****** HUMOUR WARNING ***** In one part of the video I make a humorous reference to all the dust on the machine (to avoid people feeling they have to message me about it) - and as a joke, I state "I'll be having a strong word with the housekeeper". This joke has resulted in complaints. People are angry that I will be speaking to the house staff in such a manner. The thing they haven't spotted though is that this was a joke - the joke is that it's ridiculous that I'd have a housekeeper. I chose the word housekeeper rather than cleaner because I was attempting to make the phrase as preposterous as possible - because pretty much no one has a housekeeper nowadays. It's more of a Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs kind of era (and then only in wealthy houses) - the kind of thing that died out well over fifty years ago. Occasionally people who don't have time to clean and can afford it might have a cleaner come in once a week - but that's still a very rare thing. I've never met anyone who doesn't clean their own house - and I'm the same. The joke was that obviously I'd be the person on the end of the 'strong word' - so I'd be telling myself off for not dusting. Yes, jokes aren't funny when you have to explain them. I suppose this is a good example of humour not travelling well. I suspect that the people who didn't get the joke aren't from the UK, so perhaps they think that housekeepers are a thing here. They've seen episodes of shows like Downton Abbey or watched films like Mary Poppins and think that everyone in 'Merry old England' wears a bowler hat and carries an umbrella and goes to work on a red bus and each house has a staff of cooks and maids and a butler. Anyway now I'm just off to hang some clothes on the washing line before getting the vacuum cleaner out - that's real life. So please try to lighten up, don't be so ready to get offended - life is too short to spend it looking for things that wind you up.

Thank you for your service. Yet another previously-tempting retro device I can happily avoid now!

Having not seen the video yet, I can't help but think "if there's a magical button to make it sound better, why not always make it sound better... why does it need a button?" Haha

Even with KZfaq's audio compression, the Dragon still sounded clearer. God that thing is a real sexy beast.

I see more than two minutes left when the patreon credits start, and get excited for the puppets!

This comment has been up converted, it's better than all the other comments.

RE: Vocal Down function: This works by putting the stereo tracks out of phase, then combining them. Since most pop mixes put the main vocal in the center, this procedure results in nearly complete cancellation of the main vocal (or anything else that is mixed mono center). However, many audio mix engineers like to pan the echo from the main vocal left-right even though the soloist is mono center. This means that the vocal down function will fail to cancel the echo, even if it works for the main. That's what your brief test sounds like to me.

This kind of video makes me feel good to be alive. It's not something I would have sought out on KZfaq necessarily (I'm not really a Cassette fan or anything) but I so appreciate the effort that has gone into this video not only from a technical standpoint but to make the subject interesting to pretty much any viewer. No wonder Techmoan is often cited as a channel that other popular youtubers subscribe to. Well done sir! Well done!

“I’ve seen better LCDs on a Tamagotchi” Loooool!

I adore your easygoing attitude and the humor. You're an audiophile after my own heart. You make it fun rather than a competition, which is what it's about, isn't it?

It seems as time goes on, manufacturers can slap a Hi-Res logo sticker on any audio device. This thing was a disgrace.

What's interesting to me (as a 20-something) about cassette is how much technology there was surrounding it that was dedicated to making it sound better. Tape formulations, Dolby Noise Reduction of different types, direct-drive mechanism, etc. There was an entire industry dedicated to making them sound better than they did when they were introduced.

"The Emperor's new up convert", love it. And the puppet bit was pretty funny too, and about sums it up.

£142 is daylight robbery

In Audacity, if you use the Invert function on one waveform, line things up perfectly, and then mix it with the one you're comparing with, it'll subtract whatever's the same and leave only what's different between the two. Might be useful for future videos.

"The emperor's new up convert button"! KZfaq gold!

“I think it was replaced...by Minecraft.” God bless Techmoan.

OMG.I have heard about the mighty Nakamichi Dragon,but i never thought i would never see one work in action to realise the quality.Thanks Techmoan.You allways surprise me even more with every video you upload.

"Hi-res... records to digital media as 192kbps mp3...

