Is the Cassette Recorder Dead?

Thanks for the input Elizabeth. I have never used a car CD player and the fact that they muck up the CD's is really good to know. We will stick with the old car stereos and cassttes. I live in LA and drive with the sunroof (on my car) down year round except when it is raining and a high quality auto stereo seems like a waste anyway. I can always listen the "hot" stereos in the "hot" cars that pass me by (you know the ones I'm talking about - the ones where you can hear the bass a 1/4 mile down the road. Too bad that "those" car stereos never seem to be playing Mancini. LOL.

Well after some thought and reading the responses,I have decided on the Sony Mini Disc.Model JE440 MDLP. The features are beyond belief. This is what the cassette deck should have been. Have had the unit for a couple of months now and it continues to amaze me with its sonics and total flexibility.My thanks to all the respondents to this thread.

Is the cassette recorder dead? NOt yet. Although most manufacturers have basically abandoned it, except in cheap settings (dual dub decks, boom boxes). WOuld I go out and buy a new cassette deck? No way. I have a Nakamichi LX5, bought in the early 80's. It still makes very nice tapes which I use in the car. Don't want to scratch up my discs or have to handle them in the car environment. Tapes do tend to wear out easily with heat when left in the car, but it's easy to dub another one. Don't find myself doing that much recording these days, but like to make compilations from time to time.

tom

The walkman keeps it alive as the portable CD players don't work strapped to a belt. I have better luck with cassettes on airplanes as the batteries last longer. I enjoy cassette players but finding a good one for a decent price is a chore. I am still looking for a working JVC DD-7. Mine was stolen--but the DD series made by JVC were great decks.

I disagree about what was said re car cd players. I have been listening to cds for more than ten years in a toyota and a porsche and have not experience badly scratched ones. I am afraid handling is the culprit. A friend had hers scratched using one of the case logic type storage pockets. I have not been able to find a portable cd player that I can use when running (anyone experienced the Sony G system?) so I still use my tape deck but not in the car where I used to have mangled tapes a problem nonexistent with the magic silver discs.