There is a myth that one belt fits 95% of all Cassette Decks. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. (It is also a myth that all TEAC Cassette Decks take the same belt!!! Ha!) A belt that is ½ inch too large or small will probably run on your open reel deck, but if it is too small, there may be too much little pressure pulling the tape, it will wear out your motor years before it would under normal conditions. If it is too large, there may be too little pressure pulling the tape, and it might also be bad for the motor, but as belts get older, they expand, so in the best case, you need a replacement years before you should. Either way, it is bad.

There are people online who have been selling belts for 10-15 years. Many have lots of feedback or have websites thatlook like they know what they are doing. Do they really know what belt is the match for your open reel? TEAC quit giving technical support on the models X7 and X7R (including part numbers) over 2 decades ago, shortly after, they quit giving support for X-300s and X-300Rs. When the all of models rolled off the assembly line, I was Assistant Store Manager for the largest independent TEAC dealer in the Southeastern US. My information came from the TEAC Factory Repair Station in Atlanta, Georgia (note, I did not say factory authorized repair station, those were private companies in Atlanta, like HENCO and Norman's.) My information came from Yoshi, the man that ran the TEAC Repair center, his employer was TEAC, his training was from TEAC in Tokyo (TEAC is an acronym for Tokyo Electronic Acoustic Company). I have fond memories of Yoshi driving his bright yellow Trans-AM up and down Buford Highway at speeds that were significantly above the speed limit (I hear he was on a first-name basis with the Doraville and Chamblee police officers)! He loved that car. Read the Seller History below for more information.

(In case you are wondering...I enter the model with the dash in different positions so those who search for the model can find it regardless of if they have the dash in the right place!)

Many old-style belts were cut to size. Modern (i.e. get it out the door as fast as you can) cutting techniques can lead to inconsistencies, unevenness, and inferior product.

This belt is not cut, it is precision molded to meet original specs for the TEAC brands, which had superior specs than the Panasonic and Technics brands. If the rest of your open reel is operating properly, this belt will deliver performance that exceeds original TEAC specifications.

The belt you are about to order was recently manufactured. My distributor, Artistic Audio of Atlanta, has sold over 10,000 belts and has been sending them all over the United States for years. Every few of weeks Artistic Audio of Atlanta reorders belts buy (pun intended!) the hundred, replacing the stock they have sold. No belt is on their shelf more than a few weeks. Because they come into the distributor regularly, I can personally guarantee that the belt you get is

fresh!