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Vintage Cassette Decks - Collectors/Anyone Bother?

It's nice to have a 3 head amorphous closed loop dual capstan quartz lock pulse servo direct drive stereo cassette deck. I have two. :D
 
bastek said:
It's nice to have a 3 head amorphous closed loop dual capstan quartz lock pulse servo direct drive stereo cassette deck. I have two. :D
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I saw a uber-hi end aiwa deck of such nature yesterday with matching tuner component for $30 - was tempted to pick them up but they were mid-late 1980s and plastic fronted, whereas I'm a big fan of the 70s-esque alum front with big VU meters, and my exist midrange JVC fits that bill. Especially considering i've only got 10-15 tapes, heh.
 
I recently got a rack of silver faced Pioneer componets. One of which is a CT-F-1000 tape deck with issues. It is only a single tape machine, does not do things the newer tape decks (which I have several) do. Without the other pieces I probably would not want to fix/keep/replace it. Without it the set is missing something... kind of like a missing front tooth :)
 
SolderIron said:
I recently got a rack of silver faced Pioneer componets. One of which is a CT-F-1000 tape deck with issues. It is only a single tape machine, does not do things the newer tape decks (which I have several) do. Without the other pieces I probably would not want to fix/keep/replace it. Without it the set is missing something... kind of like a missing front tooth :)
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I know that feeling!

By the way, do you have an RG-2 or similiar in your set? (http://www.classicaudio.com/value/pio/RG2.html)
 
I had a silver 70s JVC KD-2A, a nice basic deck that served me well through my teens, as well as a Sansui SC-1110 that I picked up with my TU317 but all the rubbers were gone. By that time I had lost interest in tapes (I had an Alpine cd deck in the car) so I dumped them at a verge collection.
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Sometimes I regret not restoring the Sansui as it matched my amp and tuner, but I didn't really have the space for it.
 
I now have two silver-faced decks. The first one I picked up, for $20 a a thrift, is a CT-F900 that's promised to MarkW. And I just picked up (thrown in with a fisher RS-2010 receiver) a Sanyo RD-5372 in perfect cosmetic condition that needs the drive tire assembly repaired. :worried: The build quality is impressive. The only twin-capstan closed-loop jobby I have is a Denon DR-M4 which I think has a problem with the CTS (auto bias/eq system). For a single capstan, though, my Teac V-900X is pretty good. My current fave is my Onkyo TA-2058, a real sleeper in my book. Since I use Dolby C on everything, a silver-faced deck would be for show only. My holy grail would be a TEAC Z-7000--I can dream with the best of 'em. :yes:
 
I just had to have a Pioneer CT-F1000 to make my silver system complete and so I paid big bucks for one on ebay. Since then I saw an orphaned CT-F2121 with a wood case in a thrift store and decided to pick it up for $14. A couple of weeks ago I saw a CT-F650 in a GW for $8 and couldn't resist getting a good deal. All three have needed work and I have enjoyed getting them up and running. If I were doing this again, I wouldn't be so anxious to "complete" my system, but just keep my eye out for cheap silver that with some work will fill the spot.

I love browsing the cassettes in the thrifts. Some places sell them 4 for a dollar. They aren't CD quality, but some of what I pick up is enjoyable to listen to and it's cheap. Some I record to digital so they can go with me in the car on CD or to wherever in the laptop or MP3 player.
 
Web Police said:
I have about 15 cassette decks. :scratch2: Don't quote me on that as they multiply when I am not looking. ... Whether I collect or hoard them I am not sure. I just like getting a bargain on decks that were hundreds of dollars new and can be had for a handful of dollars today. ...
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Oh, boy, does that sound familiar. I wouldn't say I'm completely cured, but my cassette-deck "addiction" has been in remission now for several months. Prior to that, however, they multiplied enough that I've lost track of how many I have. Somewhere between 15 and 25 is probably accurate. That in itself tells me "there is a problem," even if it is only that too many decks are sitting there not being used.

I really only want to keep a couple of the very best ones. I'll hang onto the Nakamichi Zx-7, as it is truly wonderful-sounding, and the Akai Reference Master GX-95, because it competes sonically with the Nak and looks even better, but I have a hard time deciding which of the other good ones, including a few Tascams and TOTL TEACs and others, should stay. They are all very good, but I don't listen to cassettes all that much, so I don't NEED them.

I will keep a couple other specific ones (Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer) to complete specific stacks of those brands.

One or two are so unusual and nice I want to keep them (the Esotec-branded SD-4000, for example: in a couple years of regular looking, I have not been able to find another, or anyone who has seen one, not even in Japan. For all I know, it might be unique in the world. It is in good shape, and wearing wood. How can I sell that? :no:).

I will probably be getting rid of a number of horizontal (top-loading) types, but I want to find a suitable channel to get rid of them through, first. They include some of the best build quality I've ever seen in audio gear, and they still sound pretty good, so I just won't see them go into the trash!
:no: However, they are not as easy to find space for (since you need access to their tops and so can't stack them), so most of them must go. Two days ago I passed up a Nak 500 (duotracer), and even the one I already have will probably be sold. [The 700 Tri-tracer I have was one of those nostalgic "drooled over it way back when, but couldn't afford it" purchases, but that will probably go, too. The ZX-7 sounds better, is smaller, and makes a good enough "Nak representative".]

