*UPDATE:* I have confirmed that the improvements also apply to Pyle PT-649D decks manufactured since 2021. And the hum in the audio is due to the power switch wiring being routed too close to the tape head. It's an easy fix to move it farther away to eliminate the hum: www.tapeheads.net/threads/vwestlifes-yt-video-review-marantz-pmd-300cp-dedicated-thread-for-suggested-improvements-to-deck.97839/post-775625384
Please elaborate: As simple as just repositioning wire without disconnecting or re-soldering anything? Like just pushing wire over and securing in place?
... simply EXCELLENT Video/Videos! God Bless and Protect you and your Family richly. Happy Holidays and New Year 2023. After watching this Video, I just completed purchase of a Marantz Professional PMD-300CP via Ebay Seller. It's not new, unfortunately ... but it appears to be in great condition, and via emails back and forth prior to buying it ... and explaining that I have a Pyle PT-659DU and ION TAPE2PC USB Dual Cassette Decks to Return to Ebay Sellers for various issues ... he assured me that NOTHING is wrong with it. I tried to see the Serial Number regarding the "21 or 22" Production Number, but it's not shown in the Photos the Seller Uploaded. Thank you VERY much again. God Bless. 🙏🏼🙂🙏🏼
@@RoastBeefSandwich Kind of like the knockoff company "Sanko" instead of "Sankyo," (well known manufacturer of a famous and high quality cassette mechanism used in a lot of vintage decks).
Your attention to detail is inimitable!! Plus, I cannot imagine a better way to tuck myself in than the combination of VWestlife + Cassette Deck review! Keep up the good work and thanks for the knowledge that your passion brings out.
I have owned cassette decks since the 70's and made hundreds and hundreds of tapes. I have owned Nakamichi, Teac, Sony, Kenwood, Yamaha and many others. I recently picked up a used (Technics RS-B605 for $125) on E-Bay. I must admit this makes the best sounding tapes of any I have ever owned. Comes equipped with Dolby B and C AND DBX, even HX Pro. If you can find one at a reasonable price.....grab it! Type: 2-head, single compact cassette deck Track System: 4-track, 2-channel stereo Tape Speed: 4.8 cm/s Heads: 1 x record/playback, 1 x erase Motor: electronic control DC Tape Type: type I, CrO2, Metal Noise Reduction: B, C, DBX Headroom Extension: HX Pro Frequency Response: 20Hz to 19kHz (Metal tape) Signal to Noise Ratio: 92dB (DBX) Wow and Flutter: 0.06%
I have a Technics RS M85mkII that I can't even remember where I got it, that I've had a friend hotrod it with blackgate caps. It's not SOTA as a Nak (which I also have), but GOTDAMN, it'll smoke ANY tape I drop in it and the performance is so satisfying, I have a GANG of type II and type IV tapes I never use because the performance with normal bias is MORE than satisfying enough for me and the music I listen to, doesn't demand the use of HB tape. The only time I'll use those is if I'm recording classical music! I use this deck every day, and this deck here.....NO COMMENT! SMH...
Pleasant! The word just kept popping into my mind while watching this. You're steadily progressing beyond presentation, beyond "content" into art territory. Your videos make me feel good, is what I'm trying to say!
While this cassette deck isn’t perfect by any means, it’s still a big step in the right direction for those who are in the market for a decent cassette deck for their home stereo system, or are simply looking for a decent device to digitize their old tapes into mp3 audio files. Outstanding job as always!!!
Still a pretty sad state of affairs when the best you can find, sold by an actual brand, is a super cheap plastic double deck with integrated adc. It might be a step in the right direction but it's a really small one.
@@deputy3690 Well, that’s actually where you’re wrong… I currently have a JCPenney MCS Series cassette deck from 1984 as part of my stereo setup, and it’s actually been an excellent piece of equipment. I’ve also had other cassette decks from as far back as the mid 1970s before, so I’m pretty sure that I know what I’m talking about when I mention a good quality vintage cassette deck!
Was having a stressful day and see vwestlife published a 30 minute review on cassette deck and the calmness of it just helped my anxiety, just wanna say thanks and keep up the good work.
Interesting factoid: The parent company of Marantz Professional is inMusic Brands. They are headquartered in the town I live in and I have a friend that works there. They also own M-Audio, Alesis and even Ion who made one of the earlier decks, as well as some "Professional" off-shoots of other primary brands. So in this case, they own the branding for Marantz Professional but not Marantz itself. Likewise, they own the branding for Denon Professional and Denon DJ, which are completely separate from the main Denon we know for AV receivers.
That would explain a lot so I appreciate the factoid! Over here in the UK I used to sell Marantz audio products back in the very early 1980's when many people used to complain about the brown finish that they used to use on their hi-fi separates - but it was excellent quality stuff for the price you paid for it, I even had Marantz separates for my home hifi for many years after that. I can't say that these days I have any interest in cassette tapes (I don't do digital download music at all but I do buy CDs and have a small collection of vinyl) but this cassette deck here still doesn't compare to the quality that Marantz produced back then. But at least you've explained why now, because it's just someone else using the brand name.
In the 1970’s, the Marantz brand was made by Superscope, known for their “Superscope Story Teller” children’s line on book and cassette where you can get them back in the 1970’s. Superscope was also owned Sony products back in the 1960’s and 1970’s for their reel-to-reel tape recorders.
Here it is! I thought that said Fostex. I'm happy that they fixed it up, but I would like to see a few changes. Fix up the noise a bit, make the vu stereo, and noise reduction. Mainly I think copying a transitor based dolby b circuit, like something from a teac an-80, and labeling it dolby compatible.
Happy to see someone still cares about these decks. I thought when the german Renkforce branded model sold out some time last year that would be it. Maybe they do come back with a slightly improved model, too. (Mine is still working fine, let's see about that once the warranty runs out.) P.S.: Now that I think about it I believe mine doesn't have the USB 🤔
I’m glad you contacted the manufacturer to produce a better tape deck. Also it’s not the real Marantz company, since Marantz professional is a spin-off company owned by Denon Holdings, the company also bought the Pioneer and Onkyo from bankruptcy! It’s so messy that lots of these audio manufactures have been through different ownerships!
This guy keeps his excitement cool while narrating videos. However, you can bet your sweet cassette deck he jumps for joy off-camera when a company actually listens to him.
It's nice to see that there is some effort to improve the quality of these things to 25-30 year old quality levels! I purchased a JVC dual cassette deck in the late 90's and still have it. At that time I was often playing tapes recorded by friends and I found that a pitch control was invaluable because not everybody's equipment was running at the correct speed. I haven't played a tape recorded by someone else in years!
I bought a new Sony TC-WE475 in 2010, because although my vintage Teac still worked fine, I feared it would soon be impossible to buy a decent deck. I was hesitant because I always considered dual decks inferior, but it was the only "ok" thing on the market at that time. After watching your recent videos, am I ever glad I did, the modest Sony is a Nakamichi Dragon next to this Marantz!
I have to agree! I own 2 TC-WR565 by my own (the second is a spare part) and I am happy I never put my original one to the trash. After 30 years new belts and a set of pinch rollers, a new calibration and it works like the days I was a teen. Over the years I tried to get a ES-class Sony Tape, but the prices - even not working decks - are crazy. But even the 565 is light years ahead, comparted to any of the junk your can buy nowadays. Is it required? I don't think so. But every time I use my deck, maybe once a year, it feels like it was decades ago. In my opinion there's a more "in touch with the music" feeling. Playing or streaming files on a computer is not the same. Yes, the sound quality is superb but that's the end of the story.
Considering buying a Sony TC-WE475 right now locally. Thought maybe a new model would be better than the old sony. (didnt know they still made them). I jumped on minidisc when stationed in Japan 25 years ago to get away from cassette! Guess I just don't like where we are headed and want to go back.
