I spent 2 years in the late 70’s selling Nakamichi decks, and the two best were the 680ZX, with half-speed recording/playback, and the astonishing 1000ZXL which auto calibrated itself for tape and head alignment. Still have my 670ZX today ❤
Great memories! In the early 80's I remember taking my Pioneer CT-F800 deck, which I knew sounded pretty good, to a Free Cassette Clinic, at one of those "by appointment only" Hi-Fi shops. You get the general idea. You'd bring your gear in and they would test and give you a report of its performance for free. The event was sponsored by Nakamichi and there was quite a crowd present. The suite of test equipment was impressive. Signal generators, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, and even a graph printer. I got to see how everyone's equipment was put down and criticized by the tech and the store's sales rep. No matter what the measured spec, the Nakamichi was superior in every way, and probably deservedly so. Then it was my turn. Half-way through the test, the tech said to me "you probably really like the way this deck sounds, right?" At the end of the evaluation, he gathered the test printout, tore-off the graph paper from printer and put it all in the fancy jacket with all of the Nakamichi product brochures. He took me to the side handed me the paperwork and said " this is the best deck I've tested tonight. If this was mine, I would use until it burned out and then, BUY A NAKAMICHI! I was grinning all the way home......
I had a Yamaha KX-300 & it was amazing! The sound reproduction of a good Chrome Tape, using Dolby C, was incredibly clear! It delayed me getting a CD Player by 5 years...
@@dannymolns3573 Hi, as with all vintage equipment, especially cassette decks, I would be careful. I would test it out before if possible. But for $80 it might be worth the risk. Just be ready to do so reparations. Sorry I can’t help more. Alex
I would say (after having most cassette decks) the Sony TC-K 950 ES is the best one, most solid (!) and most reliable 3 head / 3 motor (after replacing some SMD electrolytics and belts). The Nakamichis are overengineered, a Nakamichi Dragon has several of adjustments but cant be adjusted very precisely its more a kind of a "gamestation" for tapeheads. Revox B215 is also very reliable. If you want the Sony TC-K 950 performance for half the price? Get the great but still very affordable Sony TC-K 750ES (same drive with 3 heads and 3 motors like the 950) !
All of Sony’s 3 head decks sound very good. If you really want to save money or get a cheap daily driver the TC-KA1ESA is perfect. It sounds 90% as good as my TC-KA5ES, it’s simple, and very reliable.
I own a Nakamichi-125 and I found that the build quality is far superior to most other brands, not as many features in some cases but bested them in sound quality very often.
Those AIWA decks were really nice, too. Much better value for money than the regular brands. The same went for their microphones, too. We used them for a sound reinforcement business I used to work for as a roadie.
Sony bought aiwa in the 80´s ,where i live they were not cheaper but i have a system from 79(a mini one ,that was fashion at the time ,not a compact system but components one) wich is above average in building quality, another good brand
The ADF800 or 880 with ANT's mods rival the top Nak's for a fraction of the price. I bought the ADF800 when they first came out in 1989 and she hasn't skipped a beat apart from the new MARS belts. Awesome deck for the money.
A very good list! For artists recording their own material and using cassettes I should say the Tascam 122 MK II or MK III. Specially because of +4db inputs (being able to send and receive standart studio line levels) and its outstanding quality as a recording machine.
@@RUfromthe40s Hello again,Rui. Me friend got akai-75 and sorry to say that my aiwa adf770 sounds more vivid,airy, present. I do not know why. Akai could be better but owner is no highend type guy. No interested enough. What a pity.
Ah man, I remember being 16 in the mid 80's buying packs of "chrome" and once in a while "metal" cassettes and hold them for a collage radio show that came on Friday and Saturday nights at midnight called "metal shop "! They play heavy metal! I know FM is NOT great quality signal, but back then it was such a joy for me, I miss it!
About 10 years ago I bought a Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 because my cassette collection consists of tapes that were originally recorded on probably at least a dozen different decks (ones I used to own, my friends, etc) and not all of those decks were aligned exactly the same. The ability to quickly fine tune the azimuth for each tape has been a HUGE benefit. It's needed no repairs other than a new set of belts.
The Aiwa AD-F990 is the cassette deck of the decade in my opinion. Same specs as the Nakamichi Dragon at a fraction of the cost. 3 head 2 motor perfection!
@@techmaester Cheaper when new... Dragon was a good deck, but not better than Pioneer CT-A9X, Sony TC-K777ES or Technics RS-B100. The Dragon costed twice as much, and at least 10 times as much to maintain.
@@amnril Yes Neil,we do no have to buy 990. I also have 770. Never recapped,measured at any point. Sound is on a sweetspot. iTuned azimuth via my screwdriver.Sound popped out like a jack from a box!! I have a dent on a dx-head,but its nothing.Sound is what counts. 990 is too pricy nowadays. Enjoy your state of art- deck!! Greets from Suomi/Finland.
Sold the nakamicni "Dragon" while working at Beverly Stereo in L.A. back in the early 90's. Prior to that sold most of the decks mentioned while at the Federated Group and Pacific Stereo. By the way I sold the Dragon to David Ogden Stiers (Winchester on M.A.S.H.).
This is my vote as well. If you can find one in your budget that works, go for it. I have a Sony WE675 I had to replace the belts on and it was way under $100 after repair and works as good as I need for 2024.
I love my pioneer CT-M66R 6 cassette changer,it's so awesome just to see in action,I bought it new ,seems like it was around $400 love at first sight,it has been through many receivers but still sounds great on my new Cambridge Great videos
Just for the sake of context about cassette decks my true love is the Yamaha tl800 the wedge. I used to take it for my band practices and the recording still amazed me. Other decks I have are a Luxman K-100 and a portable Sony WM-D6C top notch all the three of them
I Love that Dual C844! Never knew that existed! I am biased toward silver components. I have an Akai GX-F35 deck which has the glass heads. I love it and it looks nice with my setup. I love the backlit buttons too
Great run down some really great pieces of hifi that could still hold there own in a modern hifi system. The best I've had is the Aiwa ADF 990 it had one of the best die cast tape handling systems was super smooth in operation one if the lowest wow & flutter figures of any cassette deck. The Auto Bias Calibration/Auto Equalizer Calibration/Auto Level Calibration/Bias Fine Tune was uncannily good at getting the very best out of any tapes. It could make you believe that you were listening to a TYPE II when you were in fact lrecording and listening to a TYPE 1 I used TDK MAXG and Sony Super Metal Masters with mine and boy you could really push these tapes with level. Wish I still had it as these are going for over 1500 USD these days could easily live with a Dragon in my view. I also had a Sony TC-K950ES which was an utterly gorgeous tape deck but there was something about the Aiwa recordings that had sparkle and pop that the beautiful Sony couldn't quite match. I'd love to have them both back 😭
Thanks ur comment.Me also AIWA-lover. Got adf-770 now. There is most of 990 feautures. Have u tested ever that?? Sooo sweett recorder and canon dx selves demag head!!
@@artsimannisto5659 I have an Aiwa AD-F770 too. I love it. It's my first "high end" deck so I can't really compare it to anything but I love how it looks and I think it sounds as good as I'll ever need. Hopefully it keeps working for a long time :)
@@kz.irudimen no worrys,its gonna do exelent job a long time!! You can order nichicon caps,if u like.And many belts are around.Did u know,it does not run as hot as 990? Thats a benefit!! Also not so many so called-blocks, on a sound path than 990. Way too many gimmicks at 990. Only anamorph head is very good at 990. But DX-canon made head is very,very good head indeed. I got a little dent already in mine. But sweet is the sound!! greets from FINLAND,and once again: sorry me lingua,im not british..
Great video. I have an Aiwa F770 I picked up on eBay recently that sounds great. You mention it in your middle tier and talked about it in one of your older videos (Cassette culture: know & choose the best audio cassettes and tape decks). Several people are mentioning the 80's in the comments. I don't think we realized how good we had it back then with some of the audio equipment (and life). I think it would be cool if you did a video about what it was like back then, the music scene, the audio equipment, etc. I love your channel. Thanks!
@@Badassvidsz Thanks. I have adf-770 also. Lots of work on it and will be,but it got it all. Beats nakaas badly when comparing price-guality stuff. Aiwa true japan guality stuff !!
Nice video with lots of good ideas. In the end, I won a Yamaha KX-393 on eBay, in pristine condition with the instruction book for £55, including delivery. Beware of Technics: many have broken gears.
Thank you so much for this excellent video. I would like to know if there are any mini tape decks out there that will also sound good? ❤would love to get some advice if you have the time. Or if it’s not worth it. I’m looking for smaller ones because of very limited space 😊 (and I always liked them when I saw them as a young kid)
Thank you very much for your support! Well, I am not an expert on those but I saw some nice Teac models in the past. Otherwise you could invest in a Professional Walkman or Marantz PMD model, small, portable and of good quality. But, since you’ve asked, I would try to go for a bigger/normal model a quality model of the 80’s possibly with 3 heads will give you enormous satisfaction. Just make sure to get it serviced or have one ready to do so.
