Turntable to Cassette Question

[zenith2134]

Hi guys and gals. I recently got a new Turntable and now i wanna transfer some records to tape for use in my car. I would transfer to CD, but I wanna keep em analog all the way.

Anyways, I have a midfi-at-best cassette deck, the Teac V-205, and was wondering if this would even be worth it? I should use metal tape, I guess.

[NAD613]

Teac decks are pretty good, so as long as it's in good shape & the heads/tape path have been cleaned & demagnetized, you should be fine. Metal tapes may be hard to find at a decent price, but there are still some good type II tapes available online for a reasonable price.

[Scorpion8]

I agree with NAD. The easiest tape that's very decent to find these days is the ubiquitous Maxell XLII, which you can find at most drug stores and decent department stores. It's a Type-II tape and produces decent results and is not more tape than the Teac needs to be fed. If you have access to some better tape, then by all means use that, but Type-IV metal isn't the cure all in every case with every deck.

[Mr. Lin]

Hi guys and gals. I recently got a new Turntable and now i wanna transfer some records to tape for use in my car. I would transfer to CD, but I wanna keep em analog all the way.

Anyways, I have a midfi-at-best cassette deck, the Teac V-205, and was wondering if this would even be worth it? I should use metal tape, I guess.

Hi zenith,
I must assume you're talking about your new Debut III. So long as your cassette deck is up to spec, I urge you to try this, you'll probably be amazed at how great it sounds. About the tape types, I wouldn't even worry about metal, you can get fantastic results from many type II tapes, and even some normal bias tapes.

In the type two category I'd recommend the current TDK SA, which is a very solid tape, or the Fuji DR-II, which is a little harder to find but still out there. Although some people, like Scorpion and myself, have not had issues with the current Maxell XL-II, a lot of people have, and I don't think there's any question that they're not what they used to be. Still, if that's all you can find or what you want to use, you'll probably still get good results.

If in the future you get an independent phono preamp I'd also recommend bypassing everything else in the chain and just going from turntable to phono preamp and then directly into the tape deck.

Let us know how this works out.

[NAD613]

Hi zenith,
I must assume you're talking about your new Debut III. So long as your cassette deck is up to spec, I urge you to try this, you'll probably be amazed at how great it sounds. About the tape types, I wouldn't even worry about metal, you can get fantastic results from many type II tapes, and even some normal bias tapes.

In the type two category I'd recommend the current TDK SA, which is a very solid tape, or the Fuji DR-II, which is a little harder to find but still out there. Although some people, like Scorpion and myself, have not had issues with the current Maxell XL-II, a lot of people have, and I don't think there's any question that they're not what they used to be. Still, if that's all you can find or what you want to use, you'll probably still get good results.

If in the future you get an independent phono preamp I'd also recommend bypassing everything else in the chain and just going from turntable to phono preamp and then directly into the tape deck.

Let us know how this works out.

The Fuji DR-II's can be had for under $10/box @ tape.com:

http://www.tape.com/6FUJ90DRII.html?leftmenu=blankmedianav

If you like 60 minute cassettes, it's hard to beat the TDK Pro Media SM:

http://www.tape.com/6C60SMTDK.html?leftmenu=blankmedianav

Batteries & Butter seems to have about as low a price as anyone for the TDK SA & Maxell XLII. Some of us on TH have also had very good results with the Akai GX as well.

http://www.batteriesandbutter.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TDKSA-90&Category_Code=audio

http://www.batteriesandbutter.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MAXXLII-90&Category_Code=audio

http://www.batteriesandbutter.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AKAIGX-90&Category_Code=audio

By the way, I was going thru my tapes last night & I've got 14 boxes of the Akai GX & 5 of the Akai SX!

[Mr. Lin]

Best advice on tapes is above. If you want to spend a little extra on the TDK Pro SM it's worth it, and I'm among those of us here who've had great results with the very inexpensive Akai GX and SX (the latter being a good normal bias tape that's dirt cheap).

NAD, why stop now?

[NAD613]

NAD, why stop now?

Exactly. I may buy 5 or 6 more boxes of the Akai SX, which won't set me back too much, being as they're only $4.50/box.

[Mr. Lin]

Exactly. I may buy 5 or 6 more boxes of the Akai SX, which won't set me back too much, being as they're only $4.50/box.

I'm tempted to do the same, and I think it's also time to order some more of the good old TDK SM Pro 60's. At least we've come to terms with our addictions.

[NAD613]

I'm tempted to do the same, and I think it's also time to order some more of the good old TDK SM Pro 60's. At least we've come to terms with our addictions.

The best price I've found on those TDK SM 60's are at Total Media & Tape.com, about $19/box. Some places have them for about $15/box, but the shipping is outrageous.

