I think I want a cassette/tape player/deck. Do I?

Long time hifi dabbler but mainly a serial streamer these. I have a lovely old Technics SL1200 Turntable and a nice old Marantz CDP that I run through a Modern Marantz amp (PM6006).
I also have a cassette player in my car and it would be nice to make use of it, especially if I can record some of my nicer vinyl collection.

Can anyone recommend a few basics to keep an eye out for? I know next to nothing about cassettes other than I messed around with them in the 90s.
Is a three head player really better than two? (What’s the difference?)

What type of cassettes should I record onto? (Metal etc)

Will I be able to take an aux line in from my amp to the recorder? (for recording from Spotify etc)

What kind of money should I be spending?

I’ve seen some early Technics RS decks with pretty analogue pointy level things (M205 I think) that would look lovely paired with my TT, but I have no idea I’d theyd be any good. Happy to consider a marantz or others, just not JVC.. don’t ask.

Re:

If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nakamichi-Dr ... rk:10f:0

KeepItSteel":3j9pv4p2 said:

Long time hifi dabbler but mainly a serial streamer these. I have a lovely old Technics SL1200 Turntable and a nice old Marantz CDP that I run through a Modern Marantz amp (PM6006).
I also have a cassette player in my car and it would be nice to make use of it, especially if I can record some of my nicer vinyl collection.

Can anyone recommend a few basics to keep an eye out for? I know next to nothing about cassettes other than I messed around with them in the 90s.
Is a three head player really better than two? (What’s the difference?)

What type of cassettes should I record onto? (Metal etc)

Will I be able to take an aux line in from my amp to the recorder? (for recording from Spotify etc)

What kind of money should I be spending?

I’ve seen some early Technics RS decks with pretty analogue pointy level things (M205 I think) that would look lovely paired with my TT, but I have no idea I’d theyd be any good. Happy to consider a marantz or others, just not JVC.. don’t ask.

Click to expand...

Cassettes are great fun! I still use them regularly for music production, recording jams etc. and general listening.

3 head decks enable you to monitor the recording directly off the tape as you make it. The third head is a seperate playback head (2 head machines use one head for record and play, plus an erase head). They don't sound better per se (actually all else being equal they sometimes sound worse) but you can check recording quality in real time which allows you to tweak levels, bias etc to your liking. I've owned and enjoyed them in the past, but these days I know how to make good sounding recordings and many of my favourite decks are 2 headers.

Metal tapes are pretty much unobtanium these days and certainly not good value for money. Tape should be a cheap format. I personally favour re-using secondhand tapes. Quality blanks last well and normal/ferric, chrome, and metal all have pros and cons. I actually quite like the punchy sound ferric tapes give - at the end of the day it's a relatively lo-fi format so why not go all the way. I have a stash of new Maxell XLII chromes for important recordings but they're too valuable for knockabout stuff.

I always recommend late period (mid-late 90s) Yamaha decks as IME they are the most reliable tape decks ever made. They also sound very good. Denons come a close second. My personal preference is for older Pioneers, Tascams and JVCs but they can all be a bit of a labour of love. There were loads of great decks made by all the Japanese hifi firms but most of them are old enough now that they'll need fairly extensive servicing, and good tape deck engineers are few and far between. My main decks are from the 70s. Only really viable if you know a good (cheap) tech or can service them yourself.

Spend as little as possible! £20 on eBay should buy a little used one owner Yamaha 2 header which will sound better than a worn out Nakamichi. The most important thing is to find something that works, and which hasn't had heavy use.

I still have a few available:

Mid range Technics single cassette

Pioneer higher range twin cassette

Marantz Superscope

Marantz CP-230

Two Optonica cassettes

JVC cassette deck

Low end unused late model Yamaha

All will need servicing before they can be sold

Some are 'worth' silly money, some can be had for silly money.

You cant have my Walkman pro though.

Re:

Pictures paint a bazzillion words, Google pics from what models I can remember

Thanks for the input! I’ll be looking through it all in more detail

...cassette to 3.5mm jack for the car record onto modern format (ducks for cover)


I always recall wanting Technics back in the day.

dablk":3a733wer said:

...cassette to 3.5mm jack for the car record onto modern format (ducks for cover)

Click to expand...

I have been known to record spotify on to cassette for the car... :mrgreen:

Freaked out my in-laws when they borrowed the van a couple of years ago. They spent 20 minutes trying to insert a CD into the head unit........... Before calling my (ex) wife to ask why it wouldn't go in, she then called me (having never even tried to put a CD in).

No CD slot.

They were horrified, they'd only just got rid of their last car with tape deck.