Grundig MS300 Micro System - Nothing to see here, move along

If you’re looking for a new micro HiFi system that can play cassettes in 2022, here’s one to cross off your very short shortlist.
If I were you, I’d buy something else instead - but if you insist, here's my AMAZON.DE AFFILIATED LINK to this product amzn.to/3tY5ocF
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A) Believer by Silent Partner from the KZbin Audio Library (song info should also automatically show at the bottom of this box)
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Regularly asked question
Q) Why are there comments from days ago when this video has just gone live today?
A) Patrons / techmoan usually have early access to videos. I'll show the first version of a video on Patreon and often the feedback I get results in a video going through further revisions to improve it. e.g. Fix audio issues, clarify points, add extra footage or cut extraneous things out. The video that goes live on youtube is the final version.

[@Gadgetonomy]

I never tire of the protective film peeling sequence! It makes me smile every time.

[@KrisGraney]

Ooooh, yeah! Peel it, Mat.

[@geoffdeath2590]

@@KrisGraney Peel it Slowly

[@Gadgetonomy]

@@Android-ng1wn Maybe, but it might be more to do with protecting each component as it passes throughout the manufacturing process. I can't imagine businesses spending money on something if it serves no purpose. I also think that consumers don't expect to receive something that is scratched, even a power supply. But maybe a compromise would be to use more paper based solutions. Either way my comment was directed at the humorous way Mat peels them off, for which I am always happy to witness!

[@TreadwellJay]

@@Gadgetonomy it has the purpose you mention of course. But once it's in the hands of the consumer, that purpose has ended.

[@velvetpilot2008]

It doesn't seem to matter how long I'm away from Techmoan videos, when I come back it feels like home. That's a testament to how solid and reliable your videos are.

[@SJMcK]

Why are you spending so much time away from Techmoan videos?

[@startedtech]

Been a part of my routine for close to 6 years now, Techmoan is one of the few KZbinrs where every video will be a good enjoyable one, even if the subject is mundane.

[@velvetpilot2008]

@@SJMcK You're right. There's no good excuse.

[@chrissyclark7836]

Agreed. Top notch quality, and simplicity. And his storytelling is fantastic.

[@hyzenthlay7151]

2022, when stereo cassette heads are a feature to get excited about, not a standard to expect.

[@jareknowak8712]

No more physical buttons in cars. Tablets are the new standard.

[@nthgth]

It's all just so sad, the corners they cut. Most people accept it, so of course they do it.

[@eddyjay83]

My dad used to work on a grundig hifi factory until the brand was sold off in the late 90s. My parents actually met there. He was part of the team that developed the testing equipment for series production, including cassete decks, and he has some crazy stories from back in the day. His hifi collection is also containing some of the best models ever made there. It's kind of sad to see what would be considered as an insult to the brand, being sold 25 years later.

[@BlankBrain]

I worked for HP in the early '70s. That's when Bill and Dave were still running it. Now it's vile.

[@bluewombat]

@@BlankBrain at least for anything other than enterprise gear, like servers, networking and large workgroup printers, yes. Their business laptops used to be real contenders to ThinkPads and built like tanks, now they're flimsy plastic junk that warp if you even look at it and overheat and thermothrottle just from sitting idle. But then again, Lenovo has tanked in quality too. It's almost impossible to get a quality laptop these days.

[@andreasu.3546]

@@bluewombat I still like Dell. Got an XPS laptop for my wife last year and it's built real nice and sturdy. Cost an arm and a leg though...

[@Spookieham]

@@bluewombat HP kit in the 70s was seriously high-end equipment, mainly test gear but also computers, and was stunningly expensive. The fact that a lot of it is still used and commands top money used is testament to how well engineered it was. Built by engineers for engineers. I got to use a lot of HP test equipment in University in the 80s and it was Rolls Royce stuff that was all computer controllable.

[@alexandreb.1101]

My city (Braga, Portugal) actually has a street named after Max Grundig, because we used to have a Grundig factory, that was one of the biggest employers

[@HalNeinThousand]

9:10 "That's a bit Sharp, there" No Mat, it's a Grundig.

