Audio Systems: Cassette Deck Playing Fast, pitch adjustment, cassette collection

Question
I recently acquired a Pioneer CT850 cassette deck at a garage sale. When I play tapes it seems to be running fast. The drive belt appears to be new and I cant find anything visually wrong. Any ideas on what to check or replace?"


Answer
I hate to say it since I try to be helpful with audio questions, but your on your own with cassette players. I still have a Nakamechi Dragon (one of the best cassette players of it's time). It is a very attractive paper weight. I will say that the cassette door still opens so I can look at it with an idle cassette in it. If you were a photographer of antiquities you may find value in cassettes, from a visual point of view. I for one, threw my cassette collection away years ago.

If you have a cassette player that even plays, then you're ahead of the game. Record it as a CD, Then play it on a CD player with a pitch control. There are even programs where you can change the pitch during recording or you can re-record the CD after the pitch adjustment to another CD. It's a longer process but if you value your cassette collection and can't find re-mastered CD's on Amazon then it may be worth it