Amazon has them for $2.24 each, but they qualify for free shipping on orders over $25. And don't forget A To Z Audio if you like the shorter versions of the TDK SM; they have the SM 20 & SM 30 for $5.50 & $6.50/box

http://www.amazon.com/TDK-SM60-Professional-High-Audio/dp/B00009QP0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220054991&sr=8-1

http://www.tape.com/6C60SMTDK.html?leftmenu=blankmedianav

http://www.totalmedia.com/store/audio-1/cassettes-1233/music-1448/c-60-2134/tdk-c60-music-grade-professional-40.html

http://www.atozaudio.com/html/closeouts-packagedcass.html

[Mr. Lin]

You have become a wealth of information on the subject.

[NAD613]

You have become a wealth of information on the subject.

I pretty much had to. Gone are the days when I could just go to Best, Target, or Monty Wards & stock up on whatever tape I needed, or phone up J&R Music World to order whatever tapes the stores here didn't have. Man, I wish it was 1993 again, just for the stores!

[zenith2134]

Those are some great links guys! Lots of fine tape still available, which is tops!!

I just this minute finished a turntable to cassette experiment.

Heres the info:

Pro-Ject Debut III w/ stock OM5E cart > Kenwood KA-8100 phono stage > Teac V205 deck. I used Maxell XL-II S 90 tape, and let the peaks hit +5dB maximum.

The LP? 1985's Internationalists by the Style Council. Not the best album, but it has a few tracks I like, and 80s music is my favorite kind of music.

Well, playing it back, I swear it actually sounds better than the LP itself, even though that ain't possible. I suspect the mediocre phonostage and tape rolled off the extreme high-end of the music, giving it a euphoric kind of sound. This tape sounds VERY analog, but is still very detailed. I like this sound, personally.

I WILL be doing more of these "needle to tape drops" *devil*

[Mr. Lin]

Those are some great links guys! Lots of fine tape still available, which is tops!!

I just this minute finished a turntable to cassette experiment.

Heres the info:

Pro-Ject Debut III w/ stock OM5E cart > Kenwood KA-8100 phono stage > Teac V205 deck. I used Maxell XL-II S 90 tape, and let the peaks hit +5dB maximum.

The LP? 1985's Internationalists by the Style Council. Not the best album, but it has a few tracks I like, and 80s music is my favorite kind of music.

Well, playing it back, I swear it actually sounds better than the LP itself, even though that ain't possible. I suspect the mediocre phonostage and tape rolled off the extreme high-end of the music, giving it a euphoric kind of sound. This tape sounds VERY analog, but is still very detailed. I like this sound, personally.

I WILL be doing more of these "needle to tape drops" *devil*


Zenith, check your private messages (upper right corner).

So it sounds better than the lp, eh? Let me tell you, I've been arguing about this with people here and on AK. Many of the tapes I've been making from CD sound substantially better (to me) than the source CD. Some say nothing can be better than the original, I say bullocks.

Try adding some tubes to the mix and see what happens. And just wait until you get a better cartridge, then you're really going to be blown away.

[zenith2134]

I'm tempted to use my Little Dot amps (MKII or II++) while recording, but since I need RIAA eq for vinyl, I'd be going through two preamps which is a no-no.

For CD i will however try those LD pre's. I did try the II++ once onto tape and it was pretty sweet!

Next thing to try is my Stromberg Carlson tube amp...I can utilize the 12ax7/6au6 frontend by using the tape-output into my Teac. I'll probably start a new thread at that point.

[Mr. Lin]

I'm tempted to use my Little Dot amps (MKII or II++) while recording, but since I need RIAA eq for vinyl, I'd be going through two preamps which is a no-no.

For CD i will however try those LD pre's. I did try the II++ once onto tape and it was pretty sweet!

Next thing to try is my Stromberg Carlson tube amp...I can utilize the 12ax7/6au6 frontend by using the tape-output into my Teac. I'll probably start a new thread at that point.

Good we want to hear about it.

[zenith2134]

Hey Mr. Lin and everyone else. I am now taping a CD of Fad Gadget's Under the Flag (1982). I was going to use the tube pre, but had a few questions first...

Since the Little Dot amps have variable output only, how should I set the master recording level on my deck in relation to the pre's volume control?

I'm thinking that I should set the deck's control to maximum and use the LD to set final volume. Since its a tube pre, I bet setting it to max and reversing the above scenario would cause it to clip and sound awful.
???

[Mr. Lin]

Hey Mr. Lin and everyone else. I am now taping a CD of Fad Gadget's Under the Flag (1982). I was going to use the tube pre, but had a few questions first...

Since the Little Dot amps have variable output only, how should I set the master recording level on my deck in relation to the pre's volume control?

I'm thinking that I should set the deck's control to maximum and use the LD to set final volume. Since its a tube pre, I bet setting it to max and reversing the above scenario would cause it to clip and sound awful.
???

I put my tube pre as high as it can go without distorting (when just listening to the CD player by itself, first) then I set the recording level on my deck as "hot" as I can get away with to lower the noise floor. Also take into consideration the particular tape you're using when setting the recording levels. Experiment to see what works.