The worst sounding cassette recorder ever?

This Emerson CRC-98D cassette recorder looks nice and feels well-built, but its recording quality is extremely poor. This might be due to the lack of any functional bias, either AC or DC. Playback quality is still pretty good, though.

[@vwestlife]

I did this video way back in 2008, when my video editing capabilities were very limited, and when KZbin still had the old 100 MB limit on video file size, thus making it impossible to upload high-quality video.

[@butcherbabys]

2020 now

[@TheGhostzZ]

@@butcherbabys watching in 2021@VWestlife

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@TheGhostzZ Recommended to me and I'm Watching in 2022

[@filippocara0510]

@@REXXSEVEN same

[@vwestlife]

@NoBody-un3srNo.

[@ackthegreat6697]

This is what black metal bands use for recording

[@vwestlife]

The Aiptek could actually record up to 1080P HD video in pretty decent quality, but for this video I was doing video capture of its analog composite output so that I could mix in the audio of my microphone and the cassette recorder.

[@vwestlife]

@jebi789 Luckily for you, my videos come with a full 30-day money-back guarantee!

[@CoolDudeClem]

Definitely no bias there. I've heard how a recording sounds when the bias isn't being added, and that's what it sounds like to me.

[@Ilovewashers]

I'm an amateur solo musician who has never done a gig and I love cassette players. I bought this "Realistic" tape player from the local thrift store $2.50 and boy was it crap it kept making ticking noises, and when I recorded my music the damn ticking noises would get caught in the recordings and they would sound flat.

[@CassetteMaster]

Try spraying the record-play switch with WD-40, and for the speed, the motor probably needs oil. For the sound quality, DC bias? I'm not exactly sure, the bias might be set too low. Usually near the bias coil there is a trimmer resistor that controls the bias, and if there is one it might be either dirty or set way too low, and not biasing it enough. I had fiddled with the bias control on a good AC bias machine, and doing it too low resulted in a similar recording I believe.

[@Smeltz247]

go home cassette recorder your drunk

[@l6he]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3fHfIN7dpZqo5Y

[@NoelNunez-li8wk]

🤣

[@vwestlife]

It also has a lot of AC hum, especially when starting or stopping the motor. So yes, it likely has bad caps.

[@hrnekbezucha]

It might sound weird but that's exactly what I am looking for!

[@Jonathan499]

i like those weird sounds too

[@ChoboUnjeon]

That 'bwob' sound right after powerup

[@EmergencyChannel]

Made in North Korea judging from the quality. (Yes, I know it’s made in South Korea)

[@vwestlife]

I do have to push rather hard on the record button to get it to lock down, so maybe the internal switch is part of the problem.

[@besteversaw]

NEIL YOUNG! Great taste in music my friend.

[@DrCassette]

It seems like this unit contains bad capacitors, but you should also control the internal record/play switch. If those switches are oxydized or dirty, the recordings also sound bad. Maybe the switch in your recorder is so bad that it es not able to switch on the bias. Did you used a normal position cassette?

[@vwestlife]

This was done through a video capture card so I could get a direct audio connection to the tape recorder, since the Aiptek has a terrible microphone. It was the Aiptek A-HD+ model.

[@matkovicha]

My mom bought a stereo from them when she was a kid, and the 8-track player never worked.

[@nmgt1048]

I received a cheap cassette recorder from my parents for Christmas in1970 for me to take to college that was lousy. Even that was better than this.

[@retrochad]

I would go looking for bad capacitors...using an ESR meter would be good. It is old enough now that caps may likely start to go bad.

[@jhonwask]

I think all Emerson tape decks sucked. I had an Emerson boom box and it was awful. Why did I even buy it? LOL

[@vwestlife]

No, it was a cheap Aiptek digital camcorder.

[@carolriley9392]

Problem is most likely a dirty record slide switch. This reverses the amp and sends a recording signal to the head. This happens a lot due to a lot of playback but no recording. Simple fix. Sometimes you can simply just keep pressing the record button up and down with a tape inside numorus times and that will clean the contacts for a bit.

[@coondogtheman]

you should ask CassetteMaster whats wrong with this recorder he is good at fixing these machines.

[@Lachlant1984]

I have an old Sanyo that records like that, it sounds dreadful, I can barely understand you.

[@Eurodance90schick]

Oh geez I remember these old clunky tape recorders we had them in my classroom in my grade 1 and 2 class in the 80's it wasn't fun when the tapes messed up though. Lol

[@jerryspann8713]

As long as they were the schools tapes it was funny.

[@l6he]

So this is what Michael P uses in his videos to record his audio!

[@MicroChirp]

That sounds worse than the earliest preserved voice recordings! It's wonderful in a way.

[@HansOvervoorde]

Cassette player, go home, you're drunk.

[@yaboimaxwell9031]

I've seen worse.

[@JohnBrettmore]

in one of your videos: blowing up speakers and more you blow up that same microphone

[@Lachlant1984]

Did yo buy tyhis one new or second hand?

[@coolbluelights]

Holy crap that is bad, probably some bad capacitors I wouls guess

[@CassetteMaster]

Also the recording of this sounds strikingly similar to my Elgin recorder!

[@johnb6723]

That wow and flutter. Very easy to hear. A pile of junk, basically.

[@JoeOrber]

Now I'm watching this on March the 21st, 2024

[@life5161]

That thing is SWEET!!! 🤣 There had to have been something wrong with it

[@marydehaven2539]

I notooo bad but sound little like the I could need a new motor or the belt stretched out

[@ivantashakov1178]

You should remaster this video in 4K

[@TheKing0fSting]

Ancient video

[@dolbydigital2866]

my cassete recorder sound worst i love it

[@EldestCreditFortnite]

Ot of battery

[@jtpinnyc]

I think it looks great in a cool kind of retro hipster music video kind of way

[@JohnBrettmore]

in one of your videos blowing up speakers and more you blew that same microphone

[@The_Laser_Channel]

OMG...sounds worse than CassetteMaster's Juliette Cassette Recorder.....

[@Ilovewashers]

Now I own a Panasonic Am/Fm and tape recorder with a 5 band equalizer and has a built in condensor microphone. The only noises that get's into my recordings are occasional rattles. The model is RX-CS700.

[@dieterrommerskirchen8990]

hahaha..., that's a great answer to a stupid comment, great!

[@glpilpi6209]

Probably faulty , it is old .

[@SPCWAUKESHA6170]

The camera also looks like a 90s camera

[@JoshuasRecordings]

That is why it is an emerson!

[@aMUSEd1977]

that music do not sound bad

[@bob7872]

Reminds me of my 1st one from Radio Shack!!

[@simtitan1]

Did you clean the recording head?

[@basednutter6909]

this is just funny

[@dannyjaar]

thats a capstanroller

[@dannyjaar]

thats a capstanroller

[@SexycuteStudios]

This is the Emerson Potato.