2nd hand cassette deck......
My trusty old Aiwa ADF 410 died on me at the weekend; first time I had went to use it in over a year.......but its bugging me that I don't have a tape deck on the rack anymore....anyway had a look over on e-bay for a bargain......looking to spend no more than £30.
There are a couple finishing in the next couple of days; which caught my eye can anyone of the ahem.......older members on the forum advise me which would be the better choice between the Yamaha KX-580 SE(5 star winner in its time) and the Sony TCK-B820S(this is the little brother of the TCK-A6ES which I would love.....but £600 deck in its day is still gonna hold some money).....
Any other suggestions welcome(no smart comments please)
Thanks
lcd4ever:My trusty old Aiwa ADF 410 died on me at the weekend; first time I had went to use it in over a year.......but its bugging me that I don't have a tape deck on the rack anymore....anyway had a look over on e-bay for a bargain......looking to spend no more than £30.
There are a couple finishing in the next couple of days; which caught my eye can anyone of the ahem.......older members on the forum advise me which would be the better choice between the Yamaha KX-580 SE(5 star winner in its time) and the Sony TCK-B820S(this is the little brother of the TCK-A6ES which I would love.....but £600 deck in its day is still gonna hold some money).....
Any other suggestions welcome(no smart comments please)
Thanks
Gave away my Aiwa ADF850 a couple of months ago to a charity shop in Edinburgh. If only you'd tried it out before then, you could've had it for the cost of postage!
Thanks for making me sick Record Spot.....always the way.....there is a 'brand new' ADF 950 over on e-bay just now....opening bid £350 !!!! My mate had one of these back in the day and I'm sure he only paid £450 when it was new out......
Definitely looking for a Dolby S deck this time......
Be careful buying off ebay, you won't know what state the heads are in. This guy repairs gear and is very dependable. Note the top loading Sony - a serious bit of kit in its day.
http://www.greenhomeshop.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6&sort=20a&page=1
If you feel like splashing out:
http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=822
gpi:Be careful buying off ebay, you won't know what state the heads are in. This guy repairs gear and is very dependable. Note the top loading Sony - a serious bit of kit in its day. http://www.greenhomeshop.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6&sort=20a&page=1 If you feel like splashing out: http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=822
Thanks for that one gpi. Never thought I'ld ever see a picture of my old cassette deck, the top loading Sony. What a machine! Got it in the NAAFI shop when overseas and used it with a Sansui AU666 amp bought in Changi village Singapore. Brought back some fond memories, Cheers
lcd4ever:Thanks for making me sick Record Spot.....always the way.....there is a 'brand new' ADF 950 over on e-bay just now....opening bid £350 !!!! My mate had one of these back in the day and I'm sure he only paid £450 when it was new out......
Definitely looking for a Dolby S deck this time......
Ah well, in that case, you can rest easy; the 850 had Dolby B, C & HXPro but not Dolby S. At ease soldier!
I'd say go for the Yamaha - I'm very happy with my Yamaha KX-493
Greenwich_Man:I'd say go for the Yamaha - I'm very happy with my Yamaha KX-493
I'd agree with that. Been really enjoying Leftfield - Leftism on my KX-393 today... As the 580SE was at least 2 up in the range, I'd definately go for one.
Looks like the Yamaha wins then........just hope i can get it at the right price......
thanks all
I personally love Nakamichi cassette decks. I had one years ago and the sound was incredible. But saying this, i dont have as much experience as others here. Good luck with your bidding anyway ! 
lcd4ever:Looks like the Yamaha wins then........just hope i can get it at the right price......
thanks all
I have the Yamaha KX493 in my second system. I bought it from Richer for a very good price as it was an opened box IIRC. Have a look at your local RS first, you will be better off with a new one.
Edited to say Richer Sounds don't stock the Yamahas any more. Which one are you going for? Personally I would go for this one Very tidy, with its original box and a good BIN price. There are a few KX580s there as well with a surprising range of BIN prices. I think it's fair to say the one with a £100 starting price and a BIN of £125 aint gonna get any bids.
if you look around you will be able to pick up a Teac ,nakamichi ,aiwa,kenwood,jvc and yamha decks for decent money
if you look around you will be able to pick up a Teac ,nakamichi ,aiwa,kenwood,jvc and yamha decks for decent money
I had a Technics az6 cassette deck, that developed a fault, took it to the panasonic shop to get it repaired, they told me no parts available for that model, it needed a £13 part, as one of the sound channel wasnt replaying, so i got a nakamichi dr3 on ebay, for £80, compared to the technics it got no bells and whistles, not even dolby hx pro.
Any way i wanted to find out why naks are so highly rated so i placed a old tdk sa cassette blank and taped over a song on cd, matching the record levels, with the levels on cd.
Once recorded, it was wow!, you oculdnt tell its from a cd player, then i looked at the specs of the record and replay frequency response, on normal tape it 20 to 20k and cro2 and metal 20-22k, only a few tape decks will match the naks replay response, you be looking at the top of the range other maufacturers range, to match it.
The other thing is i also noticed you dont need to use dolby when taping with the nak as its mechanism and the tape heads contribute to a lower noise level compared to others, as the tape mechanism uses cams not solenoids.
Look to the naks, you get what you pay for, its simple, reliable, and you can still get it maintained by Bower and wilkins
I absolutely agree that Naks sound wonderful (as do many other decks) but non the less...
. I bought one in 1994 and I owned for over 18 years before I sold it earlier this year. Wonderful deck. When I bought it, it sounded better than any other cassette recorder I'd ever owned, including a couple which were three-head and twin capstan drive.
I would hope not to be one of the older members
but had a pair of these when they were new http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PIONEER-CT-339-FULL-LOGIC-CONTROL-STEREO-CASSETTE-DECK_W0QQitemZ300361562356QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_Cassette_RL?hash=item45eef1b8f4
and this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Classic-mid-80s-pioneer-midi-cassette-deck-boxed-superb_W0QQitemZ120488255837QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CE_Cassette_RL?hash=item1c0da8e15d is a beauty! I always felt that Pioneer did great tape decks having grown up with my dads and having owned my own pair.