Ive come across Honda factory tape & CD players in multiple places, such as thrift shops, junkyards, and on ebay. It shouldnt be that difficult to find one for more than $40 or so at the most. At this point it may be a pricey novelty.
I wont question your desire to stick with tapes, but its a safe assumption youre likely over 40 and keep things classic and simple. If it suits your needs then it your prerogative and thats what counts :-) Hell, Im surprised the tapes have lasted you this long.
Yeah. Main reason why they didn't hold. Tapes died as a medium because they wear out. Same as cds. You can play a digital file millions of times and it never wears out.
What I dont get is why the obsession? I can understand record players because many consider that to be true and raw music quality and lend a huge touch of nostalgia. Tapes were always poor quality and fade terribly over time.
It has nothing to do with cost. You can get a basic bluetooth or usb head unit for $50 and can store 100x the music on a $10 thumbdrive or on a cell phone than you can on a tape. You are going to spend more than that finding a tape deck and then replacing the tapes over and over again.
If it is a collectible thing to you, I get it then. People collect the weirdest crap. I myself am a huge comic book guy. Most say whats the use, same as tapes died so will new comics with the forcing of digital age. Print is dying.
And yes to most of society tapes are dead. Maybe not to the select few that won't let go, but to the rest they are but a memory of a medium that died very quickly.