Upon taking the TEAC 450 cassette deck from its carton an extreme feeling of delight and anticipation literally takes over. The 450 is an exquisite machine to look at. And just from the touch, you know it’s going to sound fantastic. Having received an advance copy of Paul Williams’ new album on a cassette, I immediately placed it on this machine and laid back and listened and listened some more. The reproduction was fantastic. I had just heard the test pressing, So the album itself was very fresh.'But for some reason hearing it on the 450 the music was more intimate. The music seemed to grow within the transistors and naturally flow from that little box to my ears.

To review this piece of equipment adequately* though, I wanted the answer to one basic question: what happens to the TEAC 450 after months of wear and tear? To find out, I approached Tom Spaulding at Warehouse Sound in San Luis Obispo, California. The equipment he sells must meet stringent standards before he will market it in his catalog.