About seven years ago I went shopping for a deck to replace my barely working Denon DR-M10HR. Lots of research of course. I finally bought a Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1. It's very, very good.
@@lucasrem ... but handy , good for car audio at the time and one with the years learns what cassettes are well fabricated ,others are just deck destroyers,as an example ,in the mid 90´s only two brands had cassettes made correctelly, Sony and TDK others could have one or other model but always a gamble
@lucas rem For your argument to be valid you would have to accept that CD is also crap, because a high quality blank cassette, recorded on a nice deck, can easily sound as good or better.
If you're looking for a real "sleeper" in my humble opinion and If you can live with mechanical buttons, as well as manual tape type selectors, you should go for a Technics RS-M63. Depending on the service status, you can get it for between €50 and €200. Well adjusted and cared for, this deck is a real surprise. Besides numerous slots for playback decks, I only have 4 slots for record decks available... and it hasn't been pushed out of those yet. Despite available candidates, who have cost a multiple, of what the RS-M63 cost. What more can I say?!
Technics in general seem to hold up well. Especially the belts! Technics would be my suggestion for someone who would like to get into cassettes. Fairly cheap, plentiful, and reliable.
I absolutely agree with you, I have the RS-M63, a 3 head deck, that not only has the looks with the silver front plate, and if you are lucky the wood cover, but it also sounds great, only Dolby B which kind of sucks, but other than that it is solid, I got mine and it is still working with the original belts perfectly, all i had to do is clean the heads and set the tape speed a bit higher. I've had the Technics RS-BR465 similar to the B555 talked about on the video here, and it is a great deck as well, but with the issue that the frame that holds the transport is put together with plastic posts that at this point are very brittle, I got mine on the mail and maybe on transport or maybe before, those posts broke and I had to drill them and introduce long screws and bolts to attach the frame together again. Once that was fixed the deck is great and it does have all the goodies of the nineties like Dobly C, HX Pro, and even MPX filter, auto reverse and only 2 heads. I sold that one to a good friend that has a radio show and like 1000 tapes, but no player!, so i felt he needed a great deck. Technics has other great decks that are also very affordable and have many of the features of the BR465 but I guess a video dedicated entirely to the best Technics would be needed to, in order to get to all of them. I also have the Nakamichi BX-300 and it is a great deck but I find myself using the M63 more, I like the piano style mechanical buttons better than the electronic ones, and I think it is more robust with more metal parts than plastic, and less issues without the auto reverse. I want to get the BX-300 working perfectly and then sell it to be honest.
i do own a m25(wich sounds and records good, maybe because it was part of a system and i´m only using it today) and a 79 beneath the the top model works today in perfect condition ,changed the belts and still work good but from those years decks sound good and were more reliable and materials were better but never found one so cheap at least in Europe, saw one M25 on ebay for 350€ but refurbished ,regards
Great list! Another brand that doesn't get too much respect but that produced truly excellent cassette decks was JVC. Truly a sleeper brand! I own the fantastic JVC KD-A8 and even though a 2-head unit, it makes the most amazing recordings with the help of its B.E.S.T. computerized calibration system. It is an absolute beast.
@@xxxsale007xxx Cool! I will go to your channel and let you know what I think but it would be helpful to maybe others if you came back and provide the link.
the TEAC is a great deck the sony it´s a matter of luck it can be good or it can give you problems that don´t appear in any other deck, i bought the cheapest model from sony in 96 ,it works perfect but a screw was always coming of not allowing to take the cassette but with that problem fixed it turns out to be good(as a cheaper deck can be)normally used it to play very old cassettes (70´s ones)
bon journo .... I didmt know you cannot swim ..Great content very informed ...we need new decks soon ..with type 2 ... your dual looks great ...thank you
This is so dope. My old man finally retired and my bro and I wanted to put something together this christmas for him to play his (literally thousands) of bootleg cassettes and old gold vinyl.
My decks : JVC KDD3, YAMAHA KX w362. TEAC V7, SONY TC KA6ES, TECHNICS RS965B. I have had many more through time like JVC, MARANTZ, PIONEER, AKAI, FISHER, HARMAN KARDON. I recently acquired a NAKAMICHI 480 and they gave me a deck from the cheap Marantz SuperScope brand, the reason I have around 3000 Audio tapes recorded from 1982 to 2022.
I was engaged in sound production (for theatrical) in the 1980s. Not having many funds, most of the equipment was rented, with the exception of editing equipment. Carrying a reel-to-reel deck from theatre to theatre was something I considered insane. I opted for cassette decks. I do not recall the model number, but I purchased a deck by Onkyo, which I used profusely, to the point that I gave it to a friend years later when I had exited the theatre circuit. I kept theheads cleaned, demagnetized properly. The deck survived innumerable rapid button activations, never failing. I found it impressive (for the era).
Specs are useful but they don't tell the story of the deck's sound signature, sound stage, texture, depth etc. We would never be able to judge how good it is without listening to them. So many decks have very similar specs but sound entirely different from each other. I have the AIWA K007 on the way from Japan. :) It was just under $300 fully working. Score! There are so many decks to consider. I think i would have broken it to 4 tier 100-200, 300-500, 600-800, 900-1000. One deck often many over look is the B&O 8004. It's the first HX pro line I believe and makes calibrated tape recording easy and great! Sounds great and falls under $300. It's a steal. The 9000 is top of line and worth the price in the 600-800. I got it for $300CAD a few years ago. Other decks under radar is the Nak 700II. It's a fantastic deck and baby brother to the 1000. Goes in the 600-800 range. I have $100 decks which I can't mention or else i fear people will snatch them up. They are just out of the radar but sound so good and it's not a top of mind brand like JVC, Sony, Technics. It's not Japanese.
Jvc cd1669-2 absolute best cassette deck meant to be as good as reel to reel. 1974 was the year and I still own it and operate it today. Top loader twin heads sen alloy heads. Absolute amazing deck.
I have the CT-S620 and it's incredible sounding deck. When using proper tapes sounds as good as original source or to some even better because of the analog nature. I highly recommend.
one of the best decks from pioneer but soundwise there are better but for the price(new) no other comes near, when someone askes me what to buy and do not have much money i always refer this pioneer model ,do not use basf it puts out of tune this deck or maxell from the 90´s, i only use maxell till the 90´s tdk and sony since mid 80´s and avoid metal tapes especially sony xr or xs, this was a special series ,regards
very good deck,but analog nature ,it uses a lot of processors it´s well built deck kind of a special edition as the cts-810 or ct-900s, sorry i was thinking of the ct-s610 but my opinion on the deck stands
I've been a casette deck fanatic right from when they happened right to the present. If their development hadn't been interrupted with that awful fob-off, the CD player, we would have had the most incredible invention known to man in daily use today. The level of sound quality reproduction achieved before CD is still quite mind-blowing. I would be first in line to purchase if production of these high end units were ever resumed and I'm certain it would be a long line.
I owned about a dozen different higher-end decks between the early 70s and mid 80s, from Aiwa, Akai, Denon, JVC, Nakamichi, Pioneer, Sony, and Tascam. To my ear, the less signal processing and gadgetry, the better the sound was, forget the specs. My vote goes to the third deck I owned - the Pioneer CT-F9191. Just 2 heads and Dolby B, but everything I bought later made me wish I had it back.
some used to say that pioneer was the best brand in the world this in the 70´s , others used to say that sansui was above Pioneer, i always prefered pioneer ,like you´ve said ,the main thing are our ears but, when in doubt ,specifications help
i ´m thinking of buying one since they came out just because of the auto-reverse system ,it´s perfect since early 70´s they didn´t had another good idea
In the late 80's I had a Kenwood 3-Head Cassette Deck that was $300, I bought from Crazy Eddie electronic store. It played tapes like it was CD quality, it was the best machine I owned, beside my car.
Hey I absolutely love you man, there's no one like you on UA-cam in this sector.. Thoroughly enjoyable content as I love cassette decks myself, so keep doing what you do and all the best from the United Kingdom..😁👍
@@anadialog your welcome and after watching your vids I've just bought a Nakamichi CR-2E in excellent condition and been professionally serviced & calibrated off eBay and it's in my home town so picking it up tomorrow..My first Nak.. 😁
This isn't a criticism of your picks, but I'm VERY surprised there were no SONYes, JVC, or Teac decks that made it to your list! But, I appreciate the work you put into this video. :)
I've been thru many cassette decks since my first "component" cassette deck bought in 1975 after military service and broke, a Pioneer CT-f2121. Today I have several; Technics RS-m224, Yamaha KX-260, Nakamichi BX-1 and a Denon DRM-800A. Nice that you broke this down by cost. A very lucid commentary on vintage cassette decks. You gonna do a guide to open reel machines?? Some boss stuff you got there. Others I've owned were; Nikko ND-590ll, Akai CS-f14 and GX-f31 and an Onkyo TA-630D.
