As to why Dolby Labs abandoned manufacture and licensing of Dolby NR: For much of its history, Dolby Laboratories was a privately-held company. Ray Dolby was THE boss. After the year 2000, I would imagine that revenue from Dolby NR systems, whether licensed or manufactured to Dolby specs, plummeted. Dolby NR was no longer a profitable business line as everyone assumed that Analog tape recording was clearly on the way out, particularly in the professional arena. The professional Dolby NR systems were abandoned, but Mr. Dolby likely insisted that consumer Dolby NR remain available "as long as I am alive" or something like that. This isn't an unusual ask in a company with an iconic founder. In February 2005, Dolby Laboratories became a publicly-traded corporation. The real question then becomes: why wasn't the money-losing Dolby NR system eliminated sooner? My answer is: The company's iconic founder was still alive. Ray Dolby passed away on September 12, 2013. About for months later, licensing for all Dolby NR systems was terminated.

Wow!!!! A regular full size cd/cassette deck that can record MP3 to a usb thumb drive!!!! Wow! I want one!

TASCAM likely specifically mentioned classrooms and conferences in their literature because there is a lot of academic material sitting in libraries that's only on cassette (old interviews, lectures and field recordings would be a big thing), especially when you get into specialized fields. Being able to easily digitize tapes would be a bonus in this area too. And you might want to mention the Tanashin mechanism is the only tape mechanism still being made.

Finally hit 100k subs, dedication has finally paid off. Congratulations.

I have enough tape decks and CD players to serve my needs, yet watching reviews like these still makes me think seriously about a new up-to-date model. Especially with a decent USB recorder! Thanks!

I am quite impressed with the CD and cassette parts, the cassette recordings off CD this Tascam made actually sound really good. Much better than the MP3 recordings in fact - why Tascam, whose products are aimed primarily at the professional market, could not include uncompressed WAV recording to me is a mystery. 128 kbit/s MP3 recording is just hopeless. Also it's nice to see the features of the cassette section. Automatic tape selection, tape counter, manual level control. The missing Dolby NR wouldn't be a problem for me as I don't use Dolby for my recordings, but it would certainly be possible to implement a "high cut" filter switch that has the same characteristics as Dolby B on playback - for old prerecorded cassettes that had Dolby B applied to them.

i bought a TASCAM CD-A500 from a thrift shop for $15 a few years ago because they thought it didn't work. it has got to be the best sounding cassette deck i have ever heard.

I'm so glad there's still a company that makes a good quality cassette deck in 2020. I wish someone would put this mechanism in a portable unit instead of those crappy ones.

Congrats with the 100k! Greetz from The Netherlands.

I have just got the TEAC version of this on sale and this is a brilliant video. I have learnt so much about the unit thanks so much!

Nice review and Cheers for the shoutout. This seems decent enough. People often ask "What's the best deck for $xxx" and I usually respond that a deck that works as it should and you know it's history is more important than features. This seems to be of the same quality as we got in midi systems back in the day, in fact with the logic control is better than some I had. The problem is that the community who use cassettes, in 2020 are wanting old vintage for cheap or a new superdeck to appear. The only thing I don't like is there display, looks very cheap, but with that CD mech provenance, I think this is a nice entry point for those who who want to play physical media without going vintage or expensive and will be able to sell on if they decide to upgrade.

If Cassette decks are making a comeback..then the Japanese should start manufacturing one of their high quality cassette mechanisms again. Bring back Dolby NR!

An informative and enjoyable review, thank you. I purchased one of these six months ago for use with Klipsch R41PM’s and it’s working well.

Thanks for the review! And thank you for finding Candy Apple Blue for me! I'm officially a fan now!

Huge congrats on hitting 100K subs. Totally deserved

YASSSSS! We are here for the cassette deck! Love your show! Keep up the good work :)

Love the video. And cassette decks. And your channel. Thank you!!!

