niklasthedol
Super Member
I have R2R and that is for sure the potentially best format.
But I also have cassette players sounding better than any iPod or CD.
So why do you choose to use CD and iPod and not cassette?
"dolph"
What's with the sound quality of 8 tracks and cassettes?!
- Thread starter wilkes85
- Start date
I have R2R and that is for sure the potentially best format.
But I also have cassette players sounding better than any iPod or CD.
So why do you choose to use CD and iPod and not cassette?
"dolph"
Fred Sanford
Addicted Member
For me, it's because I have more than 900 cassettes with music on them I don't have on other media. I also still have decent quality car systems with cassette players, plus 5 good home players.
8-track never made it for me, I could never stand the varying pitch- even before I became a musician or any kind of audio geek, I could sense the changes in speed & pitch, and it irritated me.
je
dshoaf
That high voltage buzz
It seems to me that we have a wonderful parallel to today's situation with mass-consumed audio:
- 8-tracks in the 70s = MP3 compression/iPod playback today
- Cassette playback in the 70s = Best Buy Home Theater systems today
All are mass marketed to people who wanted ease of use, in the case of 8-tracks and cassettes. Sound quality varied, as reported by our OP, and no one really seemed to care that much. Sounds like MP3s to me.....
Yes, cassettes did get to be pretty good, sonically, but the tape handling mechanisms had too many moving parts to make them financially viable once CDs hit the market. 8-track tape handling was designed to fail due to the lubricated, endless-loop tape design. This will explain why most 8-tracks today will not have consistent speed or pitch, which drives me crazy.
8-tracks, however, had one redeeming feature: No controls. This allowed folks like my grandparents to be able to play a stereo when even loading an LP was too much. They loved their Guy Lombardo tapes on the 8-track compact system they were given for their 50th wedding aniversary back in the mid-70s.
Cheers,
David
- 8-tracks in the 70s = MP3 compression/iPod playback today
- Cassette playback in the 70s = Best Buy Home Theater systems today
All are mass marketed to people who wanted ease of use, in the case of 8-tracks and cassettes. Sound quality varied, as reported by our OP, and no one really seemed to care that much. Sounds like MP3s to me.....
Yes, cassettes did get to be pretty good, sonically, but the tape handling mechanisms had too many moving parts to make them financially viable once CDs hit the market. 8-track tape handling was designed to fail due to the lubricated, endless-loop tape design. This will explain why most 8-tracks today will not have consistent speed or pitch, which drives me crazy.
8-tracks, however, had one redeeming feature: No controls. This allowed folks like my grandparents to be able to play a stereo when even loading an LP was too much. They loved their Guy Lombardo tapes on the 8-track compact system they were given for their 50th wedding aniversary back in the mid-70s.
Cheers,
David
ShaneR2R
My Teac A2300S, (Avatar)
Well that's a good question. I use an Ipod for ease of use, such as when I am at the beach on vacation each year. The ability to upload music onto an Ipod is very nice. I like CD's in the car, and I also record them to R2R if they sound ok. The R2R tape actually seems to make them sound brighter, and also seems to tame the CD's sound. Digital back to analog is fun !!
I never really cared for cassette.
AnalogDigit
Realistic fan.
Some prerecorded cassette tapes do sound kind of bad with cheap normal bias tape duplicated at fast speed duplicating machines. When I make tape recordings at home, the bass is there with the treble not being too harsh. They sound great, but in order to make perfect recordings, one must have a good 3-head tape deck with bias adjustment and dual capstans.
8 tracks also had bad wow and flutter problems, pitch and speed problems as well as crosstalk between tracks. Never did like them, but there is a cult following of 8 track collectors. Recording was hard as hell to time the music until it changed tracks. The only person I knew who was great as this was my brother.
8 tracks also had bad wow and flutter problems, pitch and speed problems as well as crosstalk between tracks. Never did like them, but there is a cult following of 8 track collectors. Recording was hard as hell to time the music until it changed tracks. The only person I knew who was great as this was my brother.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Hi,
8-Track cartridges were designed to give people Stereo music of their choice in cars and boats. Back then, AM Radio was most people's only entertainment option. FM in cars then was rare and few FM stations were on the air. Cassette tapes were intended to be an easy to use format for the masses and not intended for hi-fi use. Compact Discs were intended for convenience and reasonable but not ultimate quality.
8-Track cartridges were designed to give people Stereo music of their choice in cars and boats. Back then, AM Radio was most people's only entertainment option. FM in cars then was rare and few FM stations were on the air. Cassette tapes were intended to be an easy to use format for the masses and not intended for hi-fi use. Compact Discs were intended for convenience and reasonable but not ultimate quality.
jleon92f
Addicted Member
8 tracks could sound ok, if you smoked enough cheap Mexican weed beforehand
:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:
I have both, play both,
Thanks,
John.
While I agree with what you say, I need to point out that CD was marketed as the ultimate hifi medium.
BrocLuno
Lunatic Member
R2R does not go well in a vintage Hot Rod, or even my Beemer. Cassette does either
To a large degree these formats were built as road food for the mobile set. Anyway, that's who bought most of the pre-recorded music on these formats.
steerpike2
Super Member
Marketed, yes, AFTER the Guilders were counted.
