I am looking for advice on cassette decks for an archival digitization
project. I'm currently taking an MLIS class on archival digitization
project management, and as a part of that class we are creating a
digitization plan for an institution that has approximately 3,000 cassettes
that it wants to digitize in-house. This institution is hoping to use the
cassette deck it already has: a Marantz PMD101. I would like to know if
anyone could tell me what kind of quality we could expect using this
machine.

I would also like to know if anyone can recommend a double capstan deck
that has automatic azimuth adjustment in case the institution decides it
can buy a higher quality deck. I have seen recommendations for the
Nakamichi Dragon and the Nakamichi CR-7A, but I would like to provide them
with less expensive alternatives if possible.

Ideally any cassette deck we would recommend for the institution would have
to be fairly easy to use, as the actual digitization will be done by
interns.

Thanks for your help,
Teresa Tjepkes