Techmoan is like the retrotech savy grandpa I've never had. Thank you Techmoan for allowing me to have this experience.

"...not really 'low end', it's just *THE* end." Okay, I laughed out loud at that one. Then cried. Then died a little inside.

That dragon machine is badass

I always appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos. Thank you as always.

There's a very clear difference in audio quality between the Dragon and the Aurex, even on my phone speakers.

The most damning thing about this is how you can hold it in one hand like it's a piece of styrofoam.

Like the high-end audio cables mentioned in this video, we must have been "gold-plated and kissed by the pope" to be lucky enough to have our music featured for a second time on your channel. Even though the high-resolution feature of the Toshiba Aurex Hi-Res Cassette Deck turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, your puppet show at the end of the video was a clever smashing success. Bravo!

The skid at the end was one of the best I've seen! Thanks

I was tooo much in love with HiFi equipment, years ago, at my particular level.... but TechMoan is so OUT THERE, INCREDIBLE with all this gear he finds and fixes.... absolutely entertaining and enjoyable. TechMoan has truly inspired me to get my own equipment from decades past fixed and operational again. Will be very, very expensive in time and/or money to have done, though. Thanks so very much TechMoan. Inspirational.

That nakamichi recorder is so beautiful with its painted brushed aluminum look

Even through laptop speakers, with KZfaq's compression, the Nakamichi sounds phenomenally better... frequency response, stereo separation, less distortion.

That Nakamichi sounds incredible. Brings me back to my childhood, listening to my dad’s hi-fi tape audio and being blown away by it.

A big reason why I subscribed to your channel is your honesty. This review is a great example. :)

The puppet bit is priceless.

And I was hoping it could be a viable option to getting one of those old premium players. Ah well, I guess we’re better off finding some good ones on ebay. ;) The audio engineer in me looks very sceptically at the whole Up Convert thingy claiming it can re-create something that isn’t there... 🤨 That’s just like upscaling images and you get anti aliasing because the data is not there anymore. «Emperor’s New Feature» indeed. Great review though, as always! :D

That last part at the end with the puppets was hilarious from start to finish - well done!

I think the best brand new cassette deck out there right now is the Tascam CD-A580. Even though it's $400 if you want new that's the only option that comes anywhere close to the standards set when good equipment was being manufactured. It supports normal, chrome and metal but does not have dolby. BTW I just found this channel and it's spot on man!

16:27 The moment he says "The Best Cassette Recorder Ever Made" I blurt out "The Nakamichi Dragon" and instantly earned myself a geek point from the misses. Alas I have only a mere Aiwa AD-F770, not quite on the same planet as the Dragon but perhaps in the same star system.

"Up Convert" button might as well be the" Got Yo Monay Fool!" button instead.

Another fine video here. Keep up the good work Tech moan. I love learning about these gadgets.

Thank you so much for introducing me to that band on the CD! Brilliant songs!

"30 is the maximum volume" Better than 11 then

"How many bits is Hi Res then?" "Oh, all of them.." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

I Love Audio Compact Cassette Tapes! They bring me only good memories. That's why I never stopped playing or recording them. I'm listening to an audio compact cassette tape right now I recorded last night with my friends.

Holy shit, retro grooves 2 is out! I've been waiting for it! My day is made! And my week, and quite likely my month!

I started to dabble with Hi-Res, until it dawned on me that at 52 I was not in a position to get the benefit. It's quite dispiriting but sadly you can't buy your way into hearing better than an 18 year old.

You know the sound quality is Huge between Nakamichi and Toshiba when you can hear it on KZfaq with a crappy tablet

The high res audio bit at the end was gold.

well done sir . you just took me to 80-90's when I was stress free

Skip to 23:20 for "funny, grown-up, & smart" puppets. "You'll need a source..." "Like bar-be-que?" Best accent humor ever!

Think we've finally found that device that wont be going up in price because you featured it!

Your videos are always amazingly well researched subbed

As an European~Canadian I just love a very special British sense of humour !!!! Thank you so much :o)) Yo !! > Happy New Year of 2020 !!!!

