Sony TC-WE475 dual cassette deck review

The last model of tape deck that Sony ever made; you could buy one new as late as 2011. Overall pretty good, except for clunky mechanisms and mediocre Dolby B NR performance. I bought this deck new at Circuit City in July 2002 as a display model special for $139.97 + tax.

(Originally uploaded to YouTube on March 16, 2013 with 12,622 views; edited and re-uploaded due to copyright problems.)

[devonnewest]

Cassettes sound freaking amazing. I will never get rid of them, or my Technics RS-TR355 and Sony TC-WR710.

[AdventuresinNature]

I was just given my late papa's Sony TCWE435 cassette deck and personally replaced the belts on it today and got it working again like brand new! I've had such fun and enjoyment with it today!

[Rich_]

You always have such a great playlist for these demos.

[EastAngliaUK]

The audio seems very very good for a tape here.  
Even over YT.

[EddieJazzFan]

Great review....2000 views in 3 days!  Wow I thought I was one of the few people still interested in cassettes.

[silverphoenix]

Recently got back into tape decks. Thanks for the vid.

[MikeDS]

It's an old video, but the Dolby circuits need a matched input level in order for them to work properly. Adjusting the playback level (*down* to about 510 mV for a 250 nWb/m level tape) using a calibration tape that can be ordered from eBay, a multimeter and the internal pots (RV111, 211 for deck A and RV121, 221 for deck B) makes the deck come alive for playback and recording.

[noisepuppet]

I've been into audio all my life and have even made money at it, and I do know the limitations of cassette tape. I think it sounds just fine. It is certainly a marvel of engineering, the performance they managed to wring out of this medium, with its byzantine clockwork of moving parts.

[Rocco]

I just bought the silver one today. Came here to check the deck out before I get it delivered to me next week. Nice video bro. Im really happy I bought this deck thanks to you. You just bought yourself a subscriber.

[WaybackTECH]

I think people are surprised when they hear a cassette to how good they sound, because it has been so long since cassettes were made. I think a lot of people now days never heard music from one, and everyone is use to hearing MP3 / iTunes or streaming music. Which is another reason there is a bit of a surprise when one hears vinyl for the first time, or the first time in many years.

[migalito]

I just picked one up at an antiques store for $35. It was in excellent shape. I also picked up 12 tapes of type 2, 3 and 4 for 33 cents each. I felt like I won the lottery because I have been using a LX1 Sears machine made by Sanyo during the early seventies. Its OK but without any noise reduction. The Sony seems to be a nice addition and with their new popularity I felt $35 for a perfect machine was a good deal. Thanks for the review and the date code info which places mine at 2002.

[LondonUnderground]

I have the same model called TC-WE675 with dual recording on each deck. Still working A1 after purchasing it in early 2002.
I will never get rid of it even if someone offers me $10000. I still have it in pristine condition, with its original box, original wrap, manual. Like new from day 1.

I'd be curious if these models (475 & 675) are able to transfer tapes to MP3 with an audio cord linked to the computer using the Audacity program. The back of this tape deck has two black 2.5 mm output but it doesn't say "Audio in" but "Control A1 II"

[thesilvester]

I have exactly this Deck. It is quite new when you look at it, but when U try to play the cassette, it stops after 4 seconds. If I press play, still plays for 4 seconds then stops. And sometimes pulls out the magnetic tape. Do you think this isssue can be repaired?

[jeffl.]

I have a TC-WE425, which is almost the same deck except the 425 lacks the automatic music search feature.
There are some cosmetic differences in that the 425 uses rectangular & square buttons for the tape controls.

[TEDdotcom]

I ran to the living room to check if we have this same tape deck...and it is! I guess its quite a popular model since I see a lot of posts that claim they have this too. I really like to sound from this but unfortunately I don't have a lot of tapes anymore to use this.

BTW, the sound quality from your tape recordings are great. 👍🏼

[ashleycox]

I had one of these as part of my first brand new separates system. Other components included a TA-FE370 amp, ST-SE370 Tuner and an older Philips CD player. This deck lasted me well until I sold it in 2014, long after the rest of the system had gone. I now have much higher end components, but I look back fondly on that system as it lasted well and sounded great.

[monsieurmike]

Excellent!.. just acquired one of these after watching this review. Just confirmed with the selller that i am interested in purchasing for 20 bucks...in excellent working condition like brand new. Will be picking it up tmrw sunday..✌

[bradyledbetter]

Does anyone know what the song is that’s playing at 9:57-10:20?!?!? It sounds good and I can’t figure out the name

[guanghua]

I was born in 2001, and cassette was filled during my childhood until 2013 when my school decided to use CD instead Cassette to record English class lectures. Then two years later my Dad gave all cassettes and CDs to his friends since he thought I'm not going into music (but I did a year later😂) I have being digging into mp3s, streams, CDs, Vinyls, and here I am to rediscover cassette in 2019 and, personal opinion, this is the one gives me the most joy. With all you can do to record and play and trials and errors, try hot recordings, dubbing and personalize, it just fun and enjoyable. Picked up this we475 from Goodwill for $9.99 and LOVE IT! My roommate shocks about how great a cassette could sound and I will never forget his reactions when he realized this deck is just 9.99 bucks😂

[flyingkillerrobots]

I just picked one of these up at a thrift for $7 today .. perfect shape. Mine was actually made in JAPAN (in 2003), which is interesting in and of itself. Thanks for the video - I didn't know the doors came off - very helpful!