Listening to your story, I'm quite convinced you used the bottom of the barrel decks and tapes. I never had the issues you and so many others exaggerate about. The only decks that ever ate any of my tapes were always car decks...on either very hot or very cold days. A decent name-brand Type II tape paired with a Nak/Denon/JVC or similar deck, S/N ratios can exceed that of most vinyl along with a frequency response that can exceed exceed 20kHz, though that's rare in any scenario. I use Dolby all the time. I've ONLY ever had tracking issues with pre-recorded cassettes. Most Dolby tapes I've made have decoded properly on all my other players, including my EX Walkmans. With Dolby C-Type, a valid argument can be made. It's finicky and has a very low tracking error tolerance. Most of my tapes I play, people can't ever tell it's tape until I tell them. That's how transparent any format should be. Oddly, records always sound like records...and they shouldn't. They should sound like the source. The beauty of cassettes are, the format is as good or as bad as you want it to be, depending on your time, ignorance level, and dollars spent. Lots of 40+ year old undamaged tape out there that sound just as good as the day they were recorded. Can you ever say that about vinyl? Not really...at least, not often. I've had pretty decent luck with cassettes. Like any analog physical format, you're going to have those 'moments' But overall, it's a robust format that has stood the test of time fairly well so far. :)
Amen. I needle dropped Buckingham/Nicks album and Lindsey Buckingham Law & Order on a type 1 90 min Maxwell tape in dec 1981. It still sounds amazingly good. Among others
Thanks dude, I have a Pioneer F21 deck. Kept it maintained an used good quality tape. Just for the house no need for car. No idea where this PUTZ isco.ing from. U sound much more trustworthy than Mr. Lancaster.
i learn the hard way that one should only use well built cassettes, other might even have better tape but in it´s whole are bad for the decks working quality and i never used dolby only the HX-pro for listening
@@RUfromthe40s I've always debated whether HX-Pro ever made much of a difference on higher-end machines. Between my 3-head decks with and without HX-Pro, there's no real discernable difference in audible quality. Both deck types produce fairly similar results. Now on my 2-head machines, yes. There does seem to be a performance gap between the HX and non-HX decks, but it could also just be the head types and many other factors. Dolby is only ever good when it works and the head is tracking the tape dead center. When it's dead-on, omg it works amazingly well. The problem was/is, most lower end portables, ghetto blasters and cheaper home decks, all had variances in head positioning due to poor design or build quality. I stuck primarily to JVC, Denon, Onkyo & Sony decks for home and Sony & Aiwa portables. They've been good to me. :)
Yup, I may have lost a tape or 2 but for the most part, I had so many great hours of listening to tapes. How much truth can u get from Captain.Morgan. Chances are, not much maint. Was done when we 1st got into this. So that did not help matters either.
I might have a different take one this then some other people's comments. To me the cassette was a huge hurdle to get over when it came to open reel or vinyl records. But they were convenient, good enough sound for most people, and cost much less then the open reel to reel tape machines and tapes. Now even in the 1980's I was a fan of the open reel machines and good tapes on them. The early cassette machine to me most were troublesome. However I got a decent low cost tape deck by Sharp and it could never eat a tape and mess it up. why because it had a sensor on the right reel to tell if the reel stopped or went back wards in play, and the machine would click out of play. That machine also had full auto shut off at the end of the tape in play, FF ,and rewind. The Pioneer you are using there is a nice deck, but many of the older ones had the poor drive system and eat tapes. Price is not always the answer for some problems, design is the right thing to look for. you are right about the belts. If you are not lucky, and buy a used machine often the belt is goo. I do think this happens because people put their old stuff in their attic, and it gets way to hot for the belts in these units.
I have a pile of decks and tapes. My favorite deck Tandberg tcd 330 and maxell urs. Dolby what a gimmick, never use it, then again I use on average 50 year old gear cept them new fangled cds. That tude ya got great comedy, keep swinging.
I so want to disagree with you... but I can't! In 45 years I've never had a deck chew a tape, but I do religiously clean the capstans and pinch rollers. Belt goo has never been a problem with my vintage Technics, JVC and Nikko decks; the main offenders seem to be Sony, Pioneer, Marantz, Aiwa and Kenwood. These days my nostalgia kick is satisfied by having a good-looking cassette deck in my rack; I don't have to actually use it!
Nicely stated. I use a Denon DRM-800A in my main system and a Nakamichi BX-1 in my kitchen system. I have many tapes recorded during 1970's/80's from my favorite NYC FM station, WNEW (102.7). Concerts, interviews, concert happenings, weather and news broadcasts delivered by cool DJ's. Glad I saved'em. Artifacts from a saner time?
As an audiophile I know how good tapes can sound. The players, sure they can be great and serviceable but the tapes themselves are the problem. Shelf life long expired, good luck :(
I've used cassette decks for a long time and never had an eaten tape--you just gotta keep that pinch roller clean. I think it's all about choosing the right vintage deck. A NAD vintage deck is impossible to service with glued sections that can't be separated. A nightmare. A low end Nakamichi BX-100 usually only needs a $5 rubber idler wheel that takes 20 minutes to replace.
i don´t think the BX-100 is a low end deck, i might have several top end decks from nakamichi all working perfect as they were from my father but also have a BX-2 bought when i first bought the worst deck ever made or very good if only to work to monthes before the summer the Dragon doesn´t play cassettes and doesn´t breed fire ,so not a good cassette deck, but if the BX-2 as it´s quality the BX-100 might be better, more high-end than low-end , and i only have a friend, who owns a BX-300E and it´s very nice, the one i´m using it´s a 700ZXL as all were restored by a Nakamichi old technician in England where my brother and sister lives, sent there by my father who passed away recentelly
@@RUfromthe40s Yes the NAK BX-100 is a great deck. I have 3 of them. I meant to say that it's at the low end of what Nakamichi makes. I have a CR-3A that records better, but for playback, It's hard to hear the difference between the two. I always wanted to get one of those Revox decks, but the prices are ridiculous. I wonder how they sound?
