The cheapest, simplest & most popular cassette player mechanism

A detailed look at what is probably today's best-selling cassette tape player mechanism. Is it really THAT bad? Let's find out...

Chapters Index:
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Original Tanashin design
1:33 Mahogany Monsters
2:18 Pyle PL5CSUB
3:44 First test
4:47 Fast-forward, but no rewind
6:55 Direct hookup audio samples
8:00 A look inside
9:08 Mechanism design
10:31 Belt & motor
13:23 Mechanism in operation
14:34 Undocumented feature
14:59 Conclusion
16:18 Outro music

#cassetteculture #crosley #victrola

[Max]

I'm still amazed how we are in a huge cassette revival yet we have the worst options in cassette-playing devices when it comes to brand-new stuff. But not all hope is lost: Vinyl struggled for quite a few years until we finally got decent non-crosley turntables at an affordable price. I really hope we see something like that for the tape world.

[error]

My mom's car when I was little had a stereo with that same mechanism in it. The radio played OK, but the cassette never worked while we had the car. When we decided to finally scrap the old pile of rust I pulled the stereo out and managed to get it going. I was surprised at how good it performed. Sadly the car was long gone by then. I still have the stereo, though, in my collection.

[VochoTalacha]

I laughed when he tested the RCA input feature. The pun was totally intended with the song played from the walkman: "it's the same, but if you're willing to play the game..." hahahaha

[Aeduo]

Honestly, considering some of the new clunkers techmoan has gotten, this probably is one of the best sounding ones. the operation reminds me a lot of an 8-track. Many of those were dumb simple, just turns on and plays from the tape being shoved in and shuts off when the tape ejects.

[UnderEu]

Doesn’t sound bad, to be honest...

And the obligatory “Radio Gets Results” jingle is missing but I’m pleased with the Oldsmobile one, too.

[DrCassette]

The direct hookup sounds surprisingly good, aside from the wobbly flywheel that mechanism technically is quite acceptable. Still I wouldn't want to use something like this because of the lack of user comfort. No rewind function and relatively slow fast forward would be a constant annoyance for me.

[dualityk]

I had an Audiovox car radio with this unit in it in the late 90s (which means it was probably an actual Tanashin) in my first car, a Mk1 Rabbit. Other than the punishment of having to look at its cheap face and its mile long single control button, it didn't actually sound that bad. I'm not surprised it made an acceptable performance here. However, I used to skip songs a lot, and the lack of a second spindle meant the tapes would tension unevenly after a few plays and would start to sound ... "interesting" until they were run end to end to retension them.

It later got replaced with the last of the good Panasonic full logic decks, with power load/eject, multiple song skip, silence skip, and some sweet purple VU meters. Sadly, information and photos of that one have been lost to the digital black hole that consumed almost all low-end mainstream consumer products from the early-mid 90s to the early 2000s.

[danielalejandroespinahenri]

Actually sounds really good in comparison with some of those similar cassette players recently featured by techmoan. I wonder if it offers better wow & flutter than some others

[Kylefassbinderful]

For my ears it didn't sound too bad. Kinda surprised it has a stereo head.

[johnDingoFoxVelocity]

Not bad on the tape player I never thought this would sound good

[the_rubbish_bin]

"There is a special feel" LoL I have one of those Oldsmobile tapes too. Makes for good comparison when I play it on one of my decks. Thanks for playing the whole jingle!

[fsfs]

Is this mech the worst thing ever? Eh, not necessarily; there's worse stuff, especially things spec'd down with mono heads or cheaper motors (those that don't even try to copy good name-brand motors).. Is it something you'd actually want to use? Not really, no.
They're using a CW motor here mostly to have a more compact mechanism: notice the motor is on the same plane as the bulk of the mech, not hanging from the other side as with CCW motors used in larger home or boombox-style models. This really helps get these mechs into tight spaces and is a pretty common tactic for other compact mechs (especially automotive types).

[MacPhantom]

I really had to laugh at "Mabucai"!
That said, it does sound better than other knockoffs with more features, possibly because it has a bit of metal in the flywheel. It's still not good of course (you mentioned the untrue behaviour of it).

[FPH-CAT]

That FF only mechanism reminds me of the cheap drug store walkmans in the 80s and 90s (Yorx, GPX, Unisef, Soundesign, Emerson).

[ACBMemphis]

Hopefully, GM had the decency to put a cassette deck with rewind in that Oldsmobile...

[ConsumerDV]

Faux-1930s cabinets are to adjust the expectations of a customer. If this machine looked like, oh, let's say, TEAC W-1200, then the customer would expect its performance to match the looks: to have wide and flat frequency response, low noise, low wow & flutter, noise reduction, and all other goodies like song search, programmable playlist, auto-calibration, etc. But a machine that looks like it came from 1930s telegraphs, "I am just a crappy sound box from the era when talkies were invented, do not expect much of me". Smart on the manufacturer, but so sad.

[polaris]

would be interesting to hear a side-by-side comparison of the line output vs. a proper tape deck

[Kalvinjj]

To begin with it already starts above expectations from being stereo, and to top it off, no bizarre high wow and flutter that you can perceive on music you're hearing for the 1st time, so definitely a winner.

[NanoBurger]

6:46
Industry professionals agree that two-thirds of cheap tape mechanisms should never have taken place.

[snugglebunnyhaven]

When I was little those mechanisms were fascinating to me. I had my share of cassette recorders, decks and players. I also had some cheaper car stereos I setup for my own personal use. The old Kraco am fm cassette car stereos actually had an all metal tape mechanism with brass motor pulley and the flywheel was all aluminum. Also had a secondary V belt to drive the takeup/ffwd instead of all gears. I have seen some with flat belts. Always drives me crazy when I see those V belt mechanisms with the belts twisted. I'd always put them back on track in line from V to V.