1985 Technics Cassette Deck vs 90's Yamaha

Moby2

Active Member
I recently purchased a Yamaha RX-V870 receiver with a Yamaha CDC-555 CD Changer connected to a pair of B&W bookshelf speakers. I am very happy with the sound of it. I'm wondering if buying a dual cassette Yamaha deck from the 1990's like the KX-W321 would be better than keeping a Technics RS-BW11 dual cassette from 1985? I know that if you have the same company components together that it's supposed to sound better and the Yamaha can respond to the receiver's remote control, but then again I read that vintage is better so I'm a little confused.
 
not used either deck , can't say which is better ....can say that vintage might not
really play into your best situation.

with a few exceptions ,dual decks were a compromise in sound and performance .
teac and sony ,denon ... made a few Pro-Sumer oriented decks which were very
expensive at the time. if the yamaha anything is like these ,it's prob . better than
that technics dual deck , but technics and yamaha both sold entry level junk , too...,
neither would be considered "vintage classics" .

if you really want "vintage" that's superior to modern stuff... nakamichi ,tandberg ,
revox , luxman..... better 3-head pioneer , Teac , yamaha, sony , denon, h/k,...
even Technics made a few memorable 3-heads ........... all single decks.

for just needing 2 cassette wells for dubbing....why not get a couple'a NAK BX-1,2,3
150 or 300's ? they sell for little $$ now because ,while vintage ,they aren't "classics",
but will outperform any dual deck ever made...and most singles.

otherwise....i'd suggest buying something relatively new that won't break down or
require immediate attention . if you buy something old and mediocre you'll be gaining
very little other than repair headaches.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I just want a cassette deck that doesn't have a muffled sound and will sound as good as a cd LOL
 
Want silver or black? In either color look for 3 head, dual capstan deck with Metal capability, Dolby B&C (and Dolby S if you can find it), and HX Pro (and if I recall correctly, Yamaha never built a dual capstan deck?). If you find that combo and it's up to spec, it will sound as good as a CD. It will also handle the tape very well and play old tapes nicely. I know, I have a 1/2 dozen such decks and I sold (or am selling) all the others in the pile.

Almost always single well is better with more robust transports. If you want Black, you might consider a Denon DRM740 or a Sony ES with Dolby S. Not quite a Nakamichi, but very good in their own right. In silver maybe a Harmon Kardon CD491 :)
 
Hi,

Neither! The double cassette decks have never been my cup of tea performance wise. For best sound in cassette, get thee a Tandberg a la TCD 300 or 900 series. For best reliability, get thee a ReVox or Studer cassette deck. Nakamichi decks are nice. I like the old Advent 201 as well. The Tascam single decks are good especially the upper models.
 
Ok, I'll focus on getting a single cassette deck then. I see where you all are coming from on the 3 head and vintage decks. I do want black though to match the other components. I know it's hard to expect cd quality from a cassette tape, I just don't want them to sound worse than they do when I play them in my car or boombox. I guess my receiver, speakers and tape deck combo bring out the worst in a cassette tapes--even brand new never played pop and classical cassette tapes. In addition to the Nakamichi, Denon and Sony ES, I'll see what high end Yamaha products there are.
 
"I know it's hard to expect cd quality from a cassette tape"

you don't know what you think. you assume too much. listen to a nak/tandberg/revox
before you generalize. that old pioneer or sony or many yamaha 2heads sound
terrible....if the transport is sloppy, it won't impress.

my nakamichi bx-1,bx-2,bx-3 ,480,480,560 decks hold their own , in many cases,with
the right source,....sound 'better' than most cd players to me..it's your call

with an SA , UD-XLII , FRXII, SUPER Chrome,etc... i think my decks sound awesome
compared to many cd's recorders' results.
 
I'll buy lunch if a later model Sony ES deck with Dolby S does not equal a good medium $$ CD player any day of the week. And as stated above, it ain't the Tanberg/Revox/Nakamichi TOTL that you can get into. Don't cut the format short until you've heard the good stuff. When you do, you may be of a completely different opinion. Dolby S on Maxell MX metal tape will have you wondering for sure :)
 
Definitely the 1985 Technics. Yamaha 90's decks in general are getting crappier in some ways although there might have Dolby S though 1985 Technics might have DBX. ;-)
 
I bet if you found a technics m series it would still work. I don't think you need to go TOTL to get what your after. Yamaha did build closed loop dual capstan decks. If you want to make recordings, a three head makes life a little easier, but not absolutely necessary. A deck with fine bias is good. I think a lowly Yamaha kx-300 would put a smile on your face.
 
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Thanks for the suggestion. I just want a cassette deck that doesn't have a muffled sound and will sound as good as a cd LOL
This can be achieved with a Yamaha with dbx and a metal tape, but overkill and limited to dbx decks for playback, i.e. not in your car.
 
Even the 2 head Naks can sound awesome but in general shoot for a 3 head machine. Then find chrome tape ( Type II ) you will need it for the best fidelity recordings. ( assuming metal will be near impossible to find for a reasonable price ) In general I prefer Dolby C to B. I have not had a S machine yet. Dbx noise reduction is great but every machine you want to play the tape on must have DBX. My Yamaha C-300's make very nice DBX recordings.
 
JVC made some great cassette decks. Built like tanks and good sounding too. Thing is, as with any used equipment, it might need to be serviced. New belts, good cleaning / lubed, etc.
 
Don't forget to take a look at some of those Onkyo decks the TA 2080 was a great deck, also you can grab a few Aiwa tape decks that works very well. Also some of the Hitachi decks work great like the 980 in that scope of decks a lot to choose from.
 
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