I did recommend R2R recorders towards the end of their respective videos. Here is my tape playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLDKsdsTBptr477KwjoZyMlCc8Yvjplijw.html
Great list!!! But in in the mid price section I would like add famous Technics RS-B 965. That's one of best Technics decks ever . I recently found TECHNICS RS-BX 828 which is released couple of years latee(mid 99's) . Onnly diference between these two decks is that RS-B 965 has dbx
One more to add to yor list, if it is still available on the used market. The Toshiba Aurex PCX-88AD - 3 heads, ADRES (like DBX) compression/ expansion system, Dolby B, fully manual bias setup for Type 1 to 4 tape, separate drive motors and superb frequency response for all tape types. Cost $400 AUD back in 1983. Still have it. Great machine. Some other nice machine - Sony TC377SD and the Yamaha TC800GL with the sloping front panel.
That price range is a bit restrictive. My vote for best vintage cassette deck is a late model Tandberg 3014A (1988-89). But in your price range, you can occassionally find an Onkyo TA-2090 in good shape under $1k. My bargain pick would be a Technics RS-B965 which is underrated imho.
I used an Akai 4000D open reel until a friend brought his new Akai GX95/2 round with some TDK SA-X chrome tapes. I couldn't believe I was listening to music recorded on a cassette deck. I bought one and still have it. I couldn't even begin to guess how many hours use it has seen, but when Armstrong Audio serviced it a couple of years ago it still met its original spec's. I also have a Sony TC-K81 that they serviced at the same time, all that needed was new belts and bingo. Cassette decks, like turntables are, or should be, masterpieces of mechanical engineering, that doesn't come cheap.
I loved your revue, but let me indicate you my old stuff in what respects "Cassette Players/Recording Apparatus". I own an AIIWA M700 a deck with trhree heads twoo capstants, with adjustable Bias with two bigs Vuimeters (needle meters). I still use an Yamaha KX 580 to listen to my cassette reccording and I love to listen to some recorded music from the seventies I have in almost 400 hundred cassettes (BASF and TDK), many are CRO2 and almost 20 TDK Metal. Some of my best recordings are still in a cassette support.
I have two of the machines featured, an Aiwa AD-F880 and XK-007. Also the AD-F770 which you mentioned in passing. I think the XK-007 is my preferred deck of those but the timer display is best on the AD-F770. One more in my collection is possibly surprisingly modest, a Marantz SD-420 which can sometimes come to the rescue when a defective tape just won't play cleanly in any Aiwa.
One very important feature is PLAYTRIM. Cassetes recorded on decks without tape calibration, a lot, and the wrong type for it, have wrong treble gains. Not even with a computer program are we able to restore the original equalisation if Dolby was used. PLAYTRIM takes its corrective treble adjustments before Dolby, so a proper correction is applied. All my tapes now have the PLAYTRIM correction written on them for fast accurate playback. For playback of old tapes mainly, I strongly recommend the first one or any Yamaha or NAD decks. I'm amazed with my Yamaha even in recording, (very slow recording adjustments with two heads unfortunately...).
NAD6300. How do I use PLAY TRIM and BIAS controls, listening to old mixtapes. Just by sound, nothing of instruments or measurement (I hope). Got a reference, I can't ask for lessons this way. Thanks.
@@stevenj2380 PLAYTRIM is used by ear, clockwise increases treble, at 12 o'clock is the default or off position, counterclockwise reduces treble. To record the PLAYTRIM must be at zero 12 o'clock position, then each tape has is own bias, even different releases of the same tape have different bias, TDK D from 1990 is different from TDK D from 1992. You adjust the bias until the treble is equal to the original sound. This time counterclockwise increases treble. If you have 2 head deck tape, a lot of rewind and listening and comparing with the original is necessary, (choose a track with lots of bass and treble). On old tapes mark on then the PLAYTRIM adjust that feels right to you, on new tapes if they are all from the same lot, mark on them the bias; will save you time.
@@pedrojmorais thanks. I will save text for reference. Was a used purchase in the 1990s from Stereo Exchange in NY. I use a Tascam CD recorder in my system rather than cassette. But a good cassette recoding is still a wonderful thing.
@@stevenj2380 i don´t get playtrim it´s just a treble knob on the deck ,for that i prefer the pioneer flex function that put old recordings sound perfect as the first day you recorded them, i bought a deck just to have FLEX function, the CT-s630s from pioneer
Well done Sir. Own the Yamaha, 300U, bought brand new in late 80's still own, still works great, had to lubricate both motors only issue. Like all your choices especially that "Dual" which I am unfamiliar with until now.
Dual was one of the big German brands that was synonymous with turntables. I still have a Dual 701 direct drive from the early 70s (allegedly the first DD produced in Europe). Had a Dual C939 tape deck (literally a flat "deck") which was very temperamental and failed often -- sadly, we tossed it out in the late 80s. I saw the C844 in their '83/'84 catalogue and was intrigued too. Never saw one in the flesh tho. I never realised Dual even exported to the US. Then again, I remember their turntables could be switched to 110V/60Hz, which was unusual in the 70s. Sadly, Dual went the way of the Dodo along with all the other German brands like Grundig, Telefunken, Nordmende, etc... 😕
Hello. I would say its a good start for someone who want to dive in the cassettes/decks world. I found a good Sony TC-K 750es for 120 euros in my town. I think its a better machine than the ones in 100-300 range. So, I guess, depends where your location is and how much the market around you is "infected" with the idea that their deck is "vintage" and ask a lot of money for it. Ps. Putting a lot of decks through tests found that tehnical specs are not entirely true. Just a note
all decks are vintage today ,the sony´s have a problem is like a gamble ,one might have luck with one and other might have problems i own a tc-k980QS ,it worked flawlessly, now the high´s are gone it calibrates and works perfect but the high´s just disapear not even with the bias all turned to the left side no high frequency´s appear and had a tc-k707ES that was great but the direct drive had a problem ,i sold it
I know Nakamichi has some amazing decks, unfortunately they were out of my price range in the late 70's early 80's. I did get a Marantz 5220 2 head and then a Teac V2RX 3 head with DBX. Both decks worked well, still have the V2RX. The Marantz was stunning looking with the huge VU meters.
Excellent list. Concise and up to the point. Being into decks for a while I would have expand on the last group since each producer put smth uniqe and special in his pre top or top deck. Teac V 8000 / 8030, Victor td v931, sony tc 555 ESG. I guess these ones are not so common in US as in Europe. Once the newcomer gets hold of a deck for a beginner and he would start looking beyond )). In short they just beautiful!! Would be lovely to have similar video about vintage turntables one day.
In 1980, I desperately wanted a Sony TC-K81. But I was in school with no money. So I settled for a TC-K45 I eventually ended up with a Technics M245X - which had dbx noise reduction. Great! Except my whole reason for having cassettes was to play them in the car. How many car decks had dbx? Not a lot. Also $$$$. Poor decision.
Hello, got a Denon DR-M14HX PRO. Sounds really good and loaded with features. Haven't heard any mention of this brand on this thread. Are they that bad of a unit? Was a Aiwa fanatic in the 80s myself.
Best sounding tape deck is Aurex (Toshiba) PC X 80 AD manufactured by special orders , I have in collection 3 decks with serial numbers #12 #48 and #66 . it has a very soft sound (tube effect) and perfectly copes with the construction of the scene , with the localization of instruments and voices , which is generally rare for cassette recorders and is characteristic of reel-to-reel tape recorders .
Technics RS-AZ7 - about 550-600 $ (e-Bay) has better technical (audio) specification than Nakamichi Dragon and ReVox A721. - 3 heads with playback amorphous AZ (thin-film type) head which eliminates the problem of tape and head azimuth, - wow and flutter: 0,07% (WRMS - this is worse than Dragon), - frequency response: 20 Hz - 24 kHz, - S/N: 78 dB (Dolby C), - Dolby HX Pro, - ATC (auto tape calibration - set the perfect bias, equalizer and recording/playback level) - very (sic!) fast forward and rewind times: approx. 35 seconds with C-60 cassette tape, - finding the beginning of program (TPS function).
azimuth ,no deck can fix that maybe only your own recordings wich is dificult but either than nakamichi(wich i do not like and had 3 decks) there´s a grundig model and there´s the tiny screwdriver that works in all decks and normally any 90´s top-model deck of any brand is better than any nakamichi deck for the fact that they are built with cheap materials but the CR-7E it worked till today and it´s a nakamichi the other two were dragons ,one from 82 other from 94 are garbage they do work perfect when new but with heat and only a few years they are not possible to return to good days ,only if one buy´s most of the parts and install it but any repair costs more than the deck it self cost maybe 5X more, it was a 700 to 800 dollars deck today repaired they are sold for 10.000€ but alf is for the repair. The pioneers were more expensive but since the 70´s till the 90´s i bought 4 all work perfect today,and also have 3 technics decks ,a 79 a 80 and a 94 all are good normally high-end models, the AZ7 i never had one but if like the previous model with same specifications it´s a very good deck, they do ask around 300€ for the deck while others with the same quality or a tiny litle more cost thousands of €´s, the 0,007% wow& fluter on the dragon is not real maybe in the first monthes ,the same happens with pro-ject turntables that have several times more wow & fluter than they say in the specifications
I own Nakamichi ZX-7 ..,CR-4 , CR-2 , CR-1 , CassetteDeck 1 .., 1.5 and the 2...I've also the DR-10 .., BX100..,BX150..but..I want the CR-7 ..the RX505 and the mighty Dragon..thanx
Which one would you suggest ? I would like to buy a nakamichi deck but i dont't know what is the proper for me. If i had enogh money i must buy a rx-505. I am thinking of buy a bx 303. What is your opinion?
