What Type Of Cassette Deck do you own?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Evil Strawberry, Jun 25, 2017.

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  1. Evil Strawberry

    Evil Strawberry Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Indiana,USA
    I was enjoying some tapes today and I was wondering what type of decks you guys use? I use a AIWA CX-NA303 Duel Cassette Deck+3 CD Changer System. Sound Great On My 70s Sansui Speacker.
     
  2. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    Nakamichi Dragon. Love it.
     
  3. Eigenvector

    Eigenvector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast PA
    I have several in various working states but I regularly use my Sony KA3ES.
     
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  4. youraveragevinylcollector

    youraveragevinylcollector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hartwell, GA
    Technics RS-B14, not the best at all, but a solid workhorse of a deck. I did purchase a Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2, meant to replace that, but the previous owner had it in storage for 10 years, causing an apparent $200 part to be replaced...
     
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  5. ZenMango

    ZenMango Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Tandberg TCD-3014. One of the all time great decks....Not in use at this time
     
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  6. WestGrooving

    WestGrooving Forum Resident

    Location:
    California, U.S.A
    Nakamichi CR-2A & CR-1A.
     
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  7. Rubico

    Rubico Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    Mine is shaped like R2D2. Very lo fi hah
     
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  8. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    Denon DRW-750

    Also some 90s Sony dual auto reverse deck in the basement in a box.

    There's a "Show your Cassette Decks" thread here that's pretty fun.
     
  9. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    Got a Sony KA1ESA, which I believe is the bottom of their ES series of decks. Not dual capstan, but it does have 3 heads and Dolby S.
     
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  10. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Tandberg 3014A, Nak CR-7A, Revox B215s. These are a few of the best machines ever made. But none are presently connected to my system.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2017
  11. AidanB

    AidanB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Nakamichi DR-3. Only 2 heads, only goes up to Dolby C, doesn't play Ferro-Chrome's, but it's Nakamichi, it's going to record and play back great sound.
     
  12. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I agree. Before I had my Dragon I had a RX-202 and it was a great sounding deck.
     
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  13. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    I have a Sony dual cassette deck that isn't hooked up.
     
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  14. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Pioneer Elite CT 91 & CT 93
    Teac V-8030S & 2020S
    Aiwa XK-S9000 & AD-S950
    Onkyo TA-2800

    All 3 head, top of the line or near top, all have HX PRO & Dolby S except the CT91 and TA 2800 which are the oldest, they have HX PRO but no Dolby S.

    The Aiwa XK-S9000 is the king of the pride, CT-93 second in line.

    All get regular use.

    I love my cassette decks. LOVE THEM!!! :love::agree::agree::agree::love:

    BTW:
    The first hater in here to ruin this thread I'll report, and I encourage everyone to report anyone disrupting our cassette threads going forward, I've had it with their negative banter. Seriously. :righton:
     
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  15. Xabby

    Xabby Senior Member

    Location:
    Galicia (Spain)
    [​IMG]

    SONY - TC-K690
     
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  16. Miha Podlogar

    Miha Podlogar Well-Known Member

    Kenwood BASIC X1
    Sony Professional Walkman WM-D6
    Great machines !!
     
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  17. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    Nakamichi Dragon
    Pioneer CT-F950
    Denon DRS 810 (Fresh from Austria!)
    Denon DRM 550
    Harmon Kardon TD 4200 (x2)

    I think that's all the working / serviced ones I have going right now.
    Though the Dragon is overdue for servicing.
     
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  18. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    I have the very similar (maybe even the same) Sony TC-K670. Otherwise, I have a number of Sony cassette Walkmans (Walkmen?) that I used all the time.
     
    Xabby likes this.
  19. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    There's a piece of equipment I have always wanted and never bought. What an engineering marvel, and absolutely beautiful. But I know I would never, ever use it these days. I'm really surprised at all the interest in cassettes. They would be great for recording music and getting that analogue sound, but some people are buying pre recorded tapes and those things were terrible! Maybe they are better on a Nak?
     
  20. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Well, sorry for my slightly negative opinion above but on high end decks like your's, using the right tape, they sounded amazing. I was only referring to label pre recorded tapes. I do have a vintage top of the line three head deck from Yamaha from maybe 1984. It was very expensive in it's day. I know it had the biasing option and it made fantastic tapes and I mainly used those metal TDK tapes. I never see that deck mentioned. I haven't plugged it in in at least 20 years but I still have it. Very nice looking. Wonder if it even works?
     
  21. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, the bulk of prerecorded tapes were/are substandard. Does not mean they all suck?

    NO.

