TEAC Cassette

[JoeE SP9]

Hey guy's! I made a great score today. I picked up a TEAC V-7010 3 head cassette deck. Near mint condition and only $100 bucks.

[poppachubby]

I just saw a TEAC cassette deck at a thrift. Not in mint shape though. Man alive, $100 for a cassette deck and you're happy? What's so great about it?

[JoeE SP9]

It's a high end cassette deck. Currently going for as much as $600 on some sites. It has Dolby B/C and HX Pro. It has three heads and the capstans are direct drive (no belts). It has a copper plated chassis and weighs 30+ pounds. It also has full remote. A good cassette deck can have decent sound. This one sounds damn near as good as my Naks. Now I can send them away for an overhaul.
I have around 200 LP's that were transferred to cassette by me. I need cassette access.

[poppachubby]

Wow, that thing looks crazy. Love the wood finish on the sides. Well congrats Joe!

[02audionoob]

That thing used to list for a cool grand in the 1990s.

[dakatabg]

WOW by looking at it I want to have one! Who would expect Teac made so expensive cassette deck!

I have Teac equalizer and they are nothing special!

[JoeE SP9]

The money was intended for my TT fund. When I saw it going for $100 bucks I couldn't resist.

[audio amateur]

Looks gorgeous (I would probably dislay it for looks alone), but isn't the audio quality of tapes inferior to 128kpbs mp3?

[02audionoob]

Looks gorgeous (I would probably dislay it for looks alone), but isn't the audio quality of tapes inferior to 128kpbs mp3?

You apparently have never heard a tape deck that sold at retail for more than $100.

[dakatabg]

Here is the full info of this beast!

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Teac/V-7010

it was $1000 when it was new! wow very nice player!

[audio amateur]

You apparently have never heard a tape deck that sold at retail for more than $100.

Not sure what you mean. I've heard many a time that tapes are one of the worst mediums ever (audio quality wise), and also what I just mentionned about 128kbps mp3. If the medium is inherently bad, it doesnt matter if the deck retails at 100 bucks or a grand.

[Luvin Da Blues]

Who would expect Teac made so expensive cassette deck!

Teac was on one of the most respected multi-track manufacturers in their day and had always made great reel-to-reel and Cassette decks B4 digital. I have a HK deck that retailed for $900 in the late 80's.

[02audionoob]

Not sure what you mean. I've heard many a time that tapes are one of the worst mediums ever (audio quality wise), and also what I just mentionned about 128kbps mp3. If the medium is inherently bad, it doesnt matter if the deck retails at 100 bucks or a grand.

I mean if you make a good tape on a high-end tape deck and play it back on a high-end tape deck, tape isn't inherently bad. Lossey digital files are inherently bad. That's not entirely true of tape. Remember the sound quality on a brand-new videotape? Didn't they sound better than the downloads from iTunes?

[audio amateur]

Lossey digital files are inherently bad. That's not entirely true of tape. Remember the sound quality on a brand-new videotape? Didn't they sound better than the downloads from iTunes?

You're saying a videotape sounds better than mp3/itunes? It seems like you've never actually heard lossy music. I can say (unlike tape), that I've heard low quality mp3 on a pair of Apogee Divas. Funny, the owner didn't even notice it what mp3 (let alone 128kbps).

My stance is that 'audiophiles' make mp3 to be the worst thing yet but I'll bet you 90% of them haven't actually made a critical comparison with lossless audio. They just rehash what people say about mp3 (often because those same people base their judgement on downloaded music that has often been tampered with and is actually below 128kbps).

[02audionoob]

You're saying a videotape sounds better than mp3/itunes? It seems like you've never actually heard lossy music. I can say (unlike tape), that I've heard low quality mp3 on a pair of Apogee Divas. Funny, the owner didn't even notice it what mp3 (let alone 128kbps).

My stance is that 'audiophiles' make mp3 to be the worst thing yet but I'll bet you 90% of them haven't actually made a critical comparison with lossless audio. They just rehash what people say about mp3 (often because those same people base their judgement on downloaded music that has often been tampered with and is actually below 128kbps).

I'm saying with a hi-fi VCR back when they were quality machines and cost a few hundred bucks, you could record audio to a VHS tape and it would sound better than today's downloads. In fact, I used to use a VCR instead of a reel-to-reel, a format that also used analog tape and is capable of better sound than downloads.

I'm not saying 128kbps files don't sound good to the average person. They're proven a billion times over to be good enough. People keep buying them. It's just that lossey digital is by definition compromised...it's just your choice of how compromised...and tape isn't necessarily so. Tape can be very good. Cassette is low on the ladder of good tape formats, but tape decks like the upper models from Nakamichi, Sony, TEAC and Akai could sound closer to the LP than 128kbps MP3 files.