Another "vote" on behalf of Tonykay by one who listens casually to commercial recordings via headphones, sometimes directly from the cassette player headphone out of a variety of former "top of their line" models, not just my Nak. At other times, listening through the classic beautiful sounding Earmax headphone amp.
I am surprised how many of the tapes sound enjoyable which I attribute to the immediacy of headphone listening as well as the remarkable state of preservation of much thrift store and library book sale stock. Some are sealed or recorded on chromium dioxide tape when audiophile labels still catered to the high end auto commuter market.
Of course, there are a few tapes that are defective, but the price is close to free, or actually free.
The players themselves are often sold in the $15 price range which allows for strategic placement around the home.
Overall, count me as a satisfied casual listener, minus any i-Pod type device.
