@walkman archive: It was a bulk purchase I completed when an offer was made by a friend and fellow tape enthusiast (Scott) to buy what remained of his collection. I have purchased many sealed NOS cassette tapes from him in the past and we've also done a great number of mix tape exchanges throughout the past decade. His recording deck was a Tandberg TCD-3014A. Fabulous recordings by him. He has sold most of his audio gear, but back in December 2022 I bought two Tandberg TCD-3014s - both decks from the same seller at the same time. The seller even drove the 1.5 hours to my place to demo the decks. I can't reveal how much I paid for them - but it was a lot less than what one good-working one would have sold for. I had planned to sell one of the 3014 decks to repay the initial cost of the pair, with some extra cash in my pocket. But, I have told Scott I will keep both 3014s as it is his hope to buy one from me in the future when he rebuilds his stereo system. Nando.
@wheaties1909: I do have a number of TDK cassettes and I, especially, like the TDK AD, AR & AR-X. I, also, have some top-tier TDKs. Nando.
Wow Nando, two 3014 is really rare. You should be proud. I have one totally restored and it sound truly well. What a punch and what bass! What I don't like at all is how slow are its VU meters, that to make it not convenient to record as it's very difficult to monitor if you're getting into the distortion zone... I like the AR-X too. Actually I found a cassette case similar to that one recently in the flea market and another one this week. I'll use them for my CJ sessions that I'm starting to schedule late this year in BCN
@walkman archive: There is no shortage of outstanding Type I tapes. If you know which ones to choose, ferric cassettes can be a nice alternative to pricier and more sought-after Type II and even Type IV cassettes. I have one of the two Tandberg TCD-3014s with the technician for general servicing and calibration. I will get the second one done soon after. I guess I will find out more about the eccentricities of this model when it comes to recording. Playback of @Chris_D 's mix tape. He and I did a mix tape exchange using NOS Sony Metal ES 90 tapes. Nando.
I have too a Pioneer of this serie, but it only has the left caddy. BTW, filling it up with those MA-R almost pulls the deck off for its backside Actually I found a case for cassettes last week in the flea market. It will be helpful for my next DJ Walkman Archive session (actually CJ, Cassette Jockey)
Yes. And high quality type I like HF-ES and AR-X and the like can be even recorded as chrome if you have a proper deck and they have similar low noise although higher treble distortion (but probably not noticeable for 50ers like us). Gosh, that's indeed high leveltape exchange! Metal ES... wow. I have two sealed and one already used in my collection. Very few as you can see. I see you are a long-time fan of those AKG. I have to try them. I have the AKG 702 and the sound is really good, specially afte doing a quick mod for getting a bit more bass. But the cushions are too hard for long sessions, and the head band does hurt a bit after long sessions. But sound-wise are close to the famous HD800 for a fraction of the price.
My Tandberg 3014 came without the cassette door in grey so I decided to make one by myself. I carefully took measurements and went to a hardware store in Barcelona that can cut metacrylate pieces. I bought special glue for this and, well... tried myself for the first time. The result wasn't perfect but wasn't as bad:
Thanks for creating this new thread, Hugo. I have acquired and have sold a number of cassette decks in the past three years, or so. Nice work on the removable cassette cover for your Tandberg. A factory one can cost a pretty penny. Nando.
Sony TC-K666ES This Sony TC-K666ES deck came to me by a straight-across-trade with one of my techs who services my vintage audio components. I had an Akai GX-630D 10.5" open-reel deck I had bought for $250 from a long-time friend. He was the original owner of the Akai. The tech was quite impressed with the 666ES cassette deck after he completed repairs, servicing, and calibration on it. And he has seen a great number of decks come across his work bench. So, I offered up the trade and he accepted. And a cellphone video of it playing: Nando.
I recently posted in my collection thread, that i bought a TEAC V-6030S. The AX-1090 is really a giant, he works with two selfmade boxes, the smaller one Yamaha is for connection to digital sources. And he controls two Bose Classics for Background Sound. The amp on top (GDR) is used as Pre-Amp for my Sharp MD-Player, works good . I still have a TT - Audio technica with an Ortofon Super OM 40. My Technics RS-BX 707 went wrong meanwhile i had started to digitalize the most of my cassettes . This TEAC was my dream since longer, so now the reason was given to buy. The deck, i got , had many issues, incorrect settings, but a very good repair service in Berlin was able to set it almost in Class 1 - condition for an unbelievable price ( not high... ;-))) ). I`m very satisfied with the deck, and because of this i was very surprised, that here https://luckyx02.de/ the deck is declared as " Probably the worst and most beautiful tape deck ever. " What do YOU mean about the deck ? Unfortunally i have no equipment to compare. When i win in lottery, i buy a Revox, or a Tandberg. Better Eumig ? Or Alpine ? Nakamichi ? Fun... By the way - TDK-Cassettes - many people say - the AD-X is more better than AR-X, both type 1, but complete another formula.
