Do you still use a cassette deck?

In his <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/">blog</A>, Stephen Mejias reports on the resurgence in cassette-only releases and is now looking for a good deck. Do you still use a cassette deck?

Do you still use a cassette deck?
All the time
7% (24 votes)
Sometimes
23% (82 votes)
Rarely
29% (103 votes)
Don't even have one, but do have some tapes
16% (59 votes)
Don't have one and don't have any tapes
25% (91 votes)
Total votes: 359

COMMENTS
Don's picture

Actually, I have a cassette deck, although it is attached to my Ford POS automobile. I no longer have the 10 or so cassettes I purchased for the car when it was new. That was in '96. It's digital compressed cr&^%$py digital files all the way baby!

Kal Rubinson's picture

Never ever used one. Never ever had one except in a car.

N's picture

I do not find the pursuit of dead formats a cool thing.

Jonathan Cohen's picture

I just got one on Saturday and, while vinyl is better, it is still good to have analog on the go (cassettes). Now I need a good portable player.

Teddy Ray's picture

Why? The medium and most all the new music released on it sucks. Hipster trend. No thanks.

Doug Bowker's picture

Was great back in the day, but at some point I just didn't use it. Good memories of mix tapes though!

mook's picture

Mostly to transfer tapes to computer. Occasionally in the car (one that still has a tape+CD audio system).

sam's picture

They degrade with age, that is their main problem. Plus there is only room for so many formats—CDs and vinyl will be it. It's CDs for the car and cars do not have cassette decks anymore.

rudy yniguez's picture

Have recorded many albums onto cassette, but I don't listen to them. I have a Nakamichi 670ZX deck (that squeaks) and a Nak 250 player. They're both just sitting in boxes.

Jim Mueller's picture

Retired the Nak a couple years ago. Too many better options.

Dismord's picture

I run a Nakamichi Dragon that's still operating to its original specification after decades of heavy use. I enjoy fooling audiophiles into thinking that they're listening to a CD, but I find to do that you need to run a well-recorded metal tape. These days I'm picking up prerecorded cassettes for pin money that still give me a very musical sound. I have a spare transport/head mechanism I bought years ago in case the Dragon's heads or capstans wore out, but haven't had to use it. No, I won't sell it. I know there are better cassette decks out there by Tandberg and Nakamichi themselves but I'm emotionally attached to my old Dragon. Besides, trying to find a decent Tandberg or Nakamichi on eBay is a risky business. If I encounter audiophools who argue cassette was always a crappy medium I play them one of the tapes I made at live concerts myself (without noise reduction!) These have some of them scratching their heads. Okay, for those of you who listen to three-minute, 25-second pop songs and want instant access to particular tracks, cassette can be a pain in the arse, but for old fools like me who listen mainly to classical music they can be just the thing.

Shahrukh Dandiwala's picture

Bah! Cassettes were always a PITA for me. Vinyl, maybe. Cassettes, no way!

dan coffee's picture

Stereophile never has cared about a cassette deck. Do you know how the differing biases work? I do.

Oliver's picture

The sound was bad, the sound was even worse after two years, the cassettes had often mechanical problems. I'm very glad, that CD-Rs replaced cassettes.

krautrock2@terra.net.lb's picture

I am a fan of all the releases on the Ecstatic Peace! label and i am aware that the current rock-noise scene favors cassettes as a convenient and an underground release format. I have a modest Nakamichi DR-10 deck and when used with high-quality blank metal tapes, it can give my Krell SACD standard a run for its money on CD vs TDK metal C-90!

Daniel's picture

I digitized all my cassette recordings a few years ago.

Tim's picture

Although I do not use cassettes anymore, this is—along with LP, reel-to-reel tape, wide-band speakers, and the search for tone instead of dynamics—a good tell-tale sign of what a lot of people are looking for in this highly impersonal, clinical, cynical world. If hands-on usage of music-carriers and nifty recording hardware is what people want, then I applaud that! Let's not sink any deeper into the WII world, people.

Jim's picture

My old Yamaha is on its last legs, wish I could find a new one that isn't a POS.

Stephen Curling's picture

What's a cassette?

perek's picture

Still very, very analog!

Philippe (from Paris)'s picture

Yes I own a CR7 E Nakamichi (unfortunately, not a Dragon) and I use it for recording live concerts on FM radio and it works really well. The real problem is now to find the software, such as type IV cassettes, and to maintain the deck in order to work—it's a little fragile and needs to turn more than one time in a month.

chris's picture

Only transferring cassette tapes to digital (radio transcripts and such), to the extent that they deserve being salvaged. There is a strong case for vinyl in the digital age. There is an even stronger case, albeit a hopeless one, for good 1/4" studio tape. There is none whatsoever for cassettes. Just a fad. And a rather stupid one.

Nathan's picture

I bought a Nak a couple of years ago for $50. Mostly to transfer LPs to tape for my car. I don't drive anymore, so I sold the Nak for $100. I love eBay. If I was into black metal and noise as much as I used to be, I 'd have kept the deck—but I'm not. Cassettes seem very genre specific.

Billy M's picture

I like some tapes better than the CDs, especially rock.

Deepak Ghosh's picture

Hard to find good quality decks beyond the regular fare of Sony, Pioneer, and Onkyo each having one model in the market. Not enough new tape releases either. More are found in Asia.

audio-sleuth@comcast.net's picture

I have several cassette decks. The best one is the Revox. My fave is my Tandberg, when working. The Nak Dragon is okay for playback and the Luxman is the prettiest. I like the Philips because I can defeat the HX Pro. Who needs more compression?

Hans S's picture

MY old trusty Sony ES 679 is at the shop right now, finally getting new belts for this 17-year-old deck.

Tim K's picture

Ick, just what I don't need, another format that I have to support. No thanks.

Nick's picture

Have two tape decks and would still buy a used Tandberg, much like the one in the photo. However, groups that release music on tape strike me as odd, considering how easy it is for musicians to put their music on CD.

C.  Healthgut, M.D., F.A.C.S.'s picture

Although it's been in the repair shop several times since 1983 (mostly for maintenance), my Nakamichi Dragon is still in use in my home studio, and is an indispensable tool in my hi-fi chain.

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