TAPEDECK RECORDER FULL SIZE
TAPEDECK RECORDER MANUAL
TAPEDECK RECORDER PORTABLE
TAPEDECK RECORDER PRO
TAPEDECK RECORDER FREE

Features include Dolby S, that company’s last bid to rid tape of noise and one of its most successful. Built in the mid nineties its reputation suggests that it competed with well regarded models from Nakamichi, the brand to beat in cassette decks. Pioneer Japan have a legendary reputation for build quality and occasionally they turned out products that sounded great too, such was the CT-S740S. This tape deck has the potential to sound better than most of those. JVC was once a major player in the audio visual world and continues to make headphones, camcorders and boomboxes.

TAPEDECK RECORDER PRO

It looks great with its central tape bay and has all the bells and whistles including a CD direct input for recording purposes, Dolby B, C and HX Pro and like most of its ilk a quarter inch headphone socket. It offers Dolby B, C and HX Pro with bias adjust although the latter is ergonomically challenged, see fiddly.Ī well regarded deck from 1993 the JVC TD-V662 doesn’t need fancy chrome or metal tapes to make great recordings, it sounds sweet with basic ferric tapes which is good news if you want to play prerecorded cassettes. It has the luxury of remote control although these aren’t always available as they controlled other Denon components. A drawer loading mechanism meant that tape lies flat rather being exposed behind a door.

One of Denon’s later models the DRS-810 mimicked the look of CD players to make it appeal to digital happy punters.

TAPEDECK RECORDER FREE

It offers both Dolby B and C for hiss free recordings and you can buy new drive belts should they be necessary.

TAPEDECK RECORDER MANUAL

It has three heads, a full manual calibration feature and a stable drive mechanism. The DR-M24HX was made between 1988 and 87 and is highly regarded among tape ‘heads’. It also has the distinction of beating the highly regarded Sony WM-DC6 Walkman Pro in a What Hi-Fi test back in the day.ĭenon is still a player in the audio business, with a range of stereo and surround amplifiers that are generally good quality.

TAPEDECK RECORDER FULL SIZE

The DX-57 is an early nineties model with three heads, full size headphone jack and the option to adjust bias for different tape types. Now primarily associated with electronic instruments Akai was once a tape specialist with a large range of models including reel to reels. Below are a few of the better models that are available second hand, happy hunting. If you can find a good servicing company most models can be kept running. I visited a hi-fi show in Warsaw recently and discovered that they still use tape recorders from the seventies and had a beautiful wall of the things on display. On the whole cassette decks were made in Japan where the standard of engineering is very high, this is why so many vintage models are still in use, and if the price is right it can be worth getting a tape deck repaired. Some may recall the mangled mess that a faulty tape deck can make out of a cassette, that’s obviously something to avoid. If you can listen to a tape deck before you buy it do so, and if you can’t make sure there is the option to return it if there’s a problem. While there is a lot to be said for buying newer models, that is those that are from the late Eighties onwards, many of the earlier or vintage models can be good if they have been looked after. When buying a used tape deck it’s worth bearing in mind that they are complex mechanical devices and that the older they are the more likely they are to have problems. A few used hi-fi retailers stock tape decks too, prices will be higher but should come with some guarantee which is useful which older models. Inevitably the most popular market place is eBay but there are quite a few on Gumtree and Preloved as well where the prices are a little better. However, as cassette was a massively popular format up until the late nineties there are plenty available second hand and often for giveaway prices.

TAPEDECK RECORDER PORTABLE

Today very few tape decks are still being made, in fact in our search we couldn’t find any non portable types on the market.

The format is particularly popular in the experimental electronic field but also chart-topping releases are finding their way on to tape again.

Tape decks or recorders are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative form of analogue source following the rather unexpected cassette comeback.

With news that tapes are in fact not dead, Jason Kennedy rounds up the best cassette players for home listening and advises on what to look out for when buying vintage.

Tapedeck recorder