Damn good review! I bought this unit 2 or 3 years ago. I learned some things I didn't remember seeing in the manual. Mine has been mostly sitting under a dust cover, but after your review, I think I'll move it from the living room to my office where it will get much more use. I've always loved the cassette tape, I still have 3 twenty count cases with all my BASF and Maxell high-bias recorded tapes from the mid-80s through the 90s. Believe it or not, they still sound just as good.

This video is very informative 👌 I appreciate the detail you go into describing this deck as I have been thinking of buying this.

Classic content, Kevin. I loved the zing at the Stereophile review of the Marantz unit and the Oldsmobile jingle at the end.

After buying an old deck on eBay that I had to return, I bought a new TEAC AD-850 based on this review, and I am not disappointed. I have no use for the USB, but recording to type 1 tape has given me excellent results whether from internal or external CD, vinyl or streaming. At this point one of my main goals is to stream and record Apple Music play lists of pop and rock from different years starting in the '60s. This way if I ever cancel my subscription I still have the music. For some reason listening to cassette or vinyl is a much more satisfying experience for me, plus it's fun just doing the recording. As for noise such as tape hiss, it is almost imperceptible to me and is absolutely not an issue, and I think it is overly exaggerated by the digitally brainwashed crowd.

Thanks for the video. Very interesting. I think I'll buy one of those. Recording quality sounds awesome!

I recently purchased a TEAC W-1200..I considered both the Teac and Tascam versions of these CD/Tape combo decks,but I have an ONKYO cd player that is less than a year old and I figured I would just stay with it.Great video,as always!

Feeling owesome to see ...new professional cassette decks .... coming to market 💥💥😍

awesome review buddy, I've just ordered and received all of these in the TEAC versions. I now have the Teac A-R650MK2 Stereo Full Amplifier, Teac W-1200(B) Double Cassette Deck, Teac Ad-850 CD Player along with the Audio-Technica AT-LP120X and the 2000 model Tech RW-D280 Dual CD Player. I'm going to build a HiFi rack for these soon and hopefully enjoy hours of retro style listening to my cassette and vinyl collection.

I was just talking to my parents about how "newer cassette decks are lower quality because they use a cheaper mechanism". I didn't realize better mechanisms were still being manufactured. Thanks for this, I'll have to keep something like this in mind for my collection! I'm trying to convert all my tapes to MP3s, and this would be a much easier and higher quality way to do that than what I was doing.

You did a fantastic review and demo of this cassette deck. Will done my friend

Amazing, 2 weeks ago I bough the TASCAM 202 MkV for 70 dollars on a fleet market at Seoul. I love it.

I always like your reviews! 🙂👍

I hope you're doing well with KZfaq because I enjoy the videos you make.

1:33 I like how the thing behind the remote faded out of existence

That's certainly very nice. Almost makes me want to get one...if I only had cassettes. More CDs than I'll need, but I never play those either. CDs go into the computer and the CDs go back into the case. Great review!

Thinking about getting the TEAC. This video very helpful. Many thanks.

Congrats on 100k subscribers!

Great Video. Congrats on the 100K subscribers.

Finally someone who knows what they are talking about and and doing some testing and measurments. It was very nice that you covered all of the basis of this device and mentioned the lack of Noise Reduction. I am buying this device to convert what tapes I have left to CD then will convert them to higher bit rate on my computer.

That was really good review. Thanks!

Congrats on 100,000 subscribers!

I love this cassette deck and that way you review.thank lots for up loading video

Thank you for this video, it made me buy the Teac version :)

I have both the TEAC AD-850SE and the W-1200 and they are both great. Well done to TEAC/Tascam, you have done well with the components available. I purchased the AD-850SE first, I wanted a CD player so I bought it to get one and the MP3 plack/recording feature too. The cassette facility was a bonus as I knew I was going to buy a twin tape deck later too, but I also wanted to play around with the 850 tape deck to check out TEAC's quality. I was happy with it so I then picked up the W-1200 too. I am very happy with the quality, to me they both sound really good. Thanks for your videos on this range, they helpeed me buy both and I do not regret my purchases at all.