Agreed on the BX-125 as a great choice for an entry level deck though I've only owned and heard the next step up the BX-150 which is basically the same deck but with a digital LED tape counter; the BX-100 is the "entry level" model in the same range which is the same as the 125 except no Dolby C; I think any of these three would be great choices! The BX-150 was my first experience with a Nakamichi and at the time was a revelation in terms of what kind of sound a cassette tape was capable of. One common problem these will have is a worn rubber idler pulley will cause weak fast forward and rewind and worse could cause the takeup spool to not be turned as it should on playback, potentially causing tapes to be "eaten", but replacing the rubber part of this pulley is a very easy do it yourself affair on these models, I know because I did it myself with my BX-150. As I understand it the RX auto-reverse series can have this same problem but owing to their construction it's inherently harder to get to in order to fix.
There was an optional gear idler modification for the BX series (so the BX-300 as well), and the CR-5 and CR-7 with their Sankyo transports (standard on all later models - the CR-4 has it). I had my BX-125E done 25 years ago with a major service, after I was warned "it'll be back on the bench in two or three years if you don't". Far greater reliability, only downside is increased FF & RW noise. My original-owner machine still fine, including recording. There is no idler tyre to change.
Yes recommend something we can find and ALSO something that can be serviced and fixed. No use buying an old deck if you can't service it and get parts for it.
I tried a late 90’s Sony deck, but they are sadly prone to a certain recurrent mechanical failure. I had that lid off a good 20 times before losing patience! I then chose a Yamaha KX393 which is relatively low end, but is reliable and sounds good.
great list! Just fyi in my experience the Nak BX -300 will slightly outperform the CT-91 especially with normal and chrome cassettes with metal its closer. I had them both. Still have the BX-300. The CT-91 is a beautiful looking machine and much more rare. Also very important to note that Nakamichi still has some service and parts support in the U.S some of these other brands may be more difficult to get parts for.
I do have the NAK BX 300E "E" is for Europe. Top great deck !!!. It still works with my TDK SA-X 90 min. cassette tapes. I also have the remonte control for the NAK 300E.
Just wanted to say, now that you can adjust the bias with the aid of a computer a three head deck is not as important as it once was, since the computer is going to give you even better results than the vu meters alone, and the amplitude meters in audacity are more sensitive than any vu meter as well. Generate pink noise in audacity. Record the pink noise onto cassette, use the mic input to put it back into the computer from the cassette, compare the source pink noise to the recorded pink noise. Use the "split to mono" feature and compare left and right channels to the source for even better accuracy. A two head dead has adjustable bias using the internal pots. Every cassette (even in the same package) will need slightly different bias if you want to get it perfect. Yes it is more time consuming, but you'll be hard pressed to differentiate your recordings from the source when you are done, even with type 1 tapes. Perfect recordings with a two head deck.
even type I ?some are much better than any other type ,to do that work just buy a better deck, if in a 2 pack one calibrates diferent than other ,don´t use them ,that´s how decks get destroyd,badly built cassettes ,i use to like a lot BASF but since mid 80´s they start to be badly built and allthough they have very good tapes the casing quality is all, if not good destroys fast any deck
@@RUfromthe40s Maxell and TDK tapes are the standard type 1's and even they all require slightly different bias. I am not worried about them destroying my decks. From the same pack the difference is slight, but if you're trying to make a perfect recording you adjust for that slight difference. When you sync the time's between the source and recording in audacity and equalize their two volumes and a/b compare them you shouldn't be able to tell the difference most of the time. Really quiet passages not included.
Technics always destroys gears inside... I've fixed tons of them! Not the bes ones, imho. Sony are cheap and sounds good! Sony TC-RX77, one of the best ever made... Cheap and solid!
Yes, you are right about the Technics gears. I was offered an RS-B355, but it had broken gears. Looking online, I found this to be a very common fault.
I'm in the USA and have been trying to get a Denon deck since my last cassette deck broke, it is crazy how much the prices have been going up!! I notice a lot of the Denons selling in Europe are selling for much less.
![ANA[DIA]LOG](http://yt3.ggpht.com/50CpmGNilS8aoMlarZVhI_GxRDoZdbj4ZgwCMZXg-Rq2PrEvCytlE6RVyLUrNY-rwE_sAlZ1Zw=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
I spent 2 years in the late 70’s selling Nakamichi decks, and the two best were the 680ZX, with half-speed recording/playback, and the astonishing 1000ZXL which auto calibrated itself for tape and head alignment. Still have my 670ZX today ❤
i just got a 580!
I have nakamichi 582.
Great memories! In the early 80's I remember taking my Pioneer CT-F800 deck, which I knew sounded pretty good, to a Free Cassette Clinic, at one of those "by appointment only" Hi-Fi shops. You get the general idea. You'd bring your gear in and they would test and give you a report of its performance for free. The event was sponsored by Nakamichi and there was quite a crowd present. The suite of test equipment was impressive. Signal generators, spectrum analyzers, oscilloscopes, and even a graph printer. I got to see how everyone's equipment was put down and criticized by the tech and the store's sales rep. No matter what the measured spec, the Nakamichi was superior in every way, and probably deservedly so. Then it was my turn. Half-way through the test, the tech said to me "you probably really like the way this deck sounds, right?" At the end of the evaluation, he gathered the test printout, tore-off the graph paper from printer and put it all in the fancy jacket with all of the Nakamichi product brochures. He took me to the side handed me the paperwork and said " this is the best deck I've tested tonight. If this was mine, I would use until it burned out and then, BUY A NAKAMICHI! I was grinning all the way home......
WOW !!
What a great rap !
A few Pioneer decks had Sendust Alloy heads, that makes a world of difference.
I had a Yamaha KX-300 & it was amazing! The sound reproduction of a good Chrome Tape, using Dolby C, was incredibly clear! It delayed me getting a CD Player by 5 years...
Any thoughts of knowledge of a Yamaha KX-200u? There's one near me for $80 ns it looks gorgeous. Not sure about the sound tho
@@dannymolns3573 Hi, as with all vintage equipment, especially cassette decks, I would be careful. I would test it out before if possible. But for $80 it might be worth the risk. Just be ready to do so reparations. Sorry I can’t help more. Alex
Never heard of the 200. The "u" is USA market & will run on 120VAC @ 60Hz. They are a good relaible entry level deck@@dannymolns3573
I would say (after having most cassette decks) the Sony TC-K 950 ES is the best one, most solid (!) and most reliable 3 head / 3 motor (after replacing some SMD electrolytics and belts). The Nakamichis are overengineered, a Nakamichi Dragon has several of adjustments but cant be adjusted very precisely its more a kind of a "gamestation" for tapeheads. Revox B215 is also very reliable. If you want the Sony TC-K 950 performance for half the price? Get the great but still very affordable Sony TC-K 750ES (same drive with 3 heads and 3 motors like the 950) !
All of Sony’s 3 head decks sound very good. If you really want to save money or get a cheap daily driver the TC-KA1ESA is perfect. It sounds 90% as good as my TC-KA5ES, it’s simple, and very reliable.
I own a Nakamichi-125 and I found that the build quality is far superior to most other brands, not as many features in some cases but bested them in sound quality very often.
All the late 90s Sony ES series products were quite good.
Those AIWA decks were really nice, too. Much better value for money than the regular brands. The same went for their microphones, too. We used them for a sound reinforcement business I used to work for as a roadie.
Sony bought aiwa in the 80´s ,where i live they were not cheaper but i have a system from 79(a mini one ,that was fashion at the time ,not a compact system but components one) wich is above average in building quality, another good brand
The ADF800 or 880 with ANT's mods rival the top Nak's for a fraction of the price. I bought the ADF800 when they first came out in 1989 and she hasn't skipped a beat apart from the new MARS belts. Awesome deck for the money.
A very good list!
For artists recording their own material and using cassettes I should say the Tascam 122 MK II or MK III. Specially because of +4db inputs (being able to send and receive standart studio line levels) and its outstanding quality as a recording machine.
Is this deck pretty much the same as the TEAC C-3X?
Yes! Tascam earned its place over Revox for its cost to performance comparison ratio. 👍
The Akai GX-75 is one of my favorite decks.....never let down 👌🏻
perfect
@@RUfromthe40s Hello again,Rui. Me friend got akai-75 and sorry to say that my aiwa adf770 sounds more vivid,airy, present. I do not know why. Akai could be better but owner is no highend type guy. No interested enough. What a pity.
I have the Akai gx M50 pretty good deck
I have the Akai gx M50 pretty good deck
it was always crap!
