What a 10hr music playlist looked like in 1992

Creating a playlist of your favourite tunes can take quite a while - but spare a thought for the mixtape playlist pioneers of 20-odd years ago. In 1992 playing 10 uninterrupted hours of your own selection of music took a lot more preparation and used some rather specialised Hi-Fi equipment.
Techmoan Blog Entry: www.techmoan.co...
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[@wal]

Alpine made an car cassette changer back in the late 80's. They are exceptionally rare, I'd love to get one to show in a video.

[@DjVendetta]

Did you ever find one?

[@LGR]

Whoa. I have never seen a cassette changer like this before. I WANT ONE.

[@adwaitagnome]

+Lazy Game Reviews i wonder how a high end cassette changer would play today's music compared to a modern computer

[@ValugaTheLord]

+Devin Hepburn on a tape.

[@WestleyWolf]

+Lazy Game Reviews I used to have these back in 1999. but i also had a CD changer to go with that as well.

[@Hbomb117]

+Lazy Game Reviews Oh hey, you. You come here often?

[@adwaitagnome]

Girth Control i have seen LGR here every once and a while. I also see him pretty often on Roadgeek's channel.

[@vladimircrumbo2962]

I bought a pioneer 6 cassette changer around the same time and it has been working very well, and is handling 120 min tapes well

[@superotterboy1737]

This is a beautiful piece of engineering. As a programmer I can seriously appreciate the simplicity of what seems like a complicated concept. It sounds cliché but honestly, no one builds quality and innovation like this these days; at least, not to that level of quality. Fantastic vid.

[@christmascarl2000]

There is something extremely wholesome about watching a tape whirl round in a tape machine. Very nice player from Sony.

[@evanpapp93]

I bought this exact unit on craigslist for 50$ after watching "cassettes better than you dont remember video" the capstan motor need some sewing machine oil but it works perfectly now! great recordings and sounds great, the fact that it can hold 5 cassettes is just a bonus!

[@mikeswatches2480]

Have to say this . . this channel is excellent . .I've spent many hours watching these videos and really appreciate the level of detail you go into . . .

[@rjolly87]

I own one of these as well, and I love it! $6 score at a thrift store. it works pretty well but can be a bit fiddly sometimes. Keep up the good work!

[@Jack2Japan]

I really like the little "outro" cartoons you've started doing.

[@CanisArctus]

Not gonna lie, this is the most interesting channel I've seen in years. Been binge-watching a lot of your stuff today! I can't wait to see more of what you're doing in the future! :)

[@Techmoan]

+Canis Arctus thanks for popping in...although I think I maybe better in small doses...I imagine that I'll start to grate after a while.

[@cysper479]

Same☺️ I came here since last week after seeing a review about Vinyl Video then I get interested about things☺️

[@thepurpleendereye]

I just found one of these at goodwill and it seems to work amazing which is great, it clearly needs new belts though cause at first it wasn’t playing the tapes and the door wouldn’t open properly. I’m a bit terrified to try and repair it, it’s my first ever cassette deck or piece of audio equipment ever essentially. Super excited to use this in the future! Edit: it was 30 dollars by the way

[@clifffton]

I still have the Pioneer 6 cassette changer. When it jams it is a terror!

[@wrathofbod]

my wife had those in 3 of her shops that she was a manager of at the time(1993?), i remember spending hours making mix tapes for her over the Christmas/Holiday season for all three shops. Never Again.

[@Techmoan]

+Wrath Of Bod at least it backs up my story that one of the uses for these multi-tape machines was to provide background music in shops.

[@cdamian]

I had one of these. Well the T-C5. I loved it and used it for recording long radio broadcasts. I was very sad when it stopped working.

[@breadwarandcircus]

Potatoes will never be able to film in HD... they get too hot and burn their chips. I have been reading the contents of too many Christmas crackers. Sorry. ...I will get my coat.

[@ComicGladiator]

Surely you mean get your jacket?

[@stevegreen8262]

@@ComicGladiator bah dum, chssss.

