If all you want is playback and an occasional recording, stick to the simpler deck. Denon DRM-540 can be had for a song, and make good sound. Very simple internally. Likewise a Sony TC-K22 or -K44 are simple, piano-key style that can be re-belted in minutes compared to most decks. Good...
Get yourself a good set of plastic (not metal) dental picks, as they are valuable for poking around and pushing belts through small spaces where fingers are over-sized. Usually the belts can be squeezed thru small gaps created by loosening a few screws without removing major components. Just...
I run the whole series of Empire cartridges, OP-5, OP-4, 400TC, LTD500/450/400, etc. Always loved them since my very first OP-5. The original replacement styli are all gone it appears, but turntableneedles.com has good quality replacement styli.
Back in the day, I always avoided Type-I's in a snobbish derision. Then I tried a TDK AD and AR on a good quality deck. Zoikes! There are many good uses for a quality Type-I tape and some of them approach or exceed a budget Type-II in sound and quality.
Depends on the vintage of the UX and it's use by the previous owner. Find yourself some NOS UX-Pro and welcome your ears to a truly outstanding listening engagement.
Had always thought that these looked cool, but had never actually done a laying-of-the-hands on one. Stopped at a church thrift near my house today since I was off work and kicking around, and spotted this. Complete system except for speakers. Akai UC-S4 tuner, UC-F3 cassette deck, and UC-U4...
I had a similar problem with my Onkyo TA-2056 and the culprit was that long sliding master level control. Clean that puppy several times and work it back and forth a lot.
I have a Teac V-1RX and these are very nice decks. Not as defined a soundstage as my better Sony's, but they do make nice recordings and the dBx is fun to try.
Fred always gives good service, but I guess the caveat to that is "eventually". He does post communications updates on TapeHeads quite often, so I have tended to be relaxed about my orders. He always fills them and with good quality stuff. I agree he's probably overwhelmed.
What are you replacing them with? I did this mod on my GX-267D because a couple in one signal path were dead. Don't remember the transitor I used, but it was an OnSemi device recommended by Dr*Audio except that it wasn't leg-pin compatible, and two legs had to be twisted in the swap. I'd like...
A robust deck but not TOTL. NAD was not known as a tape company but they made good but not spectacular decks. The PLAY TRIM is a very useful feature. Clean it up and enjoy it!
I have a TA-2056 Integra that I bought one day years ago when Dr*Audio was wailing on about the Integra series. They are great decks. Mine plays superbly, but has a wonky slider master input slider. Enjoy!
Many of us have 30+ year old cassettes from the 70's or 80's, and many of them still do sound awesome. Welcome to the staying power of magnetic media. Enjoy those tapes.... I do!