The main reason I do only vintage is because they have real dolby. It means I have to occasionally replace belts and gears to make them work, but it's worth it. This is also why I consider the new Teac decks to be non-starters.
I could never afford a high-end tape deck back in the late 1970s and 1980s when I was a teenager but I knew many people who used to own Revox, Nakamichi, Teac, Denon, Sony, and other Three Head Cassette Decks. Today young people don't have a clue how solid and quality those machines were built. It's a real shame that somebody was allowed to use a legendary name like Marantz be used for this Chinese-made toy, no better made than an average ghetto blaster. It was a different time and different culture back then. We used to visit each other, bring our own LP records or tapes, hang around and enjoyed listening to music together. It was like a religious experience but this is really sad and depressing.
I still am glad I have the Teac W1200 deck, for more money. Thanks for this review and your efforts to influence the manufacturers to improve, for those of us who still enjoy cassettes. I remember the Dolby license expired and most decks just have DNR for noise reduction.
Dolby's patent on Dolby NR has expired but their trademark on "Dolby Noise Reduction System" is still in force which means a manufacturer of a new tape deck can include Dolby NR but just not call it "Dolby Noise Reduction System" (maybe they could get away with the acronym DNR since I don't think know DNR is trademark by them). I believe they could also just call it Noise Reduction (or NR) on the label and in the manual and then state in the manual that it's compatible with Dolby Noise Reduction System (TM) technology (Aka Dolby NR) though I not a trademark lawyer so I might be wrong here. And for anyone thinking they can include DNRS but then just licensed the name Dolby Noise Reduction System (Dolby NR) from Dolby, as I understand it they no longer license the name now that it no longer under patent and because so few new tape decks are introduced anymore it's just not worth the hassle to then
@@vwestlife Actually, it's both. Technically, the Dolby system (Dolby B and C, etc) is known as DNRS (Dolby Noise Reduction System, sometimes also written as Dolby NR) but I've seen it shorted to just DNR before (Lookup DNR in Wikipedia to see what I mean.). I'll try remember to remember to always include the S so as to avoid confusion in the future.
The word "professional" is so misused as to be nearly pointless. Whatever. Thanks for a very close and fair look at the Marantz unit. Your videos are so well done, they leave very little to desire.
Love the image of the "discerning audiophile" who looks like he's on a circa 1960 album cover--also looks like he's just heard some disturbing tape hiss on the headphones while enjoying that Benson & Hedges and cognac on the rocks.
Well, I'm somewhat impressed actually. Indeed, it is nice to see manufacturers listening to the wants of customers. Oh, and nice cameo from Shango! Thanks for the great content!
That's really awesome and some manufacturer actually started to listen to what the people want everybody else can follow in that would be a really nice thing wouldn't it. Extremely thorough review I must say
I appreciate your video for the information and intended purpose. I see that things have changed in good ways for some things. And not for others. My interest is towards reel-to-reel tape devices. It would be so nice to see them come back into existence again. With modern qualities add.
Thank you so much for posting this review, I bought one of these on line 2yrs. ago, it's a pretty fair cassette deck although i have not seen very much if any real reviews on it. I totally agree about what you said about the quirks of this deck, so true, over-all i'm happy with it, i'm a kinda ''audiophile guy'', from the late 70's & early 80's, so most of my vintage cassette decks are just to exspensive to get repaired, so this deck was my best choice. and thanks so much for sharing info on this Marantz deck.😃
4:13 This makes no sense. Why use two stereo LED VU indicator channels, if they are only going to give a monaural measurement? They would have directly put a monaural meter and that's it. This makes the consumer confused.
2:35 or....they cleverly made the push buttons at 45 degree angle so the finger pushes down instead of forward, so less sliding.Any 80s cassette deck/amp would have such a weight (because of internal heavy components, transformer, metal flywheels, etc) that they didn't need rubber feet to avoid sliding.
Good review - consistent with my experience to date. Having finished digitizing my old vinyl, I decided to move on to my cassettes. I had an ICC IC-4200C and a Technics M14 around so I thought I was good to go. Turns out on one the belts had all "melted" and the other had an electronics problem on 1 channel. I saw the PMD-300CP advertised at a decent price (~CA$199) but none were available. A local supplier had a wait list but figured it would be 6 months to a year. They turned back up on Amazon a few weeks back so I ordered right away. For the price I did not expect something of the calibre of their old SuperScope devices but at least something functional. I have been capturing with Audacity via the USB interface with little problem. So far I have only had one tape that won't play even after several FF/Rew passed but it won't play on anything else either. For my project it does the job. Besides at 71 my hearing is LoFi so I am content with some clean sound. I have enjoyed recovering some music I have not heard in years.
Well, nice to see that they are at least attempting to respond to feedback and improve the product somewhat. I still think the TEAC W-1200 is a better option, if you can find one for a decent price in stock somewhere. It, too, is far from the old standards, but that's the reality of cassette decks these days, and the TEAC is at least a full-logic deck with actual DNR, records on both decks, and has a headphone out. Good review of the Marantz upgrade, though.
The TEAC W-1200 is a better-performing deck than the Marantz Pro PMD-300CP. For casual listeners, the Marantz Pro is very inexpensive at US$160. The TEAC W-1200 is currently US$500 at Amazon with free US shipping. At Amazon UK, it's US$417 plus international shipping. At Amazon Germany, it's US$388 plus international shipping.
@@neolancer, as VWestlife stated in the video, some folks cannot service a used deck, or don't want to mess with servicing a used deck. Almost all used decks will need at least a belt or "drive tire" replacement. I work on aircraft for a living, so I have a decent used deck in which I replaced the belts. Not all people have mechanical skills, though.
I didn’t know that cassettes were making a comeback until recently. That foot sliding issue was never a problem with me. All of my cassette decks (except my very 1st one) had electronic controls. Those wow and flutter measurements are quite better than some of the mainstream cassettes decks of the 1970s. That mp3 conversion scheme sounds very attractive.
media himself don't comeback for his own, is comeback only if hipsters start to buy because some hipsters youtubers and media clickbait articles say that is cool buy cassettes again, for many of us (REAL COLLECTORS) cassettes, vinyl and cds are never away, we never stop to buy, hipsters only helps to rise the prices a affect us (REAL COLLECTORS), so I hope cassettes, vinyl and cds die and hipsters moves to streaming, of that way we can continue buy for low prices.
Ref my above comment. Don't understand why anyone would want to convert a pre-recorded cassette into a digital format? You can access almost the entire back catalog of the "history of music" digitally via Tidal, Spotify etc. and use third party apps to convert to quality MP'3's or FLAC files. It would ONLY be for the nostalgic idea of actually doing it, or if you had original music on a tape not available from any other source. Surely the converted file would sound crappy vs one from a reliable source?
@@Dimster6666 The problem - as I see it - is that some streams aren’t always available. Physical media - regardless of what it may be - is always available (if the playback deck itself isn’t broken down.
I cannot for the life of me find Les Gillis & Mountain Fire - Never Met a Lady (That I Didn't Like) anywhere. No listings, albums, recordings, nothing. From what I can hear in the video the song sounds really good! Thanks for the heart!
