"Don't waste time with old stuff, if it is not of unusual good quality. "

Wow and flutter ? Frequency repsonse ? Distortion ?

Same with those USB turntables. I got an old Dual I''ll stick a gartridge in and run it through my Marantz CD-400B. It has specs. Not wow and flutter of course, the massive METAL platter takes care of that as well as dampening vibrations.

For a cassette, maybe I can get ahold of my ex-boss who has a Nakamichi Dragon and borrow that. Actually I got a buddy alot more local who has a good three head Technics. I know it is a good deck because I sold it to him. (replaced it with a Pioneer CT-F950 which sounded just as good even without having Dolby HX)

Surely you don't beieve this new junk is anywhere near the quality of the better vintage stuff. Hint ; if it was, it would be considerably more than a hundred bucks.

Builb me a Dual 1229Q with the most moderne manufaturing techniques but adhering to the original design, it would ocst at least a grand. Same with old cassettes and actually reel to reels.

No, noting gets better, just cheaper. EVERY advance I have sen in consumer electronics has made it cheaper to build. They make out when it is not cheaper to sell. The advent of digital tuners, they are CHEAPER than a TV turret tuner or even the elcheapo wafer tiners. It would cost more to manufacture a combo four gang and three gang tandem variable capacitor for a tuner now then the whole front end costs, and all you have to do is feed it data which comlies with the Phillips standard or something like that.

hat I saw happen to cassette drives and turntables, I don't even want them from the 1980s usually. Give me the 1970s era stuff. the later **** is really ****. A stamped capstan flywheel, are you kidding me ? A plastic platter on a turntable, yeah right.

This **** is NOT high fidelity and does not do justice to the format it is getting converted to, NOR EVEN THE SOURCE FROM THE 1950s ! I am amazed at how good some of this old stuff sounds, really. (on good equpiment that is)

So, my personal and professional opinion - I disagree. I wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with most of this new junk.

Of course that is a colloquialism. I have no dog, if I did I probably wouldn't hit it and I wouldn't do it with electronic equipment no matter how ****ty it is.

But that's the saying. I believe it applies.