I have had the CR7 for many years and I can say that there were no differences between record and cassette with distracted listening, but paying attention and dedicating more time to listening and comparing, 9 times out of 10 you have identified the difference between vinyl and cassette a favor of vinyl; a slight haze or fog on the musical message and a slightly more compressed soundstage in the 3 directions to the detriment of the recorder.
I have had several top decks in my life, from the Pioneer CTF1250 to the Teac Z series but for me the best deck or among the best decks is and remains the CR 7 or if you want to rank the king of kings both for sound and for mechanics and ease of repair is the Studer A721 or Revox B 215 / 215S
I have had several top decks in my life, from the Pioneer CTF1250 to the Teac Z series but for me the best deck or among the best decks is and remains the CR 7 or if you want to rank the king of kings both for sound and for mechanics and ease of repair is the Studer A721 or Revox B 215 / 215S