@@EddieJazzFan the CR-3A is also a great deck from nakamichi i have just received from my father from the same year the CR-7A which is fine but people talk of nakamichi like if it were the best ,any top end pioneer records and plays better ,an example the CT-91A the CT-959 or CT-93 and i´ve tested the CT-F1250 as all were restored in the last 4 years , not only records and sounds better but the cassettes recorded in the cr-7a and in the 1000zxl sound better in the CT-F1250 or any of these i refered and better decks the TEAC Z-7000 or the B215 from Revox b series, this all working at 100% as all were restored to original specifications ,in the mid 70´s Pioneer in Magazines used to fill an entire page making fun of nakamichi decks this putting the nakamichi 1000 in the center of the page and the 76 with a extra window for the dynamic bias next to the VU meters in a corner in a litle size photo and also this decks i refer are flat recorders or don´t have what some call coloured sound, there is also the technics RS-9900 with transport and a extra component for the functions of the deck and sounds amazing this released in 76 as the CT-F1000 from Pioneer ,one thing i noticed the 70´s decks were made with better parts having a extended life not easilly getting out of tune, i had closed in a box a 1980 CT-520 and without putting new belts they didn´t had transform in a black gue but still working with casettes that didn´t demand extra strenght to rotate my surprise was when recording a cassette there the sound wasn´t that good but played it in a CT-91A and they sounded amazing good with perfect sound , with deep warm sound like some call it now, i prefer wider spectrum of frequencies and good dynamics
low end the BX-100?what about the BX-1 and the BX-2 those are crap level ,sorry number 2 level but i think one of the decks ever made by NAK. that works with regular maintenance it´s the BX-2 not other work for so many years and not autodestroys itself, i think it´s average quality deck
Interesting. I have reconditioned about five cassette decks of decent quality. I don't use Dolby. To my aging ears, they sound great! Actually I get more irritated with the Snap, crackle and pop of most vinyl records than well recorded music on quality tape.
Snap crackle n pop Ted Bundy come back from the electric chair? I agree with you to a fair extent. Tapes,are very good and good record maint can result in good quality music. I like messing w records, w an Eq 1 can get in more adjustment of sound. Hope u have a gr8 day.
@@florianm3170 i record directelly from streaming services where i make playlists and record to a reel in a 79 GX something open reel deck from Akai also use a B series from Revox
i also tried but never recorded or play a cassette with dolby as some decks have a higher quality when not using dolby and the hiss if the deck works without any defect there is no hiss ,some cds in their sound have hiss but that was in the studio when recording it for some reason they let it stay, about the noises in the vinyl some cartridges and stylus one doesn´t hear those noises and it sounds perfect doesn´t cut any frequency ,normally good professional needles or just more expensive and better built like the Grado prestige II gold that isn´t that expensive and was the first i bought from this new generation of cartridges it as a low sound as all others ,MM type but one doesn´t hear noises in the record ,one thing is the record being dirt and make noises ,those aren´t heard but if the noises are already the record with bad sound in the grooves it never will disapear
Hey Crank up the volume so everyone can here the tape hiss on a youtube video why don't you!! Prerecorded cassette tapes from the 1980’s are pretty darn good. Particularly after cd’s came on the market. Blank tapes from that era still hold up well. I never use Dolby and I don’t mind hiss because I can’t hear it with my tinnitus. Decks have lots of moving parts and the cassettes do as well and will some day fail. I still listen to 40 year old + tapes I recorded and they are just fine. My Teac deck is over 25 yrs old and works great!
I have had my Pioneer CT-F7272 for ten years now and I love it. As with 8 track players (I have one of those, too. A Wollensak), the machine is only as good a the tape you're playing and the majority of those eighties and nineties pre-recorded tapes sound pretty good to my ears. I also never use Dobly and I can live with the hiss, too.
that is a proof that GOD exists , nothing made by nakamichi made after 73 works, only the cassette deck1 and the DR-1 but those were almost never used as there were digital options
i find it true not all turntables sound perfect ,normally due to the cartridge and that´s what happens with me when recording from cds and i have good cd players but if recorded from a vinyl record it even sounds better
@@RUfromthe40saside from needing me to replace the belts, my DR2 is fine. And as it was used heavily in Chop 'Em Out Studios for promo tape duplication, so it's been fairly heavily used. (The current belts still work, but the deck takes about 1/5 of a second to get up to speed lol!)