Bravo!!! I watched the entire video nonstop. Very detailed and informative. Even if I were not going to mount the unit in a rack, I would still attach the rack mounts for a nice pro look! 😉
Thank you for this review. It's nice to see cassette decks are still produced. Perhaps sometime in the (near) future they 'll start producing cassettes as well
@@vwestlife Yes, I know. For blank cassettes there's a company in the US and one in France. It's difficult to call this "production" though, muchmore when those produced in France are very expensive for Type I cassettes. Both cassettes Ive read they're inferior to the old Type I. Anyways, I mean, I miss those days you could buy cassettes from a store in your neighbourhood, or your ...town. Regards
@@vwestlife I'm sorry, I haven't seen it yet. I was also referring to the National Audio Company in the US; Ive read that their Type I is not that good compared to old ones (from Sony, Denon, TDk, etc). Until recently I was able to buy new Maxell UR90 (Type I) and the quality was actually what we always got from this company for a Type I. RTM Fox I can only find abroad and for 4£ each (excluding shipping). I dont know if the latter is better than the former, but 4£ for a C60 Type I seems like alot of money. Besides, the last many years I was buying blank cassettes expecting that Maxell would close the product line, following all the other companies. This way I managed to guther more than 200 blank cassettes Type I and Type II. Regards
Fantastic review, I would definitely consider getting one of these having watched this video. I think tape-heads need to stop being so highly critical, if you can afford it, buy one of the new decks, even if you intend to sell it and upgrade to the next gen in a years time. I like that this review doesn't focus on audiophile silliness, just the functionality and overall quality at a consumer level. Selling more decks will keep them in production, and maybe one day we'll have glory-day level decks for sale again, like the turntable market has after the [falsely declared] death of vinyl.
Marantz are supposed to be top gear. A neighbour threw a Marantz CD63 CD player out. It needed a new laser transport mechanism basically the mechanism that guides the laser. £6 from China working great. I'm a ham radio operator so I know electronics, but this was mechanical. I chose the rest of the separates to make a system of different makes, but all black & 19 inch.
I would be curious to see the frequency response, signal to noise, THD and other specifications to see how it does. I am using the computer software NAK T-100 for my vintage decks. Vintage Audio Addict did a review on that app which is available on Microsoft and Apple store for the price of a pizza. Also has XY and dual scope for head alignment tests. I still have all my alignment tapes, which you will need for the wow and flutter and speed tests.
The rated frequency response is 40 to 15,000Hz (± 3dB) with chrome tape or 40 to 14,000Hz (± 3dB) with normal tape. I checked the head azimuth and it is correct.
@@Seiskid That's inherent to Type I normal bias tapes. They can't record the highs as strongly as chrome or metal tapes, regardless of which deck you use.
@@vwestlife I still would be curious how the actual deck measures. For example, I have a Panasonic boom box from 1982 with original belts and I am the original owner. Advertised wow and flutter new is rated 0.05% wrms. 40 years old, original belts and pinch roller, and measured 0.038% wrms. Claimed specs are one thing, like car 1/4 mile times. Let’s run it down the track and see where it really stands.
Excellent & thorough review as always. While it's nice to see a new deck being made, it's not a patch on even the lowest end deck Marantz made in the 90s. I think calling it "professional" is a bit of a stretch.
Anything with rack mount ears is "professional", just like back in the 1980s when any computer with a handle on it was "portable", regardless of how big or heavy it was.
It's not a professional grade unit. The official brand identity is Marantz Professional, a division of inMusic Brands. It's NOT produced by the home audio brand Marantz, a Sound United LLC brand. The "Pro" division was separated from Marantz home audio decades ago as part of a corporate reorganization.
Improvements to make then: Better noise reduction (unforgivable) Stereo VU meter (unforgivable) Metal capstan flywheel Soft touch control Better power supply to eliminate mains hum Add headphone socket Then to pay for all that, drop the second deck, it's rarely needed.
If they could only work out the quirks like the VU meters, noise reduction (make a standard close to Dolby B that all new decks could use) and delayed start, they could have a really viable tape deck that would be worth having. The older tape decks from the 90's and earlier are so much better and ideal for just playback and record (if that is your main intent) but they are over 20+ years old now. Unless you can find a reputable seller who knows how to properly store, refurbish and/or service them (keep in mind there are some replacement parts that are no longer made, available or obtainable unless with an another known good tape deck) you may have issues in a short period of time. It might take a chunk out of your wallet at first but if you do get an older one (like from the 90s and earlier) make sure it has been serviced and has a guarantee with it. I have bought a few decks that the person selling it wanted it to be the last sale they made and their reputation shot all to hell. Don't get burnt folks. Do your homework. Tape On!
Dolby NR isn't patented and doesn't even require proprietary parts. It can be implemented using standard op-amps or even discreet transistors, as Technics did, some of their earlier Dolby decks had no ICs in them at all. You just can't call it Dolby then, just call it DNR, B-NR or whatever and who knows, knows. Also it shouldn't be a big problem to beef up the mechanism with things like a larger flywheel. And then you would already have something sounding as good as a budget deck from the 80s. Which is already pretty good. But maybe there just isn't a large enough market for new decks.
6:24 This is why I used to buy cases like these at thrift shops and Charity shops. You get really good quality used tapes at a fraction of what they cost brand new. Granted I never found one full of Metal tapes like that case there (must be worth a few hundred even in used condition) but they usually had high end Ferric or Chrome tapes in them. Always look out for recordings of classical music. usually most people that listened to classical music in the 80's and 90's had great systems and mostly got decent tapes (although I would then record over them with drum and bass and rave)
Personally have 2 Denon DN770R dual recording studio decks which I got both for $40 australian, it is a late 90s model and TBH the sound quality is amazing. Lacks the USB functions and not aimed for the consumer market but would be great for bands who want to do small run cassette releases at the highest possible quality without resorting to inferior duplicators or paying for a run from a commercial manufacturer who will run the tape at stupidly high speed. Think the main advantages of the dual recording studio units is that they practically can do double speed dubbing at 1x, still have double speed tape to tape and the playback is pro quality. Still nice to see that decent decks are being manufactured, but dual recording has it's niche for compact small cassette runs.
Nice video Kevin. Looks like the audio spec limitations is due to the transport mechanism and heads used. Specs from Marantz official website: Track System 4-track, 2-channel, stereo dual cassette deck Audio Specification Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 58 dB Wow and Flutter:
I remember now I had this deck several years ago as a Pyle version for about that price and found some of the problems that you did. It also jammed too. I returned it and then, as I said paid more for the Teac W1200, which is pretty good for me.
The phrase 'putting lipstick on a pig' springs to mind. This design is junk. You could gold-plate it, and it would just be gold-plated junk. Any late-80s or 90s deck plus a Behringer UCA-202 USB interface leaves this clown show for dead.
But he put this up for those people who know little and have no experience of the cassette format. They want something that just works and will keep working for years. It's more than good enough. The thing that is bad is no headphone socket, you understand how useful they are. But yes, a good condition original generation player will be better - and probably cheaper too But with eBay you risk getting ripped off.
Man, I’m trying to get my hands on a solid 80s cassette player, but they’re all broken and fairly difficult to fix, that’s ignoring the fact that it’s really difficult to find cheap belts for a lot of the older and best models. I’ve dropped so much cash on older cassette decks, and I’ve lost so much money trying
@@christianmccauley7340I experienced this problem trying to find old vhs players, gone through 3 of them at estate sales that just don’t work or have problems I gave up trying. I’d like to get into cassettes again but don’t feel like paying $500+ for a high end player just to get a lemon.
Interesting to see. So glad to have stuck with older components; even if they need refurbishment they still end up a lot cheaper than buying new components and yield far better results. My tape deck, for instance, isn't too different from something like this: it's a Technics with one playback deck, one playback/recording deck, and piano-key controls. The difference is, the Technics deck is much better built, can record onto chrome and metal tape, supports Dolby B and C, and only cost me $35 off of Marketplace.
As for not being able to close the door: Mine had that problem, too, and what I did to fix it is to take a file and taper the sprockets because on every higher end deck I have they are tapered. Just on these decks the teeth on the sprockets just start with a square corner.
, Marantz allowed their logo to be slapped on this? Great review, by the way. Edit: Apparently, "Marantz Professional" is owned by a different company that currently owns D+M Group.