[@SHADOW17018]

Techmoan is by far my favourite channel on this platform, straight to the point and always in depth. Thank you Mat for making my day that bit better

[@rev.waynet.oleary7387]

And my day too!

[@mrburnz884]

The only thing I liked about this machine is how hidden the disc drawer is.

[@niladrimukherjee2098]

The disk drawer is camoflaged in the machine.

[@VidzOnComputer]

They should have just added a slot disc mechanism like in most Sony systems similar to the PlayStation 3.

[@Δημήτρης-θ7θ]

@@VidzOnComputer Slot mechanisms suck, because they can't seem to be able to eject a disc without scratching it ever so slightly. And there are compatibility problems with the Mini CD and Mini DVD variants. My current laptop has one and I hate it.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

@@Δημήτρης-θ7θ don't jam mini CDs in there i guess. My MacBook has never scratched a single disc

[@Δημήτρης-θ7θ]

@@RealEpikCartfrenYT Look it under light, with the light fixture reflecting on the disc. You will see them.

[@Willogs78]

That machine is shocking, you can get a decent Panasonic for a £10-£20 more. Wished that Sony would enter into micro systems market more. The Sony’s back in the late 90’s to early 00’s were brilliant. Another quality video, love this channel.

[@philjackson6859]

Still got my Sony CD/MD/SPDIF micro from 2001 hooked up in the living room and people always mention how good it sounds!

[@austfox2170]

I've stock-piled a collection of the Sony FH series mini systems (about 10 or 15). My fondness is for the FH-313 model from around 1988.

[@thiscorrosion900]

Kenwood too. Aiwa, etc. They were still making fantastic systems in the later 90s. After that....total shite.

[@PhilipBallGarry]

I had a Grundig RR1020 "Boom Box" in the early eighties. My late father bought it for me. The styling was a bit "square" (for the time) and it was a chocolate brown colour. Nothing like my mate's Sony and Toshiba units. My Grundig had two single cone elliptical drivers as opposed to my mates "Two Way" speakers on theirs. But for build and sound quality it blew them away.

[@Retro_andy_1977]

I’ve had that one too A great old radio

[@YPO6]

Would be interesting to hear comparison between western and Japanese 1980's boombox sound quality.

[@supergeekjay]

GRUNDIG were great, until, like a lot of other British brands, were bought by Chinese companies and turned into bland faceless names.

[@mrxmry3264]

@@supergeekjay "other British brands" british? i always thought grundig was a german company.

[@wisteela]

@@Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-1968 I read that name as Arselick

[@sparxies]

I can see the ad now: Introducing the new Grundig MS300 Micro System with sound quality that's "surprisingly acceptable... at moderate volumes." A true endorsement, if ever I heard one!

[@mikejandrews]

I'm still using my little Sony CPX11micro-system. Bought it around 2004 / 2005, and it's still going strong. Never felt the need to replace it. It has none of this fancy wireless technology, but it does have a decent cassette deck and heavy-ass speakers that could probably qualify as a lethal weapon under certain circumstances.

[@platypusfrenzy]

Same here - still happy with my Sony MD 373 from 1999, even if I haven't used the MD in a while :) Speakers are in good condition, sound is like new. I'd definitely recommend these old mini stereos to anyone wanting a small system, they're much better quality than this junk and yet can be found for less money at thrift shops and flea markets these days since the hifi-collector scene doesn't seem to care for them much.

[@plazmasyt]

"Nothing to see here, move along" Love the anti-clickbait title. c:

[@psycronizer]

when I was a teenager about 30 years ago I got my hands on a Grundig radio, it was fairly old even then, but it was really advanced compared to the other types of the day, it had coverage for all sorts of frequencies, short wave, long wave, am/ fm etc. I opened it up, and holy hell it was jam packed full of transistors like no other radio I'd ever seen before !

