I think that if I saw any one of these tape decks at a garage\yard\estate sale, or at a second hand store, for a low price, I would buy them!

I have a sony TC-WE475 and really had great use of these unit and never had to replace belts yet! And it has a lot of features!

Nice video Guys, good job. I've got a Pioneer CT-F1250 I bought back in late 70's and I love it. A true audiophile dream machine. 🙂

10:19 I have three Pioneer CT-F950 cassette decks, but only one of them is fully working properly, but they are so cool with their blue Fluoroscan Vu meters.

Hello ABC Memphis, thank you for a great introduction. I bought the C844 sometime around 1981/82... 1200DM / 600Euro was a lot of money. I bought the C844 for my choir recordings. In an AB test (C844 against HIFI video recorder (3000DM)), the C844 was equal. (C844: double speed, Dolby C and pure iron cassette)... Of course the video tape / with helical track was unbeatably cheaper... The whole thing was topped off with my ASC6002S and the Super-D noise reduction system from Sanyo. However, that was a different league and an 1100m tape for 60DM was quickly sold at 38 / half track. I still have the C844 today. LG Manny

While stationed on Okinawa in 1978, I purchased the Pioneer CT-F900 cassette deck. It was Pioneer's first deck, featuring the closed loop, dual capstan tape transport system. I am convinced that they had not perfected this system and it soon began eating tapes caused by the malfunction of the drive. I replaced an idler wheel and that worked for awhile, but it soon started eating tapes again. I contacted Pioneer and they had no interest in repairing this deck. Instead, they sent me 8 pages of instructions on how to do it myself. This involved replacing the idler wheel again, plus removing two belts and applying belt dressing so that they would not slip. This procedure, required detailed dismantling of the machine and was above my expertise. As much as this deck cost, I was very disappointed that Pioneer refused to take responsibility for the repairs. I got rid of this deck and went with a Teac.

I really enjoyed this "offroad" selection of seldom seen decks, a change from those always same "top decks lists" I have 100+ decks and not a single one of those ones you showed, so thank you for having a heart for the lesser known ones.

Just bought a JVC KD A3 on your recommendation. Love it that you got your son into tape decks and vintage gear too!

I have two vintage JVC decks which are awesome.A KD55 and a KD-A55.They kick ass.

Still love my army green TEAC C3-X I bought at an HiFi sale when I was 18 years old.............now I'm close to 60 and it still runs fine. 🙂 2 years ago I gave it a big service, new belts installed and 2 new rubber square rings for the FF and REW function. It is amazing how good the TDK-MA tapes still sounds great if I made the recording yesterday!

Nice video. Just picked up a 1979 AKAI GXC-706d in excellent condition. Everything works, beautiful big VU meters. Belt slipping slightly on startups, something I’ll fix soon. Highly enjoying playing my old cassettes again.

I own a Braun C4 Atelier Grey. Beautiful machine.

I visited Japan on the way back from China in the late 1980's, and came home with a Nakamichi Dragon. It is currently in a box, along with a Kyocera PL-910 turntable and Perreaux electronics. I was going to move, but now they sit stored away half way across the country at my mother's house.

The B&O and Yamaha at the end, are both gorgeous! Sound great too apparently.

Great fast format! Also awesome talking about belts and repair issues. Wish you would have mentioned if 3-head and bias (metal, chrome, variable). Surprised no Akai, Aiwa and Nakamichi

My first "component" cassette deck was the CT-F2121 in 1974. After military service I was broke and had to get a budget deck. Most were still top loaders and the F2121 was a quasi-front loader. I made a lotta tapes on that deck and though the meters were small, controls basic and heads were Hard Permalloy. It sufficed till I could afford better performance. Always hated the angled cassette compartment and frequently tried to eject tapes while stoned with the door closed, jammin' the tape inside the cassette well. Minor carping.

3:59 I have that same Pioneer CT-WM62R 6+1 cassette deck in excellent working condition and it's awesome! :)

Wow, I would get any of these in a snap, except for the Realistic, because I’d definitely use the recording mode to create good ol’ mix tapes. I’m going to try a couple of the very few thrift stores around here, hopefully I’ll find one that is relatively easy to fix. Thank you for the great content, keep up the good work 😊

Great video!

Great video, quick overview of each deck, not wasting time. Wondering if the Blaupunkt isn't a reworked Japanese unit and Sanyo made very good quality home products with fair pricing.

Great video! I love finding channels that make me seem not so crazy. I'm up to 28 decks now. I have the Optonica version of that Sharp deck. I fixed it but I don't really like it.

I own an Aiwa AD-f 990 (first version)! The poor man's Dragon! what a great cassette deck!

No Onkyo's huh?

I have the RT-3388. Hasn't seen power for YEARS though.... might try and see if it even still works for fun. I wasn't happy with the sound quality either...

I agree that the Yamaha K960 is a champ! I had one for many years before selling it and replaced it with a Pioneer CT-F1250. The only drawback with the Yammie is if you record using DBX you can only playback in the same deck. DBX sounded better than any noise reduction I've ever heard. BTW, I bought my first real cassette deck in Yokosuka at the Navy Exchange. A TEAC A-350. A work horse of a deck and built like a tank. In my vintage Sansui rack I have a SC-5330 and used it to transfer all my cassettes to mp4 (Apple lossless format...and a dumb decision, but worked out okay in the end).

