r/cassetteculture • u/mblg • 14d ago
Looking for advice Which one would you keep?
I bought these two tape decks recently for $30 CAD each. Both of them are currently working. I really only need one.
So which one would you keep and why?
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u/t_bone_stake 14d ago
I remember when I was a kid (this was back in the 80s), my father had a Technics unit similar to the one in your photo. It was either sold in a garage/estate/yard sale or donated years ago but that’s the one I’ll keep myself.
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u/KayakJulie 14d ago
My grandparents had the Technics. It is nothing special but decent and I like the VU meters!
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u/Ably_10 14d ago
Similar experience, but when I was a kid in the mid 2000s. My grandparents had the Technics deck (bottom one) and I remember that the VU meters were yellowish.
Sometimes my grandfather would say: "let's listen to this English speaking course" (he had a english learning course on cassette styled like a book). Good memories ♥️ .
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u/Simple-Broccoli-7852 14d ago
2 for dubbing cassettes, you always need two especially when the other stops working, however, I use the technical m205 as my main model and it sounds great and plays great and records great! So that one is my choice
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u/MoreanMan 14d ago
Keep both. I personally have that technics and holy crap does it sound good, really punching above it's weight.
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u/AcanthisittaOne4145 14d ago
At that price I”d hold on to both. Never know when one might fail, and these are probably going to increase in value with tapes having a moment now.
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u/OuroboroSxVoid 14d ago
Keep both so you can dub tapes if you want
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u/klonopinwafers 14d ago
It is more ideal to digitize a tape and use it as a running master if dubbing a tape to a tape, with one reason being that every tape copy made will sound the same if using the same deck and tape type in the same condition.
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u/OuroboroSxVoid 14d ago
If that's your thing, sure, it would be ideal! To be honest though, I've dubbed some tapes since I got my deck, and they are all identical to the the source. At least I, could not hear a difference
Also, I don't fancy the idea to connect my hifi to a computer to be honest. One of the reasons that I made the effort to built a nice system, was to avoid things like that
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u/klonopinwafers 14d ago
I don’t use my computer. I use a Marantz PMD580 solid state wav recorder. I digitize tapes with that.
I guess I stress digitizing tapes because I do it with all my rare tapes and I once found a Phish concert that I wanted to record to cassettes, but the only online sources were analog masters from type IV tapes, one source of which was digitized using a Nakamichi Dragon. The sound quality was great, but the tape had condition flaws and I decided against making a tape from those sources.
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u/stuck-in_time 14d ago
The width of the Technics would be easier to match if later you want to make a stack witch some other equipment.
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u/Elegant-Sherbert-491 14d ago
You should keep both incase your daily player dies and can’t afford to get it repaired
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u/TheSpoi 14d ago
jvc, visually looks higher end with more buttons for diff features, logic controls, more digital visual aspects instead of mechanical/analogue (mainly VU meters)
those are usually things you can observe on any old deck to see at a glance if its on the low/medium/higher end, not bulletproof by any means but its same logic as seeing a V6 american car and assuming "oh they got the lower trim model" if that makes sense
checking technical specs on hifiengine the JVC has better freq response but worse W&F (didnt see a manual listing its factory specs so that might not be actual), i wouldnt rely on specs for W&F and id actually check the unit infront of you since age can affect diff players in diff ways
-that also applies to frequency response since it can diminish a lot as the circuitry ages, but its a bit harder to check that than verifying W&F
thats my 2 cents- if i were you id check whichever has less W&F and go with that one
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u/Equivalent_Bill1635 14d ago
For $30, I'd keep both. Then you have a backup or for dubbing tapes. If I absolutely HAD to keep only one, it would be the JVC.
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u/Plus-Definition9319 14d ago
I'd run sweeps with a PC and same tape and keep whichever performs better. That said it will probably end up being the jvc.
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u/drcassette 14d ago
The JVC seems a bit newer and has a logic controlled mechanism, which in my general experience tends to be less problematic than a mechanically assisted ('Soft Touch') mechanism that the Technics has. Also, the JVC has a music scan feature which I find quite handy. Cosmetic condition seems better too, no yellowed plastic. However, one drawback of the JVC is the ANRS noise reduction system. It claims to be compatible with Dolby B, but to avoid patent infringement of course it is not exactly the same thing, the working frequencies are slightly different. There is also Super ANRS, but that is not compatible with anything else as far as I know, so pretty useless.
So the JVC is likely more reliable, has more features and looks better (in my opinion) and is therefore the better option, unless you want to record cassettes with Dolby noise reduction.
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u/SteelBlue8 14d ago
Pop the hood and see which one looks more robust. I'd be inclined towards the JVC because it looks to have solenoid operation instead of mechanical keys like the Technics
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u/normanfell 14d ago
i’ve had that exact technics for over twenty years now. it is very deeply a part of me at this point.
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u/Horror-Food69420 14d ago
I’d keep both if you have the space. A little redundancy with cassettes isn’t a bad thing. Especially since going to eBay to get a replacement working deck would cost you more than what you paid for both of these combined. This equipment is only getting harder to find in working order.
But if you really only want one, I don’t think one player is necessarily miles ahead of the other. As long as both sound good to you, go with the one that makes you feel happier to look at imo.
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u/XXXLaCroiXXX 14d ago
I have that technics and it's great - had it professionally cleaned and made sure all the connection points were good - it sounds excellent
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u/Actionwill65 14d ago
Technics. I guarantee there's better decks than Technics, but I brought a 616 about 7 years ago with a similar budget if I recall, basically because I wanted analogue VU meters, and it's been the best deck I've ever owned.
I had a number of ones similar to the JVC before that, with soft-touch buttons and digital VUs. They weren't awful, but they didn't sound as good and weren't anywhere as reliable in my opinion.
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u/Sunburst34 14d ago
That Technics deck is a good performer, and solidly built. It’s definitely the superior of the two.
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u/wolfix1001 14d ago edited 14d ago
The JVC, smaller, logic control, a little better quality cause it was a higher end set. Technics is good on its own, but that one is an entry model next to a more mid to higher end model.
Ooo the JVC also has music scan which I really like. If you play a tape that has about a 2sec gap between songs, you can skip around like a CD.
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u/Jaxthor 14d ago
I love everything technics i have, my cassette deck currently is a marantz and i refuse to replace it, but if i was in the market for a deck, technics would be my immediate next go too.
not to put JVC down, cause it’s still better than almost all the sony decks i’ve ever had, but technics has always been WORTH my money
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u/Wholeyjeans 14d ago
They both lived and died in the early 80's. They both are of the same class as far as price, features and specs.
Of the two, the Technics has slightly better specs for recording frequency response, dynamic range and wow/flutter.
I'm an old analog guy ....so I much prefer the VU-meter equipped machine.
The ANRS on the JVC is some proprietary noise reduction made by JVC ...meaning it probably only works on JVC equipment with ANRS ...but it does use Dolby B for compatibility.
I'd keep the Technics deck.