Cool Dude! You are making some cool and detailed vids on these players.

I've been waiting for something like this..

Ha, I was just looking through some old car brochures the other day and now I come here and hear the 'Special feel of an Oldsmobile' that I read, come to life :)

Oh your good, at the last minute I was scrolling down looking for the next video to watch and then bam, "There is a special feeling in Oldsmobile!" Of course I have to stay and listen that!

Congrats on 100,000 Subscribers! Been subscribed under various different usernames since under 30K :)

Thank you for this video! I'm considering buying it now.

Congrats on 100k man!

Great review. Glad I picked up a new Teac AD-800 a few years ago. Seems that the tape deck is better on that unit. Even has dolby nr, auto reverse. Keep your eye out for one of those to compare.

The TEAC version is barely 20 dollars less than this one on Amazon. Thanks for the video. Buying the Tascam.

100K !!! Greetings from Finland!

Awesome thorough review. Thanks. 😎👍🎸

Gratz on the milestone!

Thank you for this review. I bought the TEAC about six months ago, used it a few times, and then was really sad because I was frustrated by the mp3 quality (or lack thereof). Your video has helped me feel that I didn't waste my money even so.

my question is "why doesn't Dolby license the NR technology anymore?" Do they hate money? I'm sure there's still tape deck manufacturers out there who would love to start offering it again.

Thanks man for sharing this! I was all fired up to buy this, mainly because I wanted to record tapes to USB but when you said it can only record at 128Kbps, I immediately cooled down.. you saved me almost 400Euros!

I love the mixed bag of test sources and genres. Rick Astley, CANYON.MID, and the 1985 Oldsmobile jingle, all in one video.

Excellent video and review!

I think that fans of audiobooks will like this device, many audiobooks comes in mp3, compact disc mp3 and compact cassette. One machine that can play many books.

I bought one to digitalise my LP and Cassette collection and the reproduction is excellent. Very satisfied...........

This is better than I expected. It seems like Tascam did the best they could with the parts they could get whilst maintaining a price point that isn't outrageous. The only minor criticism I have is that it could do with XLR outputs, especially given this is aimed at the pro audio market.

freaking sweet man. love cassette decks. went thrift hunting I got a teac v450x. might need a belt it won't fast forward but everything else works fine.

Hey congratulations on reaching 100k Subscribers

Great in depth review, thanks for that. :)

I have this unit and is great for getting some rare recordings I have on cassette into a digital format.

Great info. Quality of the machine/versatility make it worth owning. I'll likely buy the AD-850 for my necro black metal tapes. Thank you.

I've got the Teac AD 850 , its pretty good. I have it connected to an Auna Birmingham music centre which has a USB but doesn't record to USB. I love how I can adjust the record level on the USB recorder on the Teac . I've had umtean USB recorder hi fi's and the USB was stuck at the same level. Having this all in one Teac machine is a brilliant idea it saves a hell of a lot of space!

Thank you for the detailed review! I've bought TEAC AD-850 few days ago. I was impressed by the recording quality on cassettes. But... On the day two of test drive device got broken :) The mechanism makes very loud rattle noise at the end/beginning of tape when fast forwarding/rewinding. After few seconds of terrible sound auto-stop is activated. Something goes wrong with gears. Famous Tanashin mechanisms are not so good as they were in 90s :) I'll return this faulty device to seller and replace with new one.

Type I, and II tapes are common on Ebay. Congratulations on 100,000 subscribers on your KZfaq channel.

Ooh, you got Panic! on tape, I love it! Lovely review. They're putting good effort into these decks (even if the USB recording is very 'meh'). Always nice to see.

Excellent reference for Tascam CD-A580

Great review. Sly sense of humor.

Great review.

You got a bargain, good job man !

Congrats! You have exactly 100k subs according to SocialBlade!

