In the last few month I bought some NOS cassettes from some local e-bay sellers. Got some not original but expensive rubber replacement parts for my decks that are waiting for refurbishing. My hope is that the parts will not detoriate before I got the time...
My decks are 2 Akai GX 75 MKII. 1 I bought new that days and 1 from e-bay with the idea to get replacement parts. It turned out to be in nearly perfect condition.
There is also my dads old Akai GXC 710D wich was used for less than 20 hours
Now I do not use them but my mind loves to have them around for nostalgic reasons.
My decks are 2 Akai GX 75 MKII. 1 I bought new that days and 1 from e-bay with the idea to get replacement parts. It turned out to be in nearly perfect condition.
There is also my dads old Akai GXC 710D wich was used for less than 20 hours
Now I do not use them but my mind loves to have them around for nostalgic reasons.
Nice hefty looking decks you have there. My daily driver is JVC KD-D4. I also recently scored a Sony TC-K515S that`s supposed to be an upper mid-range deck with three heads, Dolby S and automatic bias setting, but is far inferior to the JVC in terms of mechanical quality. Pinch roller`s worn out, currently loking for a replacement. I also have an Akai CS-702D MKII that I literally rescued from the dumpster awaiting restoration, but it`ll be a lot of work: the capstan`s sleeve bearing is worn out. It`s a BER probably, but I haven`t given up yet, it looks like a nice simple machine for playing pre-recorded tapes.
I know this is an old thread, but i still sport fondness for cassette decks. This month i got some old cassette players from a friend in a need of service, so i am involved with cassettes again.
I got technics m234x, two head, but good sounding. After cleaning, all is good. Fluorescent display is just a pleasure to look at.
Other one is sony, dual deck, almost top of the line, both decks recording, even dolby s on board, es series. But both mechanics need new belts. I will work on it later, i need to order belts.
With technics working, i gave it all day workout, been playing those old tapes...got about 500 or so, mostly type II, about 50 metal tapes, some recorded from studio r2r, brinks back memories. 80ties music...
Happy Xmass everybody.
I got technics m234x, two head, but good sounding. After cleaning, all is good. Fluorescent display is just a pleasure to look at.
Other one is sony, dual deck, almost top of the line, both decks recording, even dolby s on board, es series. But both mechanics need new belts. I will work on it later, i need to order belts.
With technics working, i gave it all day workout, been playing those old tapes...got about 500 or so, mostly type II, about 50 metal tapes, some recorded from studio r2r, brinks back memories. 80ties music...
Happy Xmass everybody.
I would venture to guess you enjoyed those old tapes in a way that was much more satisfying than listening to an Mp3 played through a sad little system the size of a cigarette pack.
I recently tried to renovate an old Sony ES twin tape machine but sadly the heads were too badly corroded and replacements are no longer available.
I recently tried to renovate an old Sony ES twin tape machine but sadly the heads were too badly corroded and replacements are no longer available.
The technics i just serviced was made in 1982. Well, thats almost 40 years old. Yet it still works. I have pioneer r2r rt-707, even older, which works great. The level of craftmanship which went into this technology is astounding. Something cell phone generation weaned on cheap made to break plastic crap will never understand and appreciate. Studio reel to reel has soul, mp3 player does not.
Claiming that analog sucks in comparison to digital is just naive. Its like comparing horse and buggy to an airplaine. Slightly different era...
Claiming that analog sucks in comparison to digital is just naive. Its like comparing horse and buggy to an airplaine. Slightly different era...
Who else remembers the failed Elcaset format? If you recall, Elcaset looked like a double-size compact cassette, and was an attempt to combine the convenience of the compact cassette with performance closer to that of reel-to-reel. Unfortunately, it seems that those customers who were drawn to the convenience of the compact cassette weren't overly concerned about that format's performance, while those customers drawn to the performance of reel-to-reel weren't overly concerned about that format's inconvenience. Leaving the Elcaset format to occupy and die in a market segment no man's land.
Forgotten audio formats: Elcaset | Ars Technica
Did anybody here actually own an Elcaset player? If so, please share your opinion/experience with the format.
Forgotten audio formats: Elcaset | Ars Technica
Did anybody here actually own an Elcaset player? If so, please share your opinion/experience with the format.
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I got Akai GXC-730D and Nakamichi CR-4 decks.
Both serviced and aligned by me (painfull process!).
GXC-730 is most over-engineered deck I've ever seen..
I prefer GXC-730 sound rather than CR-4.
I have more or less hundred cassettes. Few of them sounds shockingly good, some is ok, most of them is terrible (recordwise).
Both serviced and aligned by me (painfull process!).
GXC-730 is most over-engineered deck I've ever seen..
I prefer GXC-730 sound rather than CR-4.
I have more or less hundred cassettes. Few of them sounds shockingly good, some is ok, most of them is terrible (recordwise).
I saw and actually touched an Elcaset player at a flea market back in the mid/late '80s. How about the DCC format? Digital Compact Cassette, the format that combined lossy digital compression with the inconveniences of cassettes. Who could have predicted that would fail to catch on?
Back on topic, my only current interest in cassette is for archiving my live bootleg and radio recordings, and a number of tape-only releases (and some where the tapes have bonus tracks not on CD or LP). Fingers crossed, the thrift store Harman Kardon TD262 is still in working order; yes, Ultravox "U-Vox" plays OK, and I let the side play through, and then play a side from Heaven-17 "Teddy Bear, Duke and Psycho". The next tape I pick out to play turns out to have a pressure pad that's fallen off the spring. Some older tapes had foam pads that have rotted away completely, but I've got a stash of sacrificial screwed-together tapes to swap the tape into if necessary. So now I have to revive the XP computer that was set up for A/V capture, since trying to enable recording on my newfangled Windows 7 computer made the Wi-Fi fail.
Back on topic, my only current interest in cassette is for archiving my live bootleg and radio recordings, and a number of tape-only releases (and some where the tapes have bonus tracks not on CD or LP). Fingers crossed, the thrift store Harman Kardon TD262 is still in working order; yes, Ultravox "U-Vox" plays OK, and I let the side play through, and then play a side from Heaven-17 "Teddy Bear, Duke and Psycho". The next tape I pick out to play turns out to have a pressure pad that's fallen off the spring. Some older tapes had foam pads that have rotted away completely, but I've got a stash of sacrificial screwed-together tapes to swap the tape into if necessary. So now I have to revive the XP computer that was set up for A/V capture, since trying to enable recording on my newfangled Windows 7 computer made the Wi-Fi fail.
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yes, i do.
have A BUNCH of Joe Frank shows recorded to cassette from WBEZ back in the 80s and 90s.
not to mention all kinds of classic jazz & r&b i recorded when I was younger from albums of friends that were never released to CD.
both cassette recorders still going strong since the 80s. just had to replace a belt.
mlloyd1
have A BUNCH of Joe Frank shows recorded to cassette from WBEZ back in the 80s and 90s.
not to mention all kinds of classic jazz & r&b i recorded when I was younger from albums of friends that were never released to CD.
both cassette recorders still going strong since the 80s. just had to replace a belt.
mlloyd1
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