Cassette Deck??

Some say Tandberg 3014, and 3014a, is the best there is. I never tried one. They are also very rare and expensive to buy and maintain.
Yes, my Spacedeck still sounds better than the copy made on my well aligned Nak 682ZX but not by too much. This Nak thing is really great especially with reference grade metal tape. I'll get to RTR later too. So for very critical listening - vinyl; not so critical - compilations on tape.

What's so entertaining about this thread is how "polarized" folks can become. I'll bet that back in "the day" before the growing popularity of the cassette tape, (be it pre-recorded, or the ones we did ourselves), most of us music lovers and hobbyists probably owned 8 track tape players, and a buttload of 8 track tapes? What else was there for our cars? Either that, or we were stuck listening to only AM/FM radio stations. Which wasn't so bad actually, IMHO. Then along comes the cassette tape and who could resist it? Fast forward, (no pun intended) to TODAY, with so much kick-ass, high-rez material readily available to all who are willing to go "there"...and how quickly so many folks are to bash the validity of a (once great) format. But I do agree with you halfheartedly. By todays standards, the cassette format is nothing in comparison. But it doesn't totally suck either. Which is why I think so many of us out here in "audiophileland" still hang on to our trusty old cassette decks in the first place! I can honestly say that I have not "seriously" listened to cassettes in over 20 years! Yet I still own 2000 plus. Crazy? Sure. Just a little bit. Stone age? Yeah kind of. (I admit to still dragging my wife around by her hair, carrying a club, and painting pictures of stuff on the cave walls with a burnt stick.) So I guess I AM a caveman. One who still embraces the past, even though it's not anywhere close to 24 bit/192 hz oversampling. I also own 7 friggin' cassette decks still. Geez! maybe I should have been the one doing the GEIKO insurance commercials? For whatever it's worth, I feel proud to have my connection to the past, even if I don't use my antiquated decks any longer. They still look cool, and work, and are often the source of conversation! Long live us old school, low-fi, caveman gear hoarders!! I salute you.

kudos to martinmobile for carrying the cassette torch. like him, i've hoarded a gazillion cassettes over the years, including alot of cool stuff which'll never get released on cd, and thus still cling stubbornly to the medium. tapes aren't intrinsically bad sounding--i sometimes prefer a well-recorded tape played on a good deck to disc. the main drawback, as i see it, is that a high percentage of prerecorded tapes are absymally recorded and/or manufactured, and no equipment in the world is gonna make 'em sound listenable.
thanks for the entertaining thread.

I've found yamaha decks from the late 80's and early 90's to be top performers and were a great value even back when new. You should be able to pick up one for a pittance these days.

You will pay a premium for other big names from that era, like Nakamichi and Tandberg, but they may be worth it.

Aiwa used to make some of the best looking and sounding decks as well in the late seventies, but there may not be many of these around anymore in good working order. Mine gave up the goat a good while back.

First I discovered the belt I was looking for was available on E-Bay for $50. Next I went to the hardware store and purchased a pack of "O" rings. After finding a match, I installed it. Now my Sony KA3ES, 3 head closed loop dual capstan is up and running.

It's strange, how I remember many nights cruising the town in my "chariot" listening to celestial sounds emanating from the deck. There must have been something magical about the deck in my chariot, this deck does not have the same "mojo'. Or maybe it was one of those beautiful fragrant creatures that was usually occupying the seat next to me that provided the magic. Whatever, while this deck sounds good; it's lost that special "mojo".