What cassette deck ?

[Alex SE]

What is the favorite deck you have or would like to have and why just that one? Observe that we are not talking about which deck is the best of all but which one you like the most.

I am a fan of Technics decks. Have 555, 565, 606, 727 and two 965. No doubt that 965 is best of them but somehow I mostly like to play with 727.

What I like with Technics decks (those series I have) is that they are all sounds good, tank build and mechanic is easy to repair.

Vince, you don't have to answer the question LOL

 

[vince666]

Vince, you don't have to answer the question LOL

LOL! indeed my answer overlaps yours by quite a bit.

I am also a fan of Technics decks, mostly... I own 7 decks by Technics, after all.

My two ANT-modified RS-B965 are indeed my best ones and my own "benchmark" decks.
But, these latest years, I've got (and love!) a couple older Technics ones, like the RS-M260 (a GREAT one after being modified) and a RS-M63 (another NICE one with some awesome ferrite heads, which I suspect being made by Alps).
My other Technics are two RS-B565 and a RS-B555 all slightly modified.

And, lately, I am loving my own modified AIWA AD-F880 (where I did put some nice amorphous heads) quite as much as my Technics ones... and my ANT-modded marantz SD-60 is another one I just love as well.

The other ones are another AIWA AD-F880, a Yamaha KX-300 , two Toshiba PC-G2T (one of them is badly broken and then for spare parts) , a Sansui D-300M , a marantz SD-40 , a Sony TC-K750 , a Pioneer CT-737 mark II , a Yamaha KX-480 , a Teac V-1050, a Sanyo RD-3510M (which, after some mods, it sounds better than expected but the mechanism is just very basic!) and a Telefunken TC 750 (which is in the middle of the restoration process).
Ah, and a nice old small Pioneer H-22 8-Track cardtridge player which I just like.

So, if I counted them right, at the moment I own like 20 cassette decks and an 8-Track cartridge player (and a few walkmans).

But, yes, If I just need to choose just one deck over all the others, I'll go with my ANT-modded RS-B965MF (the one with the Alps ferrite heads).

 

[nakdoc]

My deck is the original Nakamichi 680, which is not just beautiful, but also takes the technology somewhere totally unexpected with 1/2 speed record and playback. Something about having a lawsuit halt its production makes the 680 almost dangerous to hold.

 

[Lazarus Short]

I like Denon machines. Mine is a DRM-510, the only one I own barring the one in the Volvo, a few assorted boom boxes and the KP-500.

 

[J!m]

Tascam fan. Actually a Teac fan before I knew Tascam existed.

But my Panasonic boom box sounds pretty decent too. And it made great room recordings of the band back in the day. Still have some of those old tapes…

 

[rtp_burnsville]

Another Tascam fan here..... I also like Pioneer.

Robert

 

[marcok]

Tandberg . I have a TCD 320 Mk II
Ciao
Marco

 

[pennysdad]

I think I only have one working deck left. My trusty ol' Nakamichi 700.
There's a 550 in bits somewhere in a box. It's got the big white meters that I was going to stick in the 700 which has got black ones.
One day when I get bored...
It'll certainly look different! LOL.
[Artist's impression*]

 

[vince666]

sort of like the old 700 more with the white meters.

 

[derek92994]

Two Favorites, Nakamichi Bx-300 (3 of) and a Nakamichi 670zx. Did recaps on all 4 and have not looked back since. The 300’s are straight to the point, work and perform just fine. The 670zx also performs well and the cosmetics are amazing on that.
Bought the first bx 300 in 2016 from Perry restored without any cap or opamp upgrades, did those later. Put a lot of hours on that deck, its the only one I have with gear idler and nos reel motor. A few months after purchase the control motor failed, I replaced this with one from a parts bx1 deck. It ran until early 2021 until the capstan belt went slack. I did a full mech service on it, back to life.
The 2nd and 3rd bx300s i bought off fleabay, very good prices too. Both had dead spots on reel motor, sourced these from a bx1 and bx2 parts unit. Both recapped and opamps upgraded. Unit 3 had a dodgy capstan belt which I forgot about until 2 years later, no major issues, replaced and mech serviced. Unit 2 has been going maybe 2-3 years since mech service, its the primary recording unit.
670zx just gets used for playback, I managed to fix the auto azimuth on recording but recording is not up to scratch. I will say that when you dont have the knowledge, classic style mechs are a very steep learning curve, I guess the recording electronics also need work but Im happy to stick with the 300s for recording.
Other favorites would be my first deck in 1994 that recorded ok, a beaten up yamaha k600 that spent its life on the road used for DJing, have moved this one on but many hours of enjoyment from it. My first dual capstan deck JVC TD-661, many hours of enjoyment, excellent recorder and workhorse. The Naks walked all over it but I still give it credit for reliability and durability.

 

[derek92994]

 

[pennysdad]

sort of like the old 700 more with the white meters.

At least you can see what they're doing, unlike the original meters.

 

[pennysdad]

View attachment 55978

Press PAWS Kittie....

 

[vince666]

At least you can see what they're doing, unlike the original meters.

exactly so!

 

[Alex SE]

It seams that we all have a different taste for decks and it's always cool to see some new-old toys. Some of that decks I've never seen before, guess because I belong newer old generation ('75.).
People usually use to buy same brands (even same model) that they had before. Only decks I owed was Technics and Aiwa and somehow I have it very difficult to try something else. I like a look of Sony newer series but not shore if it's good idea to buy something, have heard that cogs can be a problem.

BTW, I'm not a fan of decks with sliders but that black BX300 looks really nice... and a cat too

 

[overmodulated]

Favorite deck out of the ones that I own is a tossup between the A&D GX-Z9100 and that one just makes spectacular recordings no matter what kind of tape you throw at it.

The Teac Z6000 I just purchased recently also makes an excellent copy that sounds great in my other decks also. Its adjustability is what sets it aside from others I've used.

As someone else posted above the Nakamichi BX Dash 300 is a no frills great performing deck.

I have a Nak 680ZX coming today that I'm excited about putting into my rotation, supposedly an excellent performer with a beautiful display.

 

[overmodulated]

View attachment 55977 View attachment 55978

Beautiful looking old school gear. nice kitty too

 

[20tajk7]

The Nak 680 is a killer, the half speed performance is really good and beats a lot of normal and even double speed decks.

 

[overmodulated]

That's what I'm hearing from others also, so I appreciate your post.

I know that the half speed recordings have a little more wow and flutter, but I think it is negligible. Can't wait to find out later today.

 

[overmodulated]

The Nak 680 is a killer, the half speed performance is really good and beats a lot of normal and even double speed decks.

Hi, I received the 680ZX yesterday, and it is in very good condition, and serviced by a reputable tech in my area approximately 18 months ago.
This was purchased by someone from the original owner, and the seller I bought it from had it serviced.

Then it sat for 18 months on the shelf, and it's unclear if it was used after the repair or not, I could find that out today.

Cleaned it all up, and the tape path was clean to begin with, but I do magnetized heads played back a couple tapes and then recorded one. The automatic Azmath for the recording is unique, and it came out well for the first attempt.

On playback I noticed that when I first press play it sounds normal and has that typical Nakamichi sound. But after a couple of seconds the highs, the treble goes away a little bit, and it's a little perplexing because it doesn't happen on all tapes. It's been suggested to me that it could be something with the playback azimuth, but right now I'm just running it and seeing if it'll settle in and sound better.