The original design goal was not top quality performance, but rather a cheap, convenience format for mass market appeal - specifically freedom from scratches.
However, after they figured out what production players were going to cost, they needed to target a more lucrative market, so redefined the target audience.
circlesky73
Active Member
Make a tape on a higher-end 8 track recorder- compare that tape from a normal-bias cassette on a comperable deck and there's very little difference. The Pioneer H-R99/100 units had really low W&F for the time (.12, if I remember right), due to a very small and heavy belt driving the capstan. Tapes made on these units sound excellent!
tankdonovan
Senior AK Member
Well, my two cents on the matter at hand. I`ve heard good and bad sounding cassettes and 8-tracks. My comments on the good.
I bought a Pioneer CT-F950 in 1980/1981 that was a real great sounding machine. The use of metal tape seemed to take it to another level.
Back in 1975 I bought a custom van [Good Times Machine] that had a Craig/Pioneer 8-track player that really did the job. Two speakers in back and two up front really filled the interior of the plush van with some great tunes. I only owned the van for about 15 months but the player never grabbed a tape. Best I can remember the sound was great. So was that van! :yes:
Both cassette and 8-track did what they were meant to do. To sale to and entertain the masses. And that they did. Good or bad.
TankDonovan
I bought a Pioneer CT-F950 in 1980/1981 that was a real great sounding machine. The use of metal tape seemed to take it to another level.
Back in 1975 I bought a custom van [Good Times Machine] that had a Craig/Pioneer 8-track player that really did the job. Two speakers in back and two up front really filled the interior of the plush van with some great tunes. I only owned the van for about 15 months but the player never grabbed a tape. Best I can remember the sound was great. So was that van! :yes:
Both cassette and 8-track did what they were meant to do. To sale to and entertain the masses. And that they did. Good or bad.
TankDonovan
Make a tape on a higher-end 8 track recorder- compare that tape from a normal-bias cassette on a comperable deck and there's very little difference. The Pioneer H-R99/100 units had really low W&F for the time (.12, if I remember right), due to a very small and heavy belt driving the capstan. Tapes made on these units sound excellent!
Maybe the in-home decks did (Akai made the best one, IMHO), but the car players sure didn't for the most part.
The flutter in most car decks gave "Handel's Water Music" new meaning. It was never heard to see some pile of tape at the side of the highway covering a cartridge that had been thrown (in disgust, presumably) from a car.
62vauxhall
Super Member
8 track does sound good
Just as there are bad sounding and good sounding vinyl records, the same can be said for 8 tracks and cassettes. A vinyl copy of Rod Stewart's Atlantic Crossing bought when it was released sounds friggin' awful.
Pre-recorded cassettes never impressed me but I have recorded hundreds of cassettes from vinyl and some from CD. Only on 3 head decks and only on chrome tape or in later years, Denon DX-6 normal. Next to Fuji FRII, that Denon tape became my favorite. While recording, I always compared tape to source and it was always very close.
Within the last year, I became facinated with 8 track and have so far reconditioned about 500 tapes. Once the mechanical issues were sorted out and the tapes played, I could appreciate how good the format sounded - at least in most cases. Some I encountered have savage drop outs and near non-existent highs. I attribute this to improper storage - possibly long term within a magnetic field or just plain old worn out - maybe played a zillion times on a deck that was never de-magnetized.
You take your chances with 8 tracks, but barring extenuating circumstances, an 8 track tape on a decent machine such as an Akai CR81, sounds every bit as good as vinyl.
As far as bass response is concerned, I like normal bias tape which is why I took to using Denon DX 6 cassettes - it had a "fatter" sound. Since the tape in 8 track cartridges is normal, I think it sounds wonderfully analog.
Just as there are bad sounding and good sounding vinyl records, the same can be said for 8 tracks and cassettes. A vinyl copy of Rod Stewart's Atlantic Crossing bought when it was released sounds friggin' awful.
Pre-recorded cassettes never impressed me but I have recorded hundreds of cassettes from vinyl and some from CD. Only on 3 head decks and only on chrome tape or in later years, Denon DX-6 normal. Next to Fuji FRII, that Denon tape became my favorite. While recording, I always compared tape to source and it was always very close.
Within the last year, I became facinated with 8 track and have so far reconditioned about 500 tapes. Once the mechanical issues were sorted out and the tapes played, I could appreciate how good the format sounded - at least in most cases. Some I encountered have savage drop outs and near non-existent highs. I attribute this to improper storage - possibly long term within a magnetic field or just plain old worn out - maybe played a zillion times on a deck that was never de-magnetized.
You take your chances with 8 tracks, but barring extenuating circumstances, an 8 track tape on a decent machine such as an Akai CR81, sounds every bit as good as vinyl.
As far as bass response is concerned, I like normal bias tape which is why I took to using Denon DX 6 cassettes - it had a "fatter" sound. Since the tape in 8 track cartridges is normal, I think it sounds wonderfully analog.
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Could possibly be true but then some of us had a choice other than Radio,it was TT's in Cars where we/I could play whatever we wanted
:thmbsp:
Masterdraco
Super Member
rca made a portable record player for vehicle use but bumpy roads another story.
Masterdraco
Super Member
was still cool though and worth a mint today