Picked up a Nakamichi Bx300 a week ago for $400 with the original box/packaging and manuals. Absolutely love it
Sweet!
Ah man, I remember being 16 in the mid 80's buying packs of "chrome" and once in a while "metal" cassettes and hold them for a collage radio show that came on Friday and Saturday nights at midnight called "metal shop "! They play heavy metal! I know FM is NOT great quality signal, but back then it was such a joy for me, I miss it!
I remember Metal Shop!
why are you telling us this? 🤨
Actually FM from the past was still better than streamed from today.
@@hqdefault am stereo was pretty good
Actually even do it! If you want it! I do.
About 10 years ago I bought a Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 because my cassette collection consists of tapes that were originally recorded on probably at least a dozen different decks (ones I used to own, my friends, etc) and not all of those decks were aligned exactly the same. The ability to quickly fine tune the azimuth for each tape has been a HUGE benefit. It's needed no repairs other than a new set of belts.
No problem with the red foil / film capacitors?
@@Schlipperschlopper None so far.
I have a Nak CD2 and it has always sounded very nice.
@@777jones Can't beat those Nacs. I think they were the go to brand, in the 70s anyway.
Nice list, mate. So happy I picked up a Nakamichi BX 300.
The Aiwa AD-F990 is the cassette deck of the decade in my opinion. Same specs as the Nakamichi Dragon at a fraction of the cost. 3 head 2 motor perfection!
Not cheaper, actually, a couple on eBay expensive indeed, like that of flagship smartphones or a really nice new bicycle with the best tires.
I own an AD-F770, another great deck with pretty much the same spec as the 990 minus the Amorphous head.
@@techmaester Cheaper when new... Dragon was a good deck, but not better than Pioneer CT-A9X, Sony TC-K777ES or Technics RS-B100. The Dragon costed twice as much, and at least 10 times as much to maintain.
I got ADF-770.What a recorder. REAL Draggoslayer, When watching at pricetag!!!
@@amnril Yes Neil,we do no have to buy 990. I also have 770. Never recapped,measured at any point. Sound is on a sweetspot. iTuned azimuth via my screwdriver.Sound popped out like a jack from a box!! I have a dent on a dx-head,but its nothing.Sound is what counts. 990 is too pricy nowadays. Enjoy your state of art- deck!! Greets from Suomi/Finland.
Sold the nakamicni "Dragon" while working at Beverly Stereo in L.A. back in the early 90's. Prior to that sold most of the decks mentioned while at the Federated Group and Pacific Stereo. By the way I sold the Dragon to David Ogden Stiers (Winchester on M.A.S.H.).
Only the finest for the Winchester!
"I do things one at a time, I do them very well and then I move on".... Charles Winchester.
Great video! Decided to take the plunge on a Dual C808 deck as a restoration project, can't wait to get it next week!
Nice!
The best deck is the one that still works. I have a Denon from 1987, no repairs except for a couple belts maybe. It works and sound good!
Yes, have the Denon drm 800.
This is my vote as well. If you can find one in your budget that works, go for it. I have a Sony WE675 I had to replace the belts on and it was way under $100 after repair and works as good as I need for 2024.
I love my pioneer CT-M66R 6 cassette changer,it's so awesome just to see in action,I bought it new ,seems like it was around $400 love at first sight,it has been through many receivers but still sounds great on my new Cambridge
Great videos
Aiwa ad-f990, fabulous model.
Just for the sake of context about cassette decks my true love is the Yamaha tl800 the wedge. I used to take it for my band practices and the recording still amazed me.
Other decks I have are a Luxman K-100 and a portable Sony WM-D6C top notch all the three of them
I Love that Dual C844! Never knew that existed! I am biased toward silver components. I have an Akai GX-F35 deck which has the glass heads. I love it and it looks nice with my setup. I love the backlit buttons too
I did a dedicated video on the Dual! ua-cam.com/video/r5zQ8SYbxFQ/v-deo.htmlsi=FOcuN8vV72wuNpup
Great run down some really great pieces of hifi that could still hold there own in a modern hifi system. The best I've had is the Aiwa ADF 990 it had one of the best die cast tape handling systems was super smooth in operation one if the lowest wow & flutter figures of any cassette deck. The Auto Bias Calibration/Auto Equalizer Calibration/Auto Level Calibration/Bias Fine Tune was uncannily good at getting the very best out of any tapes. It could make you believe that you were listening to a TYPE II when you were in fact lrecording and listening to a TYPE 1 I used TDK MAXG and Sony Super Metal Masters with mine and boy you could really push these tapes with level. Wish I still had it as these are going for over 1500 USD these days could easily live with a Dragon in my view. I also had a Sony TC-K950ES which was an utterly gorgeous tape deck but there was something about the Aiwa recordings that had sparkle and pop that the beautiful Sony couldn't quite match. I'd love to have them both back 😭
Thanks ur comment.Me also AIWA-lover. Got adf-770 now. There is most of 990 feautures. Have u tested ever that?? Sooo sweett recorder and canon dx selves demag head!!
@@artsimannisto5659 I have an Aiwa AD-F770 too. I love it. It's my first "high end" deck so I can't really compare it to anything but I love how it looks and I think it sounds as good as I'll ever need. Hopefully it keeps working for a long time :)
@@kz.irudimen no worrys,its gonna do exelent job a long time!! You can order nichicon caps,if u like.And many belts are around.Did u know,it does not run as hot as 990? Thats a benefit!! Also not so many so called-blocks, on a sound path than 990. Way too many gimmicks at 990. Only anamorph head is very good at 990. But DX-canon made head is very,very good head indeed. I got a little dent already in mine. But sweet is the sound!! greets from FINLAND,and once again: sorry me lingua,im not british..
Great video. I have an Aiwa F770 I picked up on eBay recently that sounds great. You mention it in your middle tier and talked about it in one of your older videos (Cassette culture: know & choose the best audio cassettes and tape decks). Several people are mentioning the 80's in the comments. I don't think we realized how good we had it back then with some of the audio equipment (and life). I think it would be cool if you did a video about what it was like back then, the music scene, the audio equipment, etc. I love your channel. Thanks!
770 is super yesterday i've picked my 660 from ebay i love it i also have an AD-F850 bought ir back in 1995 as brand ne in my city . I love Aiwa
Taking notes...thanks!
@@Badassvidsz Thanks. I have adf-770 also. Lots of work on it and will be,but it got it all. Beats nakaas badly when comparing price-guality stuff. Aiwa true japan guality stuff !!
@@Badassvidsz yes i dunno why,but sonically it like makes wonders,almost tdk-d, sounds like chrometape record!! 😄
The AIWA Adf800 is also a beast at recording and playback I still use mine today.
Nice video with lots of good ideas. In the end, I won a Yamaha KX-393 on eBay, in pristine condition with the instruction book for £55, including delivery. Beware of Technics: many have broken gears.
Thank you so much for this excellent video. I would like to know if there are any mini tape decks out there that will also sound good? ❤would love to get some advice if you have the time. Or if it’s not worth it. I’m looking for smaller ones because of very limited space 😊 (and I always liked them when I saw them as a young kid)
Thank you very much for your support! Well, I am not an expert on those but I saw some nice Teac models in the past. Otherwise you could invest in a Professional Walkman or Marantz PMD model, small, portable and of good quality. But, since you’ve asked, I would try to go for a bigger/normal model a quality model of the 80’s possibly with 3 heads will give you enormous satisfaction. Just make sure to get it serviced or have one ready to do so.
Still have my BX-150 Nakamichi.
I have an old Teac C3 from the late 70 which sounds magical!
I picked up an AIWA FD-F260 at a thrift store and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the sound quality and condition, even for two heads.
About seven years ago I went shopping for a deck to replace my barely working Denon DR-M10HR. Lots of research of course. I finally bought a Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1. It's very, very good.
ahhh the AIWA ..The good old days
I still own a Sony TC-K 970 ES Cassette Deck. Fantastic sound and robust for over 30 years. Bravo Sony, well done!
Wonderful summary, thank you very much!:)
Nak 480 and LX5! Very nice decks. Every cassette needs to be serviced and updated.
Compact Cassette was always crap!
please forget this crap!
@@lucasrem ... but handy , good for car audio at the time and one with the years learns what cassettes are well fabricated ,others are just deck destroyers,as an example ,in the mid 90´s only two brands had cassettes made correctelly, Sony and TDK others could have one or other model but always a gamble
@lucas rem For your argument to be valid you would have to accept that CD is also crap, because a high quality blank cassette, recorded on a nice deck, can easily sound as good or better.
If you're looking for a real "sleeper" in my humble opinion and If you can live with mechanical buttons, as well as manual tape type selectors, you should go for a Technics RS-M63. Depending on the service status, you can get it for between €50 and €200. Well adjusted and cared for, this deck is a real surprise.
Besides numerous slots for playback decks, I only have 4 slots for record decks available... and it hasn't been pushed out of those yet. Despite available candidates, who have cost a multiple, of what the RS-M63 cost. What more can I say?!
