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Review on 🎧 The Studebaker Portable Retro Home Audio Stereo: a Gold Cassette Player with Built-in Speakers and Aux Input by Will Rahman

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Nice little radio

This is a nice little radio and cassette player. Below is a summary of what we found. Advantages: * High quality plastic housing. This radio feels more durable than comparable cassette players in this price range. The carrying handle is also in one piece, for example it is not hollow at the back.* Good radio reception in the AM and FM bands. Although the tuner uses a radial knob to change stations like many modern radios, the internal tuner uses a digital receiver to tune into stations.* The design is very attractive. The controls are reminiscent of the radios I used in the late '60s and early '70s. * Can be quite loud and still produce a clear sound. I played the tape at full volume and there was no tearing or distortion. You could actually feel the air movement in front of the speaker. * It seems that the tape playback equalizer is designed to eliminate tape hiss. I tested a high offset tape that contained Dolby B NR and it sounded very good; Not at all harsh and without tape hiss. * Ribbon controls feel solid. * Autostop enabled for play mode. * Auxiliary input is convenient for portable media players. * At around $30, this is a good value. Cons: * The first two cassettes I used were blurry and kept jamming. The 3rd tape used worked flawlessly. The performance of the tape recorder is only sufficient to play a high-quality tape that is not prone to glitches. When high quality tape is used, the playback speed was accurate, clear and stable.* Auto stop does not work on FF or RW tapes. I'm deducting a point for potential performance issues playing some tapes. However, this is similar to today's inexpensive tape recorders. So I would still consider buying this device as the overall quality and style seems good for the money. Only time will tell how well it holds up. I'm deducting a point for potential performance issues playing some tapes. However, this is similar to today's inexpensive tape recorders. So I would still consider buying this device as the overall quality and style seems good for the money. Only time will tell how well it holds up. I'm deducting a point for potential performance issues playing some tapes. However, this is similar to today's inexpensive tape recorders. So I would still consider buying this device as the overall quality and style seems good for the money. Only time will tell how well it holds up.

Pros
  • Best
Cons
  • Don't remind me