Remember how we said cassettes weren't coming back?

[MannyE]

Cassettes now seem more about fashion than high fidelity, more so than with LPs which at least have an argument for better sound than modern formats.

I too always thought that cassettes were just the only practical mobile format and was successful despite sounding like crap. That makes sense because in the late 70's and early 80's I wasn't even a teenager yet and the best player I, and I suspect many others could afford was the one my parents bought me. The first one was one of these:

And then finally in the early 80's it was one of these:

The Walkman was incredible because the tiny little headphones creating that huge sound was so unexpected and seemed at the time to be one of those futuristic promises made by all the Sci-Fi TV shows and movies. Our 13 year old ears simply didn't care that there was enough hiss to scare a room full of cats.

What I never heard was how good a TOTL Nakamichi could sound in a good system. Or even the two players I recently picked up as a package deal for $25 at a local thrift which were a middle of the line Sony and Nakamichi. I hooked the NAK up to my system, popped in a 35 year old copy of Combat Rock and was simply amazed at how un-hissy and clear everything sounded!

However, as I said in the other thread, I really can't see myself going into a store and plunking down 4 figures for a new player in the same way I would for a turntable or throwing down 30 bucks for a new cassette no matter how cool Jack White thinks it is.

 

[soundmig]

Try 96:1. That's the speed at which cassettes were being recorded by the mid 90s. Real-time recording would be an ungodly expensive enterprise, especially when you start looking at the manual labor and materials costs for a true audiophile product. You could get the sound quality to exceed vinyl, though.

Interesting. Since they are getting $35+ for good pressings these days - maybe cassette could be viable? If the SQ could really exceed vinyl and IF the Audiophile community would "accept" that fact. Look at the R2R tapes now out at $450 per album - jeez! Great sound, but pricey. Maybe a $25 or $35 cassette could be sold if it had SQ at or above the level of vinyl? But then there's nobody currently making a high -end cassette deck anymore (not that I know of ). Maybe there are enough old Nak's and Tandbergs around out there to refurbish? Who knows - interesting subject.

 

[ggregg]

Naks and Tandbergs have been discovered by many although deals can still be found. But there are plenty of sleeper decks out there going for little or nothing. Look for a Yamaha K960. Also even low end Nakamichis are surprisingly good.

The bane of all old decks is they usually need belts, which is NOT a 10 second job, like a turntable. Plus idler tires.

 

[slow_jazz]

I rarely play cassettes anymore but I do have some of them that sound great.

Hard to see a comeback on them..

 

[tnmike1]

I for one love my Nak 303. It's a two-headed version of the more costly 505, which has three heads. Do no recording, just listening to the 100 or so classical music tapes I have. Love the fact that it "flips" the tape; use this when I'm too lazy to get off the couch or leave my desk, yet want to hear some good music. And there are some people here and on Tapeheads site that do Nak repair who are either retired Nak techs or who have dedicated their part-time jobs to servicing Nak machines. Mine was ovrhauled by Perryinva--whom I believe is still on here somewhere--and performs quite well

 

[Djcoolray]

Again like I have said:

Where's the new quality cassette decks?
The new Type II tape not from New Old Stock duplicator pancakes?
Where is the new production Metal Type IV tapes?

Once we have someone making new quality cassette decks, new quality blank tape past basic Type I formulas, then we have a real revival on our hands. Until then, a minor cult of new enthusiasts. I would like to see a real revival on our hands.

New quality blank tape.....Chrome II is being made, you just can't buy it everywhere because the manufacturer is not trying to sell it everywhere.

duplication.ca

 

[KentTeffeteller]

No new Chrome is being manufactured. Only Type 1 ferrics. What current chrome is being sold today is being loaded from new old stock duplicator pancakes, usually of Emtec/ECP origin. Once that runs out, no more.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Interesting. Since they are getting $35+ for good pressings these days - maybe cassette could be viable? If the SQ could really exceed vinyl and IF the Audiophile community would "accept" that fact. Look at the R2R tapes now out at $450 per album - jeez! Great sound, but pricey. Maybe a $25 or $35 cassette could be sold if it had SQ at or above the level of vinyl? But then there's nobody currently making a high -end cassette deck anymore (not that I know of ). Maybe there are enough old Nak's and Tandbergs around out there to refurbish? Who knows - interesting subject.

It can't be better or match vinyl without being duplicated in real time, and on the likes of Metal tape. And in the 1980's, such tapes cost around $20, and can't be done to the same standards for $35 without being lesser grade. Reality. Metal tape today is insanely expensive new old stock, CRO2 prices are going higher to boot in better brands. And cassette decks aren't simple often to repair, and Tandbergs lack parts availability on this side of the globe, and hard to find even in Europe. Repair labor is not cheap.

 

[Will S.]

It can't be better or match vinyl without being duplicated in real time, and on the likes of Metal tape. And in the 1980's, such tapes cost around $20, and can't be done to the same standards for $35 without being lesser grade. Reality. Metal tape today is insanely expensive new old stock, CRO2 prices are going higher to boot in better brands. And cassette decks aren't simple often to repair, and Tandbergs lack parts availability on this side of the globe, and hard to find even in Europe. Repair labor is not cheap.

