Misconceptions About Vintage Stereos - Part 2

Part 2 of our "Misconceptions About Vintage Stereos" video is here! In this video, Kevin goes over more misconceptions he has heard as a vintage stereo shop owner. He covers misconceptions about who is buying this old gear, recapping, watts, and cassette decks and tapes.
Have you heard anything you'd like us to cover in part 3? Let us know in the comments. It's always interesting to hear from you!
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#vintagehifi #vinylrecords #vintagestereo

[@repro7780]

What I miss about cassettes is making "mix tapes" on my dual cassette deck. Buying "the best" cassettes (CrO2, or whatever the flavor of the day was on sale) and then writing the songs down on that tiny insert. The good ole days!

[@silversubaru590]

i record youtube music on to cassette

[@RUfromthe40s]

@@silversubaru590 i do it with spotify playlists made by me

[@eddiethetruhead]

I’m still making actual cassette mix tapes to this day. Started as a kid in the 80s and I just never stopped.

[@larryg.8123]

0😊😅😊😊

[@raygarafano3633]

A fairly loud hum is likely to be a bad or open electrolytic cap in.power supply after the rectifiers to smoooooth out a.c. ripple. Fudge ripple is good though!

[@ReasonablySane]

I bought a Technics 333 cassetted deck for 60 bucks off Facebook marketplace, and bought a couple of 3D printed gears from a guy in Slavakia for pretty cheap. I still need to grab a cup of coffee and install them, though. It sounds better than my Pioneer CT-F1250. The only reason I'm bothering to fix these two decks is because I picked up hundreds of tapes at estate sales about 15 years ago for free. It's just kinda fun to play a tape every now and then.

[@wwz1011]

Went to a local O'Reilly Auto Parts store last week. The workers were all in their 20s. And what were they listening to? Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon. The music from my youth, mid 1970s, has had incredible lasting power.

[@kaohsiung99]

I've noticed several college-age kids in west Tennessee seem familiar with Pink Floyd!

[@flamencoprof]

I'm over 70yo, have lived thru 45s, LPs, cassettes, and CDs, and I agree with everything you said.

[@1320pass]

It's great to see the youngsters getting into good sound and good music. Tangible things. Enjoying music. Enjoying history. With friends and family face to face.

[@AnthonyStabler]

In the mid-70s I was one of the 1st in my town to have to have a cassette deck to record on. I used it to save my records. The second play of an album was to record it for my car. Most of my record collection have lass than a dozen plays. Now my collection ROCKS! I still have my cassettes & 3 decks that are dying or dead.

[@mudstone6497]

I have the same record collection, although purchased in the 80’s. But my cassette collection still survives today, re-recording over tapes also bought in the 80’s, 90’s and making really sweet sounding tapes (new P3 turntable helps)!

[@brunohebert1351]

Have you tried to open the decks and see how the belts are looking? sometimes it's just the belts that needs replacing. In some cases, it can be done simply and easily, and plenty of tutorials on YT. Worth a shot

[@redunzel77]

I've got an unopened Maxell UR 90 minute tape left.

[@mudstone6497]

@@redunzel77 nice, I have only one 100 minute Maxell with the Maxell/JBL guy on it, plan to tape over it with my new Favs!

[@AUTISTICLYCAN]

The best vintage cassette decks I've had luck with restoring are from the following. Technics M270X, AKAI GX-F31 and Pioneer CT-W850R. The worst vintage tape decks for me have been anything Onkyo. Dude is also right. Almost any 70's vintage cassette deck's belts have turned to sticky black tar like goo in 2024. Cleaning all the parts is a time consuming challenge. Buy the older heavier tape decks because their parts are mostly metal, heavy duty plastic, big transformers, heavy motors and analog or primitive digital VU meters. Get a cassette deck that plays both metal tape types and has Dolby. The more features add you the more things there are to break. Keep your cassette deck Simple!

[@phils7463]

Lol @ the crapola player 😂

[@raygarafano3633]

It spouts manure. Will F up a good album very nicely!

[@raygarafano3633]

Gonna get brown muddy sound,no bright treble.

[@johnchristy4940]

Kevin is so incredibly, consistently spot on with his comments in these videos. If you have interest in vintage, strongly consider his advice.. Thanks

[@skylabsaudio]

Thanks for that!

[@consco3667]

A great thing about a lot of this equipment is it is being recycled and restored for another 40 or 50 or even 60 years of use.

[@mcgjohn22]

good video. While many lust after the big Pioneer or Sansui mega receiver, it is not needed by most. Most folks listen to 3-6 watts on average. Maybe 20 watts if speakers are not too efficient. I remember a few years ago I re-capped a Sansui AU-317 for a friend, cleaned all the posts, reset the bias. Afterwards I measured all those OEM caps and they all still tested good with low ESR. But along the same lines have seen many Sansuis with the famous semi-conductive glue that will eat component leads over time. also agree the young kids are really getting into vinyl and record platers/turntables which is really great to see.

[@markanderson350]

I worked at a radio shack at 16. This was 1976, receivers went from 3 watts per channel to 150 then. I wired them all to a switcher and speakers to another. I used to put the 3 watt receiver on the mach 1s and it sounded fine. The best was maybe 40 to 75 watts, you got decent features, decent sound and a decent tuner. Tape decks, made a huge difference what you spent for making good recordings but not so much for playback. We had a nice dolby 8 track machine that did a fine job of making tapes better than pre recorded.

