The market for cassette decks has shrunk considerably with the introduction of CD and MP3 players. As a result good quality cassette decks are much cheaper these days. A cassette deck contains even more mechanics than a cd-player and must have the same precision on a lot of points. For example the placement of the record/playback head must be very accurate. Many cassette deck playback features such as auto-reverse or music scan are useful but don’t really affect the way tape sounds. Here are a few features that are important to consider before you purchase a cassette deck.
Cassette decks, unlike advanced players such as; MP3, CD and DVD players play and record on compact
audio tapes using analog technology. Despite it being a vintage technology it has its own cult following.
For music lovers still addicted to analog technology, the following are essential features to look out for in a
cassette deck:
Music is played or recorded by the movement of heads on the tape. The tape in turn needs to be moved across these heads.
This mechanism that transports the tape across the read/write heads is of vital importance.
• Headphone and Microphone Jack:
Most cassette decks come with a headphone jack, thus turning the cassette deck into a walkman. Some may also come with
a microphone jack so that you can make live recordings.
• Time Counter:
This is an exceptional feature that comes in handy while recording. It gives you an estimate (in minutes and seconds)
of the amount of tape that has been recorded.
• Track Programming:
Some decks come with this feature, which would allow you to program a sequence of songs for playback, that is, you can
create a play-list of songs that you would like to hear.
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio:
This is the measure to show how well a cassette deck silences the background noise. It is advisable that you buy a
cassette deck with a higher signal-to-noise rating. Higher the rating, lower is the recording of background noise.
• Frequency Response:
It is the fraction of audible frequency range (20-20,000 Hz) that a deck can produce. It is is a good idea to buy a
cassette deck that covers the maximum portion of the frequency range.
• Warranty:
It is advisable to buy a cassette deck that comes with at least one year of warranty, so that you don’t have to worry
and spend on repairs, when the deck malfunctions or breaks down.
Most duall decks (that is, decks that can play two cassettes) support high speed dubbing. As the name suggests,
they record at twice the normal recording speed with good quality!
• Auto Reverse:
Most models have this feature, wherein you do not need to reverse the tape after one side has been played, rather
the deck reverses the side at the touch of a button and begins playing the other side. This ensures that your music
experience is seamless and uninterrupted.
• Noise Reduction:
This feature helps to cut down those annoying tape hisses and the noise that gets recorded when you record a tape.
Many cassette decks record with Dolby B, Dolby C or Dolby HX Pro. However, it is advisable that you buy a cassette
deck that records using Dolby S for maximum reduction in tape hisses. Dolby C and S would be best options to look
out for in cassette decks.
• Bias Adjustment or Fine Control:
This is a dial in front of the deck to adjust the bias setting or to fine tune while recording. A series of tones has to
be recorded, and then you would have to determine the suitable bias setting, thus optimizing the recording quality of the
tape. Most decks come with manual bias adjustment. However, some top cassette deck manufacturers also provide automatic
bias adjustment, wherein, after the bias has been adjusted by the deck it rewinds the tape so that your deck is now ready
to record.
• Bias Adjustment or Fine Control:
This is a dial in front of the deck to adjust the bias setting or to fine tune while recording. A series of tones has to
be recorded, and then you would have to determine the suitable bias setting, thus optimizing the recording quality of the
tape. Most decks come with manual bias adjustment. However, some top cassette deck manufacturers also provide automatic
bias adjustment, wherein, after the bias has been adjusted by the deck it rewinds the tape so that your deck is now ready
to record.
• Wow and Flutter:
This feature measures the deviation in a cassette deck’s playback speed. It is advisable to take a cassette deck with a
low wow and flutter percentage since it would give you better performance.
• Full-Logic transport control:
A cassette deck with this feature would have a microprocessor-controlled electronic mechanism that stops between functions
such as; play, rewind, stop. This decreases the possibility that the tape might be stretched or get entangled in the deck.
This feature is also referred to as “soft-touch” design.
• Blank Skip:
This feature allows the cassette deck to automatically skip unrecorded sections of tape.
Cassette decks can now be plugged to your PC, so that you can convert those old 70s, 80s songs on a cassette, to a .wav file with the help of a software (most decks come with the software) and enjoy playing it on the computer or burn them to a CD. It is advisable that you first ascertain if the software would be compatible with the operating system on your PC.
