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dug out the old cassette deck...

Tony L said:
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Great with old-school Walkmans etc like my WMD6C above, but hopeless with an iPhone as modern kit tends to hate the 600 Ohm impedance. I was surprised by how easily the Walkman drives them when even my MacBook Pro struggles.
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The latest MacBooks ((Pro and Max versions) supposedly have upgraded H/P stages which can drive high impedance (J Valour did a YouTube comparison recently).

I don't have a h/i headphone to test this though.
 
There are a few of these in working condition on the 'bay.


image uploader

So I bagged one for a score.
The volume control knob was missing but I've put one on.
Otherwise all is good regarding sound and operation.
 
Crazy mix of prices, which may suggest that many new buyers go for the big names and big reputation.
I'm so pleased with the yam 340's sound. What other source is around for £50 that sounds as good as a decent cassette deck?
 
Wow, you’ve got the crazy rare Arcam! No idea how many they made, but I suspect less than 10! You have most of a CR7 too, that would be my pick of that crop, though only with the missing buttons! I could never justify a good three-head auto-bias Nak but I’ve always wanted one for some reason even though I’d hardly ever use it!
 
df serviced the TC-K444ESII I got from you, and mighty fine it is too.

Must get my NAK 580 to him, it beats the 444 unserviced so what it will be like when it is!
 
df_genius said:
Really enjoying a rapidly growing thread on cassettes, here some of my interesting decks:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dk9ioLSTwgmFF2AJ7

Sadly don't get much spare time to post on here as I'm always fixing cassette decks and reel to reels. Right now I am servicing five Tandbergs - a 440A, a 330 and three 310's, a couple of Naks and a monster Philips N4520 R2R
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Wow, the Arcam! I nearly bought a box of bits that might possibly have been a complete Arcam deck a few years back, but the likelihood of me actually managing to reassemble it was… remote to say the least.. It was supposed to be a Dragon slayer, I’d love to have had the cash to put them up against one another.
 
I'm currently using a Yamaha KX-390 after sending back a KX-380 which only recorded on one channel.

The sound quality is very good for the money and I love the solid clunky feel of it's operation. There's something cool about old analogue kit.

I once had a Sony 3 head 650ES which sadly had to be abandoned when its logic went completely bananas rendering the deck unusable.
 
Tony L said:
Wow, you’ve got the crazy rare Arcam! No idea how many they made, but I suspect less than 10! You have most of a CR7 too, that would be my pick of that crop, though only with the missing buttons! I could never justify a good three-head auto-bias Nak but I’ve always wanted one for some reason even though I’d hardly ever use it!
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I've got a second Arcam as well but is tatty and sadly needs a logic board. Pretty sure my working one is a pre production example as the labels on the back are hand written. I have carried out some sensible mods as well - bipolar capacitors and max4066 cmos switches
 
Presently in the house, all spotlessly clean:
  1. Nak CR-7E, my main recording machine
  2. Nak CR-4E, probably the best-sounding one of the bunch
  3. Nak CR-2E, with me since 1989
  4. Nak CR-1E, kept for spares
  5. Nak Cassette Deck One, as player in the main system (but never used, actually, but it matches the Lyngdorf amp so well)
  6. Nak BX-300E, laboratory machine, seriously modified, used for my series of cassette measurement
  7. Nak BX-125E, awaiting restoration, will then be sold
  8. Nak BX-100E, mostly gutted, converted to a slow winder, worn head replaced with Sankyo Seiki 15RAA4
  9. Onkyo TA-2060, nice direct-drive three-header, needle instruments
  10. Onkyo TA-2055, very cute direct-drive two-header, a baby TA-2070, currently in restoration
  11. NAD 6340, just restored, need to find the time to listen to it properly, then sell
  12. TEAC V-1RX, direct-drive three-header, dbx, needle instruments, keeping just for the looks
  13. Technics RS-B665, quartz DD two-header, awaiting restoration, will then be used to make a bunch of accurate speed tapes
I need help.
 
I agree it is an affliction Werner. As well as the 15 in that picture I have the 5 Tandbergs and probably 30 or so more Nakamichi's, Aiwa, Sony, Pioneer, Goodmans, Kenwood, Technics and so on that need service, plus a few others in the other systems that I've recently serviced. Reel to reels I have the big Philips N4520, 3 Akai GX-77's, Revox A77, a few 3-head 7" philips (N4504 etc), Sony TC-377/399/355, Tandbergs, and around 10 Akai 4000DS's or similar. Never mind all the power amps, pre amps, phono stages, speakers and turntables I want to get finished. David.
 
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I would like to get a decent Nak at some point though Im happy with the 3 head Denon I scored. Looking forward to trying some recording during the holiday period.
 
I have a mint, hardly used RS-M275X dbx Technics and it’s excellent. It comes very close to the CR-4E I must say. On a dbx tape or record the silence is eerie, without any treble loss. Amazing thing.

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That Technics is a nice deck, the "AX" head is amorphous which is a good thing. The Adres noise reduction unit in my pic is broadly similar to dbx, dbx is 2:1 where Adres and high-com are 1.5:1 so there is no "breathing"
 
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