@@domfjbrown75 yes , normally the first belts were always better and even more in late 70´s deck , that i have some who worked for years, i did had from my father all top end cassette decks models since 74 till early 2000, the DR-1, that i only tested it as it was the only that wasn´t restored abroad that i remenber my father spending a lot of money to repair all his nakamichi decks i remenber recording my first cassette in a nakamichi 1000 from 74, a sony or BASF as the cartridges 8 track recorders were the main source used by all in their cars only in mid 70´s people started to use cassettes as in those days any new album or compilation was sold cheap in fairs for a litle amount of money and cartridges were sold a lot, at home i had a open reel deck after a giant grundig from early 60´s maybe that it had 7 diferent speeds , but in 1970 i was ofered by my grandfather a crosfield from AKAI , reference X-165D that after heavy use i still have it working today, later i had a TEAC and a better AKAI and the RT-707 from Pioneer in 76 and many more as i kept my father´s component colection that he had the best that was released in the 70´s and i even in my 20´s i couldn´t touch his things, but he worked in a bank so i adfter school at 1.30 in the afternoon could record there cassettes and he never knew that but having problems with my mother as he felt like a hi-fi junkie and with the excuse of me needing a better hi-fi system ofered me his top of the line components system from Pioneer 76 catalog, if you look for it on-line like in hi-fi engine you look at the catalog and all the most expensive components i have tem since late 76 because he bought a very complete REVOX system with extra studer speakers but i remenber that a BMW 523i my first family car in 75/76 was as expensive as the turntable only and the timer, the only thing he ofered me all his life, sorry this i think happens with age , i am off topic ,sorry for that, but no doubt i think the best decks made by nakamichi in quality next to other brands quality was the cassette deck 1 and the DR-1 as it as all functions all other giant decks have but with knobs that most of the persons i know who bought them never touched those knobs like in the dragon or the 1000ZXL ,that i had two the special edtion one and the one first released, i only kept a 700ZXL and a 680ZX also bought myself when buying in late 82 the Dragon that was stoped next year in late jully, also the BX-2 i bought as a second deck still works today and never was repaired only the regular maintenance asked by the brand, they were well engeniered components but built with the cheapest plastic kind of like Sony did at the time but Sony they lasted a lot of years if repaired, i´m refering to the parts on the play/record section that with heat become out of shape making vibration while recording and playing cassettes, and i do have components from nakamichi that are very good as a late 80´s stasis power amplifier that were the only real stasis amplifier when first released the Stasis mkII wasn´t a stasis at all and the engenier who developed it put nakamichi in court of law for doing it and had to pay a lot of money to this engenier , this was a system my father had all nakamichi except the speakers who were some infinity with giant size that had the CR-7a as the same design as other components, who i think it was a very good deck as the ZX-9
This is one instance when I tend to shy away from silver face stereo equipment. The mid to late 80s tape decks were so much better at producing and recording high quality audio. At this point, almost all tape decks need belts. I tend to hang on to decks that are easy to service and have great features.
well i never notice diference from mid 70´s decks till the end of the 90´s, but i´m refering to good decks, in the early 90´s or since the second half of the 80´s the only thing that changed were the amourphous heads on top end Pioneer decks also the Denon DRM-800a and the kenwood from 87 ,the HK980 maybe not sure now, the one with two displays and the leds going up not sideways with calibration ,manual. but not all brands took advantage from the Amourphous heads, one of the best recording and playing deck i have is a Philips F series from 1979, no calibration but amazing how it sounds
my first cassette deck was a Pioneer CT-F2121 as i had bought a car that came with a radio cassette player from Pioneer before only 8-track cartridges for the car, but maybe my grandfather thought it wasn´t good and ofered me a CT-F1000 in the christmas of 1976 ,still have it and works perfect, both
They are great decks but look awful! I'm trying to decide whether to buy a Pioneer reconditioned, really high quality, or a brand new TEAC which is not as good but LOOKS good. I could always paint the faded yellow chome thing blue or something ..
U really might want to put down the bottle, u posing for Otis Campbell the town drunk? With Good maint. You can really enjoy the use of a good deck. U might want to know ur subject better, they are making a return.
Don't care for the snark. Cassette decks are indeed complicated, intricate machines which need maintenance! In 45+ years of making home recordings on high grade tapes, in decks with clean heads, capstans and pinch rollers, I have never had a tape eaten! Belts wear out and will need to be replaced, motors are electromechanical devices which require occasional lubrication etc. Sadly, high grade tapes are no longer manufactured. Fortunately I have a good stock of types 2 and 4 tapes, so I'm good. I also have tapes made in the 80s which still sound fantastic! Prerecorded cassettes were usually bad, so I didn't buy them. And put down the scotch, dude!
I believe you are getting drank sir. You should listen to a 40 years old NAKAMICHI DRAGON with a McINTOSH POWER AMPLIFIER and a B&W TOWER SPEAKERS and a METAL TAPES and tell me if the sound is not as closed as a CD.
Bla bla bla… tengo una platina de cassette marantz, la más baja de su gama que es la sd800 y estoy muy complacido con ese aparato, no puedo adquirir un nakamichi Dragón o la pioneer 1250… es cuestión de dinero o no se que otra cosa… Saludos a todos… 😀⚡️
I love making mix tapes from RU-vid Music to my Onkyo TA_RW411. Its all about the nostalgia the set up and it sounds really good. Guess im just a nostalgic guy I have a 2003 Lexus 430 whick has a tape deck in it.
pretty dumb rant, but at least you seemed to be having fun. was never a fan of Dolby noise reduction, which is why I went with the DBX system. less popular yes, but way better sounding. p.s. it's just suppose to be a fun hobby .....
I LOVE cassette decks. but at this point in time, why buy one ? for starters, you cant even get good type II blank casettes any more. they are no longer made. with that said, using type I tapes, your recordings arent what they used to be. I hate to say it, but time has passed these beautiful machines by. I used to love buying TDK SA90 cassettes. Order them from J&R Music world and feel like a million bucks when you got a box of them. sadly, great times that are gone.