[@MasterKofficial]

Nice Machine, love the change mechanism =D i have a Pioneer CT-M6R from 1989 :)

[@terryboardman4667]

I'm still using hi-fi separates from the ninety's and they still sound great to me.

[@michaelb9664]

That's because they still are great! :-)

[@sci3ntologist]

I've actually seen a few of these, but all of them were in commercial use. they're really handy for backround music in a restaurant or similar setting where you can just set and forget it and not have to hear the same tracks as often.

[@PrinceLX]

This has blown my newly 24-year-old mind. That is SO cool! It's got a real Batman vibe to it as well.

[@darendee5682]

I had one back in the 90's, it was pretty cool for a Sony.

[@4BetaMale2]

I never knew they even made a cassette player that played more than two Tapes. Good video.

[@WigWagWorkshop]

Back in my day, my play list was on Reel-To-Reel, I was the "man" and everyone had a blast at my house parties. Never seen this bit of equipment before.

[@marymoonchild2801]

wow nice thing, we never had anything like this at home just a regular cassette player. i was born in 92, but my earliest memories are of my then teenage godmother recording songs from radio on a cassettes, my father had a lot of interesting stuff like Accept, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, ZZ Top...when i was six in 1998, my parents got me walkman and i played all cassettes that my parents and godmother gathered, but then CDs came and all that collection ended up forgotten somewhere in the attic ( maybe im going to try to find them now that im nostalgic ). Now im dedicated collector of lp records, there is nothing like a music on a vinyl.

[@nextsegment78]

Remember it very vividly from the 150 pages Sony catalogues... Wish I had never thrown them away. Nostalgic memories

[@bananakin94]

You got Rakim and Gangstarr on tape?! You are a certified G.

[@BuccaneerBruce]

I noticed that Step In The Arena

[@esnebta]

Masta Ace - Take A Look Around!

[@weeraanmelden]

Did not came for the opening of the Cassette device, came for your music selection :) Love the old skool rap tapes. And your videos :)

[@Perplexer1]

"Let me just switch off this potato". Hahaha.

[@devjock]

Your taste in audio equipment is unmatched. Thanks for the history on this, I had no idea there were devices like this. Cool tech, cool conversation piece, and quality all around. They don't make 'em like this anymore.. Now if you could only find a cassette form factor mp3 player, that can actually be rewound and fast forwarded by conventional cassette methods (ea; small sensors in the mp3 cassette spindles) then your tech would come full circle ;)

[@lenovovo]

WOW ....... Techmoan, now that's a pretty neat machine there! Although I know that it's old, I would still own one today. Thanks for posting this video Techmoan! Have a great day! :-)

[@MaunoKoivistoOfficial]

You have great taste in music.

[@defamatt]

Especially for the 2min 57s songs

[@joaquinjimenez207]

oh my god this is my dream cassette player

[@jetset2070]

Love the old skool hip hop collection. :)

[@RobertLeBlancPhoto]

I not only owned this Sony 5 cassette changer, I also owned the Sony 100 CD Jukebox. They sat proudly on top of my Sony ES77 receiver. Damn I'm old. :)

[@Dan-TechAndMusic]

I always found those decks fascinating, nice to see you have one! The rare 180 minute TDK tape was quite something. They, only for a few years if not just a year, made a 180 minute version of the TDK D tape. It had a special mechanism inside to make sure the tape wouldn't go off the reels. It recorded very poorly, but I suspect voice recording would be OK. Still, the tapes, despite the mechanism, screwed up fairly easily, so TDK shot down the tape very early on. Pioneer also made a nice tape changer that used a drawer system that could hold 6 tapes. Still, it's nowhere near as cool looking as you couldn't see the tapes being played.

[@BuccaneerBruce]

I've never seen one of those, I worked in a record store from 1989-1994 part time and when I started we already had the 5 disc changers for our music floor.

