Cassettes still rock!

so much time to yap on, I like tape best

tape being analog, any analog in my simple summation, ’get’s the overtones right’.

noise, tape hiss, lp’s static between songs, .... don’t matter, when listening, tape/lp both can win.

thus cassettes can sound great. It is amazing how much precision was achieved to get 4 tracks on 1/8" tape, a reversible head, smooth transport, noise suppression, advanced tape formulations at only 1-7/8 ips, hard to believe really

analog: various degrees of success:

lp physical setup of deck/arm/cartridge is absolutely critical for lp to win.

tape was a wealthy man’s game in the beginning, then servicemen (no women then) had access to both cameras and tape recorders in asia, shipped home, increased volume, awareness, cost’s lowered, content increased ... the standard cycle, and home recording from lots of radio variety, a great deal live and unique.

tape formats, pre-recorded, follow ’general’ rules:

1. machine with properly aligned heads (let’s say likely, my experience buying teac x1000’s and last pro-sumer x2000r certainly).

2. faster speed better

a. studio 30 ips masters awesome. pro playback 15 ips terrific (content very limited).
b. high consumer speed 7-1/2 ips great, still my best source, combined with lots of pre-recorded content, although the content is dated, ended production, so progressively younger = less of ’your’ era’s music is available.
c. low consumer deck speed 3-3/4 good, not great. CD can easily beat 3-3/4 tape.
d. 8 tracks, lousy really, 3-3/4 ips, more comments below.
e. cassettes, initially for dictation are 1-7/8"

3. wider tape better. combined with faster speed.

a. 2 track, 35mm wide (1-3/8" wide); pro 1" wide pro tape amazing. (think imax 70mm superiority)
b. 2 track 1/4" mono sound quality can be darn good, lacks imaging, not a lot of content, physics of machines, tape formulations initially ’primitive’. for speech, school and business use,
c. 2 track 1/4" stereo from late 50’s, early 60’s still my best sounding r2r tapes, simply more magnetic material for signal.
d. 4 track 1/4" reversible stereo very good, still beats my lp at 7-1/2 ips.
e. 8 track 1/4" 8 cartridges were a REVOLUTION, despite being a horrible design. Revolution because for the 1st time ever we could readily take our music in our car, anyone’s car, anyone’s home, free from packaged radio content. cars and most young people did not have good systems then, it was about portable content. 8 tracks were never intended for music, they were designed for radio commercials, pop it in, hit play, end of that ad campaign, throw them out.
the cartridges construction and slip sheet method of gradual compression and yanking tape up and over the edge from a tightly wound center was/is designed for destruction. self dissolving foam pressure pads. were standard. But, like early portable digital, standards dropped for convenience.
f. 4 track 1/8" cassettes, same magnetic material as 1/4" 8 track, per track, but at half the speed again. How? Progressive improvements in every part of the chain
g. Sony’s walkman, a huge revolution, personal content, anywhere, any time, incredible.
h. dual copy/record decks, holy smokes, FREEEEE music!

I agree! When I play same brand tape on my Nakamichi it is incredible. Came of vinyl or from my good Yamaha analogue tuner so it is that sound you mentioned. Must be why so many of us bought those higher end tape decks, love it! Thanks for posting !

Inspired by this discussion, I hooked up the old, disused Rotel 960 cassette player to the preamp and simply inserted a home-recorded Maxell XLII-S from mid-1987 at the precise where it was last stopped, decades ago. Figured many degradable parts of both cassette and player would be shot and in need of an earlier poster's personal tech rehab person. Not so far! Instantly I heard 10,000 Maniacs just as it would have sounded decades ago -- probably better, given some updated electronics since then. 

The idea had occurred to me, but never got around to it before reading this. Glad I did! True, I never bought Akai or Nakamichi, so that quality is unattainable. But given what it is, a bonanza. Thanks for the thread.

I like the standard Sony Walkman cassette players, I have a bunch. They just plain sound good. Heifetz sounds like Heifetz. No power cords to worry about, or interconnects or fuses or room treatments. No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks. I also am quite fond of the vintage Sony Ultralight earphones. How come the Japanese have such good ears?

Hickamore,

Ah yes, I have all my earlier 10,000 Maniacs on cassette: The Wishing Chair, In My Tribe, and Blind Mans Zoo. From that period I also have most of my Cure, REM, Sugar Cubes, Lush, and a couple of Laurie Anderson’s (including her United States Live box set) library on cassette.

Wishing Chair and In My Tribe sound excellent. And I never replaced those on CD, did with Blind Mans Zoo, but I don’t think that album was mastered well on either format, but not too awful bad.