[@bryanlawrence6234]

My TEAC V-500X cassette deck that I bought new in 1983 has never been serviced professionally, still runs nearly flawlessly and recordings I made on it back then still sound as good as the day I made them. Especially the ones using the dbx noise reduction.

[@jeffbranch8072]

YES Kevin! WATTS: I have 2 x 15W in a 1974 Pioneer SX-434. It was given to me in 1979 when I was 14. Only recently did I learn that it's actually an entry level receiver and low power. I never knew that and never cared, I've always loved it. It has a great FM tuner, good sound, and PLENTY LOUD for me. I rarely turn the volume up to 1/3 of its travel, and in our 1800 sq. ft. 1.5 storey house I can clearly hear it around most of the house. And it's never been recapped. LOL!

[@jeffbranch8072]

Also, by staying at the lower end like this I can buy other brands to try - Sansui, Harman/Kardon, etc. - without spending the really big bucks. I can buy several lower powered receivers for the price of a single monster receiver or any Marantz.

[@kaohsiung99]

Those are 15 clean watts!

[@raygarafano3633]

Get an ADC 5 band Equalizer for it, put it in tape loop and hook Eq to a,CD player .

[@tomday7309]

I gave a lot of my 1960's and '70's vinyl to my son who also got my Dynaco A25 speakers and Dual 109 turntable. He had a digital setup to process the records and create digital files that he then could easily transport and replay anywhere with Blutooth. I kept the Pioneer SX424 that was the heart of the system in the 1970's because it had lost the left channel. I recently had it repaired for a couple hundred bucks (power circuit issue) and bought a cheap pair of small speakers that sound fine for my office room. I saw all the "recapping" stuff online, but found a technician who works on all the classic stuff locally and had him tell me what the issue was. It's back in service pumping its 13 watts per channel through those speakers that are a better match than the monsters I built back in the '70's when components were readily available and fairly inexpensive. Then I heard a set of Bose 901's at the local HiFi store hooked to a hefty Marantz amp and ......oh well.

[@secondaryunit]

I have played around with many solid state amps and receivers from the 70s. I am 44 and was born after most of the equipment I own was made. Glad to hear younger people are getting involved too.

[@waynepatrick1646]

So true, high efficiency speakers with medium wattage amps are the answer

[@davidvanderwood9649]

look forward to these video's every Sunday

[@robertwright5487]

My granddaughter has turned to vinyl. I got her a set of Jamo bookshelf speakers and an AM FM Sony stero receiver non vintage. Her other grandparents got her an Audio Technica direct drive turn table. She's a bass player in a rock band. When she graduates I am planing on getting her nice vintage receiver and speakers. Pioneer is dear to my heart, but I am leaning towards Harman Karden.

[@e28forever30]

Kardon

[@scanman84]

I love my cassette decks. All 12 of them. I just recently purchased a few cassette lots on ebay. About 100 prerecorded in total. Only 3 of them have issues. Some sound better than my vinyl. Some not so much. There is just something about physical media that I love. I like the technical side of making recordings. It really tunes your ears into getting the best sound on them. Vintage is the BEST hobby. FYI- love your videos and your store!

[@Reflectiveness]

I purchase blank cassettes so that I can record and play an entire album without getting up and flipping the vinyl. For instance, when playing music while cleaning the house, or perhaps taking a shower. The problem is the restoration of cassette decks, where, unless you're an expert with knowledge and equipment, it's best left to someone who is. Lastly, a vintage cassette deck worth spending hundreds of dollars to restore is best being a three head deck, which by itself will cost a minimum of between $400 and $4,000 depending on make, model and condition. Great videos.

[@mikecampbell5856]

I have a 1936 Silvertone radio that belonged to my grand parents. It has all original components and sounds pretty good. 3 watts output!

[@raygarafano3633]

Way to go! It's funny I have vintage pioneer and a 1929 RCA Radiola 60, it looks like a casket and is referred to as casket style radio ,has a 71A tube for audio amp 2or 3 watts.

[@originalbluebuddha]

My daughter is a freshman in high school. She's very into vintage audio & vinyl, so I've set her up with a an old early 70's Sansui system. Unfortunately, she loves the 80's hair bands, so that's where our common interests vastly diverge. I'd also dispute your take on cassettes, based on my experience with her and some of her friends with similar interests. As far as I can tell, the resurgence in interest around cassettes is almost entirely due to Stranger Things, but it's definitely real. They're in the thrift stores every single weekend looking for the next score. Staying power has yet to be seen, though.

[@mcaddie7]

So as someone who is an engineer, I think you’re 50% right about the recapping (I also fix old electronics). Capacitors are used to keep voltages stable, along with a slew of other things. For the most part, in a steady state circuit they are about the only things (or the quickest) things to degrade. Thus your transistors / resistors aren’t going to be receiving the correct voltages (albeit too much or too little) which causing strain on those components. It’s always good to recap old equipment, as it may just keep some really rare or irreplaceable transistors from needing to be repaired that much longer (looking at you, Dual 701 rare transistors).