You'd also want Dolby S encoding to get that quality and that's another whole problem. We haven't talked about shells yet, either. And to what end? It's still not as good as a properly mastered CD. It's more portable and convenient than vinyl, but hi-res downloads are even more so and even better quality.

 

[onepixel]

I also didn't know who you where talking about until I switch off my ignore feature.

It wasn't a specific person. Just the randomness.

 

[Wildcat]

Once we have someone making new quality cassette decks, new quality blank tape past basic Type I formulas, then we have a real revival on our hands. Until then, a minor cult of new enthusiasts.

That is pretty much it, in my experience. The few I know who buy these things (aside from here on the forum) are in to the "fringe" experiences like that. More like a cult, and damn near bordering on hipsters. It's more about being seen with or knowing about cassettes vs. actually owning them for the music or sound they reproduce.

Personally I'm glad I don't have to deal with the bloody things anymore--never really liked them, never will. But in the pre-CD days, they were an inconvenient necessity for portable use, and I (like many) paid sick money to get something that I feel was only barely cutting it, sound-wise. ($600+ on a deck in 1981 dollars was not pocket change.)

 

[Djcoolray]

New Chrome and Cobalt cassette tapes........duplication.ca

I have done recording with the new Chrome II tapes playing them in my ML320's OEM cassette player and they sound great. Unlike anything I've heard before, just because something was does not mean it still is the same.

Seek and Ye shall find.....

 

[Will S.]

New Chrome and Cobalt cassette tapes........duplication.ca

I have done recording with the new Chrome II tapes playing them in my ML320's OEM cassette player and they sound great. Unlike anything I've heard before, just because something was does not mean it still is the same.

Seek and Ye shall find.....

Looks like duplicator grade shells filled with decades old pancake stock. I could be wrong on the latter, but I think Emtek is no longer making BASF stock.

 

[analoge4ever]

Cassettes can indeed exceed vinyl in sound quality.

However the issue lies in noise reduction. To get the best sound quality you need the most effective noise reduction system and most decks lack dbx-II or Dolby-S. Additionally, both the recording and play back decks must be working properly.

As for metal tape, decks equipped with HX-PRO gain little over the better cobalt doped formulas such as a TDK SA-X.

Lastly, the Dragon does not constantly correct azimuth. It samples and can correct for tapes that had been recorded on decks that are misaligned, up to a point, but it does not correct for tape skew so you still need to use tapes with reasonably good quality cassette mechanisms.

 

[twiiii]

My Dodge Diesel Pick-up has a cassette player so I have kept my Nakamichi decks and DBX 119. I use the 119 as a compesser limiter when making cassette tapes for the truck to reduce the dynamic range and cut off the peaks which allow comfortable listening levels with out wild changes in dynamics. I still have my portable Nakamichi, too. I still use it from time to time with a battery pack to power my Neumann mics for recording railroad sounds. I use to have video set up, but its been retired. All my tapes are Maxell UD chrome and when used with Dolby S set a very high standard . I still have some of the old standard UD tapes I made way back when. I only owned a few pre-recorded commercial tapes. They have all failed over the years and have been replaced by dubs of CD reissues. As good as Cassette was it never competed with my HS Revoxs, Ampexs or Crowns. The Revox was the best 7 1/2 ips machine. But nothing could touch the dynamic range of my Ampexs, be they tube or SS. I used a MR-70-2 a few times, but never got to put my hands on the ultimate Analog recorder. The ATR Ampex series.

 

[Djcoolray]

Not

No new Chrome is being manufactured. Only Type 1 ferrics. What current chrome is being sold today is being loaded from new old stock duplicator pancakes, usually of Emtec/ECP origin. Once that runs out, no more.

Not true....

 

[Markoneswift]

Hmmm, intereting thread. I'm playing The Cars Greatest Hits on my Technics RS-BX707 quartz locked DD deck and it sounds fantastic. It's only Type I ferric tape too. I'm really liking cassette lately because it offers a similar listening experience to vinyl (I know it doesn't have the same ultimate fidelity though) in a more convenient package.

In the stores round here, cassette and vinyl sell for a similar price used so I think someone knows that cassettes have not totally died. A contact at a local charity told me that a lady frequently buys whole boxes of cassettes from them so there is some kind of market still. I see prices for good decks still running quite high too, although there are certainly bargains to be had like my Techincs which cost me $5

 

[KentTeffeteller]

New Chrome and Cobalt cassette tapes........duplication.ca

I have done recording with the new Chrome II tapes playing them in my ML320's OEM cassette player and they sound great. Unlike anything I've heard before, just because something was does not mean it still is the same.

Seek and Ye shall find.....

And made from new old stock BASF/Emtec/ECP pancakes. Not current production. National Audio Company is working on reviving production on a brand new premium Type 1 formula. Which will be newly manufactured again. And that new old stock Type II is excellent tape by the way, I use it myself.

 

[drumbum]

And made from new old stock BASF/Emtec/ECP pancakes. Not current production. National Audio Company is working on reviving production on a brand new premium Type 1 formula. Which will be newly manufactured again. And that new old stock Type II is excellent tape by the way, I use it myself.

Kent, save your breath. Your words are falling on deaf ears.

 

[bluesky]

Cassettes were big FUN!

Analog too.