cassettes CAN sound better than vinyl.

@rfnoise


I had several MCS systems. The first was a 10-watt receiver with a matching cassette deck, belt drive MCS TT, and some small book shelf speakers. The second was a 33-watt receiver with a much better cassette deck, MCS 3-way speakers, MCS direct drive turntable, Realistic 5-band EQ, MCS headphones, etc. They were great systems and they truly got me hooked on hifi. I think that MCS held its own against other brands of the time. Pretty sure I bought all my stuff on layaway as I mowed lawns to save for the next stereo!

That Teac cassette deck was $1,000 new when I bought it (got it through the military catalogue for around $600ish). Surprising that they are now $1,500 used. I'd be afraid of it breaking! But it sure sounded good back then. Auto reverse, Dolby B, C, Metal, dBX, etc. It was pretty cool for sure.

Tape is still the very best medium but it is not any tape in any cassette deck, it is in higher end RTR decks. That said, and I use customized and aligned Nak 682ZX with Maxell Vertex tapes, it can and does sound real good. Biggest disappointment is a 'collapse' of a soundstage compared to the vinyl source. However, in the case of my system at least, tape sounds smoother and 'nicer'.
Soon I am going to try recording off the turntable onto Panasonic pro AG line SVHS video cassette recorder. Theoretically, it should sound better than the Nak or any other cassette deck, should be close to a good RTR. The 7350 Panasonic is coming my way from Quebec. I hope it works.

Yeah...no! 8 tracks maybe?

+1 on the Nakimichi CR5 👍

Easily the best in our store back in the day. Calibrated for the Type IV Nak ZX cassettes it was better than the CR7, Dragon & Beocord 9000.

Some time back I had a brand new Nakamichi DR-10 at my place. It was the first Nakamichi I had ever used. I recorded a CD to a Philips Chrome cassette. The cd player was an, Audio aero prestige capitol. To my surprise the cassette identical to the CD playback in a AB comparison. It had a hint of tape warmth, else it was the same. No loss of detail, extension or dynamics. DR-10 is an entry level Nak. It was a good revelation