Tape vs. Home Recorded Cd's

[canton]

As I said a few weeks ago I pulled out a crate of old cassette tapes, from around 1999(all radio) and on back a bit. So they sound great and just a pleasure to listen to and relive the times of radio at that period. Last night I got out some Cds that I recorded from the other coast friends stash. Well they fall out not worth a nickle. They did not pass the time test. So tape wins. And lets not even go into the life span of LPs.

Just a report is all,
Canton

 

[tom3]

And even 8 tracks from the 70s can still sound pretty good on a decent machine. Hard to beat tape sometimes. CD life is very dependent on storage conditions seems like.

 

[canton]

Yes I found it very interesting and the sound of being so much well it plays well on tape CD not so much. Enjoyed the real life realization
Canton

 

[phantomrebel]

Though I enjoy tape immensely, I must say that the quality of the equipment can have a huge impact on the quality of the recordings so comparing one medium to the other is a very slippery slope. CDs can outperform tape in every way if recorded in the right format on the right equipment. No doubt, few are done this way. With regard to 8-track, I have yet to hear or make a satisfactory recording, mostly because the consumer equipment sucks. Just saying, maybe your CD recordings weren't done with high quality in mind.

 

[canton]

I hear you about equipment. As far as all equipment being equal it might be a lot closer then you said. See I listen to tape because it is a good match for recording radio shows I have followed the blues radio scene all my life. As far as overall sound I do not enjoy CD as a medium. No disrespect just dosent do it for me as far as a listening experinece. Personal pref there not a debate. Tape works and as I travel I can slip in tape after tape and listen to very nice blues shows from many years past or current. so it works on several levels for me. If I am sitting down or spending money it is always LPs vinyl for me just hits the spot and I enjoy all that is involved in collecting and listening and the time frame all that.
Thanks for the kickback,
Canton

 

[janikphoto]

Yes I found it very interesting and the sound of being so much well it plays well on tape CD not so much. Enjoyed the real life realization
Canton

What?!? I’m not sure if this is an issue with English being your second language, or maybe you simply posted while drunk? I can’t follow your post at all. Maybe it’s the lack of proper punctuation? Are you trying to say tape performs well?

 

[infullview]

What?!? I’m not sure if this is an issue with English being your second language, or maybe you simply posted while drunk? I can’t follow your post at all. Maybe it’s the lack of proper punctuation? Are you trying to say tape performs well?

I found the OP to be very understandable. He's just saying that tape aged better than the CDs he burned. A lot of CDs are just coated on the top. The coating eventually, shrinks, cracks, or gets scraped making the CD unusable. The only way I've found to make a music CD that doesn't self destruct is to use vinyl labels to protected the media.

 

[twiiii]

If you have ever had to deal with Ampex Grand Master series tape you would never say tape is the best format. Maxell UD and The best TDK tape were much superior. I still have a few Maxell tapes that sound like new and they are pushing 40+ years old. That goes for Maxell Cassette tapes too. I have Stereo LP's that are from the middle and early 60's. I got on the CD band wagon in 84 or 5.

 

[infullview]

If you have ever had to deal with Ampex Grand Master series tape you would never say tape is the best format. Maxell UD and The best TDK tape was much superior. I still have a few Maxell tapes that sound like new and they are pushing 40+ years old. That goes for Maxell Cassette tapes too. I have Stereo LP's that are from the middle and early 60's. I got on the CD band wagon in 84 or 5.

There's a huge difference between acetate and polyester tape. Ampex 111 was red oxide acetate and self destructed with time.

 

[David_NC]

If you have ever had to deal with Ampex Grand Master series tape you would never say tape is the best format. Maxell UD and The best TDK tape was much superior. I still have a few Maxell tapes that sound like new and they are pushing 40+ years old. That goes for Maxell Cassette tapes too. I have Stereo LP's that are from the middle and early 60's. I got on the CD band wagon in 84 or 5.

Agreed. I have many TDK SA cassettes from the 70's that still play just fine (and my few Maxell UDXL-IIs have, too) though I can't say that the Memorex lasted past the mid-80's. I've got a dozen or so CD's that have the label sides peeling off for whatever reasons, and the reflective portion comes off as well. Some were in cases, and some in binders.

 

[phantomrebel]

So are we saying that, like tape, there are certain writable CDs that have a storage/longevity issue? If so, we should make a list of the culprits, much like the SSS list for magnetic tape.