Technics in general seem to hold up well. Especially the belts! Technics would be my suggestion for someone who would like to get into cassettes. Fairly cheap, plentiful, and reliable.
I absolutely agree with you, I have the RS-M63, a 3 head deck, that not only has the looks with the silver front plate, and if you are lucky the wood cover, but it also sounds great, only Dolby B which kind of sucks, but other than that it is solid, I got mine and it is still working with the original belts perfectly, all i had to do is clean the heads and set the tape speed a bit higher. I've had the Technics RS-BR465 similar to the B555 talked about on the video here, and it is a great deck as well, but with the issue that the frame that holds the transport is put together with plastic posts that at this point are very brittle, I got mine on the mail and maybe on transport or maybe before, those posts broke and I had to drill them and introduce long screws and bolts to attach the frame together again. Once that was fixed the deck is great and it does have all the goodies of the nineties like Dobly C, HX Pro, and even MPX filter, auto reverse and only 2 heads. I sold that one to a good friend that has a radio show and like 1000 tapes, but no player!, so i felt he needed a great deck. Technics has other great decks that are also very affordable and have many of the features of the BR465 but I guess a video dedicated entirely to the best Technics would be needed to, in order to get to all of them.
I also have the Nakamichi BX-300 and it is a great deck but I find myself using the M63 more, I like the piano style mechanical buttons better than the electronic ones, and I think it is more robust with more metal parts than plastic, and less issues without the auto reverse. I want to get the BX-300 working perfectly and then sell it to be honest.
i do own a m25(wich sounds and records good, maybe because it was part of a system and i´m only using it today) and a 79 beneath the the top model works today in perfect condition ,changed the belts and still work good but from those years decks sound good and were more reliable and materials were better but never found one so cheap at least in Europe, saw one M25 on ebay for 350€ but refurbished ,regards
Sony TC-K 81......
Great list! Another brand that doesn't get too much respect but that produced truly excellent cassette decks was JVC. Truly a sleeper brand!
I own the fantastic JVC KD-A8 and even though a 2-head unit, it makes the most amazing recordings with the help of its B.E.S.T. computerized calibration system. It is an absolute beast.
Really! Not only because I had several JVC decks. In general, this brand has great machines. Greetings!
Nice!
Indeed JVC also made very very good tape decks. The best i owned is the TD-V 621. I made a Video about it, check it out, but with headphones 😉
@@xxxsale007xxx Cool! I will go to your channel and let you know what I think but it would be helpful to maybe others if you came back and provide the link.
@@LetThereBeSound1 Here you go ua-cam.com/video/FazCajN5En8/v-deo.html. Enjoy! 😊
Excelent recomendations, I going to try to buy a Dual Deck
Thanks for nice review. I like TEAC V-7000 and Sony tc-k 970. They both sound fantastic.
the TEAC is a great deck the sony it´s a matter of luck it can be good or it can give you problems that don´t appear in any other deck, i bought the cheapest model from sony in 96 ,it works perfect but a screw was always coming of not allowing to take the cassette but with that problem fixed it turns out to be good(as a cheaper deck can be)normally used it to play very old cassettes (70´s ones)
I have an old Nakamichi Dragon in the box laying around here somewhere.....It was expensive then, I wonder what it is worth now........great video.
I still have my Nakamichi BX-300 in great working condition.. 👍
bon journo .... I didmt know you cannot swim ..Great content very informed ...we need new decks soon ..with type 2 ...
your dual looks great ...thank you
The best deck I ever owned back in the 70's-early 80's was a Tanberg.
they are the best
It is not Japanese, so it is no good
@@RUfromthe40s NOT
I agree, still got a TCD330 3- head machine and even a 3 - head BEOCORD 5000 from 76.
Solid , still playing.
@@allentoyokawa9068 Telefunken 👀
Thx, was a child in the 80's. Want to invest in a nice deck, this is so comprehensive 😎🤙
Thanks so much for this vid, it’s really difficult for someone new to know what to get, as you probably know…. Ended up finding the aiwa 880 on eBay
Nice!!
This is so dope. My old man finally retired and my bro and I wanted to put something together this christmas for him to play his (literally thousands) of bootleg cassettes and old gold vinyl.
Nice and cwry kind of you! You have a great heritage there...don't sell it off when he is gone!
My decks : JVC KDD3, YAMAHA KX w362. TEAC V7, SONY TC KA6ES, TECHNICS RS965B. I have had many more through time like JVC, MARANTZ, PIONEER, AKAI, FISHER, HARMAN KARDON. I recently acquired a NAKAMICHI 480 and they gave me a deck from the cheap Marantz SuperScope brand, the reason I have around 3000 Audio tapes recorded from 1982 to 2022.
Wow! Congrats for your hardware and software collection
I was engaged in sound production (for theatrical) in the 1980s. Not having many funds, most of the equipment was rented, with the exception of editing equipment.
Carrying a reel-to-reel deck from theatre to theatre was something I considered insane. I opted for cassette decks. I do not recall the model number, but I purchased a deck by Onkyo, which I used profusely, to the point that I gave it to a friend years later when I had exited the theatre circuit. I kept theheads cleaned, demagnetized properly. The deck survived innumerable rapid button activations, never failing. I found it impressive (for the era).
Cool!
Great review, I would love it if you could do more like this. I was surprised that there where no Akai or Sony decks on the list at all.
Akai almost made it, Sony, for these prices IMHO are not the best choice
Specs are useful but they don't tell the story of the deck's sound signature, sound stage, texture, depth etc. We would never be able to judge how good it is without listening to them. So many decks have very similar specs but sound entirely different from each other.
I have the AIWA K007 on the way from Japan. :) It was just under $300 fully working. Score! There are so many decks to consider. I think i would have broken it to 4 tier 100-200, 300-500, 600-800, 900-1000. One deck often many over look is the B&O 8004. It's the first HX pro line I believe and makes calibrated tape recording easy and great! Sounds great and falls under $300. It's a steal. The 9000 is top of line and worth the price in the 600-800. I got it for $300CAD a few years ago.
Other decks under radar is the Nak 700II. It's a fantastic deck and baby brother to the 1000. Goes in the 600-800 range.
I have $100 decks which I can't mention or else i fear people will snatch them up. They are just out of the radar but sound so good and it's not a top of mind brand like JVC, Sony, Technics. It's not Japanese.
Jvc cd1669-2 absolute best cassette deck meant to be as good as reel to reel. 1974 was the year and I still own it and operate it today. Top loader twin heads sen alloy heads. Absolute amazing deck.
Nice!
not the best but if it makes you happy , it is the best for you.
I have the CT-S620 and it's incredible sounding deck. When using proper tapes sounds as good as original source or to some even better because of the analog nature. I highly recommend.
one of the best decks from pioneer but soundwise there are better but for the price(new) no other comes near, when someone askes me what to buy and do not have much money i always refer this pioneer model ,do not use basf it puts out of tune this deck or maxell from the 90´s, i only use maxell till the 90´s tdk and sony since mid 80´s and avoid metal tapes especially sony xr or xs, this was a special series ,regards
very good deck,but analog nature ,it uses a lot of processors it´s well built deck kind of a special edition as the cts-810 or ct-900s, sorry i was thinking of the ct-s610 but my opinion on the deck stands
I've been a casette deck fanatic right from when they happened right to the present. If their development hadn't been interrupted with that awful fob-off, the CD player, we would have had the most incredible invention known to man in daily use today. The level of sound quality reproduction achieved before CD is still quite mind-blowing. I would be first in line to purchase if production of these high end units were ever resumed and I'm certain it would be a long line.
Amen!
That was fun, I still play my Yamaha 300 from time to time, 30 years latter works great. Good picks. 👍
I owned about a dozen different higher-end decks between the early 70s and mid 80s, from Aiwa, Akai, Denon, JVC, Nakamichi, Pioneer, Sony, and Tascam. To my ear, the less signal processing and gadgetry, the better the sound was, forget the specs. My vote goes to the third deck I owned - the Pioneer CT-F9191. Just 2 heads and Dolby B, but everything I bought later made me wish I had it back.
some used to say that pioneer was the best brand in the world this in the 70´s , others used to say that sansui was above Pioneer, i always prefered pioneer ,like you´ve said ,the main thing are our ears but, when in doubt ,specifications help
$400 ebay
Super nice list! Sure, recording and listening selection will be another great video :) Eager to see you posting it for us :)
Great video l have an Akai GX-R88 very solid 3 head twin Capstan deck.😁🎧👍
Good list. I still own a Technics RS-BX626. Wonderful machine ❤️❤️😊
Nice!
Picked up a Nakamichi RX-202 for $300 Cdn. Had it serviced and it sounds terrific to me. Love the auto reverse feature on this model.
i ´m thinking of buying one since they came out just because of the auto-reverse system ,it´s perfect since early 70´s they didn´t had another good idea
I have a BX-125 and I need it serviced, so if you live in the Toronto area can you let me know who did your RX?
Sorry but I live on the West Coast.
Just picked up a fully refurbished Nak bx100...it Sounds freaking amazing.