[@Warnleuchte]

Poor Max would spin in his grave, if he saw that video. Best wishes from Fürth, where Grundig had it's first company headquarter.

[@nathans1978]

Dear Mat, I want you to know that I do not get upset when you “take it off” the display. Thanks for another great video.

[@fourthdrawerdown6297]

A few months ago I saw James May removing the plastic from a fridge with custom decals,which he did with the appropriate amount of ceremony.

[@withche07]

As info: Grundig is now owned by Koç Holding, Turkish company.

[@erkinalp]

and manufactured by Arçelik

[@neilw3149]

@@erkinalp Oh matron!!!

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

@@erkinalp shocking Beko dishwasher... Beko refrigerator that won't stay shut. Arcelik is garbage

[@a1white]

Holding what now? 😜

[@fourthdrawerdown6297]

fnar

[@micheal65536]

If you want to do the "backwards" wow and flutter test more often, another way that you could do it to get more accurate results is to record the tape on the machine that you're testing and then play it back on one of your good machines that has accurate speed and low wow/flutter. This would avoid the "double" effect of recording and playing back the tape in the same bad machine, and it would also allow you to measure the speed of the mechanism. The only theoretical difference between doing the test in this way and doing it in the normal way would be the effects of any additional load on the mechanism from having the permanent erase head dragged across the tape (which wouldn't be there during playback, at least in the case of a permanent head) plus the low wow/flutter of the playback machine.

[@borjesvensson8661]

Or record a tape on his best machine

[@toxictrumptube7763]

A loooong time ago Grundig was a quite solid German brand. Actually a bit sad to see the decline Edit: can’t count how many times I watched Bud Spencer movies on our Grundig video 2000 back in the day...

[@workonesabs]

We had a Grundig TV...

[@johannesfranck1770]

Grundig gone a long time ago, the name was sold to different companies which produce various stuff under the Grundig name, Grundig as a company is dead

[@mordokch]

I have a grundig full size separate minidisc player - must be well over 20 years old and still works perfectly except the headphone output, which broke within weeks but I never did anything about it since I don't need it. It's a really nice unit.

[@DanielLopez-up6os]

Their World radios are still better than others atleast.

[@maksphoto78]

They went bankrupt, and the consumer electronics part of them was bought by some Turkish company. Hence the rubbish we see here.

[@themaryjayneexperience5427]

A nice honest review ... It may be junk but it still needs to be covered, under 10 tons of landfill.

[@johngalt5411]

Thanks to my dad I grew up with Grundig equipment in small town U.S.A in the 60's.. Legend has it he learned of their legendary sound from my uncle who was a dentist. It was one of those large stereo console units with the controller/radio section on one side, turntable on the other, two oval speakers firing out of the front & two smaller speakers, one firing out of each side to provide some sort of a surround effect. To my ears it was magical & sounded like nothing I had ever heard.

[@paulstubbs7678]

And now they are reduced to this.... what a pity.

[@mndlessdrwer]

Ah, the Bose effect. If you want the purest experience of that, see if anyone in your area is selling some vintage Bose speakers. The old 301 or 601 are very interesting speakers, though they'll almost certainly need new surrounds or entirely new drivers. You pull off the cover and it's just got drivers pointing in odd directions, so it's a bit baffling how it's supposed to sound, but when you place them how the manual says to, they do give you that kind of atmospheric quality, vaguely similar to an omni-directional speaker. Wild designs back in the day. Not exactly what I would consider audiophile-grade, but certainly interesting, and that's worth quite a lot. Audiophiles tend to get stuck in a rut trying to find the purest sound signature when, in reality, they're just being pretentious while trying to find something that sounds interesting without wrecking their music.

[@berkkarsi]

Techmoan, please don't read too many comments. Just do your thing and what you enjoy. You still have viewers who enjoy watching what you do.

[@Minalkra]

Honestly, I appreciate the dim screen - I can see why someone wouldn't and all, especially in a bright room like a living room. But I have a lot of technology in my bedroom I have to strategically find ways to cover up bright blue LEDs and bright green displays and all this nonsense. I appreciate a screen that I can just leave alone after I've shut my lights off.