that's is a very interesting stack, soluna. However, I don't understand why those white layers are... That 6030 in champage is truly a unbelieably beautiful deck, but lucky at tapeheads is right: the recordings in the 6030 are a bit lifeless. But you won't notice until you get yourself another deck that records much better. I have a 8030 in black and it's lovely indeed, sooo beautiful, but I just use for playback and for recording low importance mixtapes (i.e. for kids). I can't explain why, but it's true: the recordings lack 'punch' and 'life'. It's hard to measure with numbers but when you hear it that's the sad reality. If you want a deck that shake your bones you should get a 2-head nakamichi (if you have limited budget) or a good 3-head. There are many, I can tell you whatI have but I'm maybe not a good reference as I have top quality decks that are very expensive these days. Some of the best recording decks are: all Nakamichi, even the affordable BX150, the top end Pioneers like the F1250 or the CT93, top SONY like the K808ES, 909ES, 990ES and many more (though to my taste they are not at the same level as top of the tops) or gems like the Tandberg 3014 or the upgraded by ANT Audio Technics B965. Some decks can perform very well but if they aren't not well restored and upgraded with new caps or even heads they won't give you the best. For example the Pioneer F1250. The sound of one as you get it is tipically dull or even standard. But if your technican know how to do magic (like Alex from ANT Audio did to mine) it becomes one of the best sounding decks ever, period. It's hard to believe but you can trust me: I have all the best decks from the main names and this one is truly unbelieavable. Same for the Technics B965. Stock ones sounds dull although it's a beautiful deck specially in champange like mine. But the sound is lifeless due to very bad 4066 chips that add so much distortion to the sound. But when replaced for much better 4066 it becomes something truly extraordinary. My Pioneer CT93 without needing anything special records and sounds like the best of the best. This one is my favorite one, not just for the sound quality, but also for its features for recording.
@walkman archive - whow, what a collection, many thanx for the information. Regarding layers - i know, they have no technical function, but they give a subjective feeling of protection against unnecessary vibrations. I will look for some of the decks, you suggest .I`ve heard, that some of the later Sony Decks with automatic band calibration should be very good ( TC-RX ? ) , what can you say ? And it`s interesting, that the TEAC 8030 despite of having Direct Drive even has the same issues regarding records like the smaller brother. That`s a pity... And just in the moment there is no budget for a Nakamichi - if i could, i chose the RX 505 E... we will see
Aha. Well, in that case I suggest you to place those 'sensitive' to vibrations at the top and those not sensitive below. I mean, deck and CD at the top and radio & amps at bottom. Anyway, unless you have a underground train station below your home or you live in an old home with wooden beams vibration is not a problem at all. I only have soft foots in my turntable because my home has wooden beams and when an adult walks there is a very slight vibration near it. But if I live in a modern house with metal beams, that problem dissapear almost completely unless you jump. Just my two cents Well, I cannot say because I don't have any equipment below 2000s (more or less). I really love equipment from the 80s and 90s but not newer (regarding decks). But auto calibration decks can work really well. My Yamaha KX930, Pioneer CT93 and Revox B215 all do calibrate surprisingly well. but recording quality not just depends on the calibration but also on the soundstage, the 'punch', etc... Yup. I remember Alex Nikitin (one of the world's best deck technician to me) told that no matter what you modify in this deck, it simply doesn't sound well. So, it's lovely to look at and it plays well, but regarding records, it's just plain normal. Aha, I don't know how much do they cost, but a BX150 should be no more than 350...
2 layers - you must laugh, but we have parties here with dancing, and the CD-Player reacted to the jumps we made with breaks. After installing layers it does no more, it`s a phenomen... 2 Nakamichi - for my pride - i prefer a 3-head-deck. ;-)) At he end it`s a thing of fun. So it can take a while until the right time is found. The prices here https://www.audioscope.net/kassettenrekorder-c-28.html?filter_id=19&sort=2a are all over my limit. 2 Sound - i really have a good ear for music - composition, arrangement, melodies, but i`m not really able to distinguish quality of the components of a HIFI- system. This is only a question of subjective perception for me. And i have not enough possibilities to compare. I don`t have a good room for playing music - it`s too little, with many books, and stuff, and a big sofa and chairs with pillows and so on. All this absorbs much of dynamic. So everytime i moved, the first thing i made, was, to place the sofa, install hifi, and hear music in the almost empty room - that is so surprising... Anyway - now i will hear the Tom Waits "Bone Machine" - Vinyl. This Low-Fi-Sound is amazing. May be, i make a record on a TDK SA-XS, and then hear again.
if you think you're low fi sound is amazing i think you have reached you're goal imho plenty people have spent 10's of thousands on their system and are still not happy interested to know what speakers amps you guys are using as to me they are heart of the system imho
@Radio Raheem - a little misunderstanding - i meant the special Low-Fi - Sound of Tom Waits ;-)) - nevertheless, i`m satisfied with the sound here, even only a better deck could be. And yes, - it`s a very special thing with the satisfaction regarding sound systems - i think, the longer you deal with it, the more difficult it becomes . Many people are influenced by the additional options they still could use. But the focus will be smaller and smaller. I have a friend, he bought my main boxes - here`s one ( it´s 110x27x18 cm - i must look for the specifications ... it`s supplied by the Yamaha AX-1090 - https://www.hifi-wiki.de/index.php/Yamaha_AX-1090 ) He often drives to HIFI - exhibitions and - Fairs, - he says , all the Nerds with her knowledge are caught and pained by their focused view on the technical specifications. And lost their simple feeling for good sound. He is an purist - he looks for the cheapest method to catch the sound as it is. But i think, that`s a question, never can answer, the problem can`t be solved.
the quest for better sound never ends my friend for me i only listen to bass lower than 50 hz yes i hear multi layers.....those speakers look like mission 702 i just blew up a pair of mission 705 speakers but to be honest they were 5 ft tall and about 2 feet deep far to big for me imho i have even gone as far as to build my own speakers over the years but i'm to old for that now hugo we want to see you're speakers and amps i have a few of both so i'm lucky i guess