In the late 80's I had a Kenwood 3-Head Cassette Deck that was $300, I bought from Crazy Eddie electronic store. It played tapes like it was CD quality, it was the best machine I owned, beside my car.
Lol, no it didn’t. Cause it couldn’t.
Hey I absolutely love you man, there's no one like you on UA-cam in this sector.. Thoroughly enjoyable content as I love cassette decks myself, so keep doing what you do and all the best from the United Kingdom..😁👍
Thank you so much! These are the comments that make me smile and keep going!!
@@anadialog your welcome and after watching your vids I've just bought a Nakamichi CR-2E in excellent condition and been professionally serviced & calibrated off eBay and it's in my home town so picking it up tomorrow..My first Nak.. 😁
Are 3 head single tape decks the best to use for recording? @@anadialog
Great video, now lets hope the prices dont increase even more on featured models now everyone know the good stuff :)
it happens a lot
This isn't a criticism of your picks, but I'm VERY surprised there were no SONYes, JVC, or Teac decks that made it to your list! But, I appreciate the work you put into this video. :)
No problem, IMO those brands are good in the upper segment, meaning higher than the budget of the video.
Nice guide. Personally I would swap the Nakamichi 300 against a Denon DR-M4
I've been thru many cassette decks since my first "component" cassette deck bought in 1975 after military service and broke, a Pioneer CT-f2121. Today I have several; Technics RS-m224, Yamaha KX-260, Nakamichi BX-1 and a Denon DRM-800A. Nice that you broke this down by cost. A very lucid commentary on vintage cassette decks. You gonna do a guide to open reel machines?? Some boss stuff you got there. Others I've owned were; Nikko ND-590ll, Akai CS-f14 and GX-f31 and an Onkyo TA-630D.
I did recommend R2R recorders towards the end of their respective videos. Here is my tape playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLDKsdsTBptr477KwjoZyMlCc8Yvjplijw.html
Great list!!! But in in the mid price section I would like add famous Technics RS-B 965. That's one of best Technics decks ever . I recently found TECHNICS RS-BX 828 which is released couple of years latee(mid 99's) . Onnly diference between these two decks is that RS-B 965 has dbx
One more to add to yor list, if it is still available on the used market.
The Toshiba Aurex PCX-88AD - 3 heads, ADRES (like DBX) compression/ expansion system, Dolby B, fully manual bias setup for Type 1 to 4 tape, separate drive motors and superb frequency response for all tape types. Cost $400 AUD back in 1983. Still have it. Great machine.
Some other nice machine - Sony TC377SD and the Yamaha TC800GL with the sloping front panel.
That price range is a bit restrictive. My vote for best vintage cassette deck is a late model Tandberg 3014A (1988-89). But in your price range, you can occassionally find an Onkyo TA-2090 in good shape under $1k. My bargain pick would be a Technics RS-B965 which is underrated imho.
Love my Pioneer CF1000, 💯 built like a tank.
i have the Sony tc-k555esL i bought from Japan and i like how it sounds. Also like the Aiwa xk-009 very good decks
There is no better!
I used an Akai 4000D open reel until a friend brought his new Akai GX95/2 round with some TDK SA-X chrome tapes. I couldn't believe I was listening to music recorded on a cassette deck.
I bought one and still have it. I couldn't even begin to guess how many hours use it has seen, but when Armstrong Audio serviced it a couple of years ago it still met its original spec's. I also have a Sony TC-K81 that they serviced at the same time, all that needed was new belts and bingo.
Cassette decks, like turntables are, or should be, masterpieces of mechanical engineering, that doesn't come cheap.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I loved your revue, but let me indicate you my old stuff in what respects "Cassette Players/Recording Apparatus". I own an AIIWA M700 a deck with trhree heads twoo capstants, with adjustable Bias with two bigs Vuimeters (needle meters).
I still use an Yamaha KX 580 to listen to my cassette reccording and I love to listen to some recorded music from the seventies I have in almost 400 hundred cassettes (BASF and TDK), many are CRO2 and almost 20 TDK Metal. Some of my best recordings are still in a cassette support.
I also own the M700. Outstanding machine. Built like a battleship.
I like my Tascam 133. Build like a tank, looks awesomely 80s and I love it. 🎉🎉
I have two of the machines featured, an Aiwa AD-F880 and XK-007. Also the AD-F770 which you mentioned in passing. I think the XK-007 is my preferred deck of those but the timer display is best on the AD-F770. One more in my collection is possibly surprisingly modest, a Marantz SD-420 which can sometimes come to the rescue when a defective tape just won't play cleanly in any Aiwa.
carefull some cassettes just destroy any deck , normally they are very heavy on rotation
@@RUfromthe40s maby tdk is da best to rotate??
For budget minded vintange tape deck hunters, I recommend the Nakamichi BX-150 and the NAD 6100. They sound WAY better than their price would suggest.
One very important feature is PLAYTRIM.
Cassetes recorded on decks without tape calibration, a lot, and the wrong type for it, have wrong treble gains.
Not even with a computer program are we able to restore the original equalisation if Dolby was used.
PLAYTRIM takes its corrective treble adjustments before Dolby, so a proper correction is applied.
All my tapes now have the PLAYTRIM correction written on them for fast accurate playback.
For playback of old tapes mainly, I strongly recommend the first one or any Yamaha or NAD decks.
I'm amazed with my Yamaha even in recording, (very slow recording adjustments with two heads unfortunately...).
NAD6300. How do I use PLAY TRIM and BIAS controls, listening to old mixtapes. Just by sound, nothing of instruments or measurement (I hope). Got a reference, I can't ask for lessons this way. Thanks.
@@stevenj2380 PLAYTRIM is used by ear, clockwise increases treble, at 12 o'clock is the default or off position, counterclockwise reduces treble.
To record the PLAYTRIM must be at zero 12 o'clock position, then each tape has is own bias, even different releases of the same tape have different bias, TDK D from 1990 is different from TDK D from 1992.
You adjust the bias until the treble is equal to the original sound.
This time counterclockwise increases treble.
If you have 2 head deck tape, a lot of rewind and listening and comparing with the original is necessary, (choose a track with lots of bass and treble).
On old tapes mark on then the PLAYTRIM adjust that feels right to you, on new tapes if they are all from the same lot, mark on them the bias; will save you time.
@@pedrojmorais thanks. I will save text for reference. Was a used purchase in the 1990s from Stereo Exchange in NY. I use a Tascam CD recorder in my system rather than cassette. But a good cassette recoding is still a wonderful thing.
@@stevenj2380 i don´t get playtrim it´s just a treble knob on the deck ,for that i prefer the pioneer flex function that put old recordings sound perfect as the first day you recorded them, i bought a deck just to have FLEX function, the CT-s630s from pioneer
Still not gonna get experience using much anymore. As long as I keep components, there will always be cassette, CD and turntable. .
Well done Sir. Own the Yamaha, 300U, bought brand new in late 80's still own, still works great, had to lubricate both motors only issue. Like all your choices especially that "Dual" which I am unfamiliar with until now.
Dual was one of the big German brands that was synonymous with turntables. I still have a Dual 701 direct drive from the early 70s (allegedly the first DD produced in Europe). Had a Dual C939 tape deck (literally a flat "deck") which was very temperamental and failed often -- sadly, we tossed it out in the late 80s. I saw the C844 in their '83/'84 catalogue and was intrigued too. Never saw one in the flesh tho.
I never realised Dual even exported to the US. Then again, I remember their turntables could be switched to 110V/60Hz, which was unusual in the 70s.
Sadly, Dual went the way of the Dodo along with all the other German brands like Grundig, Telefunken, Nordmende, etc... 😕
Hello. I would say its a good start for someone who want to dive in the cassettes/decks world.
I found a good Sony TC-K 750es for 120 euros in my town. I think its a better machine than the ones in 100-300 range.
So, I guess, depends where your location is and how much the market around you is "infected" with the idea that their deck is "vintage" and ask a lot of money for it.
Ps. Putting a lot of decks through tests found that tehnical specs are not entirely true. Just a note
all decks are vintage today ,the sony´s have a problem is like a gamble ,one might have luck with one and other might have problems i own a tc-k980QS ,it worked flawlessly, now the high´s are gone it calibrates and works perfect but the high´s just disapear not even with the bias all turned to the left side no high frequency´s appear and had a tc-k707ES that was great but the direct drive had a problem ,i sold it
The Dual deck looks amazing
I know Nakamichi has some amazing decks, unfortunately they were out of my price range in the late 70's early 80's. I did get a Marantz 5220 2 head and then a Teac V2RX 3 head with DBX. Both decks worked well, still have the V2RX. The Marantz was stunning looking with the huge VU meters.
Excellent list. Concise and up to the point. Being into decks for a while I would have expand on the last group since each producer put smth uniqe and special in his pre top or top deck. Teac V 8000 / 8030, Victor td v931, sony tc 555 ESG. I guess these ones are not so common in US as in Europe. Once the newcomer gets hold of a deck for a beginner and he would start looking beyond )). In short they just beautiful!! Would be lovely to have similar video about vintage turntables one day.