[@BlownMacTruck]

It’s often recommended by sleep experts to only use your bedroom for sleeping. I’m not being facetious - if a space is only for one purpose, your brain eventually associates the space with that purpose and it really helps your mental health. If you can, I’d highly recommend it.

[@malcolmhutchison]

i wish my Tesco clock radio was that dim

[@JamieNemeth]

22:03 I'm imagining browsing a plethora of the latest hi-fis in the store (back when that used to be a thing), coming across this one on display, and seeing a Techmoan 'Surprisingly Acceptable' star rating sticker on a suitable corner 😛

[@hollgo626]

The sound of the tapedeck really brings tears to my eyes....

[@diegocanale1124]

calling it sound is an overstatement

[@kbhasi]

(10:34) I can tell that remote was originally designed to control a TV or external tuner. Those round things that were used for EQ presets would normally be channel and volume buttons.

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

I have a chinese universal LVDS controller (the little controller PCB that takes VGA/DVI/HDMI and turns it into something an LCD panel out of a monitor or laptop can work with) with a TV tuner and it came with this exact remote, fake brushed metal grain and everything. And yes, those buttons are channel up/down and volume up/down on this thing

[@kbhasi]

@@Knaeckebrotsaege Yep! I knew it! I somehow suspect that the remote shells are sold to multiple manufacturers in China, as I remember Ben Heck showing a 'RCA' projector that had a remote, that used the exact shell as the remote for a ceiling fan that was in my cousin's flat. I posted a comment on that video about it.

[@kbhasi]

@Collabvm Katherine That reminds me of a 'Soniq' TV that I came across, as its remote had buttons for a built-in DVD player, which in turn was something the actual TV lacked.

[@DanielMReck]

Yes, I have the same remote with different labels right here. Came with a Changhong TV several years ago.

[@ab8817]

the cassette player on this is great. turns any song into a Boards of Canada song

[@FranksterArchives]

That remote control looks exactly the same as the one for my 40” cheap n cheerful TV i bought a few years ago. Button layout is absolutely identical.

[@gabrrom]

what a BEAST of a knive you used to open the Box - it could also hide a Cassette Player!

[@hi-fifan1952]

Every time I see the final title and see all the mechanical performances, I know what's been stolen from us. Because it was the mechanics that breathed life into the whole thing. It's like the steam engine. It was the mechanics that breathed life into it and don't we need it anymore? No, I do not accept that. I want to have this mechanism, because otherwise it's no fun.

[@largepimping]

"I don't care about it any more." Best summation ever!!!

[@Retro_andy_1977]

I’ve had some of grundigs finest machines in the years gone by,and now this thing is nothing more than a rebadged crosley quality piece,and the last time I was duped into buying a piece of that rubbish I returned it as quick as I’d bought it with a message saying it was an insult to the human ear. Set all this aside as usual Matt I have throughly enjoyed your video and review,and unlike the grundig here your video quality has nothing lacking.nice work!

[@peejoneill1]

You should really be on that channel 5 programme The Gadget Show if they still make it, insane knowledge, perfect voice and delivery!

[@leeharveydarke]

I'd guarantee Matt earns more from YT & Patreon than he would from Channel 5. Plus he's in complete control of his content.

[@MisterStuzy]

It is, I had to look it up. So, considering neither of us knew if it was even being made, he might be better sticking to youtube 😅

[@sethfriesen9123]

I believe Techmoan did send a gadget over to them. Bit of a disappointing experience if I remember correctly

[@AlexDeLarge1]

Man, that's a lo-fi setup right there.

[@MrAnalogDan12]

I improved a basic cassette player (a Ricatech Boombox) by swapping the main belt. The original belt was feeling really springy, like a household elastic band. Once the better quality belt was installed, it did not turn in a Nakamich Dragon, but into something useable.

