If you're a vintage music lover (or a full-blown tape-head), you know how cool cassette decks are. Even in 2025, you just can’t beat the pure retro, hands-on experience that cassette tapes and their players offer.
But some cassette decks are built better (and cooler) than others. That’s where the Harman Kardon HK705 steps up to the plate. This unicorn of a cassette player is a silver-faced beauty that’s cool enough to make your head turn. This deck is more than a design statement, however; it's a super rare model that few people are lucky enough to own.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at why this elusive cassette deck still has audiophiles and cassette junkies buzzing decades after its introduction.
Let’s start with the obvious. Hands down, the coolest part of this deck is the cassette tray. Unlike most cassette decks, which have a door that opens, this one has a tray just like you would see on a CD player. You hit the eject button, the tray slides out, and you insert your cassette tape lying down. A light touch of the finger will activate the closing mechanism, and the drawer will close - with a few admittedly clunky noises.
And there are a handful of other features absolutely worth noting! Let’s break those down:
Memory Rewind: The HK705 has a memory feature! This helps you set and locate a preset point on the tape. So you’re able to save a point in the tape that you’d like to return to automatically at any time. This memory feature allows only one preset at a time, but how cool is it that a cassette deck has one at all?
Tape End Warning: The front has a warning indicator that will flash when there are about three minutes of tape left. Super handy for recording mix tapes. And to make it even better, the indicator flashes faster the nearer the tape gets to its end!
Dolby HX and Dolby NR: Dolby HX (Headroom eXtension) was brand-new circuitry when the HK705 hit the market, making it a really nice feature. Together with Dolby noise reduction, it provided a big improvement in signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range.
Easy Head and Capstan Cleaning: Another neat feature is how you get to clean and demagnetize the heads on this unit. Since this cassette deck doesn’t have the standard door, you can instead access the heads and capstan by popping off the little door on the top of the unit. Under that tiny door, you can reach in with your cotton swabs and head demagnetizer to clean those heads. Popping off this door is also a great way to watch as the cassette tape jumps into the machine!
The silver faceplate really is stylish. The entire unit is slim thanks to its unique tray design, but the front panel is nicely laid out so nothing looks cramped or out of place. On the far left is that clunky Eject mechanism, which is super fun to push. Under it is your Power button. Next to those is the pièce de résistance (the slim tray) and basic controls. Those are the Record Mute, Record, Rewind, Play, Stop, Fast Forward, and Pause.
In the middle of the front panel sits the Tape Counter and Reset, the unique Tape End Warning, the Memory button, and a Headphones jack so you can plug in a pair of headphones to better monitor the program source during recording. There’s also the eye-catching Peak Level meters, which have a stylish black backdrop overlaid with white text.
On the right end are your Dolby System controls (for Dolby HX and Dolby NR) along with Tape Selector push buttons. “Low noise” for ferric tapes. “FeCr” for Ferrichrome tapes. “CrO2” for chromium dioxide tapes. And “metal” for metal tapes. Under those is also the Subsonic button. And a large Record Level knob sets everything off nicely, along with a much more modest Output Level knob and your left and right microphone jacks.
The back panel is the standard one that you’ll run into on most cassette decks. On the far left is the ground terminal; next to it is the MPX Filter switch, which is best flipped to “On” when making recordings from FM stations. In the middle is your analog output and input, with the power cord located on the far right.
Harman Kardon absolutely knew what they were doing with this one. Because sound meets style in the HK 705, doesn’t it? It has such a unique design, and it’s so fun to power this on, hit “eject,” and listen to the clunk of machinery as the tray slides open for your cassette. More than just music, this deck was built to impress.
Thanks for reading! If you can believe it, we do have one of these rare Harman / Kardon HK705 cassette decks currently up for sale! It has been fully serviced with meticulous cleaning and new belts. So if you’re interested in owning this one-of-a-kind tape deck, feel free to check it out on our website here.
Have a great day!
https://spencertified.com/collections/all-electronics-refurbished-vintage-audio-video-stereo-gear/products/harman-kardon-hk705-stereo-cassette-deck
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