I, too, have a few tapes from the 1980s and 90s that are only available in that format. I keep them around and occasionally listen to them out of nostalgia. My 35 year old cassette deck has most of the issues that you described and was terminal. I picked up a well maintained Rotel cassette deck on Craigslist list for $80. It actually sounds good. I'm happy enough with that option.
I was a AKAI man reel to reel cassette deck turntable wharfdale speakers wish I never got rid of all of it, Just bought a Sony TC133 used I hope it works OK? Thanks for your thoughts
Great video, Thanks. My cassette journey started the late 70's with the purchase of an Pioneer CT - F700, which I still have. It hasn't been used in 25+ years, but recent videos, including this video, have convinced me to seek any necessary repairs. Why? Because it is a thing of beauty, and fond memories. The beauty part, solid brushed aluminium front panel, the switches and knobs, lovely, while adding tactile enjoyment, and the three count em three V.U. meters dancing away. Makes me smile just thinking about it. The fond memories part, a local F.M. station would regularly broadcast new album releases, with a que up, without commercials or any other interruption until the album needed turning, short break, then the other half of the album, again without interruption. Many happy hours listening and being with Family and Friends. Just an aside here, but the alcohol recommended for cleaning purposes was, I believe denatured, not Scotch. "Never refuse to do a kindness unless the act would work great injury to yourself, and never refuse to take a drink-- under any circumstances." - Mark Twain
I own Pioneer CT-F9191for 14 years,Changed belts,some idler tires clean the heads-working perfect, sounds great with chrome tapes. I also own Yamaha Kx-392 double cassette deck which I bought new in 1999, working great and never serviced just clean the heads once in a wile. Also own a Sony tc-134sd this one is ok...complicated to maintain.... Have about 500 cassettes.... Love the media.
I just bought the pioneer CT-F9090. I gotta clean it and stuff obviously cause I just got it. But why is the rewind and fast forward not working??? Please let me know!
I’m so glad I found you. It’s so nice so nice listen to self effacing humer along with tech knowledge to make your points. Do what you must with your equipment, but don’t loose your mind and listeners at the expense of end product. You’re a joy to watch and listen to.
Loved the video! You are a colorful and funny person; unlike so many RU-vid videos which are Boring! Cassetes themselves are viewed as boring to many. However, their Sanyo or Soundesign or Sharp cassette decks come nowhere near a top of the line Tandberg. Top of the line Nakamichis don't come that near totl Tandbergs either, but they do completely destroy the brands I mentioned, and even others with more audio credibility. The Tandberg 20 series of reel decks were among the best consumer tape decks, and some who own totl Tandberg cassette decks, who also have their reel decks too, do not consider one that superior to the other. I'm guessing you haven't heard a good factory prerecorded cassette on a top Tandberg model or Luxman model. They can near rival reel to reel quality; and this a minor miracle at their much slower tape speed. Even with cassettes lack of dynamic range, I preferred them sonically to cds, or more accurately I preferred them to the sound of reasonably affordable cd players until about 1999; cd players were improving. Tape has such a smooth relaxed sound with great continuity. Very natural sounding and no ticks or pops. Even more analog than lps if you really think about the manufacturing processes involved You would be surprised the openness, clarity and purity of the finest cassette playback. The cassettes and the players can develop problems, but the cassettes are so cheap at thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets etc. that if the tape becomes ruined; you just remember all the good times and many plays it gave you for a measly dollar. You buy another one cheap. No tears! I bought many used cassette tape decks over the years. I've never had one last 15 years. But I think the average they lasted for me with very frequent use was between 4 and 5 years. For an average price of $50, I'd have considered it worth it if it gives me a year. That's the way I look at it.
100% Correct, only Metal tape (which used to cost the same price as a new LP back in the day), with Dolby-C reached acceptable quality. ALL 70 to mid 80s DECKS BIAS are miss calibrated, from the mid 80, finally decks appeared on the market with adjustable BIAS, (but average "Joe" never knew what that bias adjust was for and how to use it). so Dolby always mis tracked , resulting in either a dull or overly compressed sound, folks would playback dolby encoded tapes without correctly decoding them, yuck. and NO 2 DECKS PLAYED THE SAME SPEED, so a tape recorded on deck A would play slower or faster on deck B.
Own Pioneer CT-F7070 (without wooden sidepanels), SONY TC-K6 (silver) and TC-229SD. Renew belts and pinchrollers, mostly 13mm/8mm/2mm type. Love my DAT recorder (ID tag) DTC-55ES (modified with RFswp + RF output) and portable DAT TCD-D3 (even in LP mode) more. On PC devices i use AIMP software. On smartphone i use Casse-O-Player.
My deck doesn’t have Dolby. It has ANRS I & II and DBX. I also have a HiCom encoder and decoder so problems here with hiss. They all sound great especially the HiCom which sounds good with or without it on unlike DBX.
