Well, I needed another cassette deck like I need another bloody hole in my head, but you know how it goes...

Missed the Christmas bonanza at my local work thrift, as I had a couple of weeks off. I walk in there today, desperate for a vintage audio score, only to find crap in the audio section. The fellow has to rub it in by telling me about the B&W's that he sold a guy for $25, and that he just sold a couple of nice amps before I came in. :(

As I walk out fighting the urge to buy just about any piece of junk just to buy something, I saw a big 'ol Pioneer cassette deck in the hallway. Don't need it, I say and walk away bitterly. Came back later though, 'cuz I have no willpower at all these days, and got it for 5 bucks.

It is in gorgeous shape: wood is lovely, all the knobs are there, all the lights are on, VU meters look great, and it actually plays nicely. The door mechanism is a bit catchy, so I'll have a look at that when I have time. This big beast is so pretty, that I think that I'll keep it. :)

And just when I'd flogged all my cassette decks but one in my storeroom somewhere.

Any of you boys out hee ever owned one of these big decks before? How do you think they measure up?

Yes, and they have very good specs.
But you said it "this big beast is so pretty, that I think that I'll keep it."
You hit the nail right on the head titanstats. Beauty is what keeps this beast alive.

You found one of the most popular Pioneer cassette decks as mentioned and judged by the number of posts about it on this board.

It is AMONG the best of the Pioneer 2 headed decks.

As you noticed, it is as heavy as he##, it is built like a tank.

A little deoxit in the RIGHT places (as well as the correction of the FF/REW problem endemic to the 9191, and it's brothers), cleaning and new rubber ( rubber goes bad with OR without use) will give you a nice solid performer.

Other things CAN be done to sweeten it up, but they involve either patience and money or a LOT of money.

BTW rubber = 3 belts(capstan, t/u reel to motion sensor, motion sensor to counter) + pinch roller + 3 tires(ff/rew motor drive, ff/rew idler, t/u drive from capstan).

Use the search feature on this board to look for the string 9191, you will find a wealth of information. Since july of '05 there are several people on this board who have learned a LOT about the insides of these machines, know how to resurrect them to increasing levels of perfection, and have assisted others in doing so.

Nice deck. I have one that I rarely use but would not sell. It works great on all functions and it looks good in my system. Some people really like them. Look at what this one sold for on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-CT-F9191-cassette-deck-all-manuals-VERY-NICE_W0QQitemZ5845984658QQcategoryZ71574QQcmdZView Item

Tank

I have an affection/afflection for these even though they can be a pain in the ass to work on. They are true beauyies IMHO.

These just may have been the best 2-head deck in their day. They were Pioneer's TOTL deck for several years, and for good reason (only supplanted only by the advent of the CT-F1000). They are very well built and worthy of their excellent reputation.

A raw one in excellent condition is worth $150 - $225. Raw, meaning "not restored." A fully restored one is worth from $250 - $325. Without restorative activities, I would expect all of them to have some problems, at this stage in their lives, whether they manifest or not.

Enjoy your unit, but do put some additional funds and work into it to bring it up closer to full speed. You will find that it is well worth it. It is much easier to work on that the later decks.

Rich P

The only thing I have done to my 9191 is deoXit the playback solenoid switch. I could not have done that without the help of markthefixer. The left channel was giving me trouble with no or weak playback. After advice and instructions from markthefixer all is working fine.

I really need to play it more often. I also have a Pioneer RT-1020L that does not get much play time. I`m just more of a LP guy. I love to spin vinyl.

Tank

Beware the FF REW problem. I have two of them. I might have to ship mine to someone for repair, as my eyes and hands arent' that good with tiny tiny things.