[@ThePapaja1996]

Or the Tandberg TCD3014

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

What if they really did use black rubber bands as opposed to actual belts? Being modern Chinese crap, I can totally see them cutting corners on something as stupid as opting for a rubber band instead of a proper belt

[@MrAnalogDan12]

@@RealEpikCartfrenYT Maybe... But i'm sure that these manufacturers could deliver a quality product if this was required. Sadly, a lot of these new cassette players are made as novelties to generate a quick buck.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

@@MrAnalogDan12 yeah thats exactly what I assumed these new cassette stereos were made for. Not for the serious listener

[@brianriddle8389]

7:54 "Oh, that sounds terrible." *turns up the volume*

[@RedPandaSebas]

This could have been a 10 min video but i love your dedication to show everything that’s wrong and why

[@abingleyboy]

I could imagine this sat in a charity shop playing Radio 2 with a "Not for Sale" sticker on it...lol!!

[@NigelMelanisticSmith]

Teachmoan has that Super Swiss Army knife that everyone wanted growing up lol.

[@Agri458]

Hello techmoan, I know you normally drop videos on a Saturday, I was was waiting all morning for this. Thanks

[@andrewhaines3259]

Makes me feel even better with my purchase of a neat little Panasonic micro system with cd, FM and DAB+ on it with the remote for £15 from a charity shop. Fab little system for my workshop. Bought two different ones for my children's bedrooms over the last couple of years and they are way better quality than this for a fraction of the price! Matt buys the crap so we don't have to! 😁

[@thiscorrosion900]

Almost bought a big 90s Sony minisystem at Goodwill two weeks ago, with a full EQ five band and all that, detach. speakers, but it was A. filthy and B. the CD wouldn't load up. Error msg. flashing. I passed on it. The best minisystem I owned was my later 90s Kenwood system with a CD changer carousel at bottom. Fantastic sounding system, double cassette, and the speakers sounded fantastic with tons of bass and power. I think it was 75 watts, or even 125 or so. I added a Kenwood turntable to it for a time, sounded great! Eventually something died on it and I chucked it out in 2007 or so. I'd bought that Kenwood new at The Wiz (!) in Brooklyn NYC in 1997 or so. Lugged it home in a cab or whatever.

[@less5406]

I used to have a Grudig multiband Tube radio. That thing was amazing. Sadly it fell off a shelf and pretty much self destructed. Sad to see the brand on cheap Chinesium equipment.

[@garfieldsmith332]

I remember when Grundig was German quality electronics. I had a Grundig portable reel to reel in the late 60s early 70's that was built like a tank. And a great sound. I still have a UHER 4000 reel to reel. Sadly only the name exists for Grundig and a lot of the other home entertainment companies.

[@BG101UK]

9:16 First time I could actually see anything on the display!

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

I bought a Grundig shortwave radio in the mid '90's (a Yachtboy?) and boy, did I have a great time with it!! These days with internet radio I only use it for local FM listening, but I remember poring over shortwave frequency guides to see if I could pull in stations from all over the world!

[@teacfan1080]

Just another example of a once famous name in high quality audio products being slapped on garbage today. Think Crosley.

[@ar_xiv]

Some 2000s folk producers would kill for that sound lol

[@MarkAHoltz]

I would have loved to see a teardown and how many off-the-shelf components there are in there.

[@TheRealColBosch]

All of them. There is no way a device like this will have any custom components not related to its physical look, and even then, this thing is pretty generic-looking.

[@jonduke4472]

as someone who has a habit of listening to videos instead of watching them sometimes, I was surprised at not having the mathologer for a sec... :)

[@garlandstrife]

These old/legacy branded electronics, mostly cheap and made in China, appeal to the boomer market. They are the generation that still recognizes the brands and hold some sentimental attachment to them. The functions of these devices have been substituted by software, particularly for millennials and zoomers. They serve their purpose, reproduce old media formats. Not for hardcore hi-fi enthusiasts.

[@rog2224]

"I'll just sit here and be ignored as a Gen X. We're used to it"

[@garlandstrife]

@@Knaeckebrotsaege I'm a millennial dumbass. I'm just pointing out the obvious. Only old boomers buy this sort of devices.