I love vintage cassette decks and I've got a bit of a deck hoarding problem too since I have at least 40 cassette decks (some of which need belt replacements at this point) which is utterly insane to me, but they are too cool. Hahaha! Brands I have include: - Bang & Olufsen (2 decks) - Nakamichi (2 decks; the RX-202 and BX-100, but not the Dragon which is priced into the stratosphere these days) - Harman/Kardon (8 decks) - Tascam (4 decks) - Sony (3 decks) - Akai (8 decks) - Pioneer (4 decks) - Denon (1 deck) - Aiwa (2 decks) - Toshiba (1 deck) - Mitsubishi (1 multi-tape deck; a 6+1, I think) - Sansui (1 deck) - Scott (1 deck with matching amplifier) - Hitachi (1 deck in pristine condition still with original tags, but rotted belts) - Nikko (1 deck and only $5 from a Salvation Army Thrift Store, so it's tough to beat that) :)

What do you think about the Sony TC-K555 cassette deck? I bought mine new in late 1982 and it has performed flawlessly ever since with great sound quality.

I checked this video out to see if my deck from the 70's was on this list and sure enough it was, LOL. In fact it was the first one with the computerized search feature. Basically all it did was search for the blank spots between songs on the tape. Only difference is that mine was a Luxman model. The front face is identical. I paid the stupid amount of $500 for it, which is about a a couple grand in todays money. Just a dumb kid back then. But yea, I remember that computer did give up the ghost at some point. It still played fine from what I remember and I ended up giving it to my Dad. After that it just sat on a shelf. I remember he asked if I wanted it back and I said no. I was done with cassettes at that point. I basically gave away all my stuff from the 70's. JBL speakers, Harmon Kardon integrated amp. Only thing I still have is a Yamaha turntable that still works perfectly but gets little use. Do I miss any of it? Not really. For me the audio hobby is about moving forward, not back. But I did enjoy them while I had them.

Was just wondering. I am wanting to have the ability to view vu meters on my system. If I have a three head cassette deck, does recording have to actually be engaged to view the meters?

I have Aiwa 3700 with double capstan and Teac v1050. They are in laboratory for fixing and set up. What do you think about these two decks?

The most important things about a cassettedeck are recording stability and recording balance with all type types , no audible wow and flutter and good musicality which comes from the power unit and its design.. Then you have sound character and lineairity but that favourable .. I would never recommend dbx , recordings are without tape hiss but when you listen more closely you hear it sounds unnatural , and distorted and without air and openess

Won’t mind getting a Pioneer deck with Fluorescent Display. I do have a JVC KD-A5 and it build like a tank similar to KD-A3 but the KD-D40 is a bit on the flimsy side and not as refined.

Had a mint CTF-650 needed a belt changeover, probably gave it away for a few bucks about 25 years ago. was a companion to my SX-3700.

I wish the higher end decks came in DUAL cassette so you can use 1 deck to make quality duplicates. And Silver would be ideal!

i have 3 decks in my main system Pioneer CTF-1250. Technics M235X and a Realistic sct-33. The pioneer ans realistic deck are both 3 heads.

I had a Pioneer 6 cassette changer and a Pioneer 6 + 1 cassette changer they were awesome but if you looked at them really hard something would break

Great Decks, but where is the best of all time? Nakamichi

You used any of the later Technics direct drive quartz lock units?

Is Teac V9 okay?

The best were Nakamichis they sounded great owned a few always bought used but when they go bad they are very hard to repair.

I am surprised you didn't profile any Kenwood or Denon decks. I'd love to see a critic's opinion on just how good (or bad) they are!

Didn't you have an Aiwa model? They had a bunch of great and beautiful cassette decks 😉👍

Grabbed a Pioneer CT-F750 for a pretty great deal, but unfortunatly aside from melted belts the transitor that controls speed on the motor had literally exploded. Have a replacement transistor on it's way now, if the repair's succesful it'll have many more years of use ahead for it.

Had a Pioneer ct-320 $120 in '82? Blew away my uncles $300 technics with its fluorescent display. Have a Pioneer dual deck with dolby S nowadays

Watch out for bad rew/ffwd in the Pioneer decks. If it has trouble rewinding it can be hard to fix. The Pioneer decks are built well, but some have weak rew/ffwd designs.

The Sharp is a POS. The reason being is that the clear cog gears break randomly even if it still work. Theses are hard to find and replace.

I very much enjoyed your 30 seconds short reviews.

Really a very surprising list. Especially the jvcs, so far I only found comments of the poor cassette mechanism built in jvc decks, without any exceptions.

Oh! ... and what about some Nakamichi's 😉

I have a ads c2 which is great

People saying where are the Nakamichis don't get this video. The decks shown are examples of cheap cassette decks which can be had for not a lot of money and they're not really sought after. Nakamichis are going to cost a lot more than nearly all these decks and there are a thousand and one videos about them already. It's a bit like a video showing cheap working 1980s cars and then people posting 'Where are the Rolls Royces?'.

