Sony TC-K700ES Cassette deck

I don't watch much television, but recently I have been watching YouTube videos streamed from a Roku on our living room screen (definitely check out Techmoan- he's great).  Maybe that doesn't count as "television" per se as I can pick and choose my content, but it's as close as I am willing to get.  I find that most programming lowers IQ (as shown by unscientific observation).  At any rate, I have noticed from my YouTube channel browsing that there seems to be something of a renaissance in the use of analog cassettes, not unlike what vinyl has experienced.  My wife puts this in the "what is old is new again" category, but I for one am glad the world is catching back up to this humble blogger.  As regular readers know, we have been making mix tapes around these parts for some years now!  (I have had probably five or six different decks come and go since I started blogging, mostly Sonys but also a Nakamichi, a Yamaha or two and a Harman Kardon).   Much better than trying to organize your iTunes files.  Pictured above is the primary deck we have been using for the past year or so, a Sony TC-K700es.  About five years ago I had it refurbished with the plan of being buried with it when I croak.  Unfortunately, just recently the spring that assists the door opening popped free of the housing, so I will have to open it up and see about fixing that (although the deck still works fine).  It is an older model and primarily manual in function- no auto reverse or auto bias.  I think that this piece will be the focus of the next few posts as I work to get the door mechanism repaired and dig up some info on it.  please feel free to let me know if you have or are currently using one like it, I'd appreciate anything you can tell me.   The only caveat will be the weather- we recently changed rooms for the stereo set up (that's ANOTHER story altogether) and there is no a/c in that room so if it's still summer hot things will have to wait a bit.  I have not had a good listening session since June!      

A New Cable Tweak?

At least she has it running at roughly a right angle to the Kimber.  I dunno.  Sounds kinda fuzzy.

Matching speakers to the Yamaha R300 receiver

So, in response to a question regarding good speakers for the Yamaha R-300, I wanted to post a picture of it paired with an old pair of B&W DM 600i speakers that I got for very little money at the thrift store (another top ten find, which is getting harder to do all of the time).  I did have to replace the jumpers for the set of dual binding posts that permit bi-wiring, as the originals had disappeared, and the cabinet vinyl is a little rough, but otherwise these speakers are in great condition.  I wound up buying the new jumper cables from Maze Audio, who can be found here:

http://www.mazeaudio.com/power-cables.html

The jumpers are of super high quality and I strongly recommend them.  The DM600i have sounded very good with anything I own, and the R-300 is no exception.  I always find myself looking at DM series auctions on Ebay, as the sound of these speakers as held up very well over time.  This blog is too small in reach to impact on prices I would imagine, so I would strongly recommend looking into a pair of these or others in the DM series while they can still be found in decent condition for not too much money.  Please let me know if you also have experience with these speakers, or decide to take the plunge and get them for yourself.