Playdrv4me wrote:
In the lot of crappy condition stuff I got with my otherwise OK BM7000 and the RL6000 speakers was a BeoCord 7000 with broken mounts for the lid and a constant whirring noise whenever it was running which of course wouldn't play tapes either.
I just threw it in the trash. I know there's a lot of nostalgia around here but I can't imagine spending any time fixing a tape deck unless its part of an integrated unit like the BC9500, and that's before considering the BC5000 is considerably more complex than the 7. And even then it's really "just to know" its working.
Cassette can be a very decent format when using these decks; the 4715 is no slouch when in good working order, but I'd recommend to disable the back capstan to eliminate skew and ruined tapes - worn dual capstan transports are the worst handlers of tape.
I'm pretty happy with my Beocord 9000 and have had much joy with other decks in the 8000 series. They are good performers (20-20k Hz +/- 1½ dB at -20 dB), considering the narrow tracks and slow speed. Haven't been using cassette so much since I started using open reel tape instead; still using the 9000 occasionally as it blows 256 kb/s mp3's on my iPod out of the water.