[@williamng8255]

Interesting..... as someone not yet alive at that time it's quite fascinating to see how far technology has come since then

[@DanOConnorTech]

That's a sweet changer. You're right about some of the other systems complexity. I have one of the Philips N2401 6-cassette changers with the "ski-slope" recirculator chute from the late 1960's and it *is* a nightmare. I've never been able to get it working properly. Thanks for showing this!

[@HNedel]

When "thanks for watching" came, I was soo happy to see there is more than a minute left, since this probably meant another post-credit scene. Wasn't disappointed at all! Oh, and the deck was quite nice, never knew they existed.

[@BigGuyReview]

WOW I had no idea that these things were out there. the first long play machine I got was a pioneer 50 disc changer. Great video. -John

[@super3nicolas]

the last part 😂😂😂😂

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

My uncle once mentioned that he used a video recorder with a 4 hour tape (if need be in longplay mode) as the longest and cheapest audio medium back in the mid to late 90s

[@FSXNOOB]

Good old times.. when i was sitting in front of the radio waiting for that one song, then record and stop it on time.. listen it back 300 times.... nostalgia :)

[@58jharris]

I always got so annoyed when a DJ would talk over the song when you were trying to record it lol.

[@harshnemesis]

I always had to record it multiple times because I wanted the very beginning, didn't realize I could just start the tape early and then cut it by recording it to another tape in the other deck.

[@58jharris]

You know I never thought about doing that either. Seems kind of strange now.

[@harshnemesis]

Well the good side of that was it didn't degrade the quality the second time, I mean there are already 2 layers of degradation from a copy you could get in the store.

[@KuroAno]

Back in 200X (don't remember the exact year) I was recording tapes from the radio because that's all I had. I was a child back then.

[@geekanoids]

Wishing you a Happy New Year. Dave.

[@Techmoan]

+Geekanoids and to you too Dave - we're both part of the same little UK-centric tech corner on youtube.

[@martinshow5146]

i thought i saw everything in my life. untill i subscribed to your channel fiew years ago

[@gizmostudios]

I wish I could've had you as a cool uncle when I was I kid, my whole room ended up being filled with all kinds of obscure audio and video equipment :D My parents however weren't so impressed with my ability to turn any floor into a city landscape of parts and tools. Good times

[@mstrshkbrnnn1999]

Bert Hermans if only man :/

[@Crlarl]

Bert Hermans Me too...

[@ForrestBobHD]

Eyup.....I know how that goes :P

[@robshorts]

Another thing I never knew existed and what a lovely design of machine.

[@ToothyFilms]

There was a way cheaper method! By setting a VCR to SP mode gave 6 hours of high quality tape-able music. I did that for all my poker games back in the early to mid nineties.

[@tcpnetworks]

+William Wegerson Yeah - Same here. I had an Akai VHS Stereo machine. Was awesome.

[@ToothyFilms]

+Adrian Black It wasn't like it was from a `Nakamichi` tape deck, but it was good enough for my drunk poker friends. :-)

[@MrJueKa]

OMG, I`m 58, but I`ve never seen this awesome baby before - thanks for sharing

[@jolmeaki]

Very nice. Never knew things like this were made with cassettes.

[@adbarrnz]

Back in 1992, when I wanted to create a long playlist, I used a VCR. With an E240 cassette, and a Hi-Fi VHS machine using long play (I had Akai players at the time; in fact this may have been around the time I had an Akai VS-A650 which was a VCR with built-in Dolby Surround and 12 Watt amplifiers for the two surround channels: mind-blowing stuff back then), you could get eight hours of near CD-quality audio (~90dB dynamic range, and certainly much better quality than compact cassette). No way to jump between tracks, and a pain to record yourself, but no need to buy any extra hardware!

[@SlowMenThinking]

+adbarrnz Yes did that in the day some VCR's could let you could use a index search. and this was in 1987!

[@godfatherNYC]

I certainly remember this era! Although I never saw one of these 5-Cassette Changers! Thanks, great video.

[@TheRobertSt]

Interesting! I'm 62, and this is the first time I've heard of such a device! More of these videos please!

[@Whitbypoppers]

I'm enjoying your end-of-video foray into puppetry!