Hi from Australia. After my first Akai GXC46D was stolen, I was shattered. I was on RU-vid and to cut a long story short, I found a guy who owned the same deck. This model cost around 372 dollars in 1971 (about 3,200 dollars today). I asked him if he wanted to sell it and he said yes because he was in charge of his fathers estate. I payed him a couple of hundred dollars and a week later I got it. It was in mint condition. I took it to a friend of mine with 3 TDK low noise and 3 TDK Chromium tapes for optimum bias with Dolby B on. 372 dollars in 1971 could buy you an amplifier, speakers and a turntable so to spend that much money on a cassette deck was serious coin!! After it was re-capped, the belts replaced, lubricated and all the lights replaced with exact matches with LEDs, the bias was next. He used my tapes and his own tapes and using an oscilloscope it took him an hour or two to adjust the bias perfectly......don't forget this was a one head deck so he used stickers on his scope to mark the position on playback. With Dolby B switched on he recorded music from a CD and was waiting for me to pick it up. After I walked in, he played me some Pink Floyd and Dance....I was a Club DJ. The quality of the sound was stunning on both tape types. When I got home, I played some deleted CDs on TDK chrome tapes and they sounded as good when I played them on this deck. Are cassettes the best way of storing music? Of course not but when handled properly with Dolby B switched in, it made no difference to the treble level at all. To the people who buy CDs and put them in a stacker in the boot without worrying about the heat from the sun, when they warp and wont play, all you had to do was rip them to your computer and then copy them to blank discs. I put my car in my garage to keep the heat level low. Using todays technology, cassette tapes have been reborn with all of the bad faults eliminated. I love them as i do my records because sometimes it's nice to remember the days when life was less complicated. Cheers. Andrew Collins Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
I had a good laugh when you opened with "Run Away". I have to agree with just about everything you said here. Back in the 80's, I too believed that cassettes were one of the worst formats next to 8-track tapes. Sadly, I lived with cassettes for the one big positive reason that you mentioned...portability. Also, what ties into that, a medium to record music too. Back then, it was that or record on to reel to reel. While that was a vastly superior format in terms of sound quality, it had issues too and the big one was the lack of portability and also the high cost. But that would be another topic of discussion. Cassette's big downfall was that the tape speed is too slow. Unless you used a top end deck with metal cassettes, there was no way you would get even close to the fidelity of an open reel deck. Use a fast enough speed on the latter, and you didn't even need noise reduction. I too, hated noise reduction schemes with the exception of Dolby B. Dolby B seemed to be the only noise reduction system that worked between machines. As you mentioned, with most other forms of Dolby and, even more so, with DBX, you need to play the tape back on the SAME machine that recorded it. So that put in pin in the portability balloon. However, Dolby B was the only one that you could record with it, but you didn't have to use it on playback, and you got a nice boost on the high end. But there was tapes other problems, most of what you mentioned already, but my biggest pet peeve with cassettes were the phasing of the high frequencies when the tape started to wear. The high frequencies phased in and out. Then after that, the tape would get significant sections that would loose the high frequencies. This was a constant battle with just about all decks. Although I do admit the double capstan decks maintained a better tension over the tape heads and I DID have better luck with these decks, BUT the problem was never eliminated. So already back then, when it was the only feasible and portable recording medium, I loathed cassettes. But I dealt with them. So in terms of putting together a vintage system, would I add a cassette deck? Absolutely not! There are so many better and still portable ways to record audio now that I feel that cassettes have gone the way of the Dodo. IF I were to get into analog tape, I would want to revisit reel to reel decks. But, that is doubtful as that is a very expensive media to get into. Then there is the large amount of maintenance on the decks to keep them clean and aligned. So, I think I am generally done with tapes. However, I do have an interest in getting back into vinyl, and this was a source that I had always loved in the past. While not as portable as a cassette, it still was somewhat portable. Signal to noise ratio is far better than cassettes. There are no drop outs or having to deal with the annoyance of the high frequencies phasing in and out. Yes, there is some maintenance, in that you have to clean the records and stylus. But the player itself requires little maintenance, when compared to a tape deck. So yeah, I wholeheartedly agree that the best advice is to "run away". But I do get it for those nostalgia buffs out there. A nice cassette deck does look awesome with it's big VU meters and all sorts of buttons. Don't get me wrong, a cassette deck is eye candy, but just to have one to look at isn't warranted enough for me. I do recall watching another YT'er and he said that he often bought the tuner of a separate system, just for the looks, since he really didn't listen to the radio. I guess I can get that too given that the tuner has that huge, nicely lit, slide rule. But FM radio is still, yet, another inferior form of audio reproduction and I rarely listen to the radio anymore, save for the one in my car. So for vintage gear, it most likely will be just the amp, preamp, speakers, and a turntable for me. Great post! I had fun watching this one!
Are you really going to listen to a guy with old hearing ears or just tired of the hassle that also comes with age. Cassetes probably sound worse to this guy as he ages or he's had nothing but bad gear. Thats probably why he needs to spend another $5k in gear to hear any purity again. There is a fun factor to cassetes most dont understand until the have experimented with them enough to apreciate what it does for that listener. Cassete decks are fine and can sound better(or just more pleasing to ones opinion) than the source if done right. Buy a 3 head deck of you want the full experience. Nexf buy a quailty EQ and experiment with the limitations of a quality cassette when recording to get your optimum desired sound. You may apreciate the result of a piece of recording you altered on the fly to make it sound the way you wanted it to. This can also be done with a quality RTR machine.
It is hard to believe you even owned a tape deck with the diatribe you just presented to us. That said, like the person's comment below mine, it is very doubtful you ever owned a quality tape deck in your life. LOL I use a Luxman 2 head deck every day and it is 37 years old. It has never eaten tapes unless I have lost pressure pads in the cassettes I have over 200 in my collection. We all have a right to our own opinions but I don't think this video was even meant to be taken seriously. That is reinforced by that amber-colored liquid you were drinking. Alcohol-containing or not.
Still have 4 working decks: 3 in use -- 2 Sonys and an Aiwa -- and my first, a Superscope CD- 302A, in retirement. I also have over 300 tapes I dubbed from LPs and 100+ pre-recorded tapes. Love 'em all!