Type I and Type II cassettes at 6 minute mark are reversed :) So, fake stereo level indicator with only 6 segments, going up to +3 dB only, very basic. Recording level knob cannot be adjusted for left/right channel. And of course no Dolby NR, not even HX Pro. No wonder they don't advertise recording function. W&F "a bit above 0.2% peak" is still above the advertised value of no higher than 0.2%, which put this deck outside of hi-fi class according to DIN. Still, could be worse.
That DIN standard is an irrelevant relic. Nobody is advertising their equipment as "hi-fi". In the U.S., "hi-fi" meant mono, not stereo -- so no stereo product would ever use that description.
@@vwestlife The DIN standard is as an irrelevant relic as the compact cassette. But for those who still uses cassettes, the DIN standard is a yardstick that separates tolerable performance from unacceptable one.
In 1998 I bought a brand new Yamaha KX580 Special Edition. This was already at the end of the cassette era and some cutbacks were already visible on the KX580se. For example, there are no more microphone inputs, the display no longer has transport indicators and there is no cassette backlight anymore. Everything else is present in abundance and Yamaha seems to have done everything possible to make the tape noise inaudible given the presence of a 160 kHz erase oscillator, an automatic adjustment + bias and play trim and the presence of Dolby S. The sound quality is not what you would expect from a cassette deck, but it is more like a Hi-Fi stereo VHS video recorder in terms of sound quality. In my opinion the right decision to buy this deck in 1998 because the supply of serious decks quickly ended after that. It wasn't long before there were only double cassette decks where the metal position has already been omitted. Then a while later, Dolby C first disappeared and a little later decks no longer had Dolby at all. Facilities like HX-Pro also disappeared. Everything that is now being produced is just basic without extra (more luxurious) facilities that give the sound quality a big boost. One of the few positive things I have to say about this Marantz double deck is that this deck still has a real erase head and is not bothered by "Storm at sea noise" and can record on type II tapes. It's not a fair comparison to the recording quality of my KX580se. Because despite the KX580se being one of the last serious decks from the cassette era, no cuts have been made on the recording and playback quality.
Excellent information supplied in this video. I had the old design clone version under the name of Eltax. The mechanisms were very bad requiring quite high pressure to engage. I remember the mono meter display which did not bother me, nor the treble cut noise reduction which I never used anyway. I must say that the quality of playback was very good,noticeably crisp and clear. I remember the quality of recording as not being very good. I wonder if the recording has improved,because if not,I would pass on this deck. I have a line in jack on the back of my P.C. so Audacity can be used directly for conversion if required on decks without the USB facility.
That segment with the keyboard sounds just like my childhood. Both tape recorders and keyboards were so much fun, until you got in argument with your brother and the parents had to intervene
I bought this model from the US Amazon (I live in the UK and had to buy a step-up-step-down brick transformer) about 5 years ago when it was one of the few new decks available. I still have it and it sounds OK but the cassette doors stick out at the side which face the middle of the deck which gives them a cheap look and means sometimes when you put a cassette in you have to push the tape down and keep trying to close it a few times before it works. It also has a really plasticky smell, especially when you open the doors, which hasn't faded in those 5 years. It looks like they may have changed the door design since then. I took it apart once after seeing your video about the components and the mechanism did have a stamp on with numbers and letters so I assumed it was a Tanashin but I couldn't find any writing or labels on the motor. It has a plastic flywheel too but I don't think that makes lots of difference. Overall it's an OK budget machine but the model I have (whichever one they were making in 2016/2017) does feel quite cheap and the sound is only decent, not great. EDIT - I just finished watching the video and it seems the door design is still the same so that hasn't improved in those 5 or 6 years, it just looked like it had when it was out of the box and also the metal flywheel may be more important than I thought. Also by the looks of it the model I have from 2016 seems to have slower-opening doors. I also have that Panasonic RX-D55 and I can confirm it's the best bet for a modern boombox in itself and also for the cassette feature. Very good sound overall.
Thanks for the information. Some of these decks made in the mid-2010s did use the CSG mechanisms, but later they switched to the no-name mechanisms, and now as of 2021 they switched back to CSG.
Ended up doing a double take and rewinding the video to be sure I heard that right. Wasn't expecting a recording of Shango, lol! I'm glad to see the newer revision of those decks have been improved somewhat. They don't sound or perform half bad for what they are, either. Definitely not a Nakamichi Dragon by any means, but a decent option for what's available brand new today.
great to see there are still passable decks for reasonable prices for people who want to get into collecting tapes, fingers crossed this chinese company keeps adding small improvements component wise. great review, keep up the awesome work.
@@johne5543 Agreed. Everyone's "passable" mark is different, but this one just doesn't make it. Maybe, fifty years from now it might make sense, but today the used market is the only way to go.
*UPDATE:* I have confirmed that the improvements also apply to Pyle PT-649D decks manufactured since 2021. And the hum in the audio is due to the power switch wiring being routed too close to the tape head. It's an easy fix to move it farther away to eliminate the hum: www.tapeheads.net/threads/vwestlifes-yt-video-review-marantz-pmd-300cp-dedicated-thread-for-suggested-improvements-to-deck.97839/post-775625384
me and my mom got the teac w-1200 yasterday during amazon prime so i'm hoping it gets there
You might want to pin this update - it was waaaay down in the comments!
Please elaborate: As simple as just repositioning wire without disconnecting or re-soldering anything? Like just pushing wire over and securing in place?
@@ORAOralSurgery Correct, no disconnecting or re-soldering is required.
... simply EXCELLENT Video/Videos! God Bless and Protect you and your Family richly. Happy Holidays and New Year 2023.
After watching this Video, I just completed purchase of a Marantz Professional PMD-300CP via Ebay Seller. It's not new, unfortunately ... but it appears to be in great condition, and via emails back and forth prior to buying it ... and explaining that I have a Pyle PT-659DU and ION TAPE2PC USB Dual Cassette Decks to Return to Ebay Sellers for various issues ... he assured me that NOTHING is wrong with it.
I tried to see the Serial Number regarding the "21 or 22" Production Number, but it's not shown in the Photos the Seller Uploaded.
Thank you VERY much again. God Bless. 🙏🏼🙂🙏🏼
Kind of a shame the Marantz name is being dragged to this level.
“Marantz Professional” is not affiliated with Marantz.
@@RoastBeefSandwich Kind of like the knockoff company "Sanko" instead of "Sankyo," (well known manufacturer of a famous and high quality cassette mechanism used in a lot of vintage decks).
Old mate Saul must be turning in his grave.
It's like the Aiwa new speakers or AV gear
D+M Holding sold off Marantz Professional, Denon Professional and Denon DJ back in 2017… They’re no way associated with Denon or Marantz anymore
Your attention to detail is inimitable!! Plus, I cannot imagine a better way to tuck myself in than the combination of VWestlife + Cassette Deck review! Keep up the good work and thanks for the knowledge that your passion brings out.
Love your retro transition clips and overall early 2000's vibes. It takes me back to a simpler time.
I have owned cassette decks since the 70's and made hundreds and hundreds of tapes. I have owned Nakamichi, Teac, Sony, Kenwood, Yamaha and many others. I recently picked up a used (Technics RS-B605 for $125) on E-Bay. I must admit this makes the best sounding tapes of any I have ever owned. Comes equipped with Dolby B and C AND DBX, even HX Pro. If you can find one at a reasonable price.....grab it!
Type: 2-head, single compact cassette deck
Track System: 4-track, 2-channel stereo
Tape Speed: 4.8 cm/s
Heads: 1 x record/playback, 1 x erase
Motor: electronic control DC
Tape Type: type I, CrO2, Metal
Noise Reduction: B, C, DBX
Headroom Extension: HX Pro
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 19kHz (Metal tape)
Signal to Noise Ratio: 92dB (DBX)
Wow and Flutter: 0.06%
I have a Technics RS M85mkII that I can't even remember where I got it, that I've had a friend hotrod it with blackgate caps. It's not SOTA as a Nak (which I also have), but GOTDAMN, it'll smoke ANY tape I drop in it and the performance is so satisfying, I have a GANG of type II and type IV tapes I never use because the performance with normal bias is MORE than satisfying enough for me and the music I listen to, doesn't demand the use of HB tape. The only time I'll use those is if I'm recording classical music! I use this deck every day, and this deck here.....NO COMMENT! SMH...
