head.banger
Active Member
Are cassettes analog? how do they do vs LP and CD, the only factor being fidelity?
Cassette vs LP and CD
- Thread starter head.banger
- Start date
I got rid of all my cassettes, too, and don't care to ever mess with them again. I just don't get into the time consuming recording deal anymore. I'd rather listen to it than record it. If I'm going to go thru that (hell) process, I'll just buy a hard drive or something.
Now, if I find a nice cassette deck somewhere out yard sale-ing, etc, I'll buy it and flip it! I can buy more music with the proceeds! lol
Now, if I find a nice cassette deck somewhere out yard sale-ing, etc, I'll buy it and flip it! I can buy more music with the proceeds! lol
vintagefloyd73
Active Member
If properly set up, and recorded, cassettes can sound mighty fine (IMO)
goldear
Certifiable Audio Junkie
I would mostly agree with the above comment, except that I would add that SACD can sometimes be even better than LP IMHO.JimJ[VT] said:Cassettes are analog.
To me, LP > CD > cassette, in terms of fidelity.
I'm not a cassette fan, would rather put the money into a good LP playback system instead
But, at its very best (like one of the better Naks), the cassette could be very good to borderline excellent, if the recoring was really recorded correctly, and the deck was perfectly alligned. But as a general rule of thumb, cassette is a somewhat inferior format overall. Most cassette decks are not great, but there are a number of very notable exceptions to this rule which are shockingly good.
It is, infact, a feat of modern engineering that the compact Cassette ever became a high fidelity format at all. The format was designed strictly for dictation, and prior to Nakamichi, nobody made a unit with Frequency Response much beyond 8 to 10kHz. But Nakamichi changed all that by introducing the Nakamichi 1000 back in the early 70s that was flat to 20kHz! But even the best of the pre 1980 units didn't have truly excellent flutter perfomance. But some of the very best direct drive, dual capstan decks (like the Nak Dragon) reduced the flutter down to the point where even my exremely flutter-sensitive ears could not hear it anymore.
![JimJ[VT]](/forums/data/avatars/m/20/20031.jpg?1443894878){kind=avatar}
JimJ[VT]
Super Member
I've only heard one good SACD setup, but you're right, it was amazing
The only thing that stopped me from taking the digital plunge in that direction was the lack of stuff in the format. Vinyl just trounces SACD in what's available, no contest. And I don't really feel like listening to monks chanting, no matter how pinpoint the imaging is
The only thing that stopped me from taking the digital plunge in that direction was the lack of stuff in the format. Vinyl just trounces SACD in what's available, no contest. And I don't really feel like listening to monks chanting, no matter how pinpoint the imaging is
retrokeeper
Well-Known Member
I guess as part of my audio "coming of age",I grew up with the cassette,seen (and heard it) in it's infancy till it's departure,always liked the format in all it's glory,home/auto/portable...so I will always have it around.Now I do admit that the commercial cassettes sold did not do the format any favors,it took a real nice 3-head deck and a quality blank cassette tape to really make "music" with the technology,and I learned to enjoy it so much as I "audio matured".I have many decks,still like the format,so I guess that means...it will always be in my audio line-up/set-up/gathering of gear!! Rob
Scorpion8
Addicted Member
I agree with Rob wholeheartedly. A well done quality cassette on a quality cassette deck can reproduce anything you might need to hear. Frequency response on a high end deck was at the limit of human hearing, which makes some of the hubbub about CDs so entertaining. I have many old cassettes that I still listen to every day and they still sound great. I'll always have a deck available ...
Cassettes on good equipment sound good, but I still hate dealing with them. Just a personal preference, but I've also never had what I would call good tape equipment either. Mostly my reason for dislike is related to how to navigate songs with the whole fast forward/rewind business.
When I was a kid in the 80s, unless you had money it was cassette or nothing. LPs were what your parents listened to, 8 track was obsolete disco era junk, and CDs were what the rich kids had. I listened to mom's Santana LPs and stuff, I was definitely not one of the cool kids.
When I was a kid in the 80s, unless you had money it was cassette or nothing. LPs were what your parents listened to, 8 track was obsolete disco era junk, and CDs were what the rich kids had. I listened to mom's Santana LPs and stuff, I was definitely not one of the cool kids.
gogofast
Addicted Member
cassettes can sound amazingly good and you don't have to have top of the line set up.
i would put cassettes even before cd's.
according to my experience, pre-recorded cassettes are mostly terrible except for the early philips (green label). nevertheless, try recording good LP's to a good quality cassette blanks like TDK or Maxell metal, it will beat the heck out most cd's - sound quality wise - much fuller and detailed sound top to bottom.
only down side would be too much work.
i would put cassettes even before cd's.
according to my experience, pre-recorded cassettes are mostly terrible except for the early philips (green label). nevertheless, try recording good LP's to a good quality cassette blanks like TDK or Maxell metal, it will beat the heck out most cd's - sound quality wise - much fuller and detailed sound top to bottom.
only down side would be too much work.
absolon
Super Member
I put a tape in my deck today for the first time in about two years and was really pleasantly surprised. Frequency range is a bit constrained compared to other formats, but every bit as musical and listenable. Mind you, the deck is Sony's answer to the Nak 1000 and sold for $825 in 1974 and the tape was recorded on it.
nickrobotron
una bella tazza di caffe
i'm impressed with the lucinda williams self-titled cassette on my akai with freshly cleaned heads. was never a fan of cassettes until recently.
goldear
Certifiable Audio Junkie
I'd love to get my hands on one of those units, if only becuase of its very significant place in history as the first three head Sony cassette deck, and because of my great fondness of the sound of many of the late-model higher-end Sony (F&F head) Reel to Reel machines. But unfortunately its perfomance (measured, at least) is not up to that of many later model machines.absolon said:
I hope to God that I never, ever have to record another cassette. When I think about all of the hours I spent laboriously going through the recording process, it makes me tired!
