Cassette Players

[JiggaD369]

im looking for cassette player to add onto my system. what are some high quality players? new or old.

 

[shokhead]

They still make those things? Dont they use tape or something? LOL
Try shopping.com

 

[twheeloc]

Nakamichi Dragon

From what I've heard Nakamichi Dragon is supposedly one of the best. I've seen a few floating around online for sale of about 400-500 dollars. I think that Echo Hifi had one a few weeks back but it's not on their website now. Good Luck...I'd look at just getting a cheap one and ripping everything to CD...Time consuming but might be worth it.

 

[20to20K]

Beware of the Dragon...

The Dragon, while a very sophisticated and expensive piece of machinery, is often reported to be more trouble than it's worth. It's very complicated to use properly because of it's complex calibration technology. Because of its many moving parts and embedded microcircuits it's in need of regular servicing which is quite expensive (I've heard serveral hundred $$$) and should only be performed by authorized Nak dealers who are getting harder and harder to find. Since it hasn't been made in about a dozen years it can't very easy to find parts for either.

And to top all of that off, I've heard that while recordings on it sound as good as you're likely to hear...they will only sound good when played back on another Dragon.

Nak makes other highly regarded decks no where near as complicated to service or use, and no where near as expensive. The ZX7/9, the 680ZX, and the RX202/505 all get great reviews. Do some googling and there's plenty of info out there on all the Nak models.

Other top vintage brands include Teac, Tascom, Tandberg. Both Yamaha and Denon still make new decks that are of at least mid-fi quality but to go hi-end you may have to check out Ebay/Audiogon and hope you get one that's been well cared for.

I currently own a 10 year old Denon (3head/3motor) that I'm very happy with and before that I had a vintage Harman Kardon CD491 which was an awesome machine but seemed to break down every 3 or 4 years.

Ignore that wipper-snapper who laughed...Analog is still pretty awesome
and a top flight cassette deck can be a worthy addition to your setup!

 

[zumbo]

I have a JVC dual deck that I have owned for about fifteen years. It has graduated to the shop system. It has been a fine piece of equipment. Sound quality is top-notch, for a tape deck. Dolby B & C. Even though I don't consider JVC to be audiophile quality, they make very reliable equipment and some of the best tape decks.(IMO)

 

[Resident Loser]

In response to...

im looking for cassette player to add onto my system. what are some high quality players? new or old.

IMHO, older isn't necessarily the way to go...after all it is a mechanical unit...things do wear out, heads, belts, pulleys to name some...getting parts for vintage machines(as much as I love the older, sturdier, REAL Hi-Fi stuff) can be problematic...plus you never really know what kind of abuse the transport has been subjected to...

The transport logic on my TEAC A650 failed(REALLY a good machine with a host of features), and pending some exploratory surgery, I found myself in the market, so I'll share some info gleaned in the process...

Onkyo has a twin transport dubbing deck, reasonably priced, they only have the one, but I forget the model, maybe RW-44??...Metal construction, not often found these days...under $200USD...might be all you require to try the medium...

Marantz has the SD-4050(which I recently purchased) also a twin-well, it's a bit more expensive than the Onkyo, but it has a 3-year USA warranty and a speed control(my deciding factor)...also a remote(of dubious value) the SOP DolbyB/C and HX...seems to work quite well...under $300 USD...as an aside, they also repackage the same unit with a rack-mount and give it another ID, charge some more bucks and drop the warranty period to a year at their D/M pro site....???...a word of caution...the first sample developed some processor problems within the first 10 days...a trip to my authorized dealer resulted in a new unit, which has been trouble free...

Denon has a few with more features(also other pro-type @ D/M Pro), SONY also(I'd stick with the ES line), TEAC(used to be really good stuff, can't vouch for the current crop) and TASCAM...

TASCAM has more pro-oriented gear w/ single transports, user adjustable azimuth and other such requirements...and they do become pricier and hard to locate...at least in the real world...but they are built for commercial apps...if I can't rescue my ol' TEAC, that's probably the way I may go.

jimHJJ(...FWIW...)

 

[TapeMaster]

The KENWOOD KX-W6020 Auto Reverse,Dolby B,C Noise Reduction,Direction,& other great features. I own this Fantastic Cassette Deck

 

[walter duque]

I had a Tandberg for many years. Reliable machine. Very well made deck.

 

[markw]

And yet another four-year old thread revived from the dead. Where do they fine these?

 

[walter duque]

And yet another four-year old thread revived from the dead. Where do they fine these?

Looks like I fell right into that one. I guess not paying attention.

 

[Electone]

There are a lot of good quality used decks out there. Akai GX units are well regarded for sound quality and durability. I've owned a Yamaha KX-300U since 1988 and I've never done a thing to it other than clean the heads occasionally. It still works perfectly.