Pleasant! The word just kept popping into my mind while watching this. You're steadily progressing beyond presentation, beyond "content" into art territory. Your videos make me feel good, is what I'm trying to say!
While this cassette deck isn’t perfect by any means, it’s still a big step in the right direction for those who are in the market for a decent cassette deck for their home stereo system, or are simply looking for a decent device to digitize their old tapes into mp3 audio files. Outstanding job as always!!!
Do you always buy junk?
Still a pretty sad state of affairs when the best you can find, sold by an actual brand, is a super cheap plastic double deck with integrated adc. It might be a step in the right direction but it's a really small one.
If that's what you think then you never had a vintage cassette deck.
@@deputy3690 Well, that’s actually where you’re wrong… I currently have a JCPenney MCS Series cassette deck from 1984 as part of my stereo setup, and it’s actually been an excellent piece of equipment. I’ve also had other cassette decks from as far back as the mid 1970s before, so I’m pretty sure that I know what I’m talking about when I mention a good quality vintage cassette deck!
@@douglasallen9428 no, you don't
Was having a stressful day and see vwestlife published a 30 minute review on cassette deck and the calmness of it just helped my anxiety, just wanna say thanks and keep up the good work.
Cassette deck or cassette WRECK? Stay tuned to find out. :)
Thank you Shango for the wonderful color schemes!
Bravo for keeping the cassette light burning !
Please keep it up, appreciate all the cassette based videos tremendously
I always appreciate when you use good music for demonstrations. I’ve found several great new-to-me bands from these videos.
Ditto, discovered Shot in The Dark thanks to Vwestlife!
Even the stuff that's in genres I don't particularly care for, I have to admit is pretty good anyhow.
Good music in your opinion
There's two main issues with this deck;
Marantz & Professional.
Great review.
Actually three: Marantz/Professional/$159 ! Looks and sounds like piece of junk.
AC hum is kind of unacceptable for any modern device though...
Interesting factoid: The parent company of Marantz Professional is inMusic Brands. They are headquartered in the town I live in and I have a friend that works there. They also own M-Audio, Alesis and even Ion who made one of the earlier decks, as well as some "Professional" off-shoots of other primary brands. So in this case, they own the branding for Marantz Professional but not Marantz itself. Likewise, they own the branding for Denon Professional and Denon DJ, which are completely separate from the main Denon we know for AV receivers.
Yes, and they also own the Stanton name now too, a once-famous phono cartridge manufacturer whose products I enjoy.
That would explain a lot so I appreciate the factoid!
Over here in the UK I used to sell Marantz audio products back in the very early 1980's when many people used to complain about the brown finish that they used to use on their hi-fi separates - but it was excellent quality stuff for the price you paid for it, I even had Marantz separates for my home hifi for many years after that.
I can't say that these days I have any interest in cassette tapes (I don't do digital download music at all but I do buy CDs and have a small collection of vinyl) but this cassette deck here still doesn't compare to the quality that Marantz produced back then.
But at least you've explained why now, because it's just someone else using the brand name.
In the 1970’s, the Marantz brand was made by Superscope, known for their “Superscope Story Teller” children’s line on book and cassette where you can get them back in the 1970’s. Superscope was also owned Sony products back in the 1960’s and 1970’s for their reel-to-reel tape recorders.
Here it is! I thought that said Fostex.
I'm happy that they fixed it up, but I would like to see a few changes. Fix up the noise a bit, make the vu stereo, and noise reduction. Mainly I think copying a transitor based dolby b circuit, like something from a teac an-80, and labeling it dolby compatible.
Happy to see someone still cares about these decks. I thought when the german Renkforce branded model sold out some time last year that would be it. Maybe they do come back with a slightly improved model, too. (Mine is still working fine, let's see about that once the warranty runs out.)
P.S.: Now that I think about it I believe mine doesn't have the USB 🤔
I’m glad you contacted the manufacturer to produce a better tape deck. Also it’s not the real Marantz company, since Marantz professional is a spin-off company owned by Denon Holdings, the company also bought the Pioneer and Onkyo from bankruptcy! It’s so messy that lots of these audio manufactures have been through different ownerships!
This guy keeps his excitement cool while narrating videos. However, you can bet your sweet cassette deck he jumps for joy off-camera when a company actually listens to him.
Ill never forget when he took Retekis to task
Great review... the cameo appearance from Shango066 was a fun addition!
It's nice to see that there is some effort to improve the quality of these things to 25-30 year old quality levels! I purchased a JVC dual cassette deck in the late 90's and still have it. At that time I was often playing tapes recorded by friends and I found that a pitch control was invaluable because not everybody's equipment was running at the correct speed. I haven't played a tape recorded by someone else in years!
I enjoyed the Shango066 cameo.
I rate your reviews very highly, no nonsense BS just clear and precise information one of the best on YT. Great channel.
While not perfect, this is certainly a step in the right direction. As always, excellent work!
A terrible attempt at making a great good quality deck.
@@deputy3690 no
I bought a new Sony TC-WE475 in 2010, because although my vintage Teac still worked fine, I feared it would soon be impossible to buy a decent deck. I was hesitant because I always considered dual decks inferior, but it was the only "ok" thing on the market at that time. After watching your recent videos, am I ever glad I did, the modest Sony is a Nakamichi Dragon next to this Marantz!
I have to agree! I own 2 TC-WR565 by my own (the second is a spare part) and I am happy I never put my original one to the trash. After 30 years new belts and a set of pinch rollers, a new calibration and it works like the days I was a teen. Over the years I tried to get a ES-class Sony Tape, but the prices - even not working decks - are crazy.
But even the 565 is light years ahead, comparted to any of the junk your can buy nowadays.
Is it required? I don't think so. But every time I use my deck, maybe once a year, it feels like it was decades ago. In my opinion there's a more "in touch with the music" feeling. Playing or streaming files on a computer is not the same. Yes, the sound quality is superb but that's the end of the story.
Considering buying a Sony TC-WE475 right now locally. Thought maybe a new model would be better than the old sony. (didnt know they still made them).
I jumped on minidisc when stationed in Japan 25 years ago to get away from cassette! Guess I just don't like where we are headed and want to go back.
@@brokenjed If it's in good working order, it's certainly a much better deck than the one in the video.
The main reason I do only vintage is because they have real dolby. It means I have to occasionally replace belts and gears to make them work, but it's worth it.
This is also why I consider the new Teac decks to be non-starters.
I even bought Dolby S decks when they were new, just to have them. Never used Dolby, it makes the sound dull to me.
Fa real fool, Would hat help the bass thump on my FunkMaster Flex cassette , it is a copy
I could never afford a high-end tape deck back in the late 1970s and 1980s when I was a teenager but I knew many people who used to own Revox, Nakamichi, Teac, Denon, Sony, and other Three Head Cassette Decks. Today young people don't have a clue how solid and quality those machines were built. It's a real shame that somebody was allowed to use a legendary name like Marantz be used for this Chinese-made toy, no better made than an average ghetto blaster. It was a different time and different culture back then. We used to visit each other, bring our own LP records or tapes, hang around and enjoyed listening to music together. It was like a religious experience but this is really sad and depressing.
We did that with cds. A lot of us had our parents old hifi stuff set up in our rooms.
I still am glad I have the Teac W1200 deck,
for more money.
Thanks for this review and your efforts to
influence the manufacturers to improve, for
those of us who still enjoy cassettes.
I remember the Dolby license expired and
most decks just have DNR for noise reduction.