[@raygarafano3633]

Bad lectrolytic for power supply will either open giving hum or if shorted, blow fuse or burn out x- frmr

[@thomaskendall452]

Another excellent and perceptive video, Kevin! I view recapping vintage electronics as prophylactic, akin to putting new tires and changing the oil and filter on a 40-year-old barn-find car. Back in the days of tube gear, you almost had to change out caps and resistors every few years - heat and cruddy parts (by today's standards) guaranteed using such a strategy. Caps are engineered to last only a certain period of time, after which they can fail, and sometimes they can take out other components when they call it a life. On the other hand, if a component is functioning properly, I regard recapping as a low-priority project. Occasionally, you note a slight improvement in the sound, but by no means always. On the other hand, recapping the crossovers in speakers more than 30 years old very often results in significantly improved sound, in my experience. Speaker manufacturers have forever regarded the crossover as the first place on which to cheap out. Just my experience . . . YMMV.

[@raygarafano3633]

Well yeah,they want to make a profit and using the best caps n coils for a few thousand pairs of spkrs...they see as lost revenue.

[@flamencoprof]

Woh! I am still using some old Tannoy speakers from the early 90s, so maybe thirty years old. I forgot about the crossover caps. I will have to check them. Not that my ears are as good as they used to be, but who wants to blow your tweeters with full bass?

[@Rickmakes]

I stopped by with my pre-teen last Friday. I got a pair of Mirage Omni 250 tower speakers for my more modern stereo. I don't think they would have been a good match for a vintage receiver but they are right in line with what I was looking for. They are a big upgrade over my tiny surround speakers I was using. I also let my kid pick out a cassette. He choose a Deep Purple live album. We only have a player in my old SUV. I told him the player might eat the tape but that it would just be part of the cassette experience. 🤣 The tape is working great and he loves listening to it.

[@skylabsaudio]

Glad to hear! Thanks for the business!

[@karaDee2363]

Geez Kevin, you did it again, you nailed it, on all points with the honest truth.. totally agree with everything you said, except I personally would love to see cassettes come back. I've been on a quest lately buying cassettes in mint like new condition for my vintage Teac cassette player. Which cassette tapes on a good system can sound amazing . And totally agree about the wattage thing,. I have a Pioneer 780, puts out 45 Watts but if I crank it up to 10 watts, it's far too loud for regular listening

[@edwardbagu1252]

Lol, I guess now I know why I can no longer buy cassette tapes for cheap. You are part of the competition hehehe.... Yeah, tapes are steadily rising in price and good ones are becoming harder to find.

[@skylabsaudio]

I would love to see cassettes come back as well. I just don't think it's in the cards. A cassette in great condition played on a nice deck is a lot of fun - I agree 💯

[@karaDee2363]

​@@edwardbagu1252are you buying cassette tapes to horde, or to play and enjoy.? I'm buying them to play and enjoy,.. after I die you can have them them for cheap..lol

[@2954sf]

Kevin, l’m still rock’in to my mix and best of cassettes that I made in the 70’s and 80’s on my TEAC V-530X

[@brianmcgrane3046]

You're totally right about the Recapping. My old Trio amp was noisey and the fault was early stage transistor in the power amp. section.

[@thomaskendall452]

It's almost as if Trio/Kenwood guessed wrong on their choice of transistors in the early to mid 1970's.

[@raygarafano3633]

Recapping electrolytic caps in power supply is good if u have ' hum' good caps will get rid of the a.c. ripple.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

Kevin, you're right on the money with your comments about wattage and speaker efficiency. Thanks again for another Sunday morning fun one.

[@brianalcorn680]

My personal experience supports this so much!

[@acrossthedial]

The thrift stores in my area are now selling cassettes, 8 tracks and VHS tapes. As a tech I have seen an uptick in cassette deck service in the last 4 years. It seems to be mainly 20 somethings driving this resurgence.

[@phildirt3]

You know their are lots of people that don’t even know that these treasures are even around anymore. So thanks for this channel

[@bacarandii]

Thank you. I feel better now. About ten years ago I started noticing an online obsession with "re-capping" on audio tech sites and ebay ("Newly re-capped!"). To my knowledge, I have never had a piece of vintage equipment stop functioning properly because of a capacitor failure, but I'm not a repair technician. Deoxit (and similar cleaning/lubricating products) can be great for dirty electrical connections, scratchy pots or freeing up sticky knobs, but it's kind of like washing and vacuuming your car. If the engine isn't working, that's probably not going to help much. P.S. About the watts: Speakers today can be extremely efficient and pack a lot of punch into a relatively small box. Although I have some vintage Wharfedale, Infinity, Advent, Spica speakers, I mostly listen to my vintage amps and receivers through newer speakers from Monitor Audio, KEF, Klipsch, Focal and Triangle -- all of which have their own distinctive "company sounds," which can really bring the older equipment to life.

[@LouMontana-wc7nr]

Three years selling vintage audio at the Trading Post here in Pueblo Colorado. I watch your programs ad inspiration and technical advice.

[@HoneyWindbutton]

Yay a new vid from Kevin. Love the channel. Definitely gonna be a fun one!

[@edholmwood2263]

Great video. Thanks so much Kevin.

[@mitchmitchell9588]

Thoughtful opinions. Thanks Kevin!

[@user-di8yv4tc7k]

Wow just wow, been in this hobby for a decade now, best compilation of truths ever!

