I was there
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Yeah that's exactly the problem with modern cassette players, they're almost a waste of money. And the tape that is still produced today is quite terrible compared the old tape, so you also have to find old tape as well
I own two modern cassette players. I’m not old enough to have really lived through the original cassette era, but can confirm the modern stuff is kinda trash. Lots of motor whine. Would love to get my hands on a Walkman, but can’t justify the price. Tbh I kinda lost interest in cassettes more recently. I love the idea of physical media and mix tapes, but digital just feels more practical.
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I used to work tech support during the Windows XP days. One time I had a customer call in and, as part of the troubleshooting process, I asked them to click their Start button. The customer didn't know what that was so I told them that it was the button in the corner of the screen. The customer said that they did that and the screen went blank. They'd hit the power button on their monitor.
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I own two modern cassette players. I’m not old enough to have really lived through the original cassette era, but can confirm the modern stuff is kinda trash. Lots of motor whine. Would love to get my hands on a Walkman, but can’t justify the price. Tbh I kinda lost interest in cassettes more recently. I love the idea of physical media and mix tapes, but digital just feels more practical.
Indeed, some models are reselling for extremely expensive prices nowadays, it's a bit crazy. Especially since digital is just much more convenient, but it can feel nice to have some physical media
Alternatively you could look into a cassette deck if you're not set on a portable player (one released before the 2000s, I don't think they make new ones at all anyways), the high or medium end decks tend to have better sound -- there's much less flutter/wow -- compared to portable players in the same price range nowadays, since they're less "cool". Still have to be pretty lucky to find good deals though