    Case in point:
    I have EVERY POSSIBLE version of Hendrix Electric Ladyland on CD and vinyl ad nauseam....way too many pressings and CD's to mention, but you know what? Last year I stumbled onto a sealed original first issue cassette of it. Ancient now I expected nothing less than a jammed tape and AM radio sound quality, at best.

    I pop it in, sit back getting ready to hit the stop once it either jams or sounds horrible.

    Well WTF???

    This tape sounds AMAZING.

    Period.

    I was mesmerized by it so much I just sat back and let it play, cleaned the heads, flipped it and listened to the other side. Same amazing sound.

    So what is up with that, HUH???

    Does it have uber extended 20khz high end and super duper bass down to 30 Hz? Nope.

    So how in the name of all that is holy does it even manage to sound any good at all, let alone amazing, HOW????

    IT GETS THE MIDRANGE RIGHT.

    Yup, midrange, that place where the bulk of the sonic power of most music like that lies, it NAILS IT.

    Jimi's voice never sounded better, his guitar, liquid tones of beauty pouring out from the speakers.

    It nails the mids so perfect that I did not miss the top end sizzle of cymbals which frankly never were any good on any CD or vinyl version anyhow.

    And bass, well, there never was astounding bass on any Hendrix release, if you got 40 Hz strong you got most of the sonic energy of what any bass guitar could do. Same with a kick drum.

    And that is not the only prerecorded tape I have that rocks.

    I've carefully, slowly, methodically built a collect of about 100 prerecorded cassettes whose sound is easily worthy compared to CD or vinyl in this day and age.

    And well, making ones own tapes, needledrops, can not only be fun and satisfying, but they can easily yield the superb sonics of the vinyl they were made from, IF done right, on a great deck, great tape.

    I have a very good vinyl and digital set up, a few actually, and a reel to reel. I would not even bother with cassette if the results I was getting were sub par. I'd toss it all out and not look back. But that is not the situation.

    Sure, if some golden eared audiophile was to hear the very best possible cassette recording that could ever be made, that person may detect some sonic issues. But the fact is 99% of us normal folks with typical hearing would not.

    It's been said, proved, tested many a time, a well recorded tape on a well set up top of the line cassette machine can yield a recording that is near indistinguishable from the original source, be it from live, CD or vinyl.

    The sad part is we are now entering the expected pissing contest, and folks will come in, argue about cassette quality and folks like me will get thread banned for getting a bit hot under the collar from all the dissing of the format.

    It's an endless cycle here, and is very discouraging when it come to us folks who love and appreciate the format.
     
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  22. BigGame

    BigGame Forum Resident

    Aiwa excelia xk009
     
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  23. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Ooohhhh....a VERY nice deck!!!!!!!!
     
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  24. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    A few of my earlier mentioned decks which dwell in my man cave system:

    Top to bottom, on top we have my latest addition:
    Onkyo Integra TA-28oo cassette deck with less than 5 verified hours use on it! Just did all the belts, HX PRO B/C.
    Aiwa AD-S950 cassette deck, a junior to their earlier tour de force XK-S9000. Still a great Dolby S/HX PRO deck.
    Adcom GFT 555II tuner, pulls in stations great.
    HHb CDR 830 Burn IT CD Burner, does the job nicely.
    Teac V-8030S deck. The VERY last great Teac cassette deck. Quartz PLL direct drive, Dolby S/HX PRO!
    Got it as new old stock about 5 years ago before the cassette resurgence craze, $320 new still in sealed box.

    My other ones listed in earlier post above are scattered about in the house on various systems. But ALL get use.

    [​IMG]

    This system dwells in my workshop, lots of old stuff. Top to bottom:
    Teac V2020S cassette deck. A budget Teac but still with Dolby S/HX PRO. It play tapes that others don't like to.
    Bought as new old stock about 5 years back for $185 still in sealed box.
    Below is a Sansui top of the line 1990 CD player CD-X711, a tour de force effort Sansui that still sounds amazing.
    At the bottom a Realistic STA-90 receiver. Dubbed "The Sleeper" as it blew it's specs out of the water when tested.
    On the sides we have an as new set of Realistic Optimus 1, next to them out of sight as new Optimus 1B and on
    the top of the speakers a set of old as new Knight KN 281 speakers. Obviously not a serious system, but I have fun with it in my workshop. That 1976 Realistic STA-90 receiver has a great tuner, and it's conservative 45 RMS per channel is stout, even the phono section sounds very nice. Has very flexible inputs with 2 tape loops. hi/lo filters.
    [​IMG]
     
  25. Marantz 5010B
     
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