Cabbages and Kings posted:

so did my dad, but actually only 2/6 decks worked, pristine condition or not, so that's the first thing to check.

if you have random tape decks from the 90s in good shape that work, yes they are probably nicer than anything you can easily get new in 2023 and also might have some resale value on reverb etc, especially if they play type III/IV tapes ("METAL" toggle switch, often)