That being said, I still own a couple of hundred or so cassettes, about 150 of which I recorded myself on a Nakamichi CR-7A deck. Every now and then I'll play one or two of them (yes, I still have the Nak) and am sometimes completely blown away by how good these things sound.
Unfortunately, some of the crap I recorded, especially stuff from the '80s, leaves me wondering what the hell was I thinking?
That being said, I still own a couple of hundred or so cassettes, about 150 of which I recorded myself on a Nakamichi CR-7A deck. Every now and then I'll play one or two of them (yes, I still have the Nak) and am sometimes completely blown away by how good these things sound.
Unfortunately, some of the crap I recorded, especially stuff from the '80s, leaves me wondering what the hell was I thinking?
fdrennen
Organist in Residence
hellhound94 said:
I went through a period when I did not own a decent Turntable and my musical purchases during that period were cassette. I have many homemade cassettes of various quality levels. Prerecorded cassettes are not the greatest but still analog and less tireing than the analitical sound of CD's. I have tapes that are not available on CD and I will not buy duplicates. Therefore I keep a cassette deck and will keep one.
BTW when I find a prerecorded tape at the flea market of music that I want I do not hesitate to buy them.
yohan77
Active Member
Reel to reel is the best tape format, hands down. However, the tapes are expensive and it takes a lot of time to set up and maintain.
Minidisc is the best recordable format, IMHO. It converts LPs to digital, but it doesn't go through the remastering (read: butchering) process that studios use. You can also move tracks around and add titles, something you can't use with cassettes. On a minidisc deck, the rest works just like a cassette. They are not TOO expensive, but are more than CD-Rs and more than cassettes.
I like cassettes, I like the bass they deliver (same way with R2R, actually) but for some reason it flattens the mid-upper range. You get the highs, the mid-lows, and the lows, but the other is completely missing. No matter what deck. I've used a Nak BX-100, Technics RS-B11W, and currently the Tascam 112 Mk II. The Nak, with chrome tape, was the best out of the three.
All the good cassette tapes have gone and passed. I was a big fan of the TDK AD, AR and DS-X tapes, both of which are long out of print. The older (late 80s-early 90s) Maxell UR cassettes were durable and sounded good for a budget cassette.
As for CDs, it matters what it is and how it was mastered more than the format you're playing it back. If I record an LP, uncompressed, on my computer and burn it to CD, it's going to sound VERY, VERY close to the LP I ripped it from. If I buy the remastered CD, it will most likely sound like crap.
On the other hand, if I buy new music that was digitally recorded, it will sound very good on CD, and I'll lose those mid-highs on the cassette. CDs went perfectly to reel to reel when I used to make "mix reels".
back to cassettes... Quantegy r2r tapes are excellent. How are their cassettes? Are they worth the extra price?
here's another one for the cassette people... is there a big quality difference from 2 to 3 head? I'm considering upgrading to the Tascam 122 Mk III.
Minidisc is the best recordable format, IMHO. It converts LPs to digital, but it doesn't go through the remastering (read: butchering) process that studios use. You can also move tracks around and add titles, something you can't use with cassettes. On a minidisc deck, the rest works just like a cassette. They are not TOO expensive, but are more than CD-Rs and more than cassettes.
I like cassettes, I like the bass they deliver (same way with R2R, actually) but for some reason it flattens the mid-upper range. You get the highs, the mid-lows, and the lows, but the other is completely missing. No matter what deck. I've used a Nak BX-100, Technics RS-B11W, and currently the Tascam 112 Mk II. The Nak, with chrome tape, was the best out of the three.
All the good cassette tapes have gone and passed. I was a big fan of the TDK AD, AR and DS-X tapes, both of which are long out of print. The older (late 80s-early 90s) Maxell UR cassettes were durable and sounded good for a budget cassette.
As for CDs, it matters what it is and how it was mastered more than the format you're playing it back. If I record an LP, uncompressed, on my computer and burn it to CD, it's going to sound VERY, VERY close to the LP I ripped it from. If I buy the remastered CD, it will most likely sound like crap.
On the other hand, if I buy new music that was digitally recorded, it will sound very good on CD, and I'll lose those mid-highs on the cassette. CDs went perfectly to reel to reel when I used to make "mix reels".
back to cassettes... Quantegy r2r tapes are excellent. How are their cassettes? Are they worth the extra price?
here's another one for the cassette people... is there a big quality difference from 2 to 3 head? I'm considering upgrading to the Tascam 122 Mk III.
outlawmws
On the Run
Pre recorded tapes were one of the worst mediums made, having said that, self recorded tapes can be indistinguishable from the original LP it was recorded on.
Apples and oranges.
I recorded a lot of music on tapes, back in the day, and SWMBO did even more on my system, it was a very good system (Sansui 717 rack Sansui sc3110 tape, and a Marantz 6100 TT) and you could get the TT and tape going switch back and forth and I never had anyone able to tell the difference.
We wore the heads of that deck completely out.
Portable playback usually had much to be desired, and if you want the best sound in a vehicle, you’re better off with CD.
But never look down on a top quality Cassette Tape player with well recorded tapes, it is impressive.
Apples and oranges.
I recorded a lot of music on tapes, back in the day, and SWMBO did even more on my system, it was a very good system (Sansui 717 rack Sansui sc3110 tape, and a Marantz 6100 TT) and you could get the TT and tape going switch back and forth and I never had anyone able to tell the difference.
We wore the heads of that deck completely out.
Portable playback usually had much to be desired, and if you want the best sound in a vehicle, you’re better off with CD.
But never look down on a top quality Cassette Tape player with well recorded tapes, it is impressive.
