Knock off the knockoffs: A plea to cassette deck manufacturers

*UPDATE:* As of 2021, the manufacturer of these cassette decks has switched to a different supplier for the mechanisms and motors, yielding much improved performance. See my new review of the Marantz PMD-300CP:    • New Marantz PMD-300CP cassette deck review...   And according to Marcelo Inoue from the Audio Business Sales Department of Tanashin, they have not manufactured any new cassette deck mechanisms since around 2009, and all mechanisms made since then have been unauthorized clones manufactured by other companies. But there are varying degrees of quality control of these clones; for example, "CSG" mechanisms are notably superior to "JS" mechanisms. Also, according to Bill Petrosky from Mabuchi Motor America, Mabuchi discontinued production of their EG-series DC motors almost a decade ago (as of 2021), so any cassette deck motors made since approximately 2012 with the "Mabuchi" logo on them are counterfeits, not genuine Mabuchi motors.