WHat did Audiophiles hear during Tape deck era?

I listened to records then eventually CD's in the 70's then 80's. Back then I taped to gain portability or reduce wear on my records. I did not have the best tape equipment. Life started early with a simple Pioneer CT-F650 then a Denon DR-M2 then a Sony TC-K870ES before leaving audio for 20 years.

Now I have all sorts of sources including 75 cassette decks I have collected and restored. I truly did not know what a humble cassette tape could do until I got back into them starting 4 years ago. I have some of the best decks ever made by most manufacturers. I get a great deal of enjoyment from them. It saddens me so many make blanket statements about a format based on limited experience. I myself did truly not know until I experienced better. It was a revelation. I use cassette tapes a lot today... along with CD's, Records, SACD's and digital files. I even have a box of 8-tracks somewhere I have not listened to in 40 years. I realize I am probably an extreme case for cassettes just as others have invested more in vinyl, digital or reel tape front ends. Its all ok. I am enjoying the journey.

It saddens me so many make blanket statements about a format based on limited experience.

This..........

There seems to be a lot of pre-conceived notions a goin’ on here. Or wishful thinking perhaps, or even mass hypnosis. Yes, I know what you’re going to say, “but my system sounds fabulous!” When cassettes were peaking circa mid 90s they were just beginning to aggressively compress the life out of CDs and LPs. So sad that was the end of the cassette era. 😢 The industry wins again! Score: industry 2, audiophiles 0

Never bought a pre-recorded tape in my life. I made tapes with TDK SA  cassettes and my Nakamichi Dragon.  They sounded damned good. 

There were a number of manufacturers that made some really nice Halo decks that are coveted today by those who still enjoy the format. Nakamichi comes to mind of course. They pushed the envelope with their amazing tape heads, transports and electronics. I have 12 of their various decks including a 1000ZXL restored by Willy Hermann a couple years ago. I have many of the other Nakamichi models but the 1000ZXL computing deck is the pinnacle for me. I also have decks by Aiwa, Akai/A&D, Alpine/Luxman, B&O, BIC, Denon, Eumig, Harman Kardon, Hitachi, JVC/Victor, Kenwood, Kyocera, NAD, Pioneer/Phase Linear, Realistic/Hitachi, Revox, Sony, Tandberg, Teac, Technics, Vector Research and Yamaha. I have collected many tape decks and learned to perform repairs and restoration on them using the tools of the trade.