Which recorder for making Mixtapes, Sony WM-D6C or Sony TC-D5s?

Hi there guys,

after a long while I finally come back from my procrastination and decide to continue my Cassette journey. Now I'm in search for a proper recorder for making my Mixtapes. I have a Sony WM-D6 on hand, but it's not as reliable as I want it to be. It some times runs too fast which destroys my recording process. Thus I need another recorder while I'm trying to get my D6 fixed.

I now have my eyes on the Sony WM-D6C and Sony TC-D5M (or D5 pro ii), well, who doesn't. As far as I know they are more reliable than my D6, and even if repair is needed it's supposed to be easier with those two than with D6. Also they suit my need better for that I don't want a big full sized deck occupying space in my small room. But as every retro thingy go these days, the price has risen dramatically within a year. Thus I can't just try them both and then keep the better one like I did with my Walkmans because of the risk coming with the high price. I'm still a poor student.

So, do you guys have any suggestions? Which one is more reliable and will last longer? Which one is easier to work with if service is needed? Or do you guys have any other recommendations? I'm leaning towards the D5s for they look a little bit more rookie-friendly and also because I've already got a D6. Or maybe I should sell my D6 and get a D6C and get it properly fixed instead? I'm have hesitation on this because I've got too many Walkmans already and I do feel kinda guilty that I'm still thinking about buying another one.

Please, send help.

Anthony

 

None of the portable units are going to make a recording as good as a full size deck, if you want better recording on a unit that will cost you less than any of the portable units you are looking at.

If you have too many portable units, sell some of them off and use the money to get a full size deck if sound quality is important to you?
I have D6C’s and I have never used them to make a single recording, I always use my Nakamichi CR-7 for recording as for me it’s all about sound quality.

Look for full size Aiwa deck, they will cost far less than a D6C or TC-D5M and do a far better job.

 

And the truth is just that haha, sound quality is not that important to me.

I have never been an audiophile, and I don't have any decent audio gear to hear the better sound quality anyway. My best piece of audio gear (not counting my walkmans) is a AKG K240s headphone, and I use it without an amplifier. So yeah, sound quality is not what I'm after, although of course the better the better. What excites me about the cassettes is the format, and the process of choosing music pieces and put them together in a Mixtape, and I think the D6C or TC-D5M would serve me well on that.

And I also choose them for their portable size, the full size decks are good for recording, no question on that. But as I said I don't live in a big room, so space is a problem for me. Maybe later when I have a bigger space I'll get a proper deck, but now I think the portable ones suits me well enough.

But nonetheless, thank you for you reply! It always feel nice when a community has someone like you!

 

depends on the status of the component. If both are fully and professionally restored probably you wont hear much difference in recording quality.
Another alternative is to get a Marantz PMD-430 which is a field recorder like Sony TC-D5 , but this one is a 3 head recorder.
So If recording on cassettes is a new hobby for you I recommend you to do some research about Marantz PMD-430.

 

Thanks for your reply!

Ah this one, I've seen this model in Techmoan's review of Sony TC-D5 pro ii. I tried to find this model, too. But it also seemed to be rather rare, and the sold ones on ebay aren't that cheaper either.

I also found a Sony field recorder which is a 3 head recorder. I forget about the model number though, TC 1500-ish? It was all good but it was only mono, so I gave up on that, too.

 

I have used a TC-D5, Marantz 340 and 430 field recorders as primary home decks for many years. The D5 and PMD430 make excellent recordings and are very easily better( in my view) than many dedicated home decks in similar price ranges. Certainly there are some home decks that are better than the field recorders same as there are some home decks that are better than other home decks. The bottom line is that the D5 and 430 will do a very good job at making mixtapes. I have made mixtapes on Aiwa, Nak, Technics, Sony, Marantz, Akai and Tandberg home decks which (to me ) are not notably better than recordings I have made while using the previously mentioned field recorders. I have always been partial to my Aiwa recordings but I would not say that they are "strikingly" better... but simply richer to my ears.

I would not hesitate to suggest a TC-D5 to anyone and I have never encountered anyone who was displeased with one. I will be the first to say that I consider their current prices to be unreasonable and I personally would not pay what most people are asking in the current market BUT, those who have the cash to spend.. yeah, I would say GET IT.

When and [if] considering a D5 or 430, I would offer that the 430 makes a little better recording (for me) but the D5 is built better and has shown to be more reliable over the years.

 

I have both the TC-D5M and the Marantz PM430. Both are great units to record mixtapes on. Sometimes I also use my WM-D6C as a recorder, as it also produces very high quality recordings.
The PMD430 has the advantage of fine bias adjustment, which is very rare on a portable recorder. On the other hand the TC-D5 has better wow&flutter.
Something else to be noted on the PMD-430, is the crosstalk between SOURCE and TAPE, it's something noticeable which makes the 3-head functionality useful only for measuring the levels, but not the music quality.

Another "portable" unit that I use is the SONY TC-153SD. It's a recorder that I really like, very solid construction, almost only discrete components (it has only 2 ICs as head preamps).

Of course, as @TooCooL4 said, in reality none of these units can perform as a high-end deck does. But it also depends on how high one's expectations are.
All the above-mentioned units will produce very good quality recordings when calibrated correctly. But you won't get studio quality, that's for sure.
High-end decks have one particular advantage that no other recorders do: they have record sensivity and coarse bias adjustments. Some have built-in test tones to ease the calibration process. Some do it automatically, like the Revox B-215.
When calibrating each tape exactly to the deck, the recording will be perfect. But at the end of the day, even the devices that don't have these adjustments can make very good recordings, just not on all types of tapes.

