Home audio advice needed !

[Juggler]

Hello all,

I have an odd situation in that the vast majority of my music collection is on cassette tape (yes I'm old !)
I do realize there's nothing (new) out there that plays tapes anymore...and that even CDs are being phased out.

Other than getting one of those compact tape to digital converters and spend the rest of my days converting my collection to MP3s, what are my options if I want to rig up a home audio system that will play from all sources (except vinyl) and include 2 wireless remote speakers....that won't cost me thousands of dollars !

Also consider that I'm starting entirely from scratch....I have no system components whatsoever at the moment.

Thanks very much for any help you can offer.

-Juggler-

 

[zieglj01]

Well you can start with this Tascam CD/Cassette player and recorder.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/635592-REG/Tascam_CD_A550_CD_A550_Rackmount_CD_Player_Cassette.html

 

[ImcLoud]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAC-AD-RW900-B-CD-Recorder-and-Auto-Reverse-Cassette-Deck-With-USB-/181562114584?pt=US_Home_Audio_Cassette_Decks&hash=item2a45f20218

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dayton-Audio-APA150-150-Watts-Power-Amplifier-Black-/131320769455?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item1e9353ebaf

http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html

that would be under $1000 and sound good...

 

[ImcLoud]

I know the system I linked above is not wireless, but I just don't know what you mean by wireless? Like battery powered? They have to have some wires... Normally easier to just run speaker wire than power wires..

 

[Juggler]

I know the system I linked above is not wireless, but I just don't know what you mean by wireless? Like battery powered? They have to have some wires... Normally easier to just run speaker wire than power wires..

Thank you to both lmcLoud and zieglj01 for your excellent suggestions !

As for the speakers being wireless, (bluetooth ?) in my situation it would be gigantic hassle (next to impossible really) to connect to the source with wires.
I guess a more accurate question would be, do I require an amp with bluetooth capability for wireless speakers to work ? I've also seen wireless speakers advertised that use a home network but there's no indication of what is required of the other components.

My apologies if my posts seem unclear but this is all brand new to me. :-(

-Juggler-

 

[zieglj01]

Continue by looking here
http://www.aperionaudio.com/speakers/speakers-by-series/allaire/allaire-bluetooth

http://www.aperionaudio.com/speakers/speakers-by-series/allaire

Receiver with Bluetooth
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_033AVS500B/Denon-AVR-S500BT.html?tp=179&awkw=75735011305&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=48387042505&awdv=c

 

[Juggler]

Wow....the choices are astounding.

I think I've got a handle on the components I'll need to look for.
The $$$$ sure adds up in a hurry though hey ?

Thank you zieglij01 and lmcLoud for your excellent suggestions !

-Juggler-

 

[herbu]

The $$$$ sure adds up in a hurry though hey ?

You have no idea!!!

 

[ImcLoud]

With a stereo system its ussually not too hard to run the wires, since most of the time you put a speaker to the left one to the right and the compenents in the middle..
I guess if I were trying to do something wireless I would go with the audioengine dac / bluetooth setup and a pair of powered speakers, but then you have the cassette issue...

Its a tough system to do nicely with out spending a lot of money... If you aren't too crazy about sound quality maybe just a decent all in one stereo {I am not sure what kind of quality cassettes are going to get you anyway, I haven't listened to one in a decade and a half, lol} http://www.amazon.com/Supersonic-SC2020U-Double-Cassette-Boombox/dp/B00635P9KW/ref=sr_1_100?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415456365&sr=1-100&keywords=cassette+player

you can get a little "boombox" for $30-40 shipped and be able to play cd's, cassettes, and radio, one plug all done... Ill bet you can get a used one for $5 somewhere since they are out of date..

On the other hand if you are looking to have a nice semi critical listening system, maybe just a cheap walkman with an rca adapter added on to a decent stereo system..
http://www.amazon.com/DBTech-Portable-Cassette-Software-Features/dp/B005DF2QMC/ref=sr_1_58?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415456539&sr=1-58&keywords=cassette+player

then you can convert them tapes to mp3 and use a dac for the playback...

Or just get a walkman and plug it into a pair of powered monitors.

http://www.amazon.com/Arion-Legacy-AR604H-BR-Speakers-Fidelity/dp/B009IBXUNG/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415456578&sr=1-3&keywords=active+monitors

with this cable
http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Male-2-Male-Adapter/dp/B004YEBK66/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415456632&sr=1-1&keywords=3.5mm+to+rca

then you simply plug the walkmans headphone outlet into the powered speakers inlet using the adapter cable and you can play tapes through the speakers...

Not sure what your best bet is... I think I would use the KISS method and just get a walkman with the headphone/rca cable and spend the bulk of my budget on a nice pair of powered speakers, audioengines, behringer truths, somthing nice...

 

[Juggler]

Again...Wow !

The two biggest stumbling blocks are the source of my tunes (cassette) and the fact that 2 of the speakers will be located in a detached workshop...so wireless is really the only option.
If I started converting all the cassettes to MPs now I should be done by 2020 or so. LOL

So many choices....I have some work to do to find the ideal setup that's for sure.
The helpful suggestions on this forum are outstanding....many thanks !

-Juggler-

 

[Jeff R.]

I think it is time to start moving toward CDs and going digital...or start using Pandora all the time and create stations for all your bands and use the like and dislike feature to really dial it into what you like....That is free with a few commercials here and there or like $10 or something to have no commercials.

 

[Juggler]

Easier said than done Jeff R.

My wife and I are kind of attached to our rather eccentric and rare collection of music....most of which is very tough to find in today's digital market.

But certainly we'll have to spend some time converting our tapes while we still have that option available.

No doubt an entirely new technology for delivering music is on the horizon which will soon make the current methods obsolete ! LOL

Thanks for the advice though,

-Juggler-