Introducing the new TEAC W-1200 double cassette player, TEAC’s latest feat is a hark to traditional cassette playing, with a modern day twist. Marveling in the latest technology for the modern day tape lover with twin cassette decks, mic mixing, a USB digital output for archiving and fantastic recording features, this is TEAC ‘s renowned audio engineering done right.
Forty years on from the cassette takeover, and following a decade of cassette tape resurgence that has recently reached new heights, the W-1200 is a timely addition to your hi-fi system. With the aesthetic appeal of cassette tapes outshining previous trends such as CD’s, and with the revival of analog playback still bubbling on the surface; cassette players may just win our hearts yet again.
Digital Archiving with the W-1200
Not only can you listen to your old cassettes again but you can digitally archive them. If you are sitting on a precious cassette tape collection full of amazing artists that you’d love digitalised, then the W-1200 opens the door for unlimited access. With a USB digital output for digital recording and archiving you can enjoy CD like quality (48kHz/16-bit PCM) from your cassette collection on your computer or laptop. Reinventing traditional ways of listening with new and fuss free technological advancements all you need to do is connect the cassette player to your computer via a USB to digitise your music collection. From here, transferring your music on to a USB stick or SD card is a breeze. So whether you’re on the go, in your car, office or listening room you can enjoy bit-perfect music on your smartphone, music player or DAP.
Dual-Cassette Desk Design
The W-1200 has double cassette desk design, allowing you to faithfully record two cassettes at the same time. So if you want to share a cassette as a sentimental gift, making two copies is easy as with parallel recording mode. Alongside the ability to reproduce the warm analogue associated with tapes, the W-1200 has a range of versatile features that are as impressive as ever. The microphone input has mic mixing making it great for karaoke, and home recordings – perfect for getting the whole family involved. And noise reduction system eliminates and unwanted hissing, resulting in quality, accurate playback even for tapes recorded in Dolby B. In a bid to enable the finest recording, the W-1200 features pitch control and one touch dubbing for fast and convenient tape duplication and editing .
TEAC Audio Equipment
From turntables to CD players, integrated amplifiers to AV receivers, TEAC’s expertise in audio equipment expands for almost 70 years. Following on from their old-school tape recorders, TEAC revisits cassette playing like never before, with features that now allow you to record and archive your music. The company have a rich history in creating excellent tape recorders and are well known for their high quality components. In 2017, TEAC launched the multi-functional AD-850 cassette player as a blast from the past. The AD-850 functions not only as a cassette and CD player in one, a great addition to the home with further user focused abilities like recording feature and karaoke function.
History of Cassettes
Let’s go back to the 60’s, where at the height of technological advancements for music playing was the cassette player, developed by Phillips in 1962. By the late 1980’s this was the most common mode of music playback, and was highly popular before the invention of the CD. Why cassette tapes? Traditionally cassette tapes have been preferred for their signature analog sound which is pure, rich and defined by warmth and musical character. Functional yet innovative, the ability to record and make your own “mixtapes” with a cassette made them highly popular with music lovers worldwide. Furthermore, these tapes allowed playback of high quality tape recordings with minimal noise and could be enjoyed on the go with the later invention of the portable cassette player.
The Cassette Revival?
Who would have thought that cassettes would make a comeback? Well just like vinyl, it looks like things are heading that way. Recent sales suggest a spike in interest surrounding the cassette tape and the cassette player. These clunky, kitsch little tapes full of magnetic ribbon have been growing in popularity over recent years, with sales in 2018 increasing by 23% compared to the previous year. Whilst the revival is in full swing, it is clear that many artists are using the edgy aesthetic of the cassette tape as a marketing ploy to sell records, with many modern artists such as Billie Eilish and The 1975 selling thousands of copies of cassette recordings of their songs.
The demand for these old-school tapes was so high at one point that National Audio Company, who make the ribbon for the tapes was threatened due to the worldwide shortage of the gamma material used for the magnetic ribbon. In 2019, the cassette tape resurgence continued and it was predicted that sales for cassette tapes should pass 75,000, with results yet to be concluded. It is clear that cassette is making a comeback, so lovers of analog charm look no further than the W-1200 cassette player as a great way to play your old, or new tape collection.