[@GerritTjaardAMarinus]

been a sony fan for years, and i never seen this machine anywhere. Its awsome!

[@Couch.Island]

The potato was the best part. Clever that.

[@CopyrightedUsername]

Recently turned 19 here, have a Sony TC-WR521 and I adore it. It's also from '92 and basically has all the bells and whistles this does, just a double deck rather than a 5 changer. Between this, my pioneer cld-2710k laserdisc and vsx-d514 receiver, sony record player and walkmans (both radio and cassette), I'm very thankful for your videos because I at least know there's somebody out there that mutually understands.

[@stonedcommander]

Cool machine, I've never seen one but imagine this was top of the line...Those puppets shoot video with the same camera I use:)

[@aljr357]

I've never seen one of these in the stores in Canada back in the early 90s either and this is the first time I've ever seen one thank you .

[@Norlink]

Ahhh the memorys...Sudenlly felt realy old lol. Thanks!

[@renancercilier]

such a beautiful machine, love this aluminium panel.

[@yorgle]

Another option back then (which I used back in college) was VHS Hi-Fi. Much better (arguable?) sound quality than cassette, even on the SLP/EP 6 hour mode. Throw in a T-160 tape in there and get 8 hours on one tape!

[@bobbyberetta4206]

I use to do that and make my own videos as well with a little help with my Realistic radio shack mixer.

[@chrisgainesuk1974]

i worked in a sony center when these came out they where a lot of fun

[@outlawcountryman]

I want one lol. I have over 1250 tapes and that number is rapidly growing

[@SteveMajor]

I still have my Pioneer CT-M66R. Still cool after all these years!

[@StuartTaylorEsquire]

Hey +Techmoan you got me all misty eyed thinking about 1992, including visiting Dixons and asking the unsuspecting sales person what the difference was between Dolby B and Dolby C. Am i just being a rose tinted fool, or was HiFi in 1992 more exciting?

[@Techmoan]

+Stuart Taylor No you aren't looking through rose tinted glasses - old HiFi is infinitely more interesting than modern HiFi equipment which is much too serious (and expensive).

[@TheRealNewBlackMusic]

i keep telling yall the 90's were so cool. im a old geezer and i've never seen this before . wow. Great Video.

[@kd1s]

Never ever saw one of these. My solution in 1992 was a 101 CD changer. That also used a carousel arrangement.

[@ayemchunt1714]

That would have been the Onkyo DX-C101. Quite a good player in its day.

[@duck2soup]

Another fascinating machine you have found here. You never cease to amaze me with the stuff you show. I never knew anything like this existed.

[@mikewolf78]

I recommend staying for after-credits scene.

[@ekiswoes]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing! Greetings from South Africa!

[@PianoVideosJustForU]

Damn, I wanted to see that TV remote review recorded with a potato in the dark, I would've subscribed.

[@rwj777]

I still own this Sony model deck and I absolutely love it! Still plays like a dream after all these years later!

[@jean-pierrem34]

This is exactly what I wanted to read. Thank you!

[@jean-pierrem34]

Mine too...

[@fulanitoflyer]

after your videos, i always go to EBAY to see how much the reviewed items are going for...

[@defamatt]

So do I! ahaha

[@rockboy360]

Still looks dope, modern and classy today! awesome design!

[@techninefan90]

Wow I had no idea there were cassette changers. This is pretty cool.

[@JamesJohnson-ok1hn]

yeah thats one ive gotta find its perfect for larger collections.

[@zetecfiesta]

Beautiful machine

[@DJPsyq]

I had one of these growing up!! I used to love the noises it made.

[@BigMack2020]

Now that is one cool device and i would love to own one just for owning one im a sucker for vintage teck

[@dominicfong6341]

It is a real eye opener, thank you very much! Never knew such an animal existed!

[@amcluesent]

I don't recall that machine either, must have been rare

[@a100267]

Speaking of Sony changers, I'd love to see a review on their CDP-CX151 unit that acted as a 100-CD jukebox. A friend of mine had one in the very early 90's and I remember thinking it was pretty cool. They later did 200, 300 and 400 CD versions.