Dolby's patent on Dolby NR has expired but their trademark on "Dolby Noise Reduction System" is still in force which means a manufacturer of a new tape deck can include Dolby NR but just not call it "Dolby Noise Reduction System" (maybe they could get away with the acronym DNR since I don't think know DNR is trademark by them). I believe they could also just call it Noise Reduction (or NR) on the label and in the manual and then state in the manual that it's compatible with Dolby Noise Reduction System (TM) technology (Aka Dolby NR) though I not a trademark lawyer so I might be wrong here. And for anyone thinking they can include DNRS but then just licensed the name Dolby Noise Reduction System (Dolby NR) from Dolby, as I understand it they no longer license the name now that it no longer under patent and because so few new tape decks are introduced anymore it's just not worth the hassle to then
same here teac all the way
Wow, we have the same name. That was eerie seeing "my name" there knowing that I had not posted any comment here!
@@Charlesb88 DNR is Dynamic Noise Reduction, not Dolby.
@@vwestlife Actually, it's both. Technically, the Dolby system (Dolby B and C, etc) is known as DNRS (Dolby Noise Reduction System, sometimes also written as Dolby NR) but I've seen it shorted to just DNR before (Lookup DNR in Wikipedia to see what I mean.). I'll try remember to remember to always include the S so as to avoid confusion in the future.
Thanks for bringing back the transition jingle. I missed it!
The word "professional" is so misused as to be nearly pointless. Whatever. Thanks for a very close and fair look at the Marantz unit. Your videos are so well done, they leave very little to desire.
It's always a good day when there's a new VWestlife video out!
Love the image of the "discerning audiophile" who looks like he's on a circa 1960 album cover--also looks like he's just heard some disturbing tape hiss on the headphones while enjoying that Benson & Hedges and cognac on the rocks.
That does scream 90s! The level meter looks so familiar. Great video!
A very thorough and superb review of this cassette deck. Also the presentation and production vales of the presentation are superb.
Well, I'm somewhat impressed actually. Indeed, it is nice to see manufacturers listening to the wants of customers. Oh, and nice cameo from Shango! Thanks for the great content!
Is that Shango066's crisp lisp no dolby @ 17:56!?
That's really awesome and some manufacturer actually started to listen to what the people want everybody else can follow in that would be a really nice thing wouldn't it. Extremely thorough review I must say
I appreciate your video for the information and intended purpose. I see that things have changed in good ways for some things. And not for others.
My interest is towards reel-to-reel tape devices. It would be so nice to see them come back into existence again. With modern qualities add.
Thank you so much for posting this review, I bought one of these on line 2yrs. ago, it's a pretty fair cassette deck although i have not seen very much if any real reviews on it. I totally agree about what you said about the quirks of this deck, so true, over-all i'm happy with it, i'm a kinda ''audiophile guy'', from the late 70's & early 80's, so most of my vintage cassette decks are just to exspensive to get repaired, so this deck was my best choice. and thanks so much for sharing info on this Marantz deck.😃
4:13 This makes no sense. Why use two stereo LED VU indicator channels, if they are only going to give a monaural measurement? They would have directly put a monaural meter and that's it. This makes the consumer confused.
I always love these reviews, thank you! Keeping the dream alive!
Glad to see the improvements no matter how small in mass consumer decks again. 👍
2:35 or....they cleverly made the push buttons at 45 degree angle so the finger pushes down instead of forward, so less sliding.Any 80s cassette deck/amp would have such a weight (because of internal heavy components, transformer, metal flywheels, etc) that they didn't need rubber feet to avoid sliding.
noticed that to! Simple fix for said issue and it was most likely a simple re-design.
Good review - consistent with my experience to date. Having finished digitizing my old vinyl, I decided to move on to my cassettes. I had an ICC IC-4200C and a Technics M14 around so I thought I was good to go. Turns out on one the belts had all "melted" and the other had an electronics problem on 1 channel. I saw the PMD-300CP advertised at a decent price (~CA$199) but none were available. A local supplier had a wait list but figured it would be 6 months to a year. They turned back up on Amazon a few weeks back so I ordered right away. For the price I did not expect something of the calibre of their old SuperScope devices but at least something functional. I have been capturing with Audacity via the USB interface with little problem. So far I have only had one tape that won't play even after several FF/Rew passed but it won't play on anything else either. For my project it does the job. Besides at 71 my hearing is LoFi so I am content with some clean sound. I have enjoyed recovering some music I have not heard in years.
Well, nice to see that they are at least attempting to respond to feedback and improve the product somewhat. I still think the TEAC W-1200 is a better option, if you can find one for a decent price in stock somewhere. It, too, is far from the old standards, but that's the reality of cassette decks these days, and the TEAC is at least a full-logic deck with actual DNR, records on both decks, and has a headphone out. Good review of the Marantz upgrade, though.
The TEAC W-1200 is a better-performing deck than the Marantz Pro PMD-300CP. For casual listeners, the Marantz Pro is very inexpensive at US$160. The TEAC W-1200 is currently US$500 at Amazon with free US shipping. At Amazon UK, it's US$417 plus international shipping. At Amazon Germany, it's US$388 plus international shipping.
The best option is a second hand decent deck....
@@neolancer, as VWestlife stated in the video, some folks cannot service a used deck, or don't want to mess with servicing a used deck. Almost all used decks will need at least a belt or "drive tire" replacement. I work on aircraft for a living, so I have a decent used deck in which I replaced the belts. Not all people have mechanical skills, though.
I originally found Slugbug from your channel, and Paul is now in my top 5 musicians of all time, thank you so much
I have this very same deck... I have no complaints about it... it records and playback very well...
I really enjoy these videos, but I especially appreciate the news section at the end. That is really useful and interesting.
I didn’t know that cassettes were making a comeback until recently. That foot sliding issue was never a problem with me. All of my cassette decks (except my very 1st one) had electronic controls. Those wow and flutter measurements are quite better than some of the mainstream cassettes decks of the 1970s. That mp3 conversion scheme sounds very attractive.
They are not ....
media himself don't comeback for his own, is comeback only if hipsters start to buy because some hipsters youtubers and media clickbait articles say that is cool buy cassettes again, for many of us (REAL COLLECTORS) cassettes, vinyl and cds are never away, we never stop to buy, hipsters only helps to rise the prices a affect us (REAL COLLECTORS), so I hope cassettes, vinyl and cds die and hipsters moves to streaming, of that way we can continue buy for low prices.
What a bullshit
Ref my above comment. Don't understand why anyone would want to convert a pre-recorded cassette into a digital format? You can access almost the entire back catalog of the "history of music" digitally via Tidal, Spotify etc. and use third party apps to convert to quality MP'3's or FLAC files. It would ONLY be for the nostalgic idea of actually doing it, or if you had original music on a tape not available from any other source. Surely the converted file would sound crappy vs one from a reliable source?
@@Dimster6666 The problem - as I see it - is that some streams aren’t always available. Physical media - regardless of what it may be - is always available (if the playback deck itself isn’t broken down.
I cannot for the life of me find Les Gillis & Mountain Fire - Never Met a Lady (That I Didn't
Like) anywhere. No listings, albums, recordings, nothing. From what I can hear in the video the song sounds really good! Thanks for the heart!
Doing God's work in the Philips Compact Cassette post-2K20-era department here. Great stuff there (:
Excellent- a cassette related video. Good to see tapes still getting the love.
Bravo!!! I watched the entire video nonstop. Very detailed and informative. Even if I were not going to mount the unit in a rack, I would still attach the rack mounts for a nice pro look! 😉
would you buy this deck
@@bubexpress5435 Yes!
Thank you for this review. It's nice to see cassette decks are still produced. Perhaps sometime in the (near) future they 'll start producing cassettes as well
Cassette tapes are still being made, too -- both blank and pre-recorded.