[@stepheneson4107]

Good video as always! A couple of comments: 1) Sony, more than anyone, recognized the portability benefits of cassettes with the development of their Walkman lineup. It's amazing how their market dominance in the category made them blind to their vulnerabilities-- in a matter of a few years the entire franchise evaporated with the onslaught of the iPod. 2) Your comments about unnecessary wattage are spot-on. Unfortunately it's a reality that higher-powered amps and receivers also have more functionality-- more tone controls, more inputs, more outputs, more metering etc. It was rare to find a model that had all the bells & whistles with only modest power output.

[@joen2423]

Always love your videos, considering moving close to your shop so I can be a regular 🤣 I am putting an era-correct cassette deck in my 82 Toyota, so I have to have some sweet tapes!

[@crisquimicafacil1886]

Congratulations for your comments! Always very sensible and respectible!

[@linkpoison5511]

Thanks for sharing. Have a great week!!

[@skylabsaudio]

Thank you! You too!

[@sabrowenie]

Great video as always. I “fixed’ a Nakamichi 2Bx a few years ago to play my 1980’s tape collection. Reveled in the glory of those TDK SA tapes for about a week. Now it’s in the rack mostly to keep the CD player at a more convenient height.

[@fritzsmith7794]

I enjoy this channel. I work at a non profit that receives vintage stereo speakers and amps and other gear so nice to know what the trends are (and what may carry more value). Thanks Kevin.

[@WireHedd]

Just finished rebelting and replacing one of the capstans in my HK TD302 and it sounds glorious again. Another great video Kevin, thanks.

[@consco3667]

More great info Kevin! Love the Technician in a can 😂

[@jcm78]

I had a Pioneer 9191 cassette deck in high school in the mid 90s. It was a hand me down from my brother. All my friends loved the look of it with the front loading function and the pull down curved cover. I wish I had kept all of the gear that he gave me. I’m just now getting reacquainted with vintage equipment. Trying to figure out what I want. I know for sure a 9191 will be part of my setup. Great channel and content. Thank you.

[@mrshovelhead5096]

I’m big into tattoos and appreciate yours haha nice

[@gaineyjohnson6628]

Good one as usual. Love my cassette deck. I would not wish it on my worst enemy and have worked on it constantly. You have to be a little crazy and a little deaf to want to get a vintage deck and keep it running. You are right, they are never coming back. Total nostalgia trip and fun to tinker with but not practical. If you enjoy yours rock it!

[@edwardbagu1252]

Kevin, on cassettes, there is more than meets the eye; despite all the trouble fixing tape decks, the low quality of the media, and troubles with magnetized tapes...you name it!!! they continue to rise in price that says something. Four years ago, I bought cassettes from thrift stores out of nostalgia for just 25 cents and, in some cases, got them for free, but today you will be lucky to pay 55 cents to 1 dollar for one good quality tape. It was reminiscent of when I started collecting vinyl in 2005, when I paid less than 25 cents for a vinyl record and that price held up for 6 to 7 years. Today, I hear the same thing about 8 tracks, for which I pay 25 cents or less, and some think I am nuts. Yes, 8 tracks are so annoying; the sponges degenerate, the tapes flake or break, they are harder to fix, and the sound quality is worse than cassette tapes, but I am paying less than 25 cents or less for music I like. Oh, by the way, I have a decent 8-track player that makes the tracks sound great to my ears. KZbin has raised a lot of interest in many vintage aspects, some of which you or I may not relate to. I have been around too long, lol. Today, I regret never having collected reel-to-reel tapes, those things go for a premium...

[@Ruinwyn]

The younger generations have noticed the trouble with streaming. It makes it hard to connect with the music and you don't own anything. Even with digital download, you own it, but can't hold it. Vinyl is great, but it is expensive format. They are putting out a lot of cassettes in UK and Europe in general. There is French and British tape stock manufacturing going on, and the stock is pretty good. It's definitely not just nostalgia. Vinyl is getting priced out of many people's budget, especially youth's. Both the records and turntables. I think older people miss how significant it can be to the youth to see the physical action connected to the reproduction of music. The portable players are like the suitcase turntables, first thing someone can afford to buy. The decks are a thing few companies are looking into, but it needs enough people on that first step ready to upgrade to be viable.

[@HudsonValleyHiFI]

These videos are great and you are spot on!

[@skylabsaudio]

Glad you like them!

[@cmkilcullen8176]

I agree with you on your point of how much the younger generations are involved now in Vintage audio; especially the media of lps. The apparent perception of older men and women yielding the benefits of this renaissance are suggestively if not deliberately credited with this movement. They may have contributed to some of the momentum, but I do not believe they (we) launched this. I am older than 55. My daughter who is now in her early 30's began borrowing my dust collecting lps when she was in high school. At that time she and her friends were looking into buying record players. You would think it was the baby boomers that brought this all back. I am not so sure that this accurate though perceived. I am grateful for the return of the wax to those of my daughters generation because it has contributed to some fun in this phase of my life. And yes, I have even purchased a dual cassette deck (vintage) so that I can play my mixes!

[@AnchorTH]

Every single cassette deck made these days uses the same cheap mechanism made in China, even that expensive Tascam.

[@LakeNipissing]

They also don't offer Dolby noise reduction, because Dolby is apparently no longer licensing the technology for cassette deck manufacturers anymore. I would recommend getting a well built, fully featured late 1970s to late 1980s cassette deck in decent cosmetic condition, without being severely damaged or missing parts, and spending the money to have the "soft" parts replaced, and the machine fully cleaned and aligned. Far better than anything built today.

