Yamaha KX393 Reviews

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Yamaha KX393
★★★★☆
4.0
83.0% of users recommend this
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Latest Reviews

“So like a fool I entrusted my Nakamichi to my parents...”

★★★★☆

written by absintheboy on 12/04/2007

So like a fool I entrusted my Nakamichi to my parents while I sorted out the service it needed, only to find out a year later that they'd thrown it out!!!!

I needed a halfway decent cassette deck, and the Yamaha not only looks stylish but has the "play trim" function. The Nak used non-standard bias settings so this was an essential feature for playing my old recordings. And the Yamaha does a better job than anything other than another Nakamichi.

As for its own recordings, they are fine. The LED meters are more than adequate (I've used some crappy ones in my time) and while it doesn't sound like a Nakamichi...nothing else does and a Nak costs 6 times as much!

Reproduction of pre-recorded material is very good too. It's not a top end deck, but then it doesn't pretend to be one. What it does do is play tapes very well, especially for the price and make very passable recordings. I'd recommend one to anyone who isn't using cassettes as a major source of music, and lets face it who is today? If you've got a bunch of old tapes that you want to listen to or dub to CD then you won't go wrong with this Yamaha.

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Absintheboy's Response to absintheboy's Review

Written on: 15/05/2014

Update May 2014. For the last 18 months I have been making heavier use of the KX-393 as I have started recording cassettes from the radio again after a decade not bothering.

I really like the deck, it works best with type II cassettes (no longer widely available) but gives decent enough results with the basic Maxell UR available at Wilko. My stash of Type IV tape doesn't really offer any advantage over a good type II with this deck. Still going after about 10 years, no signs of wear.

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“I recently purchased the Yamaha KX393 to add to my...”

★★★★★

written by beemer on 25/05/2006

I recently purchased the Yamaha KX393 to add to my Marantz system. I didn't want to spend a lot on a tape deck as I hardly use tapes anymore. I purchased my deck online for a bargain price of £70.00 the sound quality is superb and the spec and build quality is excellent. I would recommend using a good quality interconnect to truly appreciate the sound quality of the Yamaha I would recommend the QED qunect 1 cable a top quality cable and only £20. In conclusion anyone looking for a quality tape deck on a budget look no further than the Yamaha KX393...

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“Yamaha KX393 - I bought this because I couldn't...”

★★★★★

written by A Holyoak on 08/09/2004

Yamaha KX393 - I bought this because I couldn't justify the £250 price tag of the KX580. I don't regret it at all because this is a well-engineered piece of kit. Recordings are nice & clear with fine detailing - chrome tapes sound very good. If playing back on the KX393, the play trim facility is fanatastic - adding a little extra top-end without fizz or distortion. I upgraded to better interconnect cables & this made a difference as well. All in all a good purchase.

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“KX393 Is a good tape deck at the price you pay. I...”

★★★★★

written by ANDREW JAMES. on 14/12/2002

KX393 Is a good tape deck at the price you pay. I bought mine ex-display without box or remote control but only paid £60 for it. So far I have recorded about 2000 hours of music on it at shows and partys and played them back on to minidisc for recording to archive. I had no problems with record quality since I used a demag tape on it and the quality is the same as day one apart from giving it a gentle tap. The problems easy to solve but I might get a new tapedeck yet. roaddj....

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“A relatively easy to use machine with double cassette...”

★★★★★

written by pwb. on 14/10/2001

A relatively easy to use machine with double cassette and auto reverse. Recordings on normal and chrome tape sound very good, especially using Dolby C. Only complaints are minor, most notably the noisy auto reverse mechanism which clunks when tape is started. Labels on controls could be higher contrast, slightly larger/bolder print - but partly my eyesight.

I bought this to replace my 20 year old AWIA which had met its maker (play would not stay on). Although the AWIA was a top of the range machine and the Yamaha is really only an entry level one, sounds bucket loads better.

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5966_Mel.'s Response to pwb.'s Review

Written on: 17/11/2001

Funnily enough my 20 year old top of the range Aiwa has also packed up for the same reason. So the review is very useful.

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Panli.'s Response to pwb.'s Review

Written on: 05/12/2002

Dear pwb. I'm sorry to say but this deck is just a single deck not a double as you wrote and also it's not auto-reverse. Probably you are telling about another Yamaha model. Otherwise,the Yamaha is a very good piece of kitt for the price and your complaints applies to almost Yamaha decks.

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“Initially very pleased as it feels well made and has...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Paul Nadin. on 28/02/2000

Initially very pleased as it feels well made and has lots of buttons to play with. I am not too fussed about sound quality on a cassette deck as I use it mainly for speech recordings. After six months it is now broke and I cant find the receipt (sob sob sob). The sound warbles irrespective of what tape I put in. Think I will send an email to yamaha.

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Coffee.'s Response to 43_Paul Nadin.'s Review

Written on: 04/08/2001

I don't agree with the opinion on the deck. I got mine more than 2 years ago and use it quite often, still pleased with the quality of the sound and build. Sorry, you must've gotten a lemon unit... My main use of the deck it for music, I had very good results with Type II ( Chrome ) tapes by Maxell and TDK and a bit better results with Type IV tapes by That's. Great deck for the money!!

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John Richards's Response to 43_Paul Nadin.'s Review

Written on: 30/08/2014

You describe a warbling sound and this is most common when there is grime on the capstan and pinch-roller mechanism or if a tape has jammed within it's own housing. Clean the capstan, pinch-roller and playback/record heads with a decent solvent and q-tip or proprietary tape transport cleaner. Avoid using cheap tapes too. Maxell and TDK work best on these machines

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A Holyoak's Response to 43_Paul Nadin.'s Review

Written on: 12/02/2006

If this Yamaha KX-393 was bought from a Yamaha dealer (more than likely as there are thousands of them) then the deck comes as standard with a 2 year guarantee. So just pop it back to where you bought it from & they will do the rest. Happy days.

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A Holyoak's Response to 43_Paul Nadin.'s Review

Written on: 08/09/2004

If your deck is under 2yrs old Yamaha will sort it free. Yamaha are one of the Hi-Fi manufacturers that give a 2yr guarantee as standard - which I feel is excellent & backs up there usual fine build quality. I have used their equipment for numerous years & never had any gripes. If you purchased it from a proper Hi-Fi dealer they will probably help you out.

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62676_Brian.'s Response to 43_Paul Nadin.'s Review

Written on: 05/01/2003

I have 393 (10yrs old?) and the better 580 SE (but with NO auto reverse) both are fabulous.
Do you use a head cleaner? I would give Yamaha a chance to help out... the technical guy was really great when I phoned several times about al the 580SE tweaks in the manual.

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Asked by g1hso on 13th June 2017 Report this content
hi, got the yamaha kx393 tape deck. the level control button is missing, been replaced with a non original one. any ideas where can get the original control for the level control. thanks,

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