Anyone into cassettes?

I lucked out and found a few RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence on cassette. They're sublime.

Anyone have any of the Advent brand chrome cassettes? I'm not talking about the blank ones, Advent has a series of classical and jazz records out on cassette and they were excellent.

I also loved their 'pain the neck' to operate but bullet proof cassette decks, the ones with the commercial 3m transports (201 & 201A).

I have several and they still sound excellent, though my likewise ancient Nak dual tracer is a bit sweeter.

I did find a source for new chrome cassettes a few years back. It's the BASF formula and very good.  I can look it up if anyone is interested.

N

geoffkait, I was surprised to see your comments on the RCA and Mercury cassettes.  In my experience, and I played with tapes for several years, commercial recordings were always a disappointment.  I attributed that to the high-speed reproduction utilized to mass produce commercial cassettes.

On the other hand, I was able to make many decent sounding tapes myself, recording in real time.

Norman, were the Advent tapes made in real time?

pryso
828 posts
07-26-2016 12:37pm
geoffkait, I was surprised to see your comments on the RCA and Mercury cassettes. In my experience, and I played with tapes for several years, commercial recordings were always a disappointment. I attributed that to the high-speed reproduction utilized to mass produce commercial cassettes.

I have to to admit I find cassettes to sound wonderful. Especially the RCA and Mercury cassettes that are as smooth and uncolored and dynamic as the LPs which I used to have. By comparison I find CD to sound thin, anemic, airless, lifeless, but there are some exceptions, like everything else. Cassettes are a natural medium. They breathe.

Pryso,

Yes,'the Advent cassettes were made in real time, which is why they were so expensive. 

I only have have a few, and they are remarkable. 

N