten".

And then you start yelling (and maybe cry - seems a little like that).

I have better things to do then mess with you audiophool trolls! Have a nice day :thmbsp:

 

[Ultralyd]

I have better things to do then mess with you audiophool trolls! Have a nice day :thmbsp:

Bye and thanks.

Spend a little time learning to count.

 

[markdi]

I like to google the various models listed here
Lots of kool decks