This would be the perfect addition to my setup.to go with my receiver( Realistic STA-7500) and turntable(Akai Pro BT-80) all bases covered.

So glad i have a very good vintage NAD 6300. In the 80s I had a Technics cassette deck with DBX NR, very sweet, though it was not high end (not 3 heads for example). Back by early 90s I found used DBX code / encode unit (even for DBX LP play though I never saw one of those) just to have for those few DBX encoded cassette mix tapes.

Very informative video, thanks

Always amazed that recent vintage gear like this don't allow recording to USB as uncompressed WAV files from CD or tape

I bought a Tascam DR-7, a couple of years ago, to digitize tapes and lp's, I think that (such recorder) is still the best solution (and easiest) for superb digital recordings of any source, a great quality device. Think they need to limit USB recordings to 128kbs to avoid the need to implement a copy protection feature similar to the DAT days. The manual indicates that the USB is USB 1 .1 FULL SPEED (12 Mbps) - pretty low spec, that could be the reason it takes a while to load the index and the searching skipgaps occur when frames (chunks) get larger with better quality MP3s.

I have to say, this is quite the attractive looking device. There is sadly so many cheap modern tape decks (and other devices) that try so hard to look "professional" that they come out at the completely opposite end and look like toys.

Well done on the 100K subs. BTW I thought this would have a CD writer installed.

I used to buy those Supertape from Radio Shack. How I miss them...

Nice, it even supports USB sticks with audiophile audio files.

Very interesting and uswfull device. Thank you.

A great review!

Great Lob Man!!! Looking to get today A700

12:37 yeah that mp3 recording capability is maybe just a novelty but to be positive it is a lot better than the tivdio v115 radio you reviewed

Regarding Dolby Laboratories and their end-of-life of the consumer noise-reduction systems: For much of its history, Dolby Laboratories was a privately-held company. After the year 2000, sharply declining sales of Dolby NR equipment - whether chips made by Dolby or licensing manufacture to third parties - likely eliminated profitability from this line of business. Analog tape recording was assumed to be fading away for good particularly in the professional arena. However, Ray Dolby was still the unchallenged boss. While he allowed pro-audio Dolby A and similar systems to be abandoned, Ray Dolby likely insisted that consumer Dolby NR remain available as long as he was alive (not an uncommon ask in businesses with iconic founders). In February 2005, Dolby Laboratories became a publicly-traded corporation. The real question then becomes: why wasn't the money-losing NR system licensing eliminated sooner? My answer is: The company's iconic founder was still alive and everyone knew Mr. Dolby's wishes on the consumer NR products. Ray Dolby passed away on September 12, 2013. About four months later, licensing for all Dolby NR systems was terminated.

Great catch!

Jesus! Finally a review where you get to see the product instead of the face of the reviewer. What a luxury. I have a couple of questions in case you ever have time: would the usb read a solid state hard disk and what the navigation experience would be in case you had five thousand songs instead of a dozen.

Love how specific that sony tape is. 94 minutes

Damn your fine reviews. You made me order that Rick Astley cassette.

Coolest feature, Recording into MP3 format...

Hello, greetings from Macedonia. Great video! I want to ask about Teac AD850, are the all components inside the body like Tascam A580? Is it The also CD player mechanism JTL 101Y like in Tascam? Also want to know, does it playing burned CDs? As I understand the differences are in the front looking and with mic and phones. Please can you let me know, I am interested to by Teac. Thank you very much, Erhan

Oh I so wished there was a MK2 version of this deck that included the Dynamic Noise Reduction from the 1200. If it did I would replace both of my current tape deck and cd player in a heartbeat.

I still record on my reel-to-reel tape recorder Tech and also my cassette deck recorder

Great review. I'm surprised to see the main circuit board uses through hole component mounting rather than surface mount. These days you expect to see a small circuit board with a few custom chips. This looks like a more 'period correct' circuit design.

Lovely bit of kit

There IS a special feel in an Oldsmobile!