You are wrong at so many levels. My Pioneer reference deck has a frequency response of 15Hz to 24,000 Hz (+/-3 dB). And has Dolby S, so no hiss. In fact I have made some recordings on high quality blanks of my first pressing LP's that people have stated sound way better than streaming AND CD's.
I still have my AKAI GXC-570D IN WORKING CONDITION / My NAKAMICHI ZX-9 but not working anymore. I bought it brand new in the 80s for 3K / I bought a TECHINCS RS-BX606 Cassette Deck that died on me. Gave that one to Goodwill. Not a very good deck. / I replaced it with HARMAN KARDON CD-491 that I found on Craiglist and I am still using it until now. My AKAI GXC-570D and HARMAN KARDON CD-491 cassette still running and still working just fine with no problem at all. I always use a high bias and metal cassette tapes. MAXELL / FUJI / TDK / MEMOREX / SONY / DENON / BASF / i used a normal bias tapes for my car and I used the high bias tapes for my home stereo only. It's very hard to tell the difference between my CDs and my cassette tapes especially if you have a high end home audio system like CARVER / SAE / DBX / EQUALIZERS / KENWOOD / PANAMAX / MONSTER POWER / TEAC X-2000R REEL TO REEL
Thanks for entertaining video 😂 One thought aloud - if human ear can manage same as many many decks on Metal tape 20-20.000 HZ. Why do you call cassettes not surving the purpose? 😢😅😊
Bought a Concord F-105 cassette deck in 1969 from the Allied Electronics catalog for $99.50. Absolutely terrible. You neglected to mention the worst flaw of cassettes - the impact of the slow tape speed.
i went digital in mid 90´s to discover again that analog was far evolved compared to digital in the 90´s, the DAT is a very good format but seems forgoten, digital couldn´t sound better this in late 80´s, now i also re-started to use my DAT deck again this because i found 20 blank dat cassettes in the bottom of a card box filled with reels that i´m also using again, not a matter of nostalgia as i never thought of doing what i´m doing now, it hapened by chance, it´s tape cassettes only digital
Compact cassette for me is a no today.. only because nobody makes decent tape anymore for them. if you want any decent compact cassette tapes to use in your vintage tape decks, you will be hunting for NOS stuff and the supplies of those (I am not talking about normal type 1 tapes but the better ones, ie: chrome, metal) are drying up - tape also doesnt last forever, so your NOS stuff that is decent is probably already 20+ years old)... whats left of the decent NOS stuff is getting expensive! If you are happy with type 1 you can still get fresh tape, record the masters (RTM) make a fairly ok type 1. If you are serious about compact cassette, then its an expensive hobby.... A good reel to reel deck capable of 15 IPS or higher (prosumer or better) will outperform a compact cassette deck - reel to reel is also an expensive hobby - i personally find reel to reel more appealing for my analog audio fix. I have a fully restored Revox B77 MK2 and it sounds magnificent
Totally agree, but the main reason that Type II and Type IV aren't being made any more are environnemental reasons, they pollute too much for today's standards. I have 4 Revox A77, I paid between 45 and 200 € per piece, and I did all the servicing myself. My daughter got the fifth one with new recently replaced (1989) unused heads for 120€. Haven't had the luck to get a B77 for a "okay" price till now. I always keep an eye open for PER 525 and 528 studio NOS tapes, often on bobbys for studio use (740m.) (I'm in Europe), they cost about a third of the new tapes made today and are exempt of any ageing problems. My daughter is also into cassettes, she makes her own with custom covers and uses them in her own period conform 20 year old Opel Corsa car radio.
Would have agreed until I got my a JVC DD-7 a couple decades ago. Curb find maybe ? A thrift store possibly. Anyway 20 years old when got it. But yeah until that one i was putting a deck to rest every 2 to 3 years. Most did sound good...but something would go wrong with the mechanism. As you mentioned the plastic parts...it turns out they were essential after all. It was always something and either limping or totally dead. So now I'm still using the DD-7. More than a half dozen have bit the dust ( well collecting dust) and a few more limping or lamed . That DD-7 possibly the best product JVC made (1982?) . And it did get daily use in a bicycle shop for a decade after i found it. What i like about the DD-7 is the quartz locked direct drive single capstan motor...lovely simple and runs at the correct speed and no audible wow and flutter and the pinch roller still is like new ( amazing) . The Sendust Alloy heads...still like new! Does the head need adjusti ...no. But yhe best part is how well it records a Type I ferric as long as it is an oriental tape formula ( TDK D the doped oned of course...for instance) . Not sure the JVC even has Dolby....but yeah Dolby sucks and doesn't play back well on another taoe deck. JVC had thier own noise reduction system...never even tried it. But even if you get the Dolby properly calibrated you can hear it operating anyway. I wish this treny thing hadn't happened though, because I can't find anther one now...at least one I can afford. I don't bother tapin vinyl either...start with a digital source ...far less noise and distortion.
Non of the bad things that you mentioned is my experience. All these become reality using garbage decks like the one you display to prove your arguments, or bottom of the barrel boomboxes, car stereos etc. Within a good environment i.e decent deck properly working, good cassettes even used, knowledge of making good recordings, all your arguments are invalid. And you don't need a Nakamichi to realise the potential of the medium. Of course it is inferior to vinyl, cd, etc. but who cares? Very few if any, use it as their primary source, most do recordings due to nostalgia and for fun. Next time bring a better deck and do a recording demo with a good cassette, unless you insist on your opinion.
