Cassette Player

[maarten]

Disaster! My faithfull JVC cassette player has died... It has been with me across four continents since 1979!! No joke.

But I think it is now officially "the end of the line" (name that artist ). So I am seeking advice as to where to turn for a trustworthy purchase. I have seen decks on offer on eBay but you basically have no idea what you're buying there. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, and do not need double deckers with dubbing. Just a solid, preferably new cassette player.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[Graham_Start]

Oh dear. The cassette is basically dead as a format. I haven't seen decent tape decks in years, only cheap boom boxes... and even those are becoming scarce.

[maarten]

Hey! I know re the death of the cassette... I was going to transfer onto my computer whatever I have on the tapes that I do not have on vinyl, CD or MP3. But... without a working player it is going to be difficult. And I have 100's of tapes (also of my own radio show from way back when )!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[Bernie]

Hi Maarten,

I think you and I have moved so many times with our record collection in tow that we could probably do it in our sleep

Buying a used cassette deck at this stage, especially through eBay, is rather risky unless you buy from a reputable high-end audio shop. I say go out and buy a new Tascam deck, which is Teac's pro line. It may be the last one you buy one so get one that is built to take abuse. Here are two:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0002H0RIG

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0002H0SZS

[canadiantire]

What is the primary cause of failure for a mechanical player?

Worn belts, pinch rollers and the friction pads from takeup wheels.

In short, the first thing that goes bad are the rubberized and "friction submitted" components.

As good or expensive as they can be, no players are escaping the laws of wear and tear.

Any player can be restored close to it's original specs provided that the replacement parts described above are available. This is where the reality hurts...

For the manufacturers who adhere to the EIA standards, there is an obligation to maintain availability of parts for ten years after the last unit has gone out of production.

The main characteristic of rubber is to harden and dry out after few years in use (or even no use at all!).

The main problem is the shelf life of these rubberized components. Because they deteriorate with time, no one sees advange to stock them for long periods of time.

Today, cassette players can still be serviced with aftermarket components but the variety and the size of these mechanical components is so diversified that not many repairman can take the challenge.

Anything is repairable. If you look around you may find a good repair shop that will give life back to your deck.

May you decide not to go into that adventure, I also think that the purchase of a new unit is a good investment if your intention is to do many transfers.

Maybe a relative could possibly loan a working machine for some time?

I share your grief as my old SAE C101 ImageShack - Hosting :: deckrn7.jpg has retired before I could even finish my transfers to digital media.

I promised myself that I will eventually try to bring it back to life before it rests forever at the cemetery.

Sniff, sniff.

- Marcus

[maarten]

I think I am going to follow Bernie's advice.

Marcus: thanks for the detailed reply. My JVC was not the top of the line product (JVC KD-A11 - not even automatic reverse) but when it came out it was one of the first ones that would accept metal cassettes (an innovation that never really caught on...).

It has been incredibly solid for all these years - probably due to the lack of bells and whistles - but last year it began spontaneously stopping. And now it basically doesn't do anything anymore. Could be as simple as a belt issue but I am not very technically inclined and I also wonder if a shop would give me honest advice.

Two years ago I had a non-working tape recorder from Uher - a very solid German brand. I found a Uher repair shop in Berlin, Germany (I lived there at the time) and they told me the motor was gone and it would cost more than $ 1,000 to repair it. I said no, thanks. I found a friend of a friend who opened the thing up, and it turned out this Uher had a built in circuit breaker which had burnt out. Replacing it costed lest than $1. So I don't know about repair shops anymore...

[MarcusGarveyLives]

Sorry to hear of your loss ...

R.I.P

... it seems that you may come from the same hi-fi buying era as me.

This raises a serious issue for those of with cassette libraries going back some 30 years and who have no intention, inclination or time to change all of these into some digital format.

Any further guidance or advice for those of us in the UK would be welcome (the Tascam option seems interesting).

[Chappuh]

I've been using my trusty Pioneer CT0-W404R for just about 10 years and I've yet to have any real problems.

I would suggest this nice little baby:

Plusdeck2c PC Cassette Deck, Tape To MP3, Plusdeck at Cyberguys.com



I've been itching to try one out for ages but really have no use for it right now.