Recommend a cassette deck for me

Yes, I want to get a cassette deck for nostalgia and to play some old recordings I have. I prefer one with three heads, reliable and possibly the last cassette deck to buy.

Should I go for something like the Nakamichi Dragon or go for one of the new Tascam decks? A remote control is a plus.

Any suggestions? Budget up to $1000

 

You should have no problems finding a Nak Dragon in good condition for $1K, though the wired remote is usually hard to come by.

 

If you want ultimate reliability and top notch sound, you can't go past the ReVox B-215 series... the only deck with 4 direct drive motors for both capstans and reel motors...

I have had mine since 94 and it works like a charm!

 

This guy builds wireless IR remotes for the Dragon and other Nak decks:

http://www.nakremotes.com/IR_Remote.htm

 

Closed Loop / Dual Capstan / Dolby S / Etc...



Been there, done that - would have done it differently next time - and picked up one of these:

http://www99.epinions.com/content_98871840388

...once you've heard the quality of a well-recorded Dolby S encoded cassette tape, you'll be blown away at how well a simple cassette can record music.

Andrew D.

www.cdnav.com

 

I too recommend the Sony TC-KA3ES Cassette Deck (it is not a dual deck). I have it, I use it, Dolby S is great. It comes with a remote in Canada, but in the US no remote.

If you chose to go with a Nak this is what you want, not the Dragon (too complicated, too many parts for a machine OOP).

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Nakamichi-CR-7A-...13640070QQihZ019QQcategoryZ4784QQcmdZViewItem

http://www.naks.com/

 

I just bought a used Pioneer CT-S740S cassette deck on Ebay. It is a model from 1995. It sounds fantastic and always gets the best out of every tape, even the cheapest chrome. It has something called "Wide Range System" which extends the frequency range on metal bias tapes to 25 kHz.

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Pioneer/CT-S740S

 

Hi,

The ReVox B215 is the creme de la creme of cassette decks. 4 motor direct drive and one heck of a transport and electronics. The Dragon slayer par excellence! On Tascams the 122 Mk II or III is superb and reliable!

 

The Revox is an awesome deck. No experience with Dolby S, so can't comment there.

Personally, I've found happiness with a Nak ZX-7. Close to Dragon sound, not too complicated and I found a super clean one for $350 and paid another $150 to have it completely gone over.

Just a thought...

 

I've used some recent Tascam models at work that are really nice, and well under 1K.

 

Thanks for all the input. I am stil looking and reading.
Search is narrowing down to
A. Vintage
1) Nakamichi CR7A (seems to be aftermarket supported the most)
2) Revox B 215

B. New
1) Tascam ?

Are there new production cassette decks out there that outperform the vintage Nakamichi or Revox decks?

 

I cannot speak for the Revox, but having heard the Nak CR7A a long time ago and using the Sony TC-KA3ES with Dolby S today these two are very close IIRC. I think the difference is having a legend with the risk of maintance (the Nak) or what is clearly the end-of-the line in improvements for cassette decks in their last days (Sony). For what I paid for my Sony back in the late 90's you can get an Alesis Masterlink that does all that this deck does digitally. I just realized that Sony no longer sells these decks so TASCAM would be the choice for something that is still supported today.

 

Well, I'll just second the previous recommendations. I'm a Nakamichi fan myself, but Revox is a fine brand as well.

 

for Nak service (or anyone else really) use www.eslabs.com in Connecticut... they are pricey, but their work is outstanding!

 

Thanks for the link. I have wanted to get the remotes for my Naks (Dragon, 700ZXE and ZX-7) for some times. Anything wireless is even better.

 

Between Nakamichi and Revox and if you toss in the Tandberg 3014, there are few cassette decks out there that can match the performance of these decks, i.e. at least 30-20. While Dolby S can boost the S/N, it does nothing about the somewhat mediocre FR of the latest decks that are equipped with this NR.

 

Here is the primary addy to vintage cassette
http://www.vintagecassette.com/
they are part of naks.com
Good hunting and best of luck in finding what you want.

 

There is a Tandberg 3014 on e-bay right now and two Revoxes (Audiogon and E-bay). Are these relatively easy to find if some one waits for a near mint one (as well as the Nakamichi CR7A) or should I jump now on them?

 

SoundSmith in Peekskill, NY specializes in Tandberg repair/overhaul. Electronic Labs in CT specializes in Nak and I believe there is still an outfit in TN that specializes in Revox. You really cannot go wrong with one of these decks because you simply cannot find comparable performance in any of these new cassette decks. The decision really comes down to the physical condition - mainly the cosmetic of the deck, does it have any parts missing, etc. and what you are willing to spend. You may even want to get more than one deck. I spent over $900 3 years ago to have my Nakamichi 700ZXE completely overhauled and I thought that was money well spent.

 

Very nice website.

 

Cool site, brings back many memories.

 

Stuart, I cannot speak for the few cassette decks still in production. but I bought my Sony TC-KA3ES after listening to a demo by Dolby at an HE199X in NYC where they used it to demonstrate Dolby S recordings made from hi-rez source material (master tapes) there on the spot. Obviously they A/B'ed source / tape with the monitor switch. It blew my mind. They had CD's of the same material and people choose master tape, Dolby S cassette tape and finally CD for their preference. There is nothing lacking in that deck's frequency response. It does not have the Nak's sex appeal, but it is a very good deck. They gave out pens that had Dolby Labs and Dolby S on them, I still have mine that is how much it the demo impressed me.

 

Well, my Nakamichi 700 made perfect copies on 60 cent tapes but then if I played the tape on a different machine the azimuth was way off.

 

You should look for vintage high-end cassette decks in excelent condition.
Here is the link to high-end casette decks.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Revox-Nakamichi-and-Tandberg-the-Pros-and-Cons_W0QQugidZ10000000001829134

I also recommend the following:

Nakamichi ZX-9 or ZX-7
Luxman 5K50M
Eumig FL1000

 

A very common problem, that is why later Naks had azimuth adjustment.