I've owned my fair share of cassette decks. My first component cassette deck was the Pioneer CT-F2121 in 1975. I've owned decks from Akai, Denon, Onkyo, Technics, Nakamichi, Yamaha and Nikko. Cassettes are good for one thing for sure. Interviews via FM. I have recorded interviews with many people; Billy Joel, Springsteen, Paxton, Ainsley Dunbar, Lennon, Pete Seeger, Roach Sisters, South Side Johnny among others. These ain't available on internet and are quite rare. Some live performances off air to boot. Poor "high fidelity"? No shit. Cassettes run at 1 7/8 ips and cassette tape is half as wide as open reel tape and half as slow as R2R's slowest speed (3 3/4 ips). I use a Pioneer RG-2 expander with the tape format (since 1981) and it does restore some dynamic range and offer noise reduction. Cassettes are and always were a compromise. However, when tryin' to play music stoned or drunk, cassettes are a safer bet than lowering the tonearm on an LP. Much harder to F.U. You do make some valid points.
Put a CD recorder in the system to dub to. On my 2nd cassette deck since mid 1980s. I have just had second round of service done on vintage 1988 3-head NAD I bought used in mid 90s from audio dealer. The first shop was not quite as qualified to repair as the second one. Cost of service last year and just recently completed was $1k. Besides belts, and other parts, they had to get a main motor replacement from another deck as it is not made anymore. I had used a modest Technics cassette deck before this and many of my mixtapes are with dbx. I have a DBX decode-encoder in the tape loop and can play (or record another) of those. Most of my 30-35 year old mixtapes are good, and sound good if I got levels correct way back when. I bought NAD cassette deck as I tried to make an NAD system, of used serviced NAD Monitor series in the early 90s.
PTSD achieved. I only have a few cassettes anymore and those are things like "Cassette" by PIL or "Low-Life" by New Order in the box packaging. Collectables only. I might get a portable...maybe.
I totally disagree. Yes there can be problems. But there are problems with all kinds of media. There are many old recordings that are only on cassette tape. I find some amazing recordings in thrift stores. And what about those underground bands that smuggled their music out of Soviet run countries back in the 80s and 90s all on cassette. They had no abilities to make cds. I love my Akai and my Nakamichi. People say they can't really tell the difference between cassettes i made from cds and the cds. It all goes according the the entire chain of electronic equipment you are using. Cassettes do not suck I have over 700 of them and still buy them when i find a good one. You must be one of those audio snob. Digital is far from perfect I don't care how much you spend on a cd player mine cost $2400 new and sounds good, but I find most cd players are a bit bright, crisp and tiring and and I have had to take them apart to get a cd out when the draw stops working. Some cd player eventually start to misread the disc and skip so they too have to have maintenance and parts for high end cd players can be hard to get. As for streaming forget it you have to depend on a good consistant wifi signal or there are drop outs or noise. My Cambridge gets squelching noises from poor signals some radio stations are unlistenable. And all services do not have the same quality and there are library limitations where you can't find the music you want to hear. So streaming can suck. I bought a bluesound node and it sucked. I couldn't get the stations I listened to on my Cambridge so I returned it. The Eversolo got great reviews so I bought one its ok gets more of the streaming radio stations but there are still a few I can't get. It sounds better than when I bought with the eq upgrade, but I already have an equalizer. Are you one of those snob that says tone controls and eqs alter the original recording and should not be used, that if it sounds bad its poor quality equipment. Besides for all of that, the bottom line is that all types of equipment has its ups and downs and buying a cassette player is its own experience and should not be written off as out dated. I am a pro analog guy. Just do your research and don't buy a cassette player that was a cheap piece of junk when it was new. There are a lot of nice decks out there. Be aware they have some age and may need some care or maintenance, but their not disposable like streamers that you don't fix just trash when they become obsolete as the new best thing comes out. I love cassettes.
You seem to have a biased idea of how the FR affects the perceived crispness and brightness of the recording. Dolby C for example offers a FR extension, cassette decks especially low end ones are not that prone to eating tapes even when they are not maintained for decades. With such superficial approach I suspect it wouldn't be hard for me to fool somebody reasoning like you do into thinking they're listening a CD but not using one of my high end decks but one of my duplication machines on Type II tape. And remember a record doesn't actually records, a 10 inch reel can only be moved from room to room, a DAT or MiniDisc are confined niche market. Cassette was a media that everybody used and just required a modest machine to achieve nearly perfect results that lasted a lifetime. Cassette decks is today more than ever a sport that sets apart the dummy, the amateur and the learned user. Knowing your machine without knowing about cassettes isn't enough. Still you need a very well maintained machine which you barely ever find on the market in this day and age. It's a serious hobby that requires far more understanding than the average Joe is willing to spend.
it´s subscribed, you make very nice videos also drink i stoped when 50 ,i had to , i used to take all that is good but normally what feels good is bad for our health, at least they say
i re-started to use cassette decks in 2017 as i had boxes filled with new sealed cassettes and some of the considered best decks ever bought mainly by my father who passed away recentelly and we both colected hi-fi components but his and most expensive colection is now part of mine, but i started again to make compilations to hear from cds or records i sometmes might want to hear a song but the trouble in finding the Lp or have to play it only to hear a 3.43 minuts music,. so since 2017 i´ve recorded 90 and some more compilations and what a pleasure to hear them ,about sound quality they sound better than the cds i recorded them from, it was a lot of work but now i can hear those or that songs by playing a cassette, and i like dflat recorders i9´m not one of those who increases high´s in the cassettes to latern they sound horrible also never used dolby but never had hiss ,it started by not having dolby in my fiirst two open reel decks also have more blank cassettes than reels so my option went to cassettes, i have been using a Pioneer with manual calibration and a Kenwood also a Nakamichi, almost forget a direct drive Technics deck quartz from 1979, how can that thing work perfect after so many years stoped and Pioneer´s have better engines, at least the older ones
Radiators are more efficient than open fires but I know which I would rather sit in front of. Frequency response only matters when a b ing one against the other, our ears will eq the difference.