[@Pluralofvinylisvinyls]

Literally every one of them? I’d likes a decent cassette deck but even the vintage ones I have I think are junk.

[@adaboy4z]

Find a good vintage deck (Nakamichi, Yamaha, Technics), and put in the work to restore it. It's not hard. I've restored 5 with no prior experience.

[@CatsEatNomNom]

Mostly cause cassettes in general are terrible

[@Pluralofvinylisvinyls]

@@CatsEatNomNom they sound good on good systems

[@davewallace8219]

Great video!

[@kevinomura5251]

Thanks for a great episode Kevin! Spot on with the comments about capacitors, when electronic flash first came out people were told to use them regularly as the capacitors would degrade otherwise. It was called reforming the capacitor and for some reason I never hear that being talked about, always the battle cry of replace the capacitors! I think it's much better to use your stereo equipment regularly in order to keep those pesky capacitors happy.

[@alexw890]

They have a lifespan regardless of their ‘happiness’. And it ain’t longer than 50 years.

[@hjalmarfossi5728]

Definitely gonna be a fun one

[@Robert-hs8yf]

Some of those cassette decks are sweet eye candy. Love to have it on display with other vintage components. Do I use it much? Nope… but damn it looks good.

[@ice_cream_city]

This guy knows what he is talking about. Please pay attention!!!! Of course, I know people have their opinions, some of which are formed from first-hand experience, but then there are those that listen to other people who have an ax to grind. (My background: I went to school to learn about audio engineering, consumer electronics, music biz, etc. I have a degree and real world experience, because I was an actual studio engineer at 2 studios. In Nashvegas. We had the first SSL board with computer mixdown capabilities in town.) When it comes to consumer electronics, Kevin knows his shit. When he talks about WATTS, then he is right. You don't need more than 30 watts for your average room. I had a 15 watt system that would have gotten me kicked out of my apartment if I really turned it up. And it is all about high-efficiency speakers, as Kevin says. That is another thing I learned in school. That is one of the most important things when it comes to evaluating speakers, besides how they sound to you. High efficiency speakers use LESS watts to make their sound. So it seems like the people who want HIGH wattage amps are just like those who buy expensive sports cars......to make up for what they are lacking in certain areas. DON'T GET MAD! YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE! lol. Anyway, cassettes are a thing of the past. I had some friends who were releasing their albums on cassette, and I was thinking..........why? It's a trend in house/techno/chill music. Let's just leave cassettes in the past, where they belong, alongside 8-tracks. Unless you have a Nakamichi Dragon, then let's forget about cassettes once and for all! GARBAGE! *we had a Nakamichi cassette deck in one of the studios I worked at. You could align the heads, and it would make almost perfect copies of master tapes. But when was the last time you had access to master recordings? I don't care what you think of me, because it doesn't matter. But you should listen to KEVIN..........he is usually right. 'Nuff said

[@jrc3547]

Right on! My first amp was 2 home built tube 8 watt mono blocks in the mid 60s. Then to a LA 750, then a bit later a Kenwood 9340 40 W x4 and 4 Bose 501s. Sounded great and blew the house down. Every one of those had good sound in my humble opinion. Now I listen with various amps my favorites being Marantz 1200 and HK Citation receiver. Cassette decks need TLC still have a few left the best is a Technics RS M75. I sold the RS M95 which was a great machine.

[@whosonedphone]

This guy knows his stuff man!

[@erickrohn88]

Great video Kevin. Two things that have stayed with me since our last conversation when I thought I needed a new amp (I thought I was needing a new amp which actually ended up being the cable). 1. you mentioned that my amp was probably a Class B and 2. the difference in how wattage was measured from vintage amps in comparison to more modern day amps. If you haven't already done a video on these topics I would love to hear this explained in greater detail. I am sure I will need a new amp at some point (actually I am considering buying a vintage amp to see if I can tell the difference) so understanding more of what is the difference of the Class B vs Class A and the wattage comparison I would find very interesting. I have an 85 watt per channel Denon (purchased 2009). I do love to listen to music but am very much a novice when it comes to understanding the picking and matching of components.

[@aaronjones394]

Good information like always, FYI I asked you about loose bearings on a Sansui SR 929 turntable, my technician was able to fix the loose arm, there are adjustments for the arm. thanks again for the information.

[@dosstodd8014]

I purchased my H/K CD-301 cassette deck new somewhere around 1980. Makes a little bit of motor noise and the counter stops at zero on rewind. With metal tape and Dolby C, the sound is so close to the cd you can barely tell the difference. It’s a beautiful piece of equipment.

[@CapitalJeffDC]

My first component system was built around a Lafayette LR-810 receiver in 1972. 25wpc. Amazing little unit! Stayed with my partner when I moved east. It was finally done in by a burst pipe in the 1989 earthquake. When I arrived in NYC, wasn't sure if I'd be staying long so bought a used Pio SX-424 rig. Only 15wpc but outstanding sound. Upgraded to 1010 as a present to myself for my first Father's Day. It was mighty impressive but I never played it very loud. I doubt I ever drove it past 20 watts. My rig for the last 10 years is an SX-737 (35wpc). I think it's the best sounding unit I've had. It brings out details that I had never heard from albums I know well going back to the 60s; even can make many CDs (which didn't exist for another decade) sound so much more appealing. The experience listening to a lot of program on this setup is "they are here" versus "you are there" especially for jazz, classical, and rock before digital recording.