[@garlandstrife]

@@rog2224 I'm assuming most gen X use software like millennials and zoomers. Or do you look forward to buy a cassette deck like it's 1984?

[@garlandstrife]

@@Spearca I'm talking in broad terms. Never said I wasn't interested in physical media. I don't think most people born after 85 are really into boomboxes and cassette decks. Very niche.

[@Haffmatthew]

My sincerest thanks to mat for the quieted audio during the peel saying “ohh yeah”, that’s it…take it off” over the sensual r&B song. Brilliant!

[@Alan_Mac]

5:28 I love it when Matt trolls the grumpy viewers.

[@rommee]

AND I'm one of those guys in the comments that lurves that bit 05:35 "oooh yeeaahh!!..." 🤩👌

[@MohammedAli-sw1yr]

That’s a generic remote control from the shelf in China used for tv, iptv box, hifi and etc so it can be a replacement remote for your desired device.

[@alexandreb.1101]

can confirm, have a tv in the living room made by ChangHong, and the shape of the remote is similar. My TCL tv in the bedroom is miles better

[@defiraphi]

Remote control is similar to the one from my 13 year old Philips TV . It has the exact same design .

[@disrealnow9664]

CD playback sounds ok, also with the AUX input u can use it as PC speakers so the cassette, radio, mp3 etc are an added bonus - not great not terrible

[@mxbishop]

I fondly remember the Grundig portable radios of the 1970s. Compared to other radios of the time, they looked kind of military grade, and had a great sound and high sensitivity. Quality stuff, to be sure. However, the product described in this video is the most landfill-ready I've seen in awhile. In order to save time, the manufacturer should mark it "landfill-ready" right on the box - so the user will know exactly what to do after opening it. The Grundig legacy deserves better than this.

[@chucku00]

Their standard "...Boy" lineup was cool but their "Satellit" lineup was the real deal, almost on par with Yaesu or Racal devices.

[@rogerb5615]

Thank you for introducing us to Chris Haugen's music. Lovely, and free to copy.

[@AzraelEnterprise]

I always enjoy your reviews, because of your honesty and optimism.

[@dongargon763]

I sadly don’t have my cassettes anymore but I still feel saddened by its last dying gasps in the hands of unscrupulous conmen using old trademarks to make plastic garbage destined for a landfill.cheers for the vid anyway mate

[@Cre80s]

5:25 Who in the world doesn’t love the “oooooh yeahhhh, take it off.... 🔥😍💵👙🔥”???

[@mrsinghsstereos6662]

We had a Grundig tv back in the day . They made excellent TVs

[@DanielLopez-up6os]

I got a Nice Hitachi boombox very cheap from a fleemarket in perfect working and condition and it's from the early mid 80s a HitachoTRK 6830E and it plays casettes wonderfully and i think it has a DIN for External speakers. I'm glad i picked that one up as the options for these new ones are very lacking.

[@cemmy410]

17:40 oh dang, a new Mathologer video

[@stuartmcconnachie]

3:40 “Wire that comes out of the back”. Not necessarily cheaper if you want to sell to different markets with different plug standards. Then you need to manufacture a different model, or at the very least post fit a suitable region plug to the bare cable. In days gone past of course you didn’t get the plug (but now that’s not legal, in UK at least).

[@willhayslovechild]

Not bad for a bedside Stereo and headphone 🎧 socket is handy Speakers can be replaced and better wire too 😀

[@RonnieBarzel]

I didn't realize Grundig had basically met a fate similar to RCA. So sad to see a once-proud brand be reduced to junk.

[@joekenorer]

Why do I do this to myself? You have the unique talent of making me care about garbage.

[@Diggnuts]

Would be interesting to see how close you can get to producing your own 3kHz tape with a proper deck and compare it to the calibrated one.

[@Mistahhuntah]

Please don't ever change.