The sampling rate on that (obviously) digital VU meter is just horrible. But at least the whole machine is horrible :D The muppet segment at the end is just golden :)

I live in Japan. This machine is for old folks. Anyone who knows their audio will go to one of the many many many shops that sell vintage stuff, often looking like new with prices to match. Btw, still enjoy this video but then again I'm a huge teachmoan fan.

Now this looks LOVELY! i hope this is an idicator that our old friend the compact cassette is having a resurgence in popularity

I gotta say this, I really enjoy the puppet segments in the end!

Now I need diamond-coated cables kissed by the pope. Does that add angelic fidelity?

Wow that LCD screen screams cheapness. They could've at least made it inverted to better match the color of the face plate.

Seriously your review is very detail even considering the uploading quality on KZfaq.

OOF that puppet sketch in the context of spotify finally announcing hi res streaming officially for the first time today in 2021...

Aurex used to be the premium line of Toshiba , this looks like an insult to the brand

The end segment is brilliant

A note on vocal down. In audio is center cancel. Most everything is panned even a little left or right, with the exception of the main vocals in most cases. By reversing the phase of one channel everything both left and right have in common will be phased out, aka common mode rejection. The vocal down worked, but the original recording had stereo reverb on the main vocals. This led to the dry signal being phased out, but the panned wet signals still remained as they were not identical on both left and right channels. Sorry for the nit picky comment. It’s just I’m an audio engineer and love it. I love the content. People like you who spend quality time listening to sound quality are my motivation.

I do not regard the table top unit as junk. True it is no where near the performance of a Nakamichi DRAGON or a ZX-9 (I regard the ZX-9 as better than the DRAGON). It does illustrate that the cassette format is a phenomenal medium to listen to music. Perhaps Toshiba (Aurex) will have another go at it and make a new and improved machine. Long live the cassette!!

Even Toshiba didn't want to put their name on the front of this..

"Do they even make new music?" "I think it got replaced by Minecraft." *laughing hard intensifies*

4:26 WOW, sounds like the 90s all again, loving it.

You really proven your opinion even when you don't like something. That's one of the reasons I like your channel.

They should have tried with something like the old "Stereo Wide'' function some boomboxes had. It's a quite simple and effective electronic function that adds a bit of artificial stereo separation mixed with some EQ-mojo to make it a bit brighter as well. No pretense of "high resolution" or even "hi-fi". One example in particular comes to my mind: I have an East German RFT model SKR-601 radio cassette with that feature. On normal stereo it sounds decent, but when you switch it to "Wide"...holly hell does it sing. For an 80s plastic boombox it actually makes it sound like a bigger stereo system and it's clear as a bell too.

First of all, thanks @Techmoan for brilliant reviews! Just wanted to mention there were already cassette decks with kind of digital "up-convert" function from Pioneer in mid 90s (e.g. CT-W806DR I own), which were equipped with relatively hi-quality AD DA converters and...Legato link conversion, that was common tech for the Pioneer CD players of that times, which is btw "restoring" the high frequencies above 20KHz that might have been lost on CD or were not there at all ;-). Why I am saying it is hi-res is that I have actually tested my deck digital input feeding it with digital audio of different bit depth/sampling frequency combinations, and it was able to accept up to 24bit/88KHz, which is Hi-Rez(!), while I believe it was only officially supposed to be supporting up to 20bit/48KHz. One more observation - I believe that mechanical sensor in the middle is not really to detect Metal tapes (otherwise why not to have also a Cr sensor?), but rather to actually detect whether a tape is there (similar sensors you may find in Walkmans or other cassette decks), but since Metal type is not supported, this is not placed very accurately? While not being able to record Metal tapes, this unit should for sure be able to play them back with proper equalization in Cr position.

There's a saying here in Germany that goes: "Etwas auf Herz und Nieren prüfen." Which means something like: Putting it through its paces. Your unique effort is the definition of it. Pure joy.

Thanks ! I was thinking about purchasing one of these, but you saved my money 😊

Very sad that even the Japanese have stepped this low in quality.