In 1980, I desperately wanted a Sony TC-K81. But I was in school with no money. So I settled for a TC-K45
I eventually ended up with a Technics M245X - which had dbx noise reduction. Great!
Except my whole reason for having cassettes was to play them in the car. How many car decks had dbx? Not a lot. Also $$$$. Poor decision.
A lot of people didn't think about that....why are you making cassettes? The car. Make sure it's going to work in the car.
Hello, got a Denon DR-M14HX PRO. Sounds really good and loaded with features. Haven't heard any mention of this brand on this thread. Are they that bad of a unit? Was a Aiwa fanatic in the 80s myself.
There are several great brands that I couldn't include. As I always say if you go mid 80's possibly with 3 heads you can 't go wrong
Best sounding tape deck is Aurex (Toshiba) PC X 80 AD manufactured by special orders , I have in collection 3 decks with serial numbers #12 #48 and #66 . it has a very soft sound (tube effect) and perfectly copes with the construction of the scene , with the localization of instruments and voices , which is generally rare for cassette recorders and is characteristic of reel-to-reel tape recorders .
Sweet!
in 82 or 3 i bought a toshiba aurex that recorded with incredible sound but not by order
Great video....might Akai or Sony have made a showing in the list?
Those two brands IMO have good decks in the higher segment, which are excluded from this video.
The heads worn by the AKAI GX were far ahead !!
Technics RS-AZ7 - about 550-600 $ (e-Bay) has better technical (audio) specification than Nakamichi Dragon and ReVox A721.
- 3 heads with playback amorphous AZ (thin-film type) head which eliminates the problem of tape and head azimuth,
- wow and flutter: 0,07% (WRMS - this is worse than Dragon),
- frequency response: 20 Hz - 24 kHz,
- S/N: 78 dB (Dolby C),
- Dolby HX Pro,
- ATC (auto tape calibration - set the perfect bias, equalizer and recording/playback level)
- very (sic!) fast forward and rewind times: approx. 35 seconds with C-60 cassette tape,
- finding the beginning of program (TPS function).
azimuth ,no deck can fix that maybe only your own recordings wich is dificult but either than nakamichi(wich i do not like and had 3 decks) there´s a grundig model and there´s the tiny screwdriver that works in all decks and normally any 90´s top-model deck of any brand is better than any nakamichi deck for the fact that they are built with cheap materials but the CR-7E it worked till today and it´s a nakamichi the other two were dragons ,one from 82 other from 94 are garbage they do work perfect when new but with heat and only a few years they are not possible to return to good days ,only if one buy´s most of the parts and install it but any repair costs more than the deck it self cost maybe 5X more, it was a 700 to 800 dollars deck today repaired they are sold for 10.000€ but alf is for the repair. The pioneers were more expensive but since the 70´s till the 90´s i bought 4 all work perfect today,and also have 3 technics decks ,a 79 a 80 and a 94 all are good normally high-end models, the AZ7 i never had one but if like the previous model with same specifications it´s a very good deck, they do ask around 300€ for the deck while others with the same quality or a tiny litle more cost thousands of €´s, the 0,007% wow& fluter on the dragon is not real maybe in the first monthes ,the same happens with pro-ject turntables that have several times more wow & fluter than they say in the specifications
Now each of these just doubled in price! Lol! Some very nice pieces shown! Ty!
BTW, the pronunciation of Tier is like "tear drop", as in crying. :)
Yes they told me, sorry, as you probably know English is not my first language.
I picked up a Yamaha KX-380 for $10 and a Nakamichi BX-300 from the side of the road.
In Italy we would say that you have a great culo!
in laughing soo muchos,right now!!!🤣
Excellent video guide!
I own Nakamichi ZX-7 ..,CR-4 , CR-2 , CR-1 , CassetteDeck 1 .., 1.5 and the 2...I've also the DR-10 .., BX100..,BX150..but..I want the CR-7 ..the RX505 and the mighty Dragon..thanx
Which one would you suggest ? I would like to buy a nakamichi deck but i dont't know what is the proper for me. If i had enogh money i must buy a rx-505. I am thinking of buy a bx 303. What is your opinion?
Nice Choices Here... Great Upload Bruh ☺☺😎👊💯
Agreed on the BX-125 as a great choice for an entry level deck though I've only owned and heard the next step up the BX-150 which is basically the same deck but with a digital LED tape counter; the BX-100 is the "entry level" model in the same range which is the same as the 125 except no Dolby C; I think any of these three would be great choices! The BX-150 was my first experience with a Nakamichi and at the time was a revelation in terms of what kind of sound a cassette tape was capable of. One common problem these will have is a worn rubber idler pulley will cause weak fast forward and rewind and worse could cause the takeup spool to not be turned as it should on playback, potentially causing tapes to be "eaten", but replacing the rubber part of this pulley is a very easy do it yourself affair on these models, I know because I did it myself with my BX-150. As I understand it the RX auto-reverse series can have this same problem but owing to their construction it's inherently harder to get to in order to fix.
There was an optional gear idler modification for the BX series (so the BX-300 as well), and the CR-5 and CR-7 with their Sankyo transports (standard on all later models - the CR-4 has it). I had my BX-125E done 25 years ago with a major service, after I was warned "it'll be back on the bench in two or three years if you don't". Far greater reliability, only downside is increased FF & RW noise. My original-owner machine still fine, including recording. There is no idler tyre to change.
@@DuncanWEDD2019 didn´t read for a lot of years about sankyo ,had a stereo receiver and was great
Thanks for all the info I love my 2 Teac V670 3 head decks. 20Hz to 21kHz (Metal tape) Signal to Noise Ratio: 80dB (dolby C) Wow and Flutter: 0.045%
Nice!
I still have my pioneer ct f 1250.
Yes recommend something we can find and ALSO something that can be serviced and fixed. No use buying an old deck if you can't service it and get parts for it.
Most decks can be easily serviced. Just need the right tech!
I tried a late 90’s Sony deck, but they are sadly prone to a certain recurrent mechanical failure. I had that lid off a good 20 times before losing patience! I then chose a Yamaha KX393 which is relatively low end, but is reliable and sounds good.
What was that I notice the one I have has a problem with the Dolby circuit , I'm yet to open it up yet but I believe it is just the switch .
I once owned the RS-B555, a good deck. I sold it because it only had 2 heads. The only 2-head deck I own today is a Wega JPS351 C-2 from the 70s.
great list! Just fyi in my experience the Nak BX -300 will slightly outperform the CT-91 especially with normal and chrome cassettes with metal its closer. I had them both. Still have the BX-300. The CT-91 is a beautiful looking machine and much more rare. Also very important to note that Nakamichi still has some service and parts support in the U.S some of these other brands may be more difficult to get parts for.
I do have the NAK BX 300E "E" is for Europe. Top great deck !!!. It still works with my TDK SA-X 90 min. cassette tapes. I also have the remonte control for the NAK 300E.
Just wanted to say, now that you can adjust the bias with the aid of a computer a three head deck is not as important as it once was, since the computer is going to give you even better results than the vu meters alone, and the amplitude meters in audacity are more sensitive than any vu meter as well. Generate pink noise in audacity. Record the pink noise onto cassette, use the mic input to put it back into the computer from the cassette, compare the source pink noise to the recorded pink noise. Use the "split to mono" feature and compare left and right channels to the source for even better accuracy. A two head dead has adjustable bias using the internal pots. Every cassette (even in the same package) will need slightly different bias if you want to get it perfect.
Yes it is more time consuming, but you'll be hard pressed to differentiate your recordings from the source when you are done, even with type 1 tapes. Perfect recordings with a two head deck.
Interesting! For custom bias I prefer to rely on calibrating decks. They cost a lot but boy do they sound good.
even type I ?some are much better than any other type ,to do that work just buy a better deck, if in a 2 pack one calibrates diferent than other ,don´t use them ,that´s how decks get destroyd,badly built cassettes ,i use to like a lot BASF but since mid 80´s they start to be badly built and allthough they have very good tapes the casing quality is all, if not good destroys fast any deck
@@RUfromthe40s Maxell and TDK tapes are the standard type 1's and even they all require slightly different bias. I am not worried about them destroying my decks. From the same pack the difference is slight, but if you're trying to make a perfect recording you adjust for that slight difference. When you sync the time's between the source and recording in audacity and equalize their two volumes and a/b compare them you shouldn't be able to tell the difference most of the time. Really quiet passages not included.
Technics always destroys gears inside... I've fixed tons of them!
Not the bes ones, imho.
Sony are cheap and sounds good!
Sony TC-RX77, one of the best ever made... Cheap and solid!
@Dixie Paste
I know... i have it ;)
@Dixie Paste far from it
@@RUfromthe40s yep,chaps are joking,me not laughing.
Yes, you are right about the Technics gears. I was offered an RS-B355, but it had broken gears. Looking online, I found this to be a very common fault.
I'm in the USA and have been trying to get a Denon deck since my last cassette deck broke, it is crazy how much the prices have been going up!! I notice a lot of the Denons selling in Europe are selling for much less.
I know, it's insane...