Choosing a Tape Deck
Picking this conversation out into its own thread to avoid contaminatiing the Major's thread.
The question I asked was, what's a good 2nd hand tape deck for ripping old cassettes to PC:
How do you tell if it's been thrashed?
Well that's kind of the question, how do you know which are the good ones? I presume these guys made decks at all price levels, I'd like as good a one as I can get, although I don't want to spend hundreds (or even thousands that some of the Naks seems to be commanding).
Hummm, suddenly this doesn't sound like much fun and it was a 3 head decks I was looking at recently, I thought they were supposed to be better? I don't even know how to clean the heads (in fact I'm not even sure which bit is the heads!).
I must say I had quite a good giggle following your link. I would never have imagined such a thing, but alas it exists!
Good find, Simon!
As always, first question is what's your budget. I'll make an assumption you're looking for a good used deck and not a new one (not many new ones made now anyhow). Oh and look on YouTube about how to clean cassette player heads. Forgive me, I forget that these kind of skills are not second nature for everybody these days, and I didn't even for one second give it a thought that you wouldn't know how to clean and adjust the heads. But don't let that put you off, it's not hard to clean cassette player heads.
There is a good Yahama KX-580 SE on ebay at the moment for £90 BIN + £15 postage from Cheltenham Hi-Fi (their feedback looks good).
You'll get most of that back when you have finished with it and sell it on.
I used the same machine for over a decade and gave it to my older brother who is still using it. Very slick machines, very even winding/rewinding, good quality sound.
Use a new cotton bud with a drop of tape head cleaning fluid to clean the heads and the capstan drive 'needle' (do that bit whilst 'play' then 'pause' are pressed so that the black rubber wheel is dis-engaged). Use the corner of a lint free cloth slightly moistened with water to clean the black rubber wheel. (Any alcohol will remove rubber as well as dirt and - after a while - could lead to it running eccentrically.)
Dunno, hadn't thought about it that far! Just been looking at decks on ebay and would have made a judgment on it as the auctions reach a close. Probably £1-200 but certainly no more than that.
Yup.
I haven't even looked at a tape deck for about 8 years or so.
How would you know when the heads need adjusting though? What are you listening out for?
You'll get most of that back when you have finished with it and sell it on.
I used the same machine for over a decade and gave it to my older brother who is still using it. Very slick machines, very even winding/rewinding, good quality sound.
Ok, one to add to the list, ta.
Makes a lot of sense I guess!
No worries, what could possibly go wrong!?
Ah ok, very useful, thanks very much!
I will have forgotten all that by the time I actually get hold of a machine of course but it's much appreciated anyway!
No worries, I don't know very much about modern digital HiFis and AV, so it's a pleasure when someone asks about ancient forgotten skills that I can actually help with.
Take a look on Gumtree - search for ' Cassette Deck ' lots for £ 20-30, there is a Nak for £ 178. The problem with old decks are the rubber drive belts, they rot if not used on a regular basis. You can sometimes pick up a replacement set on Ebay. I would try before I parted with cash. Take your headphones as most will have a headphone output. I would also ask to connect it to a source and record a couple of tracks, this will give you an idea of the maximum quality of playback. I listen to old tapes ( FM live broadcasts 1970-80's ) they are OK but not up to modern Hifi standards. Other things to consider are the tape types you have - the bias type's are Normal, Cr02 and Metal and if you cannot switch to match the tape type the audio quality could/will be poor. Also has Dolby or DBX noise reduction been used on the tapes, you have to be able to match this as well. - Hope you find a good deck.
While a lot of what you say is true, I think you've just frightened the bejaysus out of him.
Or you could just buy a brand new deck (one even has onboard USB recording)...
http://www.teac-audio.eu/en/Cassette-Decks-84577.html
http://www.harrowaudiohifi.co.uk/products/1300-teac-w890r-w-890-r-w890-r.aspx
http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/teac_ad800.shtml?googlecpc
No, not really, I know about chrome and metal and nr and all that, the only issue is I'm unlikely to be able actually try any out before I buy, I simply don't have the time to travel anywhere really, so it'll have to be a "blind" purchase unfortunately.
"How do you tell if it's been thrashed?"
Look at the general condition. Open the cassette door and look at the tape head and capstan assembly with a good strong light or torch.
The tape head should have a curved profile, and shouldn't show excessive wear. If there's a valley worn across the middle of the head, the same width as the width of the tape, the deck should be avoided. A tape head that still looks untouched is generally a good sign. Look in google images for 'tape head wear' or similar terms - I would post some here, but we don't seem to have picture upload options..
Someone mentioned earlier that 3-head machines were more of a pain to azimuth-adjust than 2-head; surely this is irrelevant to the OP, who will be using the deck for playback only, and hence adjustment of the separate record head will be irrelevant?
Sorry, didn't see that you'd said you had to buy blind before I typed that last missive....
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How about this.
formerly known as slewis ---
simon's system