Great video as always. Definitely could hear the difference between the Nak and this thing, even on KZfaq through crappy laptop speakers. As for what that "upconvert" button actually does, my guess is that it's trying to stretch the high frequencies of either compressed digital or "low res" analog tapes back up to or even above 20khz, which the standard amplitude waveform on Audacity wouldn't show. (The spectrogram view would.) But it's still trying to get blood from a stone. I would doubt it would sound any better to anyone, although these days with algorithm-based processing (if this deck is doing that), who knows. As your puppets point out, though, people our age probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference even if one exists. I know I can't hear anything over 16khz these days. One thing I can be somewhat understanding of on this deck is the fact that it can only record on Type I tapes; as far as I know that's all that's made any more. Type I blanks are still pretty common in Japan; you can even find them in the 100 yen stores. Type II and IV tapes are unicorns, though.

I have had great joy using my Aiwa ADF 990 and 770. Also the JVC TDV1010 awesome decks built like bricks.

What a beautiful looking machine!!! It will blend in any modern high tech kitchen

200 dollars for a piece of, to be blatantly honest, crap... they must be mad?! The kind that should go in the loony bin. This type of machine would cost 40 dollars, or maybe 30 in a sale. Well, if we were back in the 90s at least.

"how many bits is hi-res then?" "oh, all of them"

Finally, a longer muppet scene at the end. :) I'd like to see a full size episode (let's say 10 - 20 minutes) made entirely or mainly as a muppet-type show. :) You're good at it. :D

Best review ever. I'm now a proud subscriber. :)

Have you ever heard of the phrase: "No highs, no lows, must be Bose"? That Toshiba Aurex's "frequency response" looks like it would be a perfect match for Bose speakers.;)

"You'll need a source" "Like barbecue!" God I love those puppets, always nice to wake up to a Techmoan notification.

Wow the dragon sounds amazing!! The difference is astounding

Wonderful ending =D Thank you!

The dragon sounded infinitely better than this plastic monstrosity 😛

‘Do they even make new music? I thought it got replaced by minecraft.’ 😂

The end just cracked me up, cheers :)

Just what a musician wants to hear after you listen to his music: “well, that was underwhelming” lol I know this is not a music review. Your music is very enjoyable Anders Jenson!

MORE PUPPETS PLEASE!!! briliant

I find it funny that Anders Jensen is essentially banking on being the go-to option for tech youtubers who want to test cassette audio without getting a copyright strike. Clever little marketing strategy there.

"Higher things are always best." "Like cholesterol?" Priceless!

The reason the "Vocal Down" button didn't function correctly is because most features like that are center cancelling, removing sound from the center of the stereo image where the vocals are usually placed. You'll notice the voice seems echoey in the video once the vocal down button is pressed, this is because that particular song had a stereo reverb on the vocals, so when you cancel the sound in the center of the stereo image all you have left is the sound of the echo.

the screen on this reminds me of an inline remote i had with an old discman.

Love the song, “Mad About You” by Candy Apple Blue.

Glad I found your Video while scrolling am huge into tech and really liked the video Thumbs up

Well, it's all down to what the average consumer wants, and for a dead format that's been revived with left over parts I'd say this thing is nice. It beats dealing with an old/used machine that's got a million or so issues. And like it or not these machines are the future for compact casette, because in the end, that's what the majority of people remember about the format; cheap machines which weren't really that good but did their job.

To me it sounds like the up conversion is a glorified EQ. Sounds like the mids and the highs are a tiny bit brighter and that's it really.

Thank you for the video! It is great, and you -as always- made the comparison very objective. The puppet part is very funny, but sad at the same time. Everyone expected the CD will do the sound quality revolution, but what we got is pixel art + reading problems after 20 years of use. (too bad they dropped the idea of caddy due to cost reasons - the value of the CD disc and jewel case was almost nothing compared to the price we paid for them). CDs should have been designed into a case like 3.5" floppy discs, they could protect the sensitive surface from UV light and scratches. (caddy was a kittle too expensive for that)

Thanks for the useful review. I don't think I am the only one looking out for a decent cassette deck like the 80's Japan stuff.,.. Still waiting. In a dim hope.. :-)

As always, love the muppets.