My favorite tape player, the Aiwa TX616, is no longer playing tapes. The radio works, but the tape player aspect will not move. It cannot REW/FF or play tapes.
This particular model has Dolby NR, and worked quite well on standard tapes.
This was my go-to player for converting audio cassettes to digital formats (usually WAV, FLAC or MP3). It's worked well since the 90s.
Sadly, the backup player has also died. Same issue, same age. It's a Garrard. I cannot find a model number. The user manual for it may be somewhere, but not sure where, to see if the model is listed there.
I cannot figure out how to open either, to see what is wrong. There are tiny screws to remove, but once those are removed, it still will not open up.
I bought a 'new' (used) Aiwa from
eBay, and that one will hopefully work. However, I'd still really like to get these repaired. It has to be something simple, seeing as how both suddenly died.
We had more 'walkman' type tape players in a drawer outside. An actual Sony-branded Walkman from the 90s is dead, as is a Panasonic from the 70s. Only a really cheap and untrustworthy no-name from around 2000 still works, but its so hissy and trebly that its not really usable.
BTW: I'm not buying a manual from some Russian site online for $10-25. Screw that. Odds are it's not complete, hard to read, etc. I refuse to pay some opportunist a-hole for something he/she does not even own. If I can find either of these manuals, I'd add them to this threads. Service manuals and user manuals should be free.