Sonic advantages of Cassette tape

Okay, please understand I am not trying to offend any cassette aficionados.
What are the advantages of cassettes? Over a CD or a LP or my digital files? Is there something I am missing out on sonically by not having a cassette collection?
People will practically give them away so if there's a reason to own one other than just to say you have one, I'd be all over it.
Thanks!

-Ben


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If you don't already have a cassette collection, I don't know that I would necessarily recommend you get into it now. But, if you can score a good quality tape deck in good working condition for a fair price, and maybe some tapes to try to figure that out for yourself... maybe you can come to your own conclusion as to whether it's an audio direction that interests you? Depending on the deck and tapes you get, you will likely be able to sell it off without much loss (or maybe even profit) if you find you don't like the medium.

One thing is for sure, getting into tape is not for the lazy or those who seek instant gratification... Recordings must be done in real time (unlike burning a CD) and there are adjustments and settings that you need to be mindful of, etc... There is a learning curve that you will have to deal with when it comes to making very good recordings.

Add to that, the best decks and tapes were made in the 80's and 90's and the units have moving parts, rubber that gets old, and they require regular maintenance.

To make recordings you'll need to source NOS tapes, which can get expensive if you want the "really good" ones. Or, you can record over gently used tapes, which I do that all the time with fantastic results.

As for sonic advantages, much of that is subjective. I can record tapes that sound every bit as good as the CD or album from which they were recorded, but I have very good decks and tapes and 30+ years of history making recordings.

But... when you get it right, recording from CD (or digital files) to tape can add a little bit of analog warmth to the sound. I still regularly record DJ mixes (vinyl and digital sources) and compilation mixtapes of my favorite songs to enjoy. I share those tapes with friends on other web forums and find trading mix tapes is much more rewarding than swapping burned CDs or offering up digital downloads of compilations.

But... it really does takes a good cassette deck working close to original specs to get the most out of the medium, and that can be the tricky part. There is also the added element of many different cassette tape formulations for the different cassette types, knowing what tapes your deck is calibrated for, etc... It's a hobby within a hobby.

And don't overlook cassette as a long-term archiving method. I have tapes in my possession that I recorded in the early 80's that have been played 100's of times and still sound absolutely outstanding.

Another factor... You can often find pre-recorded tapes in thrift and consignment stores for as low as $0.10 ~ $0.25 in my area (but I hear those prices are slowly rising, too). That makes putting together a back catalog of music that was available on tape quite inexpensive and fun hunting.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go...

JT

Cassettes? I've moved on, but I could definitely see that as a way to score good music on the cheap, and I still have a nice 3 head Sansui deck plus many cassettes both pre-recorded and home brew stuff.

How else do I play my tunes in my 69 Firebird convertible if not a cassette. 8-track?

If you have an old rattly vehicle with an AM-FM Cassette sound system, cassettes would have the sonic advantage of being playable in it, and if the vehicle player is in good condition and the tapes played are well recorded (this could include mix tapes of your favorites made on an a good cassette deck in the house) they could have a sound that couldn't be vastly outshown by a cd player in the same noisey vehicle, especially since there isn't one there.

I have about 1500$ in making sure my 1998 Chevy doesn't have a bad stereo system. Unfortunately the cassette deck was the first thing to go when I replaced it with a Nakamichi CD/Bluetooth head unit.


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Well , cassettes won't have annoying clicks and pops .

You know what I haven't seen in ages?
Hundreds of yards of cassette or eight track tape unwound on the side of the road, wrapped around fences, power poles, etc. It used to be a very common sight.
Other than that, no sonic value, unless you like the upper scales of music to be attenuated by Dolby N.R.

I see this as a unique chance to get the real TOTL (and high-end) machines that were never under my reach 20 years ago. And some of these machines are incredible pieces of engineering and produce superb sound recordings (e.g, Nakamichi CR-7, among others).

guiller said:

I see this as a unique chance to get the real TOTL (and high-end) machines that were never under my reach 20 years ago. And some of these machines are incredible pieces of engineering and produce superb sound recordings (e.g, Nakamichi CR-7, among others).

Click to expand...

:thmbsp:

You get it...

It's a great way to pick up some cheap recordings.

My Goodwill usually sells pre-recorded cassettes for 3 for $1. or 50 cents each.

Played on a decent cassette deck they can sound good.

Cheap hobby....

I have close to 1000 cassettes I aquired in 70's thru late 90's. It would cost a small fortune to replace them all.. Some sound better than CD reissues, and some sound better than copies of LPs I have. Some are warbley, hissy have channel bleeds or crappy mechanisms. You can get into the format cheaply, even TOTL decks are not that expensive. To me some of the cassettes from the early 90s and late 80s were better than the CDs released at the same time, "some" of them. There a few cassette albums I enjoyed so much that I went get a CD copy only to be disappointed with the CDs glare.

Most people in the recording field wouldn't even think to record music at 1-7/8 or 3-3/4 IPS if they are looking for quality. Those speeds are typically for the spoken word, mass-market tapes, or crude tests. 7 1/2 IPS is the minimum and you need to be able to edit and achieve acceptable wow and flutter -- you need an open reel deck for this.