[@bmboldt]

I have recapped three receivers for myself. One of them fixed a hum I was having in the tone board. I have found some leaking caps doing this that I didn't notice until the cap was removed. I would never pay someone to do a total recap. If you know what you are doing then go ahead and do it yourself. Otherwise, buy something that is new or already restored.

[@philnaumann]

I would like to add though...successfully repairing a nice vintage cassette deck is incredibly rewarding (and addictive), I'm the proud owner of 3 different working cassette decks from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Each of them needed all new belts and some careful lubrication to get to 100%, but in the end, I'd take any (well at least the first two) over most record players, they just sound incredible! (Oh I also am the proud owner of a DCC deck that I repaired, also rather difficult, but equally rewarding!)

[@ripjones5294]

Cassettes ??!! Man, 8-Tracks are where it's at !! I actually do still have my JVC Cassette Deck in my entertainment center. Also, my JVC AV-Receiver too. Believe it or not, I even still have an old TEAC (?) 8-Track Recorder/Player up in the attic somewhere. Those were the good old days. Pioneer cassette/AM/FM deck in my Oldsmobile Cutlass. Damn.... Getting back to what you were saying, I am currently enjoying the fact that my niece and her husband are enjoying having hooked up my Technics SA-500 to her departed Dad's old Bose 501s. Yes, another fun one. Take care...Rip

[@RandySmith-iz1ml]

Great videos Kevin, keep up the great work of educating people on the equipment and actual history of music, when music was real & touched your soul. Even is manufacturers do start making better decks, the tapes themselves need to be improved as in being able to maintain their quality sound for more than a decade or more as over time they lose their ability to hold their magnetism. Albums & CD's don't really lose the quality of sound if taken care of.

[@davidbartochowski7832]

I have an advent 8300 receiver and a pioneer SX 590 both totally rebuilt that were great with their 15 and 20 watts respectively into some very efficient Klipsch speakers

[@MTXSHO9732vV8SHO]

I started DJing in '84 and got my 1st Stereo System in '83. I actually gave away some great 2 channel stuff about 15 years ago TEAC A-1250 and A-4010, Sansui 3 ways w/12” woofers, Panasonic "Thrusters" w/10" woofers with updated polypropylene drivers in both ports per enclosure, Pioneer Reverb and that cool, Auto Reverse Pioneer Deck that came with that integrated amp and tinder. I bought the huge "Battleship" Receiver that pulled so much current the lights in the house would blink at full volume. I gave all that stuff to my friend, Jose (may he rest in peace). You're giving sound advice. I got my mobile DJing with a 25w/channel, Sony STRX-250 something or another receiver my Mother bought me in the 10th grade for quite a while. Like Julian Hirsch said in High Fidelity Magazine, "spend your money on good sounding, efficient speakers". I've had a set of BookshelfvKEF's for 35 years now. Solid as a Rock

[@ddd2184]

I have to say I do enjoy your channel..

[@brianalcorn680]

I’ve been binging for a few months. I bought a serviced Sansui 6060 in December that miraculously made it through a FedEx trip. Regarding the “watts” argument, I paired this receiver with some Klipsch R610-F speakers that have a 94db sensitivity. I have a great room with 25ft high peak, and have NEVER gone over 50% volume. This setup really delivers with loudness kicked on at low volumes. So I can attest to the lesser wattage need in most residential settings. Though I think I’d like to upgrade to a 7070 or 8080 just because of a few extra cosmetics and what not, sonically I’m really happy with what I have right now.

[@rogeralan6260]

Good morning, Kevin. You have my attention, again... I have a lot of cassettes and a Technics RS-T130 player that I don't use anymore (works fine, though). I like your idea of using a "walkman" style player with headphones. Can you recommend a portable player for that purpose? Is the "We Are Rewind" player you use in the video something you would recommend? As always, you're right on the mark. Thanks for your help. RG

[@2wrdr]

I agree cassettes are probably done. In the late seventies early eighties cassettes served dual purposes, 1 to preserve albums by cleaning brand new album, record album to high end blank cassettes, store the album in upgraded sleeves and never play them again unless a cassette failed. 2 cassettes at the time where the best thing going in car audio. Today you can always digitally record an album to protect them. Also at least back in the day store bought prerecorded cassettes sucked compared to making your own on high end cassettes.

[@quiksr20]

Love seeing more get into the hobby, I sometimes have friends come over for records n beers and some have started collecting vinyl and 2-3 now have vintage setups ive put together for them... As far as the recapping, Yeah people use that term way too much.. Always repair first or you may have a much harder time after youve messed with tons of other solder joints. Caps are usually the last part to catastrophically fail.

[@thomasburns1846]

Of all the vintage amps and receivers I have had repaired over the years, only once was the problem caused by a bad cap. It was a Pioneer SX-1010 receiver. A cap on the power supply board was bad that supplied power to the protection circuit.

[@HarriGary1]

I picked up an old Panasonic boom box from my neighbors yard sale last summer. It has a cassette deck and my wife still has all her old cassettes from the early nineties. It was pretty cool for a our three songs for old times sake. But the bombing has a full compliment of inputs and I had a spare wiim mini and an smsl su1. That's now my kitchen streaming setup.

