Cassette deck for archive purposes

Are you recording, or just replaying? And what quality of recordings are we talking about?

I would generally suggest buying one of the cheaper 2nd-hand Nakamichis off eBay, having it serviced or at least giving it a good clean, do your archiving and then flogging it again. Naks are very well regarded tape machines and are quite easy to obtain.

If it's just a bunch of fairly crappy sounding off-air recordings though, or 3rd or 4th-hand copies of other tapes etc... you could get away with something much cheaper. I bought myself an Aiwa AD-F660 tape deck to make digital copies of all my old 80s computer game tapes. I think it was £50 delivered, and it's a neato piece of gear that's more than adequate for the task :)
 
Yamaha KX580SE was a great machine for playback and recording. Can be picked up for buttons on ebay:smashin:
 
Thanks guys, I've had a good look to see top contenders I should purchase, from namely Yamaha, Sony, some Naks.

Perhaps maybe Aiwa and Akai as well?

The deck is 75% for archiving and 25% for playback. My tapes vary in quality but it would be nice to preserve them somehow.

Thanks for your input
 
I 2nd Naks but they are expensive even for secondhand.

AKAI, Technics and Teac Cassettes deck were also up there back in the day. Pioneer also did some decents ones.


The following site may be able to help out.

Vintage Cassette - The independent cassette deck resource


All the best with your search :thumbsup:
 
Thanks Don....

I've got possibly 100 to play with and thinking of a Yamaha KX580SE maybe. A Yamaha KX393 also possible. I can stretch to include delivery price. The deck I would like would need to handle any type of cassette and obviously need all the tools to get the best out of the cassette to record to my computer and then onto CD/DVD. Possibility of copying to other formats then.
 
My Pleasure - Enjoy :thumbsup:
 
Great link... Might be able to find some of my old decks on there...
 
Might check that site more, I would need a cassette deck to deal with every type of tape and also have enough features to get the best out of each tape etc.

I'll keep looking and researching.
 
sap81uk said:
Might check that site more, I would need a cassette deck to deal with every type of tape and also have enough features to get the best out of each tape etc.

I'll keep looking and researching.

Get yourself the Yammy, you won't regret it and they are well within your budget :)
 
I'm off to go all dewy eyed now
Well, grab some kleenex as it will be going back on the 'bay at some point when I've finished with it ;)
 
Sony TC-K611S. A fantastic deck. Owned two. Sold the first when I thought I'd done with tape. Bought a second when I realised I hadn't. Upgraded to a Nak and sold the second one a couple of years ago for £40 or so.

Excellent playback and recording.

The Denon DR-M44HX was another cracker of a deck that I owned.

Prior to these I had a Pioneer CT-9R. That was a great piece of kit. Built like a tank. A huge tape deck. Looked great in a champagne finish. Thirty years old now, but I'd have another.

Working in hifi retail in the 90s, I played with lots of decks.

Aiwa had a few good ones, like the AD-F910 and AD-S950

Technics had the RS-AZ6 and RS-AZ7

Yamaha, as mentioned, did the excellent KX-580SE

A manufacturer that I liked, that never gets a mention, is Luxman.
They did some really good decks. There's one in particular that I sold around 1996. I can't remember the model but it sounded fantastic and was built really well. It was probably the K-373 but it was 16 years ago so I can't be 100% sure.

Of all of these, I have a soft spot for the .
A briliiant piece of kit for the money.

Ideally, I'd say get a Nakamichi. But they aren't cheap. And probably overkill for your needs.
 
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2nd the Sony. Had one from new (£330) outrageously cheap now. Was replacement for the older 650es deck.

TEAC also had a few nice decks.

Most decks that supported Dolby S will be pretty good, plus older high end decks such as the Denon and Pioneer suggested by previous poster.
 
Thanks for all the great recommendations.... It's against the Sony deck and the Yamaha 580SE if I'm being totally honest... Should both serve me well, just got to find one now!

Naks are just a bit too expensive for me... Would be nice though.. But I'll keep all recommendations in mind you can be sure..
 
I have an Yamaha KX580. It's not the SE version but it's still a great deck. Recordings on it using decent tapes sound very CD-like :thumbsup:
 
I have a mint/boxed Sony 611S that was only ever used to record a whole load of stuff on to brand new cassettes before going travelling for a year so it is still pretty much as new. I've been keeping it in storage as in years to come it may well be hard to come across a decent deck in good shape but if I sold it I would want £100 which I dare say is more than the average auction price. If you happen to be interested though then put up a wanted thread and post a link to it here.
 
I will certainly keep that deck in mind... There is however on eBay a Yamaha KX580SE for just over 100 (including delivery). I don't have the money for a deck currently but will do in a couple weeks...
 
Found my old deck on that site too:

Teac V-7000 Stereo Cassette Deck

Was a stunner. Still would be today. Could barely tell the difference versus CDs most of the time. The noisefloor in higher end decks being almost non-existent. You'd be surprised what you'd get offered with an ad in our classifieds too; nice decks have been virtually - and literally - given away.

Mike.
 
Yes and, my word, thanks to you making me go and find a better image, I'm going to have to set up a saved search on eBay for one in black. Never knew they came in that colour but would have one again in a heartpulse.

101100teacv7000.jpg
 
I will certainly keep that deck in mind... There is however on eBay a Yamaha KX580SE for just over 100 (including delivery). I don't have the money for a deck currently but will do in a couple weeks...

No worries, my Sony's not going anywhere! Like I said though it's pretty much as new and is boxed ready to post so if wanted put up a thread in the classifieds and link me to it. Depending on cost I might be able to throw in postage free if it helps.
 

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