@@vwestlife Yes, I know. For blank cassettes there's a company in the US and one in France. It's difficult to call this "production" though, muchmore when those produced in France are very expensive for Type I cassettes. Both cassettes Ive read they're inferior to the old Type I. Anyways, I mean, I miss those days you could buy cassettes from a store in your neighbourhood, or your ...town.
Regards
@@papertoyss The RTM Fox is a very good Type I tape. Cassette Comeback did a review of it.
@@vwestlife I'm sorry, I haven't seen it yet. I was also referring to the National Audio Company in the US; Ive read that their Type I is not that good compared to old ones (from Sony, Denon, TDk, etc). Until recently I was able to buy new Maxell UR90 (Type I) and the quality was actually what we always got from this company for a Type I. RTM Fox I can only find abroad and for 4£ each (excluding shipping). I dont know if the latter is better than the former, but 4£ for a C60 Type I seems like alot of money. Besides, the last many years I was buying blank cassettes expecting that Maxell would close the product line, following all the other companies. This way I managed to guther more than 200 blank cassettes Type I and Type II.
Regards
@@papertoyss yeah walmart 2019 to 2022 was doing type 1 called grove oon in store then it stopped they have a few records
Fantastic review, I would definitely consider getting one of these having watched this video.
I think tape-heads need to stop being so highly critical, if you can afford it, buy one of the new decks, even if you intend to sell it and upgrade to the next gen in a years time. I like that this review doesn't focus on audiophile silliness, just the functionality and overall quality at a consumer level.
Selling more decks will keep them in production, and maybe one day we'll have glory-day level decks for sale again, like the turntable market has after the [falsely declared] death of vinyl.
Good to see that the decks are coming back!
It's not quite there but for a new tape deck this is pretty good! Hopefully they keep making improvements like this.
Where? It is never going to be anything but toy and garbage!
Excellent review 👍. Glad I still have my Technics machines,thanks for giving Michael Yates a shoutout 👌🇬🇧
Marantz are supposed to be top gear. A neighbour threw a Marantz CD63 CD player out. It needed a new laser transport mechanism basically the mechanism that guides the laser. £6 from China working great. I'm a ham radio operator so I know electronics, but this was mechanical. I chose the rest of the separates to make a system of different makes, but all black & 19 inch.
An honest and fair review of this unit Kevin. Great work!
I would be curious to see the frequency response, signal to noise, THD and other specifications to see how it does. I am using the computer software NAK T-100 for my vintage decks. Vintage Audio Addict did a review on that app which is available on Microsoft and Apple store for the price of a pizza. Also has XY and dual scope for head alignment tests. I still have all my alignment tapes, which you will need for the wow and flutter and speed tests.
Its rolling off significantly 10k and above. You can clearly hear the highs are missing.
The rated frequency response is 40 to 15,000Hz (± 3dB) with chrome tape or 40 to 14,000Hz (± 3dB) with normal tape. I checked the head azimuth and it is correct.
@@Seiskid That's inherent to Type I normal bias tapes. They can't record the highs as strongly as chrome or metal tapes, regardless of which deck you use.
@@vwestlife I still would be curious how the actual deck measures. For example, I have a Panasonic boom box from 1982 with original belts and I am the original owner. Advertised wow and flutter new is rated 0.05% wrms. 40 years old, original belts and pinch roller, and measured 0.038% wrms. Claimed specs are one thing, like car 1/4 mile times. Let’s run it down the track and see where it really stands.
@@Seiskid You cannot go by UA-cam's limited audio bandwidth.
Any UA-cam vid on cassettes and decks deserves a 👍
I use my Pioneer CT-F900 from 1978 with the line out connected into the PC's line in and record using Audacity. Works great for me!
Excellent & thorough review as always.
While it's nice to see a new deck being made, it's not a patch on even the lowest end deck Marantz made in the 90s. I think calling it "professional" is a bit of a stretch.
Anything with rack mount ears is "professional", just like back in the 1980s when any computer with a handle on it was "portable", regardless of how big or heavy it was.
It's not a professional grade unit. The official brand identity is Marantz Professional, a division of inMusic Brands.
It's NOT produced by the home audio brand Marantz, a Sound United LLC brand.
The "Pro" division was separated from Marantz home audio decades ago as part of a corporate reorganization.
Makes me thankful for my $7 1998 Yamaha
Improvements to make then:
Better noise reduction (unforgivable)
Stereo VU meter (unforgivable)
Metal capstan flywheel
Soft touch control
Better power supply to eliminate mains hum
Add headphone socket
Then to pay for all that, drop the second deck, it's rarely needed.
If they could only work out the quirks like the VU meters, noise reduction (make a standard close to Dolby B that all new decks could use) and delayed start, they could have a really viable tape deck that would be worth having. The older tape decks from the 90's and earlier are so much better and ideal for just playback and record (if that is your main intent) but they are over 20+ years old now. Unless you can find a reputable seller who knows how to properly store, refurbish and/or service them (keep in mind there are some replacement parts that are no longer made, available or obtainable unless with an another known good tape deck) you may have issues in a short period of time. It might take a chunk out of your wallet at first but if you do get an older one (like from the 90s and earlier) make sure it has been serviced and has a guarantee with it. I have bought a few decks that the person selling it wanted it to be the last sale they made and their reputation shot all to hell. Don't get burnt folks. Do your homework. Tape On!
Dolby NR isn't patented and doesn't even require proprietary parts. It can be implemented using standard op-amps or even discreet transistors, as Technics did, some of their earlier Dolby decks had no ICs in them at all.
You just can't call it Dolby then, just call it DNR, B-NR or whatever and who knows, knows.
Also it shouldn't be a big problem to beef up the mechanism with things like a larger flywheel. And then you would already have something sounding as good as a budget deck from the 80s. Which is already pretty good. But maybe there just isn't a large enough market for new decks.
23:51 . . . Bet they would never imagine this will now be archived forever for the world to hear!!
6:24 This is why I used to buy cases like these at thrift shops and Charity shops. You get really good quality used tapes at a fraction of what they cost brand new. Granted I never found one full of Metal tapes like that case there (must be worth a few hundred even in used condition) but they usually had high end Ferric or Chrome tapes in them.
Always look out for recordings of classical music. usually most people that listened to classical music in the 80's and 90's had great systems and mostly got decent tapes (although I would then record over them with drum and bass and rave)
Great stuff. I have been waiting until you uploaded a hi-fi component video - you do them so well and hi-fi is my hobby too.
Personally have 2 Denon DN770R dual recording studio decks which I got both for $40 australian, it is a late 90s model and TBH the sound quality is amazing. Lacks the USB functions and not aimed for the consumer market but would be great for bands who want to do small run cassette releases at the highest possible quality without resorting to inferior duplicators or paying for a run from a commercial manufacturer who will run the tape at stupidly high speed.
Think the main advantages of the dual recording studio units is that they practically can do double speed dubbing at 1x, still have double speed tape to tape and the playback is pro quality. Still nice to see that decent decks are being manufactured, but dual recording has it's niche for compact small cassette runs.
Nice video Kevin.
Looks like the audio spec limitations is due to the transport mechanism and heads used.
Specs from Marantz official website:
Track System
4-track, 2-channel, stereo dual cassette deck
Audio Specification
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 58 dB
Wow and Flutter:
The high frequency response sounds significantly worse than the the spec they've written. It sounds like its at least 10db down at 15k.
I remember now I had this deck several years ago as a Pyle version for about that
price and found some of the problems that
you did. It also jammed too. I returned it
and then, as I said paid more for the Teac
W1200, which is pretty good for me.
These videos are some real public service! Thank you for this and keep them coming!
And someone just said. This isn’t a real Marantz.
I love how detailed this review is. Well done.
The phrase 'putting lipstick on a pig' springs to mind. This design is junk. You could gold-plate it, and it would just be gold-plated junk. Any late-80s or 90s deck plus a Behringer UCA-202 USB interface leaves this clown show for dead.