Why do I have a cassette deck? Well, I still have a small cassette collection, and I enjoy picking up cheap cassettes at the thrift, and then there's the nostalgia aspect ... but mostly, I just like having another audio toy to play with.

It's small and portable. Imagine stuff a CD player in your pocket. LP is even impossible.
Luckily, I had an MD before MP3 arrived.

Why does it have to be an old and ratty vehicle? My cassettes sound great in my truck and car, and neither are ratty. JT hit it on the head. IIf you don't feel you are missing anything, then you aren't. If the only analog you need is vinyl, then you are good. If you don't already have a large collection you don't want to replace, or care for a cheap source of tunes you may not have otherwise tried, and especially if you're the kind that love/ want to eck the best out of a media, then don't get in to it. It can get very expensive real fast. Just like your better turntables and carts, you can blow through a grand or 2 without even trying. A lot of us love the challenge of getting the best sound for the least cost. Some cassette aficionados stumble across a high dollar deck for peanuts because of luck and ignorance of the seller, and get entranced. Most don't purposely pursue it. Rather they have a desire for the analog, and convenience of two albums both sides at a sitting or a mix tape and the feeling of accomplishment of making one. Who needs another media to track and add to their collection? Its like asking a group of golfers when you already participate in 3 other sports "why should I take up golf?" If you have to ask...

illinoisteve said:

If you have an old rattly vehicle with an AM-FM Cassette sound system, cassettes would have the sonic advantage of being playable in it, and if the vehicle player is in good condition and the tapes played are well recorded (this could include mix tapes of your favorites made on an a good cassette deck in the house) they could have a sound that couldn't be vastly outshown by a cd player in the same noisey vehicle, especially since there isn't one there.

Click to expand...

While I get the tongue-in-cheek point you are making.., you should hear what my tapes sound like in my wife's (not ratty) 2004 Toyota Highlander with stock upgraded JBL sound system. My self-recorded tapes tend to sound noticeably better than most CD's in her car. And the CDs that sound the best in her car (and in general) date back to the early-mid 80's, before the over-use of compression (loudness wars) became commonplace in the music industry. That system really lets the listener hear deep into the quality of the master.

Yes, tape hiss exists... But it can be greatly minimized to inaudible levels using good gear and good tapes. And depending on the style of music you listen to, tape hiss can be complete non-issue.

With discussions like this, I have found you typically end up with people coming from one of four camps... Which applies to you?

Camp 1) People who had basic tape deck back in the day and did not bother to maintain it. They bought pre-recorded tapes, or just very basic blanks (whatever was on sale) and made casual recordings that didn't turn out very well because they didn't know about bias/eq and proper levels and settings. These people tended to listen to tapes, mostly in their ratty cars and, depending on what pre-recorded tapes they bought, may have never even heard a really good quality recording played in a really good quality deck in a good system. These are also the folks who tend to use auto-recording level features, which err too much on the side of caution (levels usually way too low).

Camp 2) People who got into audio after tape's heyday. These folks have never heard a properly recorded tape on a properly maintained deck, but know that tape sucks because they read the specs.

Camp 3) People who started with a good deck, keep properly maintained decks in their system(s) and learned the delicate art of setting proper recording levels. These are the people who can hear and appreciate the differences between a 1986 XLII-S; 1982 TDK AD, and a current Sony XR.

Camp 4) People who are inclined to care more about what they hear between the songs, rather than what they hear during the music.

perryinva said:

Why does it have to be an old and ratty vehicle? My cassettes sound great in my truck and car, and neither are ratty. JT hit it on the head. IIf you don't feel you are missing anything, then you aren't. If the only analog you need is vinyl, then you are good. If you don't already have a large collection you don't want to replace, or care for a cheap source of tunes you may not have otherwise tried, and especially if you're the kind that love/ want to eck the best out of a media, then don't get in to it. It can get very expensive real fast. Just like your better turntables and carts, you can blow through a grand or 2 without even trying. A lot of us love the challenge of getting the best sound for the least cost. Some cassette aficionados stumble across a high dollar deck for peanuts because of luck and ignorance of the seller, and get entranced. Most don't purposely pursue it. Rather they have a desire for the analog, and convenience of two albums both sides at a sitting or a mix tape and the feeling of accomplishment of making one. Who needs another media to track and add to their collection? Its like asking a group of golfers when you already participate in 3 other sports "why should I take up golf?" If you have to ask...

Click to expand...

Excellent points! This would be the fifth camp. The newly born, modern age tapeheads.

Sixth camp here: People who had great tape decks for years but moved on to modern lossless digital formats. Use Open Reel tapes and vinyl for analog at home, Flac files for the road. Can carry hundreds of albums on a device the size of a cassette, sort and play them in any order, and share them electronically. How can one go back to cassette format when this is available?

Vince1 said:

Sixth camp here: People who had great tape decks for years but moved on to modern lossless digital formats. Use Open Reel tapes and vinyl for analog at home, Flac files for the road. Can carry hundreds of albums on a device the size of a cassette, sort and play them in any order, and share them electronically. How can one go back to cassette format when this is available?

Click to expand...

Questions.... Did you re-buy all of that music you had on tape? Or just cherry-pick and rip what you wanted to keep to digital? And are you happy with all of the digital files you get nowadays?