I do want to get the big Marantz horizontal one, though, but the only one I've found so far was priced at over US$300 (:screwy:), so up to now I don't have one.

There is one other possibility I've thought about: to put all the horizontal decks into a single rack, each one on a slide-out drawer, to save space and still gain access. I could put a selector unit in, to make it easy to route signals in/out of any deck, and thus easily keep them all in rotation, but what's the point, when actually two decks would fulfill my whole "need" for cassette capability, and I'd end up having to waste too much time on azimuth adjustments/matching?

Eventually, I'll get things down to probably four, maximum six "keeper" decks and no more... and maybe one day only two decks, but it's a gradual process for me.
 
I have a few decks that for some odd reason I kept, one I use and will keep is my Denon DRS-810 but I also have a Pioneer CT-F9191, Pioneer CT-F650 and a Sansui SC-1110 all of which I will be selling when ever I have time to list em.

Shawn.
 
Cassette Decks . . . hmmm. Well I have to admit that I prefer the sound of tapes over CD's. I have Howard Jones on CD and on cassette. On CD it sounds overly processed, shrill, lifeless. On cassette, a recording made in the 1980s, it sounds fuller, wider, more alive etc. Yes there is a little hiss on cassettes, but on CD's, while there is no hiss, there is also no MUSIC.:D
 
Web Police said:
I have about 15 cassette decks. :scratch2: Don't quote me on that as they multiply when I am not looking. I have a few vintage 1970's decks, but most are from the 1980's. Whether I collect or hoard them I am not sure. I just like getting a bargain on decks that were hundreds of dollars new and can be had for a handful of dollars today.
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I can add myself in that category. I just picked up another, making 17 decks (I think). My tastes run middle-era. Solenoid operated instead of piano keys, some VU or some flourescent bar graph meters, but I like to have total control: don't select the tape type for me, although that's hard to avoid as the tape era progressed. Some have dbx, all have Dolby of some flavor although I don't have a single Dolby S deck and I've been dying to get one. I just picked up an Akai HX-R5 because, well, it's an Akai, and it's beautiful. It's missing two botton caps, but otherwise it's in superb shape.

Count me: addicted.
 
tubeboob said:
Cassette Decks . . . hmmm. Well I have to admit that I prefer the sound of tapes over CD's. I have Howard Jones on CD and on cassette. On CD it sounds overly processed, shrill, lifeless. On cassette, a recording made in the 1980s, it sounds fuller, wider, more alive etc. Yes there is a little hiss on cassettes, but on CD's, while there is no hiss, there is also no MUSIC.:D
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I'd tend to agree now, previously I'd thrown away all my tapes (300 of 'em) as I only ever had dodgy tape decks and didn't realise chrome & metal tapes where anything more than a marketing ploy - however now I'd got a decent deck & vintage stereo I'm really regretting throwing them all away!!

I picked up a psychoaccoustic-audio tape the other day which has a thunderstorm & rain recorded - with my current setup it sounds as if you're really out in the rain. Quite awesome to have on in the background when working.
 
cant agree more with you nakmandan - almost every cassette deck i have ever found needs new belts! Ejecta - sounds cool to me that you have a matching set of something..even if the deck doesnt work or you dont want to use it im sure it looks great all matching and complete!! if your house is filling up to the brim with stuff you dont use maybe your hoarding..but if its a passion and you love the stuff...keep it! what good direct drive tape decks are out there?? i have never came across any!
 
Good decks keep popping up in the local thrifts and I keep buying them...a few Pioneers, a technics, a Sansui...but the biggest finds so far have been a Nak BX-1 ($12 I think, only needed a new rubber idler) and the clincher this week: an uber-rare TEAC Esoteric R-9000, meant to compete with the Nak Dragon. Got it for $3.99 plus tax, cleaned it and put a head drive belt on it and it works great now. This unit sold for $1200 new, I have $8.40 in it including the purchase price.
 
I have tons of cassettes that had been gathering dust, and I finally decided that maybe a high quality vintage deck would inspire me to explore my collection.
I snagged an Akai CS-702Dii cheap, and a Nakamichi DR3. Both are in great working order, and the Akai is a thing of beauty. And my cassettes sound great on both of them.

Yesterday I was at GW and picked up a TEAC A-107 and an Akai CS-705D. The 705 is gigantic compared to the 702, and has a nice wood case.
Cosmetically both units were very clean, but both have problems I need to sort out.

I think a good silver deck with working display, twin VUs etc is a worthy addition to any vintage electronics system.
Another reminder of a time when the norm, not the exclusive exception, was QUALITY.

Pics of my two new adopted orphans:

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I have fair collection of recordings from the 70's. As a result I have three Nakamichis:
CR 7A
680ZX
BX 300
All in mint condition and serviced with original boxes. The BX 300 will be for sale soon.
 
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