Teac 860 Esoteric cassette deck

[stuwee]

I stumbled across this yesterday, very neat lookin' rig.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... MEWAX%3AIT

 

[Elite-ist]

And I thought the Esoteric series of Teac tapedecks came out in the early 90's. Thanks for giving us a peek at it, stuwee. The seller took plenty of pictures which helps to learn more about it.

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

So it was a 4 TRACK CASSETTE????

 

[Elite-ist]

Lee: No, it's conventional stereo, but packed with good features:

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Teac/A-860

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

Ok, but therewere 4 discreet inputs, was there a mix feature i missed? Ok, Ok , i'll check the link.

MSRP--1750.00 in 76??

 

[Elite-ist]

Ok, but therewere 4 discreet inputs, was there a mix feature i missed? Ok, Ok , i'll check the link.

MSRP--1750.00 in 76??

That is expensive, isn't it. There are only two VU meters, and the back of the deck shows #1 and #2 line inputs as dedicated for the right and left channels of an FM tuner. The four sliders in the front appear to be for mixing of the input signals?

nando.

 

[laatsch55]

I guess, I'd lke to have it!!

 

[stuwee]

I guess, I'd lke to have it!!

Me too! It had some issues, but I bet Sam could've straighten it out, I hope he chimes in on if it was a nice rig or not........ it would look great next to my A-3400 RtR

 

[Skywavebe]

Hello Teac Fans,
I wanted one of these too but as I learned about them at the Factory Service and all the Mocky Cocky comments made by the then manager Matt Suzuki who fixed them it was found out through secret channels that the unit was designed by a computer engineer not a tape deck engineer. This made the transport a bit different than the rest. However they were known for a lot of problems as they aged. The Black card edge connectors would crack and they were very hard to get. I guess if a technician would get a clean one and put enough time into fixing all the problems, it would be a nice unit. Basically if you look at all the features, it is like a C-1 cassette deck with a Model 2 mixer built into it. As far as Esoteric decks made by Teac the top units consisted at least by my standards, of the Teac C-1 and the Z6000 decks. There is nothing that they made that was better than the Z6000 which is why after adjusting one on the bench a few times I got one or two of them. The Z7000 for those who think it is better is just the computerized version with the Z6000 chassis. Like the V900X which also has computerized Bias/EQ/Level adjustments with storage memory, these sections have to be calibrated themselves very closely and THEN the deck does some neat stuff- I have a pile of V900X decks too. There were not a lot of A860s made so they may be a collector's item. From what the person said in the E bay description, I would say there is not a lot wrong with the unit that somebody got for $305. The money would be better spent on a Z6000 though.

 

[laatsch55]

Sam, once again nothing like a lifetime of "been in the middle of it" experience!! And thank you for sharing that!! What a resource you are Man!!

 

[stuwee]

Thanks for the tech info Sam , when I saw the listing I was like, whoa what the hell is that?

After just reading it again, someone offered him $350 to end it early, and he only got $305, agreed it's in very nice cosmetic condition. I'm sure I'm better off with my V-8000S for sound quality, but the vintage hoarder of cool old gear in me would still like one in the main room

 

[Marconiex]

Teac 860 Esoteric Series 1976 Cassette Deck

Hey! Check out my new NOS (that's NOS as in "NEW OLD STOCK") cassette deck..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u2nkiws9ic&feature=em-upload_owner

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums...otericseriescassetterecorder-_zpsfccc031b.jpg

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh586/Marconiex/2_zps5ca19537.jpg

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh586/Marconiex/3_zpsd993b9e0.jpg

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh586/Marconiex/4_zps1032971a.jpg

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums...6ZHJG8E9nyfoTcTBRPqR0uOqw60_3_zpsa41532e6.jpg

http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh586/Marconiex/7_zpsc468e436.jpg

 

[Elite-ist]

Wow, excellent pictures and video. That's a pristine example of an out-of-the-box Teac 860. You can tell us more about your interests in an introductory thread. Glad to see you join our forum!

Nando.

 

[Retrofett]

Great info on that deck, I would like one of those as well. Dig that site you linked, Nando. Spent that better part of the last hour digging through all the vintage decks on there.

 

[Elite-ist]

Great info on that deck, I would like one of those as well. Dig that site you linked, Nando. Spent that better part of the last hour digging through all the vintage decks on there.

Mark: That site is one of the better reference sites for cassette decks available on the internet.

Nando.

 

[Miracle Mile]

Mark: That site is one of the better reference sites for cassette decks available on the internet.

Nando.

Not always Nando, there's a lot of incorrect information on it.
But indeed: there isn't much more information elsewhere.

 

[Elite-ist]

True, Miles, there are sometimes errors on the vintagecassette.com site, but it sure is good for looking up almost any model of cassette deck produced.

Nando.

 

[TheDutchOwner]

Not always Nando, there's a lot of incorrect information on it.
But indeed: there isn't much more information elsewhere.

For example, it claims the JVC KD-A2 supports Type III tape. As an owner of that deck, I call BULLSCHIIT!

 

[Miracle Mile]

Bad language

I call BULLSCHIIT!

Nah!

Een beetje op je taalgebruik letten he!