[@sampsonpaul73]

thanks Kevin, that was a great presentation. Couple of things I'd like to touch on. Wattage, back in early 70's I ran a Kenwood receiver (forget the model... about 30 watts a channel) into a pair of Bose 301. I had picked up a watt meter to put in line and it indicated listening wattage. At 1 watt it was a comfortable level and the receiver was only turned up maybe 20%. Now I have a Sansui system with a much greater wattage and when I turn the system up to 1 watts listening the sound is fuller .... I'm going to contribute that to the speaker sq inches of speaker diameter giving me more presence without being any louder, it's moving more air volume! Cassettes, problem with cassettes is that they are a magnetic recording device that looses it's potential volume over time due to the diminishing magnetic signature. That's where i use my Equalizer to either recreate another tape boosting where needed or to adjust to compensate. Albums, especially album art! I have a huge digital music library and one of the things I do is go out and find the best possible album cover art to use with that music format. I play my music through my laptop and present the visual on my 60 inch TV and run the audio through my stereo. But that still is not the best, you can't beat the in hand album cover especially all the other features that come with the album. I've got a small album library running about 650-700 albums where as I have just over 3600 digital albums.

[@Mikexception]

You support another mitology. Cassettes and reel tape do not loose anything. I use tapes recorded in seventies and they all sound never worse then actual made recordings i do on my state of art R2R and casettes deck. . I have recordings on magnetic tape form radio in 1975 and compare to actual made by me usinfg the same LP and on Bang Olufsen Beogram and guess? The recorded in 1975 tapes sound more realistic - probably due better radio studio equipment . That has also support in science about magnetization. What people observe is usualy result of dirt which stick to tape surface or much wear of heads. By the way - scientist some 30 years ago proven that magnetic tape signal should last in normal condition at least 500 years. Do you always precisely align head azimuth to posessed old tapes?

[@michaelduffee6402]

I recently found a really good sounding Rotel RD-9608X cassette deck that has been serviced. My old deck was out of specks and cost prohibitive to repair. It actually sounds surprisingly good.

[@gregbates2844]

Great video, Kevin. Love the Donny and Marie player. I think all of us of a certain age had something very similar. :)

[@skylabsaudio]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@raygarafano3633]

The SounDesign with Tt on top and wicked El cheapo spkrs could ruin a new album fairly quickly. Once I Saw a stereo Tt and heard how great it sounded with an SX850 and 3-ways, I hooked that sounDesign to the stove circuit an fryed it, a ruger rifle took out the spkrs an I headed for Tech HiFi

[@ChevyJay283]

Okay, I am that person that still has the equipment I purchased in junior high. I bought my Pioneer SX-434 49 year ago. I listened to it today. Not new to the hobby, it has been a part of my life since I was 13. Yes, at 15 watts RMS, it is plenty loud and it sounds great.

[@TSUTENKAKU007]

I fully agree with everything you said. Like 15 watt Marantz 2215b sounds very good to my ear. In regards to cassette deck, one of the easiest to maintain running is I think the Teac 450. It has just one belt and very easy to change took me like few minutes.

[@kafkaian]

I enjoy this channel (recently discovered) as one of the least pompous and more straight talking, yet informative and knowledgeable, channels out there. Well done. Regarding cassette decks, I recently bought a couple of Pioneers; a CT-300 and a CT-400. These are from the late 70s of the silver-fronted-blue-fluoroscan range, which I'm nostalgic for because my father used to have this range (RIP Dad x). I have absolutely no expectations for the reliability of these going forward, but knowing this, recently decided to to do some hacking with the circuitry by introducing a bluetooth bypass (via a rear switch) so that I have the best of both worlds; and if the cassette component becomes pointlessly unreliable, at least I have a modern bluetooth hookup. I've do this before with other vintage HiFi to varying degrees of success and if done sensitively, I think this is a good way of ensuring vintage integrity whilst having a certain amount usable redundancy to fall back on. Once again, great channel Ian, Birmingham, UK

[@ScottHerren]

I just finished my system I’ve got a sansui au 700 as the amp .onyko cd player .a sansui equalizer .and a Sony turntable.for speakers I’ve got a set of wharfdale e 90s and a set of wharfdale e70s then a set of bmx halfstacks finished by a set of peavey half stack speakers this is more than I ever expected .it is amazingly clear and the bass will rumble your soul .every person that’s heard it says it’s the best sound stereo they have ever heard the receiver made the difference it’s a amazing system all old school and perfectly matched.can’t believe it’s in my living room

[@madmolf]

Happy to see another Sansui person! I love the look of the AU-700 ! I got two systems running on Sensui Amps, the one I'm listening to this video on is the AU-317 II and the kitchen one is the AU-D33. I just love the looks and sounds coming out from Sansui amps. Have fun!

[@ScottHerren]

So I’ve been chasing a sansui 33000 for a minute and I believe I’ve landed it I’ll know for sure in couple days it’s pricy but worth it I believe

[@foreveryoung8097]

I really think you’re right when you say that younger people are getting into it. I follow Geraldine Hifi both on youtube and Instagram where she has a huge following and I love to see how passionate she is about all types of hifi. Lately she being showing a lot of cassettes videos and some of those have millions of views!

