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Tape Trail

Anyone here still using cassette tape decks in their cars?

207.200.116.10

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If so, what brand and models are you using along with Xovers, amps and speakers? I still do and here's my car stereo systems.
In my 95 Thunderbird:
Nakamichi TD-9 Cassette deck (will be installing a Concord CX-70 with Dobly B,C, and DBX)
PPI EQP
PPI 2030 power amp
PPI 2050 power amp
PPI 2075 Power amp
Morel sepaerates
Boston Acoustics 10"woofers
In my 77 Cougar:
Concord HPL525 cassette deck (this deck still sound nice)
PPI EPX-205 2way active xover
PPI 2050 power amp
PPI 2075 power amp
PPI 2150 power amp
all speakers are Boston Acoustics

Follow Ups:

The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - Cougar 12:57:29 09/17/05 (6)
I had one and I thought it was a good deck but now that I have tried a few other cassette decks I don't think its all that, not for the price they were selling at. The Dragon has a terrible sounding headphone section and doesn't recording well at higher volumes because the highs tend to become rolled off and the sound starts to on the warm side. The worst thing about the Dragon is the NAAC and how finicky the transport is, if the NAAC is not up to its best you will have a very hard time setting the calibrations for diferent types/brands of tapes. This is why I sold mune and bought the Luxman K-03, this deck may not have costed as much as the Dragon when it was new but it sure sound alot better than the Dragon and the RX-505 I had and its a breeze to use. The Luxman K-03 can record at higher volumes than the Dragon could without changing the sound (if recorded too high the sound may breakup but not change like the Dragon). I would some day like to try the Nak 6XX series to see how they are.
Anyways what cassette decks do you guys have in your cars?
Steve.
- Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - kawzx7 12:29:55 10/12/05 (0)
  I have a ARX9270/9270R decks in my cars and heaven they are. Last of the Mohicans. However, I am trying to locate at least one Nak 1000-TD, brnad new.
  Chris
- Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - topoxforddoc 13:32:43 09/23/05 (0)
  I just received my Dragon today and plugged it into my system (Tron Meteor tube preamp, Quad IIs, Avantgarde Duo 2.2 Horns) and it sounds bl**dy good to me. It's not far off my analogue vinyl front end (Platine Verdier with battery PSU, Schroeder Model 2 and Allaerts MC1B). I'd forgotten how good cassettes are; I last listened to Naks in the 1980s when I used to sell 58x and 68x decks.
  Charlie
- Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - kingseiko 16:09:50 09/18/05 (3)
  Was your DRAGON an early production one or late production one? There is a big difference among all these DRAGONs. The best are the late production version ( with serial number higher than 28xxx ). I have a middle and a late version DRAGONs as well as a LUXMAN K-04. In my case, the late version DRAGON sounds better than the LUXMAN K-04 but the LUXMAN beats the mid version DRAGONs. Maybe I like the sound of the DRAGON more than the LUXMAN. My other LUXMAN KX-102 with dbx is unbeatable as well !!!
  
  Mike
  - Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - Cougar 16:38:12 09/18/05 (2)
    I can't even answer that because I sold my Dragon and I didn't record the S/N. All I know is the Luxman K-03 sounds way better. I have the Luxman KX-101 and that even came close to the Dragon, and the KX-101 has a better sounding headphone ampstage than Dragon. The Dragons transport is very touchy and is high maintenance. Like I said before once I took of the cover I was like "What!".
    Steve.
    - Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - kingseiko 18:39:22 09/18/05 (1)
      That is interesting. Luxman KX-101 is a 2-heads deck. At the same time I don't use headphone. I play all the music through a stereo system. However, I cannot even say that my KX-102 which is a 3-heads deck with CTS can beat the DRAGONs. Maybe just like what I said before I like the sound of the DRAGON more through a stereo system. I have seen even more complicate transport system than the Nak. No question about the LUXMAN K-04 being a great deck as well.
      
      Mike
      - Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... - Cougar 20:07:58 09/18/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: The Dragon is not all that its suppose to be... posted by kingseiko on September 18, 2005 at 18:39:22:
        