But he put this up for those people who know little and have no experience of the cassette format.
They want something that just works and will keep working for years.
It's more than good enough. The thing that is bad is no headphone socket, you understand how useful they are.
But yes, a good condition original generation player will be better - and probably cheaper too
But with eBay you risk getting ripped off.
Man, I’m trying to get my hands on a solid 80s cassette player, but they’re all broken and fairly difficult to fix, that’s ignoring the fact that it’s really difficult to find cheap belts for a lot of the older and best models.
I’ve dropped so much cash on older cassette decks, and I’ve lost so much money trying
@@christianmccauley7340I experienced this problem trying to find old vhs players, gone through 3 of them at estate sales that just don’t work or have problems I gave up trying. I’d like to get into cassettes again but don’t feel like paying $500+ for a high end player just to get a lemon.
Grouchy Mommy and Violent Tommy - The name of my new thrash metal band.
Interesting to see. So glad to have stuck with older components; even if they need refurbishment they still end up a lot cheaper than buying new components and yield far better results. My tape deck, for instance, isn't too different from something like this: it's a Technics with one playback deck, one playback/recording deck, and piano-key controls. The difference is, the Technics deck is much better built, can record onto chrome and metal tape, supports Dolby B and C, and only cost me $35 off of Marketplace.
BTW, I like the "found" footage you played. Real cool!
As for not being able to close the door: Mine had that problem, too, and what I did to fix it is to take a file and taper the sprockets because on every higher end deck I have they are tapered. Just on these decks the teeth on the sprockets just start with a square corner.
, Marantz allowed their logo to be slapped on this? Great review, by the way.
Edit: Apparently, "Marantz Professional" is owned by a different company that currently owns D+M Group.
Type I and Type II cassettes at 6 minute mark are reversed :) So, fake stereo level indicator with only 6 segments, going up to +3 dB only, very basic. Recording level knob cannot be adjusted for left/right channel. And of course no Dolby NR, not even HX Pro. No wonder they don't advertise recording function.
W&F "a bit above 0.2% peak" is still above the advertised value of no higher than 0.2%, which put this deck outside of hi-fi class according to DIN. Still, could be worse.
because the flywheels are plastic
That DIN standard is an irrelevant relic. Nobody is advertising their equipment as "hi-fi". In the U.S., "hi-fi" meant mono, not stereo -- so no stereo product would ever use that description.
@@vwestlife The DIN standard is as an irrelevant relic as the compact cassette. But for those who still uses cassettes, the DIN standard is a yardstick that separates tolerable performance from unacceptable one.
@@RealEpikCartfrenYT Not necessarily. I have a $30 Sony boombox with all plastic parts, and I measured W&F 0.07% WRMS.
In 1998 I bought a brand new Yamaha KX580 Special Edition. This was already at the end of the cassette era and some cutbacks were already visible on the KX580se. For example, there are no more microphone inputs, the display no longer has transport indicators and there is no cassette backlight anymore. Everything else is present in abundance and Yamaha seems to have done everything possible to make the tape noise inaudible given the presence of a 160 kHz erase oscillator, an automatic adjustment + bias and play trim and the presence of Dolby S.
The sound quality is not what you would expect from a cassette deck, but it is more like a Hi-Fi stereo VHS video recorder in terms of sound quality.
In my opinion the right decision to buy this deck in 1998 because the supply of serious decks quickly ended after that. It wasn't long before there were only double cassette decks where the metal position has already been omitted. Then a while later, Dolby C first disappeared and a little later decks no longer had Dolby at all.
Facilities like HX-Pro also disappeared.
Everything that is now being produced is just basic without extra (more luxurious) facilities that give the sound quality a big boost.
One of the few positive things I have to say about this Marantz double deck is that this deck still has a real erase head and is not bothered by
"Storm at sea noise" and can record on type II tapes. It's not a fair comparison to the recording quality of my KX580se. Because despite the KX580se being one of the last serious decks from the cassette era, no cuts have been made on the recording and playback quality.
Another oddly entertaining video. These examinations of devolving incarnations of legacy hardware are like probationary reviews of zombie employees
@Pixie Pete Well, there's always that, too
Nacamichi, I've missed you!!
Excellent information supplied in this video.
I had the old design clone version under the name of Eltax.
The mechanisms were very bad requiring quite high pressure to engage.
I remember the mono meter display which did not bother me, nor the treble cut noise reduction which I never used anyway.
I must say that the quality of playback was very good,noticeably crisp and clear.
I remember the quality of recording as not being very good.
I wonder if the recording has improved,because if not,I would pass on this deck.
I have a line in jack on the back of my P.C. so Audacity can be used directly for conversion if required on decks without the USB facility.
Great video. I appreciated the guest appearance from shango066
Yeah… I’m only 6 hours late
24:28 We all heard it. We're all witnesses. It has now been immortalized on the internet for all of time: Tommy hit her.
Great review! :D I was actually intrigued by that Tascam CD-A580 at the end.. may try and snag one of those.
I had an old 80s Teac single deck that also had the L+R meters, it was a cheap low-end model
That segment with the keyboard sounds just like my childhood. Both tape recorders and keyboards were so much fun, until you got in argument with your brother and the parents had to intervene
I bought this model from the US Amazon (I live in the UK and had to buy a step-up-step-down brick transformer) about 5 years ago when it was one of the few new decks available. I still have it and it sounds OK but the cassette doors stick out at the side which face the middle of the deck which gives them a cheap look and means sometimes when you put a cassette in you have to push the tape down and keep trying to close it a few times before it works. It also has a really plasticky smell, especially when you open the doors, which hasn't faded in those 5 years. It looks like they may have changed the door design since then. I took it apart once after seeing your video about the components and the mechanism did have a stamp on with numbers and letters so I assumed it was a Tanashin but I couldn't find any writing or labels on the motor. It has a plastic flywheel too but I don't think that makes lots of difference. Overall it's an OK budget machine but the model I have (whichever one they were making in 2016/2017) does feel quite cheap and the sound is only decent, not great.
EDIT - I just finished watching the video and it seems the door design is still the same so that hasn't improved in those 5 or 6 years, it just looked like it had when it was out of the box and also the metal flywheel may be more important than I thought. Also by the looks of it the model I have from 2016 seems to have slower-opening doors. I also have that Panasonic RX-D55 and I can confirm it's the best bet for a modern boombox in itself and also for the cassette feature. Very good sound overall.
Thanks for the information. Some of these decks made in the mid-2010s did use the CSG mechanisms, but later they switched to the no-name mechanisms, and now as of 2021 they switched back to CSG.
22:55 what is that? not a bad rendition of Magnetic Fields, Part. 5 by Jean Michel Jarre.
Ended up doing a double take and rewinding the video to be sure I heard that right. Wasn't expecting a recording of Shango, lol!
I'm glad to see the newer revision of those decks have been improved somewhat. They don't sound or perform half bad for what they are, either. Definitely not a Nakamichi Dragon by any means, but a decent option for what's available brand new today.
this deck reminds me of late 80s, early 90s harman decks. looks pretty cool
Shame it hisses and has the interference playing back. I need a new cassette deck soon so really appreciate the videos on what’s available
It should say “PROFESSIONAL” on the deck in parentheses. Thanks for this review!!!❤️
great to see there are still passable decks for reasonable prices for people who want to get into collecting tapes, fingers crossed this chinese company keeps adding small improvements component wise. great review, keep up the awesome work.
passable? are u kidding? this deck wud turn people 'away' from tape if anything
@@johne5543 Agreed. Everyone's "passable" mark is different, but this one just doesn't make it. Maybe, fifty years from now it might make sense, but today the used market is the only way to go.
22:55 thank you for continuing to show us the weird shit you find when buying used cassette tapes, it never gets old