[@Derdedering]

Another fun one 👍 Let's see some low power classics or sleepers paired up to some speakers in your shop !!!

[@scottprice8994]

I was worried for a second that it was not going to be a fun one. Ha ha

[@brianalcorn680]

I second this. Show us some low power units with reasonably high efficiency speakers. Although it’s probably hard to get the feel through KZbin.

[@Erichhh]

A good (well-adjusted) Nakamichi or H-K deck and TDK SA or SA-X cassettes from the 1980s will still make tapes from LPs that are indistinguishable from the source.

[@ibleebinU]

The Crapola turntable is hilarious!

[@jasonwilliams6005]

I have and use two JVC cassette decks all the time and collect cassettes. I have hundreds. I still love them and they sound great in most cases. And i record them too. I wish there were decent new decks.

[@CatsEatNomNom]

Very true about the cassette decks. I had a nice brand new Sony deck with Dolby S noise reduction, some 25 years ago. Used it lots and enjoyed it. But once I could burn CDs on the computer it got used less and less. After digging it out after years of sitting the belts have turned to mush. Looks complicated inside there but I shall have to attempt to fix it some time.

[@dtracy03ss]

In All Seriousness, is there anyway to see what Cassettes you have available, I have a Pioneer Elite CT-A9X Deck and am Always on the Lookout for great Condition 80s and 90s Cassettes. Great Video by the way

[@MostlyBuicks]

I had a couple of great NAK cassette decks back when. I NEVER owned a pre--recorded tape. But I made tons of mix tapes off my LP collection then. Now I make mix CDs on my Tascam CD-RW900SL.

[@raygarafano3633]

HELLO Kev, I read a big article on 'Gear Patrol' that records sold more than cd's last year. I.know that after I got a new stylus in my 1980 Toshiba SR- A200 Tt I spent about 400$ in the last 6 months. With a Pioneer F2121 Im.putting records on Tape. It is nice to check out thrift n antique shops for records.

[@Notawhitchhunt]

I like what you said about wattage. Our first house stereo Rotel 7.5 watts sounded great. Pioneer relievers in the seventies 45 watts very loud very good

[@raygarafano3633]

Good spkrs with 15 watts will give u a lot of good sound. I picked up a sweep pioneer sx650 35w a channel. Hooked to my big-ass magnavox 3-ways I was surprised about how much sound I could get at half volume 17.5 watts

[@raygarafano3633]

Sweet sx650

[@animalcorvair]

i am 71 i have lots of old vintage radios lots of cbs that are 40- 50 years old an still have the same caps an my kids buy vintage stereo stuff so this baby boomer has past down whats good to them me just rebuilt 39p cv speakers an got my akia 635d reel to reel back on line to a sta 2000 why i like your vids you are right on keep it up...

[@Carl-bd1rf]

My daughter had to have my Yamaha 2020 receiver. She uses it all the time and loves the classic stuff

[@michaeldickson9876]

CTF-9191 and SX-1250 my daily drivers.

[@hippydippy]

As someone who's made "mix cassette tapes" for years & years, a cassette deck is essential. I probably have over 2000 mix tapes on the best tapes possible & play them on a nice Tascam deck. Brings back lots of memories. Good & Bad.

[@raygarafano3633]

Yup, albums are a freakin blast, since I got my Tt up n running, I think I spent half a grand on records, and that started in November 23.

[@j.patrickmoore9137]

My first stereo was a Sony reel to reel machine. Excellent sound at 7.5 ips, okay at 3.75 ips and mediocre at 1 7/8. The biggest weakness with the cassette format was the slow speed. The good news is that it pushed research to make the format better - Dolby noise reduction really helped, and development of different tape formulations added to the improvement. I wouldn't quite call cassettes really high fidelity, but an excellent choice for car stereos where the car noise is going to mask the tape hiss (perhaps not in an electric car?). Interesting trivia, the original Sony Walkman came with two headphone jacks, the concept was walking together and listening to the same music. That lasted exactly one model, all subsequent models only had one headphone jack. If you want to listen to cassettes on your stereo, get an adapter that has a headphone jack on one end and RCA jacks on the other, and use either a tape input or an auxiliary input. The same adapter will also allow you to use an old smartphone as a music streamer.

[@aronslegogbcs1057]

i think buying a vintage cassette deck and fixing it up is part of the fun, as someone who does cassette deck repairs, you can find some good entry level decks from the late 80s early 90s that are very easy to service for example, the teac v250 or w350 are great beginers decks that sounds really good and are super easy to service.

[@John-N-541-ym7dx]

Found a pair of phase IV 301,s to replace the phase II 301’s. Big improvement in appearance and sound quality.

[@wildman1978101]

While it wasn't broken, recapping my Yamaha M-65 made a huge improvement. It sounded like it had a blanket draped over it before the recap. I'm gonna recap my Technics SL-Q2 next as preventative maintenance here soon. When a cap goes in one of these it takes out an almost irreplaceable chip. I do understand why technicians don't want to do this, it is labor intensive and the most often result is no immediately appreciable benefits.

[@Carl-bd1rf]

Recapped my SX-1050 and Realistic STA-2200 and had the same experience. Both came back sounding noticeably better.

[@raygarafano3633]

Crackles n pops are a noisy transistor, and Ted Bundy.