Retro Audio Museum: the cassette as mechanical precision work

Shelves full of cassette decks and amplifiers, with a sofa and a lamp covered in cassette tapes in the foreground. — Cassette decks and amplifiers.Photo: Retro Audio Museum · provided by the museum

Inside the cassette

Look at the heads, capstan, pinch roller and gears, and follow how the tape is moved evenly past the recording and playback heads.

A row of reel-to-reel tape recorders in front of a wall with music posters, next to a door printed with a red telephone box. — Reel-to-reel tape recorders.Photo: Retro Audio Museum · provided by the museum

Decks alongside tape recorders

Reel-to-reel equipment makes the tape path more visible than a cassette does. Compare the controls, speed and format, and ask which system was intended for home or studio use.

Shelves full of portable radio cassette recorders. — A wall of boomboxes.Photo: Retro Audio Museum · provided by the museum

A one-hour guided tour

The collector gives explanations by appointment. Ask which devices are in working order, but do not expect every fragile deck to be started up or touched.

Old tape recorders, radios and film equipment on tables and shelves, with advertising signs on the wall. — Early tape recorders and radios.Photo: Retro Audio Museum · provided by the museum

Before you go

All 365 days only means that appointments are possible, not free walk-in access. The first floor may present accessibility limitations; ask in advance.

Sources

This information has been compiled from public sources. Not everything has been confirmed by the museum itself; please check opening hours and prices on the museum's website.

Retro Audio Museum (retroaudiomuseum.com)