[@geekehUK]

One of the few places you could still find decent quality cassette decks for quite a while after it had mostly died as a home format was in car stereos. Thinking about this I then started to remember about all the various efforts that were made to stop car stereos from being stolen and I wondered if there was some booming black market it stolen car stereos that I just never noticed, probably due to being too young. Because my thought it, just how big could that market really be? How many people ever really cared about upgrading their car stereo and would they ever do it more than once, especially when like changing the speakers is a whole separate ordeal. So then I wondered did or even now do anyone make like a home hifi type system with an amp and decent speakers, maybe even a turntable and a port designed for installing into it a car stereo? Was there any kind of no nonsense method for converting a car stereo (some of which contain some impressive tech and many advanced features you'd rarely find at home, like CD-Text and RDS radio, satellite radio etc.) into a home system? And would something like that now, be a feasible way of obtaining an affordable but still good quality cassette deck and radio?

[@azmax623]

I still have my dad's Grundig Transistor 700 from the 60's. Still works. Dad used to to set the time on his watches.

[@adamcowood7553]

The remote is definitely an off the shelf product. I have got more than 1 (in different finishes strangely) that came with different android tv box hardware.

[@CookYourDog]

Personally I don't like the peeling "take it off" bits either, but I've always just skipped them when they came up. As you've said before, the power is in the user's hands here.

[@patrickkilduff5272]

What I love about this channel is he does things that the normal person would do. Sure, he knows how to get great sound and has really good equipment...but the average person does not.

[@Gappasaurus]

7:11 [Question asked on radio] Me: No, only Techmoan 😁

[@Mr3ff]

I had such a good chuckle at the end of this. Nice!

[@KClark]

Thanks for the review. At the start it looks so promising! But alas, it's a turd.

[@Gadgetonomy]

Darn it, I read your comment before watching the complete video. I didn't expect it to be great but I still like surprises.

[@KClark]

@@Gadgetonomy shoot, sorry about that!

[@6581punk]

@@Gadgetonomy When has Techmoan ever reviewed a decent new hifi? :D

[@mbfhh]

That cassette tape comparison brought back serious nostalgia of listening to music in high school at two homes: mine with a half-decent audio setup (enormous inherited speakers from the 70s with a really cool amplifier of the same era) and my highschool sweetheart's audio setup which sounded exactly like this grundig system playing tapes.

[@WH1T3_No1SE]

I saw exacly same remote for a small tv decoder box i bought for my grandparents

[@willmatheson]

Techmoan: "I'm reluctant to play any proper tapes in here - any of my prized tapes - and especially this one, the wow and flutter tape." Anders Jensen: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@nimoy007]

I'm almost certain I've seen a Philips or Sharp micro system that looks just like that, and I'm willing to bet that remote is made in the same factory as one that does TV remotes because that layout (and texture) looks nearly like a TV remote I've seen before.

[@rebeccaschade3987]

I have a feeling these companies add a nearly zero cost cassette deck, with the assumption that most people won't use it much. I could be wrong, but with the odd placement of the transport buttons hidden under a lid like that, it seems like it's not really meant to be used very frequently.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

That cassette deck can actually sound good if you use good quality parts

[@TehBIGrat]

Good to see it comes with a cup holder.

[@TheVonMatrices]

Thank you for using 60fps video. It's a lot easier on the eyes than 24fps.

[@flashtheoriginal]

Nice presentational style. Thanks

[@JonathanMcCormack]

My Grandfather worked in a Grundig factory in Belfast making tape machines. Bit of a tragic story from back then, the boss of the factory was kidnapped and found dead years later. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Niedermayer

[@stepheng8779]

Blimey that's dark, poor family, 5 of them afterwards, tragic.

[@Muzer0]

Glad to see you seem to have found the same corner of the KZbin audio library as Mathologer!

