I am looking for a Good, Beginner smaller form-factor cassette deck.

[iKokomo]

I just got a bunch of free cassettes and I would love to be able to play them.

I have a vintage/basic Realistic STA-76 I got from a thrift store and I would like to be able to plug a cassette deck into it. The issue is, we live in a small"ish" place and space is key (as well as money, haha).

I have done some searching on eBay and/or Reverb for some units and found some small/compact ones by Sony and Teac (the late 90s) (Sony TC-TX373, TEAC R-H500). The issue is that all of them are from either England (230 Volts) or Japan (100 Volts).

Are there any of these more compact, yet reputable brands that will work in the US (120V) without a need for a step-down or step-up transformer?


I am open to any other suggestions for tape decks as well.


Thank you very much!

 

[TLS Guy]

I just got a bunch of free cassettes and I would love to be able to play them.

I have a vintage/basic Realistic STA-76 I got from a thrift store and I would like to be able to plug a cassette deck into it. The issue is, we live in a small"ish" place and space is key (as well as money, haha).

I have done some searching on eBay and/or Reverb for some units and found some small/compact ones by Sony and Teac (the late 90s) (Sony TC-TX373, TEAC R-H500). The issue is that all of them are from either England (230 Volts) or Japan (100 Volts).

Are there any of these more compact, yet reputable brands that will work in the US (120V) without a need for a step-down or step-up transformer?


I am open to any other suggestions for tape decks as well.


Thank you very much!

Don't buy a small cassette deck. It is a waste of money. Unless you are living in a shed you should have room for a normal sized deck. There are pages of them on eBay.

 

[lovinthehd]

Another idea is to have someone convert those to digital format (that you already having playing ability for?).

What speakers did you get?

 

[iKokomo]

I got some Koss Dyna Mite m/80 Plus at a thrift store!

 

[TLS Guy]

I got some Koss Dyna Mite m/80 Plus at a thrift store!

Kingnoob has competition.

 

[fmw]

I have a Nakamichi cassette deck stored in a closet. it was a respected brand in its day. You can have it free if you pick it up in indiana.

 

[iKokomo]

Thanks! That is so nice, unfortunately, just moved from the Chicago area not too long ago. Thank you though. Ha, will let you know if I am ever back in the area.

 

[diwit]

I just got a bunch of free cassettes and I would love to be able to play them.

I have a vintage/basic Realistic STA-76 I got from a thrift store and I would like to be able to plug a cassette deck into it. The issue is, we live in a small"ish" place and space is key (as well as money, haha).

I have done some searching on eBay and/or Reverb for some units and found some small/compact ones by Sony and Teac (the late 90s) (Sony TC-TX373, TEAC R-H500). The issue is that all of them are from either England (230 Volts) or Japan (100 Volts).

Are there any of these more compact, yet reputable brands that will work in the US (120V) without a need for a step-down or step-up transformer?


I am open to any other suggestions for tape decks as well.
concrete sealing tampa

Thank you very much!

You should describe what you mean by "small," I have some of the smallest ever made going up to some of the largest (sorry no grails) and it's a huge swing. The better small decks are pretty collectable and have gone through the roof in pricing, are you playing music or just listening to spoken word?

There is some segments of cassette decks that are still priced ok and might work fine for your system or better than a component deck like a boombox missing the speakers, there's at least a couple of JVC's on ebay right now, it takes a little searching to find them, make sure they have AUX out.

For my small decks I like the Marantz/Superscope PMD-360 a lot but if it needs a belt you might be in trouble and they're starting to hit the radar.

Those little units you posted are cool, Denon put out a ton of mini systems in the 90's, just make sure they don't need a ribbon cable (and the whole set) to work.

 

[Eppie]

The other issue is servicing. Tape decks, being mechanical devices, will require some maintenance or repair over time. I suspect that those slot loading cassette decks are not as reliable as a standard front loading unit. I just replaced the tape counter belt in my Nikko ND-1000C again. It is a very simple process because the unit was engineered with maintenance in mind. After removing the front panel it is just 4 screws to pull out the tape unit to access the belt.

I find most items on Reverb to be overpriced. There are some nice cassette decks on US Audio Mart for around $200 or less from well known brands.