I know you warned folks away from 90s decks because of the "plasticky" look of them. However, the later Pioneer decks have a lot of features, they present no serious problems when changing belts or pinch rollers (which are available), and since they were from the time when cassettes were on the way out, they have less hours of use on them. I have a CT-W606DR (world-wide version with all the features) and since it has digital noise reduction, I never use Dolby at all.

Miss my nakamichi rx 505

No Denon decks?

WIth a dubbing deck, your chances of having one working mechanism are doubled. I can't think of any other reason why I would buy one. If you ARE interested in creating your own cassettes, this is not the way!

DENON M 11 IS ALSO COMPUTER CONTROL MECHANISM AND WITH VERY HIGH SOUND QUALITY💝

What happen to Nakamichi Decks? Hard to believe that you did not include one.

If you're going to digitize cassettes you're safest doing so with a Dolby S deck. It's a shame Dolby S was available just after CD's took absolute dominance.

No Use a HIFi Stereo VCR Sounds almost as Good as Reel To Reel

How could I buy system's please send me the details

Doesn't the drive motor on the capstan Run whenever any cassette deck is powered on

In all cassette decks the best ones are JVC,HARMON KARDON,TECHNICS,MARANTS another things you look for is the highest recording levels and anything past the L/R channels of 6+ and above is the best if you have one that goes from +8,9,10+ these are also great the rare ones go past a level of 12+ but in that area you are looking at tapes in METAL forms only the Cr02 is limited but does just as well only you have tio adjust your INPUT levels and for that I'm done now.

I thought they were going to start trying to sell me knives.....

You forget the Eumig FL-1000µP

I have a non op CTF 1050

How come none of them is a 3-head?

The Yamaha is very good got a similar model sounds better than 3 others makes I have

No Akai ,Grundig or revox

Pioneer CT-A1 🤔

Nakamishi 480 z❤

No Nakamichi? What a shame, also no Onkyo Deck.... Most of the shown decks are quiet standard nothing exquisite. The Deck I recommended: Technics RS-B 605 with DBX and a good tapedrive mechanism.

Where is Sansui e Nakamishi?

No nakamichi dragon awww...

And not a single Nakamichi in the mix…. Often a Nak CR-1A can be had for less than $100. None of these decks can touch a CR-1A in sound quality. The Pioneer blue line decks (especially the CT-F1250) have heads that have not aged well. They look great but now it’s decades later and their performance does not justify their price. Even a lowly Nak 480 is one of the best two head decks you’ll ever find and most can be readily restored.

No Nakamichi??

In other words: the Yamaha is the best.

You showed and recommended really strange cassette decks. Concerning JVC for instance, their cassette play and wind mechanic is really poor. Really reliable cassette players were produced by onkyo, from whom you did not show any. There are a lot of machines from yamaha from around late seventies until mid 90s, same with sony or pioneer, which can be recommended for the average user.

Can you say Mareeeeentz one more time?

I owned the JVC KD-V40J for a short time when it was for sale in the 80s - what a horrible piece of j..k. The drive mechanism was very basic and poor quality. Mine lost the head two times, then I returned it.

Unless you are an experienced electronics expert that can fix and flip them, you should avoid them, even a perfect functioning deck can, and will fail at any time, sorry I've learned the lessons.

Buy only direct drive's - period

this video is awesome..could you please make video about technics?

Made in German new sound home made why

I’ll save everyone some time. No you should not buy a vintage deck. They were always the third format choice behind CDs and albums for Fidelity. Cassettes were offered for convenience in car stereos, and Walkman headsets. I know, I grew up in that area, and I had dozens of cassettes. They were great because I used to be able to ride my bike around my neighborhood in the early-mid 80s and listen to music. But, I dropped them and never went back when mp3 players came out in the late 1990’s. The hissing, the Dolby noise reduction that flattened highs to fight the hissing, the forwarding/rewinding and searching for songs, the relative complexity of the mechanisms, all zero fun. I get the nostalgia and the fun of albums, especially with modern turntables and stylus’s that let you enjoy music the way it was meant to be played pre-1985 or so. I get CD’s and their better dynamic range and lossless format especially from a digital source. But I don’t get cassettes. I have a pristine Onkyo deck I bought in ‘87; zero desire to ever use it. The CD player from onkyo I bought the same evening still works and plays 40 year old CD’s delivering pristine sound as ever. I’m scared to play my tapes; they’re gradually demagnetizing, losing quality without being played, weakening as they age.

You know new cassette decks are available right?

Why not bring better decks and show em ? Instead you show cheap bottom of line machines...

Um, every cassette eventually gets eaten.

Nope. Most of the old people are happy that this stupid cassette times are over. Nuff said.

Cassette decks in 2024 😆🗑️

If you can deal with the mechanics and electronics, these are fun. Otherwise stay digital, stay happy. I bought a Sound Devices 702 used digital recorder for the price of an average used or abused cassette deck. I have had too many cassette decks. Kind of done. Last one was a TEAC A-460. Mostly for memory of family since passed away.