[@drfsupercenter]

That thing about only being able to record to cassette and not the USB or SD really takes me back to the early 2000s. There were almost no boombox/stereo systems that would let you do that, even though more and more of them were adding USB ports. I had to import a Panasonic from Malaysia or somewhere, any that were sold at big-box stores in the US did not allow you to record to USB. I'm guessing it's the RIAA rearing its head again - if you could easily record audio to a digital file, that can lead to piracy! And we can't have that, can we?! I don't know if there is a particular reason for this, I just know Panasonic did make USB-recording models circa 2005 but you couldn't buy them in the US, not even from Amazon. You had to import from some importer who got them from overseas. Perhaps Europe has something similar where they block the recording to USB for stupid copyright reasons? It's not like there is any technical or budgetary reason why you'd have a read-only USB port... the circuitry is the same regardless. And I'm pretty sure a DAC can function as an ADC if you reverse the direction so it's not that either...

[@peacearchwa5103]

You are probably right. The current TEAC AD-850 combo CD/cassette deck allows USB recording but only at low-res 128 kbps. That is likely specifically because it includes a CD audio player. By comparison, the TEAC W-1200 dual-well cassette deck DOES allow USB recording at WAV level, probably because it's an analog-only device and therefore can't make a "perfect" copy of a "perfect" digital source.

[@drfsupercenter]

@@peacearchwa5103 even the Panasonic I imported from Malaysia did 128kbps recordings, but it has a CD changer. The US Panasonics couldn't write to the USB at all...

[@harbourwoodlandvisitor2445]

I've got two 90s Grundig turnit pa5's. the sound is truly amazing and also ear billowingly loud.

[@codywaller2840]

5:30 Personally I get pretty annoyed when KZbinrs don’t show themselves sensually pulling the film off of screens😂 but great video as always!

[@martinmeyer2008]

Very nice review - one question though, any reason that you couldn't make a "disposable" wow and flutter tape, also from USB, but recording it on one of your high quality tape recorders? It still wouldn't be calibrated and as good as your nice one, but better than doubling up on the problems with the Grundig? Or maybe I'm missing something really obvious 🙂

[@radiohirsch]

No, of course you can do that. In fact for wow and flutter if its a decent machine it will be quite accurate. But to have the proper recording level is where it gets really tricky (important if you want to use this tape to calibrate a tape machine)

[@Sodoffshotgun]

I think he wanted to show off exactly how much eeeeeuum weeeeeuum was going on with that cassette deck and brother, it was a lot!

[@insolentstickleback3266]

Well, like you said, can’t win them all. Thanks for the video!

[@MatSpeedle]

It's crazy to think that my old AIWA micro system I got in 1995 (and was cheap for the time) was actually so much better than this. Played tapes beautifully and recorded from CD's great for decades.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

@@user-yi3ox8wy4k Perished belts are rare. I only ever saw one perished belt, and it was in a cheap and nasty "First-Austria" stereo system. You don't want to buy those. Worse than this!

[@kevingo2892]

pictures look good , my tip would be: go online and find the manual (understand not always possible). I enjoy your vids young man

[@K-o-R]

Mathologer jingle!

[@Techmoan]

🤷‍♂️

[@cycklist]

Yes! I was trying desperately to place it. Thank you!

[@muratsahan8697]

So glad I stumbled upon this video - I was searching for the Grundig "GRUNDIG GHF1050" (same as the MS300 it turns out) - that i found on Amazon for a really good price (ab 60 pounds). I dont care so much ab the cassette part since I only have tape to play but I like the idea of a an sd card with a lot of mp3s and also that I can use my phone and send blue tooth to it. If I buy it I shall try it out with some other book shelf speakers. Thanks so much.

[@damacc8365]

This tape deck is awesome for that instant Lo-Fi feeling!

[@srwapo]

@2:25, been wanting to get my mom a mini hifi to play her cassettes and I'm hopeful!

[@nsfeliz7825]

i like techmoan as he is the anti audiophile. he likes mid priced gear. i am annoyed by audiophiles and theier joyless rants about perfection .

[@Jayenkai]

I'm starting to think the puppets aren't coming back...

[@alexjeanedvard]

As always, thank you for your honesty Techmoan : )