Cassette Tapes...making a comeback.

When I want to listen to a tape I want to be able to... Thanks to rajoo :)

I have some that go way back in time and some newly recorded

I too bought some tapes from NAC -- 751 Chrome High Bias, Type II

Good tapes


 
Why record digital onto an analogue format? It smooooooooths out the digital hash.

Huh?

Not sure what you're referring to with 'digital hash', but an analog signal comes out of the DAC. Then there's the preamp, the amp, the speakers..

There are at least four analog processes down stream from any digital. I don't think any bits are creeping through. Inserting a cassette into that stream isn't going to do anything except add a source for hiss, wow, and flutter.

bs
 
if sony embraces the equipment, there might really be a comeback. especially the models with dolby S, the best noise reduction system ever devised. S is compatible with C and B dolby schemes. then if you can find some metal cassettes, you may have archival quality.
 
When I want to listen to a tape I want to be able to... Thanks to rajoo :)

I have some that go way back in time and some newly recorded

I too bought some tapes from NAC -- 751 Chrome High Bias, Type II

Good tapes

May I ask why you chose the 751?
I thought the specs were a misprint until I spoke with them.
Just curious.
 
Archival quality is 1/2 track open reel, NO NR used if possible (15 or 30 IPS). Cassettes are very durable (NO NR or Dolby B best due to more hardware which can play them) but I do like Dolby S (decoding more problematic as fewer units built with Dolby S)
 
Hiya,

I will believe they are back when I see the disemboweled ones thrown from cars littering the roads again.

Frannie

I'm glad they didn't do that where I'm from.....

Not if you don't want to be charged with a crime and end up picking up garbage on the side of the road !
 
I have a friend with a band that has been doing vinyl releases for some time, but started doing cassettes because or costs and the high defect rate of vinyl pressings. If you are not doing large quantities, cassettes are still the way to go, in addition to digital down loads of course.

His band doesn't do CDs!
it's exceptionally difficult to bittorrent a cassette tape
 
I like cassette. I'm staging a one-man cassette comeback here in little old NZ. I was given a Toshiba boombox a while back - one of those FM / tape / CD jobs - and it annoyed me that the cassette deck didn't play. I just don't like stuff that doesn't work. A belt and half an hour later and it was playing my only cassette - The Very Best Of Elvis Costello. I started looking for cassettes when I went vinyl hunting and I found LOTS of great tapes for a fraction of their vinyl counterpart price - less than $.50 in most cases. After acquiring a few good ones, I stated looking for a hifi deck to play them on and saw that decks that were TOTL or near-TOTL back in the day are now 'as cheap as chips' - so I got a Yamaha KX-300RS to match my Yammy amp. I then was gifted an Aiwa AD-F640 3 head deck that needed belts and that sounds sweet. Shortly after acquiring this deck, I stumbled on a TOTL AD-F990 for $50 so I bought that and re-belted it.

Bottom line is, do I play vinyl all the time - no. Can I play vinyl if I want to, with pretty good quality - yes. Do I play cassettes all the time - nope. Again, I can if I want to with good quality.
 
Cassettes were a staple during the '80s and early '90s. I recall lots of dubbing, and the creation of dozens of mix tapes. Metal and CrO2 tapes could sound pleasing if recorded on a quality deck, from a clean source, but the vast majority of pre-recorded tapes sounded like crap to my ears. Occasionally, a pre-recorded CrO2 tape would turn up, but they were the exception, not the rule.

I don't miss cassettes at all. It's cool if other people enjoy them, though.
 
Why does everything have to sound stellar to enjoy it? Cassettes are great fun and cheap. With vinyl becoming scarcer, I began jumping on cassettes when they presented themselves. Just yesterday I scored two must have tapes for $2 that are impossible to find on vinyl in the wild. I played them last night and couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I am ordering belts for a couple boomboxes I found am I'm sure they'll sound horrible compared to my system, but who cares? It's fun and that's the whole point for me.
IMG_20160731_171733836.jpg
 
I am a little floored that the key to the hipster resurgence of vinyl -- and I am sure the case will be/ is for cassette -- is strongly driven by inclusion of download codes. I have a drawer full of those little pieces of paper. I don't tend to use them, but my wife has a long commute on public transport and listens to music off her phone. She likes to buy vinyl for home use, but she won't buy it without a download code included.

This group is needed for cassettes to make a reasonable comeback. I also don't see this group buying Pink Floyd and Zeppelin on cassette the way they do on vinyl. This leaves the growth of interest to the small handful of "tapeheads" out there. Most folks on here (not all surely) have a strong memory of tapes, collection of tapes, realization that there were high end tape players (not just Walkman and boombox players) than anyone under the age of 35.

We have had a few threads on vinyl collectors who don't even own turntables. This is needed (no cassette decks) for this "resurgence" to gain traction, and this style of collecting is driven by download codes.
 
Some of you should have been around when I tossed-out my home recorded cassettes years ago. Probably about 125 of them, TDK if I remember correctly. Back in the day my friend and I thought it was fun to record vinyl to tape. I remember spending around two grand on a new B&O turntable and cart. and my buddy bought a high-dollar Nacamichi tape deck. We used our recordings mostly for our car tape decks back then.

Today, no thanks not interested, but like John Lennon said... "Whatever gets you through the night"


.
 
I still like to play with my Onkyo three-header now and again, just for fun. Have only TDK normal blanks, but looked up the NAC because it's so difficult to find Type II (Chrome) blanks anymore. Very affordable unit price, but minimum order a 100. Is direct the only way to buy? Any resellers? I could see halfing an order with someone, though I'm not sure why. Just musing out loud here.
 
Why does everything have to sound stellar to enjoy it? Cassettes are great fun and cheap. With vinyl becoming scarcer, I began jumping on cassettes when they presented themselves. Just yesterday I scored two must have tapes for $2 that are impossible to find on vinyl in the wild. I played them last night and couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I am ordering belts for a couple boomboxes I found am I'm sure they'll sound horrible compared to my system, but who cares? It's fun and that's the whole point for me.
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Exactly my thoughts on the subject mate, very well said.
 
Why does everything have to sound stellar to enjoy it? Cassettes are great fun and cheap. With vinyl becoming scarcer, I began jumping on cassettes when they presented themselves. Just yesterday I scored two must have tapes for $2 that are impossible to find on vinyl in the wild. I played them last night and couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I am ordering belts for a couple boomboxes I found am I'm sure they'll sound horrible compared to my system, but who cares? It's fun and that's the whole point for me.
View attachment 768942
CDs are cheap too - at least used (especially at thrift stores). I have a Sony cassette player exactly like that (except not the Sports model). Worked great till it started getting hungry with my tapes...
 
when you record from your main system, say an LP, a good cassette deck will give back depth, imaging, and dynamic range. i am sometimes amazed at how good some of my old cassette recordings are. there should be no reason that even a pre recorded commercial cassette shouldn't sound pristine (stellar).
 
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