Hands down, the best deck I ever owned! Nick, you're right with reliability. I have used mine since 1987 daily up until a few years ago. Never once a problem. Back then Yamaha was a lot more reliable. I have it still but to my dismay; it stopped playing. I am sure it is something minor. Still not bad for a deck I played for some 25 years plus. I also have an old CR-450 Yamaha receiver that operates as the day I bought it. Drop down the stairs tough!

PS: If any of you are interested in my deck for parts, it's yours for the shipping cost.

excelente platine mais hélas en panne (entrainement) chercher qq pour reparer

dbx et qualité de restitution

aucun

j'ai acheté cette excellente platine en 1988 et n'ai jamais été déçu par sa qualité. Elle est aujourd'hui en panne (moteur cabestan grippé ou HS) car je ne l'ai pas utilisée pendant 1 an et pourtant, je n'arrive pas à m'en séparer

I have had this tapedeck since 1986 and I must say it continues to impress me. It is a single deck, 2 head, auto reverse with Dolby B,C,HXpro and DBX. Though I do not use it very much, it has never failed and its operation is flawless. The buttons are electronic, therefore no wear and tear and it has a real time counter. But all this means nothing if it doesn't perform sonically.Thankfully its sonic virtues are as good as it gets. I have recorded CDs on metal tape with DBX and the sound is the same as the CD. It was Yamaha's second best deck in the mid eighties and in a sense was never replaced since analog decks started to vanish from that point on. The best Yamaha deck was the K1020 which was a 3 head deck. A definite best used buy.

DBX with 3 Dolby settings

I agree with Nick, I bought this fine Yamaha tape deck around the mid to late 1980's & only now is it slowing its age. But that's okay because I only use it now to record music from CD's to mail to my wife's family in Russia, who have no CD player. I used this tape deck in the early 1990's with my multi-media slide shows, which I taped CD's with the DBX on to cassette tape & then watch the timer from the tape deck to fade the 2 projectors with. What a great idea, a timer in seconds instead of abstract numbers, why didn't all tape decks had this? I had a Technics tape deck in the late 1970's that after 3 years, I had to take to the shop 3 times to repair before I threw it away. I will never buy another Technics product because of this. In contrast, the Yahama tape deck has ran well for 10 plus years, & only now the timer is off & I can hear the machine struggle when rewinding. I was so impressed with this tape deck when I first got it, 2 other friends had to buy it & one friend that I am still in contact with, has his machine.