I have a Pioneer CT-F650 cassette deck. What is one of the best cassette decks for playing cassettes to record onto a computer?
Thanks,
Tim

I would say that the CT-F600 is fine for just tranferring old cassettes to your computer.

The limiting factor is more than likely to be your souncard. Presumably, once you have them on your machine you are going to encode them to MP3 afterwards?

Regardless, as I see it, it would be pointless to spend money a cassette deck that would sit idle once you have transferred them. Maybe you have other plans for the cassette afterwards?

Your Pioneer is more than adequate for the job.

You will want a sound card that adds no audible noise, jitter, or hum to your source material.

I have found that TURTLE BEACH sound cards are best and quieter for analog-to-digital transfers than those by Creative Labs - at least up to the AWE-series of Creative cards - but that the Creative cards are adequate and are much better than most of the "generic" cards on the market. If your computer has a built-in sound chip I suggest you give it a try before you start your project and, should you find it too noisy, add a good after-market card.

Originally posted by teentitans14
I have a Pioneer CT-F650 cassette deck. What is one of the best cassette decks for playing cassettes to record onto a computer?
Thanks,
Tim
Best quality cassette decks come with 3 heads, so look for a 3 head machine.
I fancy the Akai 3 head models because they have GX heads that have long life heads. I have Akai GX-F90 and GX-65 II both performs excellently.
Many say Nakamichi also makes excellent decks. I also have a CR-5.
Happy recording.

Thanks for the replys everyone. My sound card is made with my motherboard. It records pretty good with little noise. I may check out a 3 head deck though.

A few hints for transfering old tapes.

If the tapes aren't in bad shape, a decent Nakamichi or maybe one of the better Aiwa decks would be fine (like the F770 or related models). If the tapes are beat-up, you might want to invest in a high end deck (which nowadays won't cost much). Something with three motors, dual capstans and three heads. If your tapes are just Dolby B encoded, then you can find such a deck quite cheaply.