        I listen to my decks through my system also but late at night I can't be cranking it so I use the headphones. My point is for what the Dragon went for new it should at least had a nice Headphone section in it. I have a Nak TD-9 cassette in the car and the Dragon mde good tape and the TD-9 played back OK but the tapes I recorded on the Luxman K-03 sound way better on the TD-9 than the Dragons.
        Steve.
bid and won on a Nak 660ZX recently - docw 17:26:23 09/15/05 (12)
so that my brother can make cassettes for use in his wife's car, a BMW 530i wagon with a Blaupunkt unit, if I am not mistaken.
Have been listening to tapes I made on the Nak in my own Acura TL 3.2 Bose unit to see if the Dolby B and no Dolby works better.
I used tapes and continue to since a lot of spoken material is in that format. My good tapes done on my own Nak are used at home, and continue to sound perfect. No one would know unless I tell them it's a tape.
- Re: bid and won on a Nak 660ZX recently - basfmetal@hotmail.com 09:15:12 09/16/05 (11)
  Nakamichi 660ZX have not monitor !
  It's so bad,but the PB is also excellent
  - you're in PRC, Shanghai - docw 17:30:31 09/16/05 (9)
    I appreciate that you post in English. The 660ZX is very good deck, plays back wonderfully with the infamous 10 Hz low bass limit. The meter on the right is frozen off. Otherwise, the deck is old and needs cleaning. No tape monitoring (like 682ZX) and Dolby B no Dolby C. I think it's a bargain, there is one on ebay US now in mint condition.
    You state in the other post that CR 7 is digital sounding. I have owned a 682ZX for 15 years or so, mint, and it's wonderfully analog sounding. Most of my listening is of my FM broadcasts of the Cleveland Orchestra and some pre recorded tapes. Great deck.
    - Tandberg TCD 310 was as the 440 not as good... - docw 12:41:55 09/17/05 (0)
      I had Aiwa AD-F660, Tandberg 310, (there was a cheap TCD 420 in mint conditon last week on ebay US), Nak 500, Nak 682ZX, Tandberg 9041X Reel to Reel.
      9041X was the best and mine freezes (belt?) and is stored
      Tandberg 310 malfunctioned and sold Sounded great and smooth, not extended in high
      Nak 500 sold not as open and more hiss, worked well overall, and looked very retro
      Aiwa silky smooth, clean and great deck; they had better ones alos, but no longer support the deck, and mine stops in the middle of taping without warning. Stored.
      Nak 660ZX and 682ZX are very good for the price. May not have the ultimate adjustments, but pretty close sonically.
    - Re: you're in PRC, Shanghai - basfmetal@hotmail.com 20:01:34 09/16/05 (7)
      Hi,docw
      Yes,I am in PRC Shanghai,So my english is not well:P,682ZX has monitor,I have one,but now it is out of work,:( ,681ZX is NO tape monitor
      About CR-7,I compare to other nakamichi decks,so get the result of CR-70,just as u,I love 682zx very much,it's analog sounding is wonderful,but now it's sound is abnormal,I think I should change some part!6xx series is one of the nakamichi's great decks,I love it and crazy for it:)
      - Re: you're in PRC, Shanghai - kingseiko 20:34:05 09/16/05 (6)
        
        In Reply to: Re: you're in PRC, Shanghai posted by basfmetal@hotmail.com on September 16, 2005 at 20:01:34:
        
        Hi:
        The 660/670ZX and 680ZX series are both great playback decks from NAK; better than the ZX7/9 and DRAGON in term of dynamic response. These two series may not be that great in recording because both lack the adjustable tape bias level ( although record calibration is adjustable ). It does has automatic record head azimuth adjustment as well. So they miss one out of the three important calibration parameters available for their top models.
        
        Re: you're in PRC, Shanghai - basfmetal@hotmail.com 20:48:57 09/16/05 (5)
        
        In Reply to: Re: you're in PRC, Shanghai posted by kingseiko on September 16, 2005 at 20:34:05:
        
        HI seiko
        Ur name seems like a japanese:),I agree ur viewpoint£¬6XX series is good at playback,better than ZX-9 and Dragon!
        
        Yup...I agree I have the 680ZX and was able to compare it with my friend's ZX7 and Dragon... - millen 21:12:32 09/16/05 (4)
        
        In Reply to: Re: you're in PRC, Shanghai posted by basfmetal@hotmail.com on September 16, 2005 at 20:48:57:
        
        However, I still preferred the 680ZX for its musicality. In addition, what I like about this deck is you can manually calibrate any blank tape to optimize its sound potential.
        BTW, the Tandberg TCD-440A is not far behind.
        
        Re: Yup...I agree I have the 680ZX and was able to compare it with my friend's ZX7 and Dragon... - basfmetal@hotmail.com 21:21:21 09/16/05 (3)
        
        In Reply to: Yup...I agree I have the 680ZX and was able to compare it with my friend's ZX7 and Dragon... posted by millen on September 16, 2005 at 21:12:32:
        
        Hi millen
        PLS talk about Tandberg TCD-440A,I never got Tandberg Cassette Deck
        
        Right now, I have the 680ZX and the Tandberg TCD 440A cassette decks... - millen 22:44:02 09/16/05 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Yup...I agree I have the 680ZX and was able to compare it with my friend's ZX7 and Dragon... posted by basfmetal@hotmail.com on September 16, 2005 at 21:21:21:
        
        including the Revox A-77 and Teac X-10 R2R. To me the Revox is the best of them all 680ZX is close second but the Tandberg is something else all together. The sound is somewhat in between the two but with more organic midrange, that presents a more robust soundstage with somewhat roll-off top end. In other word, it has a warmer presentation than the others of which I valued a lot when listening to older recording in my collections like the one made in the 50’s and the 60’s.
        
        Thanks for millen's reply - basfmetal@hotmail.com 07:07:31 09/17/05 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Right now, I have the 680ZX and the Tandberg TCD 440A cassette decks... posted by millen on September 16, 2005 at 22:44:02:
        
        Millen
        Did u played PIONEER:A9(A9D) DECK?I think u will love it,The deck playback is very good£¬analog sounding£¡£º£©
        
        I have had the Pioneer CTF-1000 and 900... - millen 13:53:15 09/17/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Thanks for millen's reply posted by basfmetal@hotmail.com on September 17, 2005 at 07:07:31:
        
        they sound just fine but not as good as the ones I have now. I’ve never owned the A9, so I can’t comment.
  - Not sure what you mean (nt) - docw 10:04:27 09/16/05 (0)
Yes, me! - Bruno 05:47:14 09/15/05 (0)
That's my only reason to use cassettes at all. Replacment of my Becker system is too complicated: it would involve rewiring everything (all speaker&antenna cables). And also I am quite happy with my Stereo anyway (Becker Grand Prix BE1432, separate trunk receiver amplifier, Rainbow speakers).
Bruno

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