Yes.... Had a few decks from my time back in the 80's . I was one of those who recorded new records to tape to keep them in good nick. My car stereo was worth more than the car. I currently have 2 working machines. a . nice Yamaha twin deck and a JVC with a few bells and whistles. I play tapes on them once a fortnight to keep them moving'. but also a few 'projects' in the garage. hhhhmmmm .... I might need cask strength Laphroaig Ha Ha!! I copied the 'keepers' onto my computer then to disc and other formats. quality not an issue as I long as still have them and listen to them ....aaah good old 80's music. You might have talked me into getting rid of the not so good machines.. my wife will love me for it ...Heh heh... Loved the video mate AL
But other than that how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? I have a high end Hitachi I can't get anyone to look at. I cracked it open and can't even see the belts. On the other hand, I have a Sony I got for $1 at an estate sale. It was filthy, but it plays fine. I've got an Onkyo, a Yamaha with HXpro, and a JVC for field recording. They all work fine. Other people are selling . . . and I'm buying. If a tape is bad, I chuck it and move on unless it has high quality innards like TDK. I have noticed that 8 track tape machines are selling around here. Now THAT is a bridge too far.
I got back into tape...reel to reel first then cassette...in about 2013. It was mostly for that walk down memory lane thing. With 2 young kids, I couldn't afford a Dragon in the 80's, but I can now. 2 caveats, if you want good sound from a 40 year old, mostly mechanical medium...you have to buy a top rated deck from that time period...and you have to have it brought back up to spec. If not it will always sound poor.
I am drinking with you, brother... Lol you're not wrong! I think I'm using my "bought as new" Akai deck as a VU meter as I build out my vintage set-up.
I found a Vector research, it plays well, even with the original belts and parts, From late 80s. Only needed to clean the tape path. Works well. Yeah, I would say, stay away from it also. Reel to reel or vinyl records are better.
I still have my CDs and cassettes and will never sell them. Gotta Yamaha KX 393 tape deck bought in 2000 and still going strong. I recently played a cassette I purchased on eBay by a band called Magnum. The album in question is Sleepwalking which was released in 1992. I couldn't find it on CD or download so tape was the best alternative. I put it on straight away and was blown away by the warmth and depth of the sound. So proud of my cassettes.
The problem with cassette decks is that for decades now no one builds high quality motor blocks and toneheads anymore. So no new good cassette decks in sight,and the old ones that still work will die in one or two decades. Soundwise upper class early nineties models are the best.
this guy is drunk and seems to know nothing about tapes , he should try a after mid 70´s cassette deck but there was the CT-F1000 and the NAK. 1000 that were 76 and before but in the 90´s were far from mid 70´s average quality
dolby what ,never used it as it takes the good of good cassette decks but each to his own, but a almost 50 tyears deck isn´t the best to show how bad were cassettes and far from being the best at the time, maybe the most used deck by teenagers in 76
I will stick with my nakamichi. rx202. Wish it was a 3 head but it sounds very good and nothing is cooler then watching a tape change sides. It is time to put belts in it and I have them. I am scared to do it!
I have a couple of tape decks and my 90s unit have an automatic stop if it detects the take up wheel not working it stops, also using Chrome tape and good 3 head unit without using dolby sounds pretty good to me. I think you need to get your violin out and cry your heart out.
Everybody who owns a correctly calibrated deck (or Walkman)! Dolby noise reduction does increase, not reduce dynamic range. XPRcloud 3 comments before explained.
The way I see it, in asending order of bad to best with sound quality you got cassettes on the bottom, next bested by LPs, next bested by reel to reel, next bested by MP3, next bested by CDs and, by maybe of marginal value, fially bested by the various streaming platforms. Cassettes basically made your music mobile, not better.
CD is and will always be the best physical format, and it helps that they are still produced and you can still buy a brand new player just about anywhere . Remember the CD killed vinyl stone dead and then CD and mp3 killed tape. The only nostalgia I have for records and tapes from the era is that they had a side A and a side B. But then most new music was not designed for a two side format. Modern albums are mastered onto four vinyl discs cause they are too long.
I bought my first tape deck as an adult three years ago. A refurbished Nakamichi BX-1 from a local audio shop. I needed it because I was on a mission to track down lost media from my childhood. I have some misc. pre-recorded Dolby tapes that sound absolutely wonderful. When it comes to things like tape-eating, I too suffered from exagerated memories in this respect. I remember being in class when tapes would get eaten. Many, many times. And the sound they made was awful. I remember my own tapes being eaten while I was playing them on a tiny handheld player or micro boom box while on camping trips with my family. And... of course. These were the lowest of low quality devices, built to favour convenience at the expense of literally anything else. I fail to recollect any such incident occurring on a reasonable, stationary component deck. They usually have safety features that shut them down before any problem becomes serious. While I would never want to go back to the days of cassettes and garbage players on the go, at home where it belongs, it's wonderful.
