BTO's PlusDeck EX could save your marriage

Nothing sets an aging geek's pulse to pounding like the marriage of old and new with lots of buttons and a big ol' knob. Korea's BTO knows this, and offers up their PlusDeck EX as followup to their PlusDeck 2. They share the ability to convert your digital MP3s to cassette tape (and visa versa) while tossing in some crazy-luxurious 7.1ch surround, LCD control, 3.5-mm and RCA inputs (among others), AM/FM tuner and remote on top of the USB interface. Announced a few weeks ago, shipping now in Korea for ?319,000 or about $340. Yeah, we know, but just think of the points you'll score from your gen-x or boomer-spouse when you present them with a mix-tape, 21st century style. Crazy... like a fox.

[via Akihabara News]

[disguised Posted Sep 6th 2007 4:58AM]

Wow.. tapes... I'm sure I still have a walkman and a few tapes *somewhere* in my house...

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY Posted Sep 6th 2007 5:22AM]

Pretty cool, but anyone with a decent sound card, Audacity installed on their computer, some cables from Radio Shack, and an old Nakamichi tape deck can do the same exact thing for much less.

[stridermt2k Posted Sep 6th 2007 9:06AM]

Agreed.
Audacity and a little reading and you're in biz on the cheap.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 6:01AM]

I think its a very good idea , maybe the price is too high for a cassete , except the analogical imput , it the same than the plusdeck normal , and its cost a third part

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 7:27AM]

Tapes can't record in 7.1 channels, can they? Although I'm sure it goes through some complicated signal processing, probably digital, how exactly does it decide what to play for any given channel? Or does it just play the same thing from each speaker (except the subwoofer)? Thanks in advance to the audiophile/technobuff who responds. Also, can MP3s record in 7.1 channels?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 2:17PM]

No, you will need 4 tapes to record 7.1 ;-)

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 8:02AM]

wha? really?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 8:04AM]

7.1 on tape? Nice

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 8:44AM]

"Nothing sets an aging geek's pulse to pounding like the marriage of old and new with lots of buttons and a big ol' knob."

It's a close thing but this has to be my favourite Engadget lead-in so far.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 8:44AM]

Shouldn't that be "Crazy like the wolf" if we're talking about obscure eighties references?

[stridermt2k Posted Sep 6th 2007 9:07AM]

Hungry like the Wolf.

hungry

[arkansized Posted Sep 6th 2007 10:54AM]

I can think of a really good use for this. Lots of us musicians use legacy synths which don't have MIDI connections, just tape in/out. I must have 100 sound bank data tapes that I *eventually* will convert to mp3s. If this were @ $150, I'd jump on it.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 10:50PM]

I must be an aging geek. the first thing that came to mind when I read the company's initials was, "Bachman-Turner Overdrive makes radios?"

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 6th 2007 11:22AM]

"visa" versa?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2007 1:26PM]

I have the Plus Deck 2 but upgraded the PC a few months ago and no longer have an internal port to connect. I asked at Radio Shack and some other vendors (including Crutchfield online) and have been looking since but no one can help me with a "box" that could both house and convert the serial unit to USB. So I was excited to see this new USB version coming out. But $340???

BTW...the new feature of copying back to cassette? My husband drives a vehicle that doesn't have a CD player but it has a tape player...bet there's lots of those still out there :)