Cassette tapes and CDs may sound obsolete today as music streaming apps have taken over the world. Although there are manufacturers still producing portable and affordable cassette tape players, there is nothing like the old-school cassette devices.
Unfortunately, we are not going to see new cassette player combos since everything is digital now. However, there is an old cassette player model with CD recorder that is still purchasable, and here is what we’ve found.
A Cassette Player with CD Recorder – What Can It Do?
As the name suggests, a cassette player with a CD recorder is a device that allows you to play cassette tapes and record audio onto CDs.
To be clear, not every cassette deck with a CD component can be called a cassette deck and CD recorder combo. You might have seen some cassette decks that allow you to record from the content on a CD to digital formats like MP3, or cassette tapes. It plays CDs and cassettes perfectly, but it only supports cassettes when it comes to recording.
A real cassette player/recorder with a CD recorder is able to burn CDs or record cassettes from external audio sources like turntables, CD players, and MP3 players. And it offers dubbing from cassette tapes to CDs and CDs to cassette tapes freely. These features can’t be found on regular cassette decks, and this is why a cassette player with a CD recorder combo is special in the industry.
Top Classic Cassette Player with CD Recorder
Tascam CC222MKII Cassette & CD Recorder Combo
If you’re looking for a vintage versatile cassette deck with a CD recorder, it seems that the Tascam CC222MKII is the only decent choice. The product was launched in the 2000s and it was the first CD/Cassette Recorder combo that combined a cassette deck recorder with a CD recorder in a single product.
The Tascam CC222MKII cassette deck & CD recorder combo perfectly work as a regular cassette player and CD player, and it also allows you to record external audio resources onto cassettes and CDs. The cassette deck features auto-reverse and return-to-zero functions so you can continuously play the tapes without flipping them manually.
Besides that, the internal dubbing feature lets users transfer the content from cassettes to CDs or from CDs to cassette tapes freely and flexibly. And you don’t need to worry about damaging blank CDs accidentally thanks to the CD rewritable function. What’s important is that these two players/recorders can work independently, which means you can record your CDs while playing a cassette tape simultaneously.
The reliable, rack-mountable Tascam CC222MKII comes with Dolby B noise reduction, ensuring better recording quality. And the ±12% pitch control allows you to adjust the speeds during recording or playback precisely. What’s more, a phono input is equipped as a bonus, which is useful when you need to connect this recorder with a turntable for your LP records. Also, you can easily and conveniently control this Cassette & CD Recorder Combo with a wireless remote control.
Unfortunately, this unit is discontinued today. You may find it available on some second-handed market such as eBay or reverb but you probably need to do some digging to find a good-conditioned or serviceable unit.
I have these but are not working. Where can I find someone who still fixes these in Yonkers or White Pls, NY?
I need to convert several cassettes to CD’s, not CD to CD’s. Will your unit to that?