[@wokeisnonsense]

I love the puppet sequence at the end.

[@anonymousunnamed3026]

I remember I used to always record my CD's to tape back then. CD's weren't cheap and they easily scratched. Especially in the car if you didn't have a CD changer (which was also expensive to put in a car). So I would just record the CD to the cassette and use the cassettes. Also, people didn't break into your cars for cassette tapes, but they definitely would for CD's back then.

[@coolbreez773]

Many lids watching this won't even know what a cassette is!

[@WillieMcphee]

AWW Yes... the old TDK SA-90.. it was a regular consumable in my youth.. blowing my allowance on blank tapes so i could record from the vinyl records that my friends and i would pool together to make a sweet library... those tapes absorbed a lot of my teenage wealth in trade for "free music" LOL :)

[@MurcuryEntertainment]

God that bit at the end with the puppets killed me.

[@markmarkofkane8167]

Fascinating. I never knew about those. I only had a dual deck.

[@maxwillson]

That ending was pretty funny ahahaha!

[@chukidee6634]

Brilliant video, my brother emailed this video for me to watch. Ahhh those snazzy designs on those Maxell and TDK cassette tapes bring back 90s memories. Your review makes me want to buy this Sony tape deck as a collector. 😊

[@michaelb9664]

By the time the 10 hour play list is finished it'll be time to get the head cleaner and demagnetiser out again. Anyone remember those?

[@bobwoolcock]

I keep thinking you've reviewed every audio/video format, every player - and then you come up with another one i've never heard of. Bravo!

[@PascalGienger]

I used a Hi-Fi VHS video recorder for such long audio mixes. In Long play mode (Europe) you got 8 hours out of a 4 hours cassette in noise-free Hi-Fi (recording alongside the video signal via rotating heads). Was very cheap - the sound quality was exactly the same in LP as in SP. Good Hi Fi VHS decks had a switch to turn off video processing to further reduce noise when using audio only. The only problem was tracking, the older the recording on the cassette got the more it was prone to a knocking sound like a single piston engine when the electronic tracking did not catch it any more (tape dilatation).

[@christmascarl2000]

+Pascal “Le Bakala” Gienger Thats cool stuff. Did they ever release music on VHS HI FI?, i know they obviously had videos of concerts etc, but i wonder if they ever tried just music on the tape?

[@PascalGienger]

+Christmas Carl I am not aware of any audio-only prerecorded Hi-Fi VHS cassette. There were music videos / video albums available though. There were also some quite nice demonstration tapes for shop displays, where very good loudspeakers and amplifiers were used to demonstrate that STEREO(!) "Hey tadata it is STEREO!" effect of the new Hi-Fi VHS era. I preferred to buy this kind of stuff on LaserDisc, The Pet Shop Boys issued some really good LaserDiscs as albums.

[@tartarughaninja4]

+Pascal Gienger “Le Bakala” i still have a fisher hifi vhs with manual tracking , audio-only recording and level knob and meters. sounds OK, tracking tends to skip even on new recordings because the video heads are quite worn. the image is all fuzzy and blotchy. but it's SP only... was good for recording FM radio and making mix tapes later on

[@tartarughaninja4]

Rob F at the time, difference in audio quality was not so perceivable. the rare dropouts didn't sound bad (like fm interference) and switch to linear mono was short enough so nobody cared. and ps - pal sp speed is 2.4cm/s, LP is 1.2. hifi on LP was quite good actually, giving 8-10 hours of interupted music.

[@alcoholisfreedrink]

So this is from 1992... It's ahead of it's time. It looks very modern.

[@sushantgupta9336]

Very amazing. How the owner feel proud on these days back in 1992. ❤️❤️

[@peerfunk]

hahah the outro is the best :D love it

[@molosomari]

This is a beautiful device...

[@ian_b]

Makes me feel very old.

[@autisticrebel1253]

That is an amazing cassette changer, it looks really good quality. If only they made things like that these days.