 

A boombox / cassettecorder with line input might be a solution, although I believe that most smaller cassette corders that were sold in Western countries have no input, all they can do is record off radio. This Sanyo M7750K does have line in. But it does not have manual recording level, only automatic.

Some component decks are nothing more than a small cassettecorder in a big empty box.

 

I have never made a good recording on a traditional "boombox" but thats just me. I wont say that it cant be done but I gave up trying 35 years ago.

 

Thanks for your reply!

Your reply made me more confident on choosing the TC-D5s. Maranz can also be good but as what I've found they are actually more rare than the TC-D5s, and also the sold prices aren't that cheaper anyway. So I think I'll stay with the TC-D5s.

 

If you are going to buy just one, clearly the TC-D5M is the one to go for. I would choose that one especially for the build quality, it feels much sturdier than the plasticky Marantz. The wow&flutter on mine is about 0.05%, which is the same as a direct drive deck.
The headphone amplifier is considerably better on the D5M and it's lower noise in general compared to Marantz.
The only thing that should be considered on the SONY is the old rubber tires might need sanding at some point (as it will loose takeup and fast forward torque). New ones are unfortunately not available at this point in time, although I do hope Marian Mihokm will make the set in the future.

Something to keep in mind (true for both PMD430 and TC-D5M): they use center-negative plugs and the motor governor chip will burn if powered with center positive.

Given I did calibrations on both units, I am inclined to believe the better recording on the 430 is because it was better calibrated at the factory. The D5/D5Ms I calibrated were always off in regard to Dolby levels, bias and rec levels. The Marantz was almost perfect and needed very little adjustment.
After calibration, both sound about the same, with a little advantage to SONY (especially regarding noise floor).

 

This sounds like a very reasonable assessment.

 

I have done some measurements for reference, as I am sure some people will want to see this. Both measurements were done on the LINE OUT to exclude any influence of the headphone amplifier.
The units were set with DOLBY OFF, the equalizer on 120us (TYPE I) and no tape.
Some will be tempted to say that the higher noise on the PMD-430 is because it has higher bandwidth: while that is true (however the bandwidth differences between the 2 are not that high),
lower noise in the TC-D5M can be seen in the entire spectrum, not just in the higher end.

 

So why do you bother with cassettes at all? This reminds me of a discussion on CNET back when it was still really CNET. The statements being made were that turntables (or turnstyles as the stand-in moderator was calling them) were a fad and that no one could really tell the difference between analog and digital and bla bla bla.... Among the things I told them was that computer files don't bring anything to the game but convenience. However, they do bring that. So I have to switch sides here for a moment and ask you why you don't just get an I-pod or something and do your mix recordings on that. You can mix to your heart's content. You can get music from far more places. Recording is easier. Playback is easier. There is zero maintenance involved. If you don't like something you recorded you just delete it. You'll never have the feeling that the person or persons playing the music (Yes, I know. Actually playing the music is falling by the wayside too. Bo Didley called them button pushers.) is actually in the room with you but, if that doesn't matter, why do all the work? Oh, and if you don't know who Bo Didley was I feel truly sorry for you.
Don

 

What’s that got to do with OP’s question?
Bo Didley is only good at one thing and that’s singing about himself.

 

Are you implying that with a cassette you do have such a feeling? You got some imagination.

 

I think the main point about mixtapes is that they allow you to act as "DJ" and for that performance to be recorded for posterity.
Personally I have made several mixtapes for other people. I also once burnt a CD of music I recorded myself, but spent so much time working out what software to use (Audacity) and how to connect the equipment that I hardly had any time left to spend on the music.

The last mixtape I did was also done in a hurry. However, since I use a Radio cassette as my computer speakers I just popped in a cassette and kept pressing Play and Record. Sure the quality probably wasn't very good but sometimes it is the thought that counts.

For years a large proportion of the U.K. population was happy listening to Radio 1 on AM mono. It was the choice of music the station played rather than the quality that attracted people.

 

...which is much easier done on a computer. Get all the tracks you need, and re-jiggle them the way you want, licking out the transitions and making sure that the total duration is exactly as you want it to be. I have some projects that are more than a year old, from time to time I return to them and adjust a transition here and there, or replace a track with a different one. Then I make a single file, copy it onto my smartphone and listen to it several times. Only when I think I cannot do any better, I record it on tape. This last phase is absolutely pointless, but gives me the feeling of completion, I also make a J-card, and then put the cassette on a shelf. Then I continue listening to the file off my smartphone

 

Cassettes have a soul.. plus; I have never heard a cassette that sounded "compressed". I will admit that the very early CD's that I purchased in the middle-late 80s sounds very clean. It was sometime in the 90s that I started to notice the "compressed" sound that is so prevalent now. I dont know how to describe it but I can sure as heck tell the difference. Maybe its the DAC in my vintage toshiba XR35 that brought out such a rich sound... ( I dont know).

I tend to agree with the previous member.. if a person does not care about the sound quality, why are they bothering with cassette tapes. I am certainly no audiophile by any stretch but I would easily choose the PMD430. I have both of those recorders and have always liked the recordings made on my 430. That said, I think that the sony is a more durable and better made unit.

 

Yeah. Out of place. Point taken. Thanks.
Don