Cassette tape

@uberwaltz- Take it for what it’s worth. I was looking at the Pioneers before the last deck I purchased. The exact 3 in fact. Prices are very attractive, there’s no doubt. I researched them on the Tapeheads forum, those guys didn’t have much good to say about the Pioneer decks. I was considering a Pioneer because I thought they were supposed to be good machines plus they’re just plain beautiful. Once I read some of the post, I changed my mind and went for the Nak. Research them a bit, then do what you fell. After all, those are opinions from others which we all know, opinions are like buttholes, we all have one lol! There are also many comparisons between the 680’s vs 300. They split hairs with the 300 getting a slight edge because it’s not as old and the Dolby C feature. I really love this crazy hobby!

All things considered, I’ll take my Sony Walkman cassette player and naked Grado SR-60s any day of the week. I suspect Michael Green is correct - that lightweight components sound better. And my system is ultra light. Sounds fabulous.

I have several cassette decks, and it embarrassing to think of how many I’ve gone through, most of them three head high-end.

I love cassette, and my favorite machines are a Nakamichi 500 and an ADVENT 201, which I think has the most glorious midrange I’ve heard from cassette.  There are so many fine machines, tape is still, plentiful and they are fun and convenient.  I have many 45 year old maxells that still sound remarkably good!

If you keep your machine in fine condition there certainly isn’t any reason not to use it.  

 

Now have Nak 660zx and a ZX7, having decided to sell my older 582.
The ZX7 sound is simply remarkable, I was a little surprised to genuinely hear quite an improvement over the older 582, I mean quite noticeable all round.
Still playing mostly pre recorded tapes which I have hundreds of and yes SQ can be a mixed bag on them for sure.
Have not tried to record on it yet,.....

Nakamichi is undoubtedly the high water mark for cassettes. I never had the money for the ZX-7, which is what I always wanted. The best I could ever afford back then was a BX-300, which was still a damn fine cassette deck.

I am a total life-long cassette nerd who came of age during the mix-tape era. Nothing pleased me more than a well crafted mix-tape. Girls loved them, even if they didn't know how much better mine were compared to the other guy's made-on-a-Soundesign dual tape monstrosity.

Life got in the way and I had to part with my beloved cassette decks years ago. Only recently have I had the opportunity to rekindle my love for cassettes and start acquiring some of my favorites. 

I own a 2-head Nakamichi BX-125 that I have gifted to my 16 year old son. He has an analog ear and is a chip off the old block. He enjoys making cassettes and I have taught him how to do it correctly.

My personal machines today are a Yamaha K-1000 and K-1020. they are both 3-head and in like-new condition. I even have the box, manual and wired remote for the K-1000. I purchased the K-1020 from a professional repair tech and it is clean. If I had room, I'd also acquire an Aiwa AD-F660/770/990. Still might just for the love of the keyboard control Aiwa era.

Just this past week, was fortunate to come across a stock of new, old-stock, unopened Maxell cassettes in a variety of lengths from 60-100. 20% Type IV, 80% type II. MX, MX-S, XL-S and XLII.

I have always had a passion for Yamaha equipment from the 70's to late 80's. In addition to the above cassette decks, my current 2.1 system is a Yamaha M-85 amp, C-85 pre-amp, T-85 tuner, GE-60 equalizer (looking for an original electret mic), CDX-900. The system powers a pair of original Klipsch Fortes that have been restored with new veneer and new Bob Crites crossovers. They are paired with my only modern piece in this system, an SVS SB-4000.

Anyway, that's my intro to this group. Glad there is a renaissance for cassettes. It would be so nice to see a company begin to produce Type II/IV cassettes again. It's a pipe dream. Time has soldiered on.

Sorry for the long-winded post! Happy recording!

-smkerry