Thinking of getting rid of the cassette deck, but then...

J

jamiecantar

Well-Known Member
I've been contemplating for a while now how much use I really get from the cassette deck and is it even relevant anymore. So i started doing some tests using some home made tapes versus Spotify online.

The tapes were originally made on a Akai GXC-735d cassette deck back in the 1980's. The cassette tape used was a TDK OD-90 normal bias with no Dolby on and the turntable was a Akai AP-307 turntable with stock Akai cartridge. Everything was new at the time, even the record. The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire (Red Album). So everything was produced analog.

Yesterday, I performed this test playing the 38 year old cassette tape back using a JVC TD-V1010 cassette deck and powered through a JVC AX-Z1010 Integrated amplifier. And for the Spotify source I used a HP desktop Pavilion with high quality sound card using digital Optical connections to the amplifier at 48khz digital processing...

After flipping back from Cassette Tape to Spotify I have to say the Cassette held it's own, the sound was warm and engaging. The Spotify source was clear and detailed but lacked warmth. Sounded sterile. The source was no doubt a CD or digital remastered version of the album... After all that, my conclusions are that the analog cassette can still sound amazing and compete with the latest technology...There is no clear winner, but it's now a matter of personal taste. Do you want the physical media, the chore of placing the tape in the machine pressing series of physical buttons or do you want the convenience of playing things through wifi and your phone. But the cassette is still relevant and fantastic sounding, and I think I'll keep it a while longer....


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Personally, I think there's still a place for the cassette...maybe call it nostalgia for the main part.

With the better brand/format of the cartridge, and with good recording, it can still put out a decent sound. A Lot of the commercially mades are of poor quality!

The tapes themselves, even though they may out live the 8track, still wear over time due to heavy use, but brand here factors more for longevity.

There also is some minor upkeep/maintenance for the player, but this happens only occasionally.


I tend to use cassettes pretty much for garage application, but this is the only way some of my tunes can be heard. :bigok:


Q
 
- Analog FM broadcasts rarely have a dynamic range exceeding 50 dB
- Analog cassette tapes have a dynamic range of 60 to 70 dB
- Dynamic range of a vinyl record may surpass 70 dB
- A a pro-consumer reel-to-reel ¼-inch tape recorder would be between 60 and 70 dB
- Analog studio master reel to reel tapes can have a dynamic range of up to 77 dB

- A 16-bit analog-to-digital converter may have a dynamic range of between 90 and 95 dB

However, even though the digital source can have better numbers on paper. Analog sound even at 65db can sound more engaging and dynamically pleasing to the my ears....
 
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Cassettes absolutely can sound great. What I have been noticing lately is that the soundstage on some recordings is really good, the music sometimes surrounds me.

I have had some fun getting a couple nice decks running again and have been playing quite a bit of tape. It is fun and just another way to enjoy the hobby, I don't like to limit myself.
 
likebike23 said:
Cassettes absolutely can sound great. What I have been noticing lately is that the soundstage on some recordings is really good, the music sometimes surrounds me.

I have had some fun getting a couple nice decks running again and have been playing quite a bit of tape. It is fun and just another way to enjoy the hobby, I don't like to limit myself.
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Me too, I grew up with cassettes. I too have found myself returning to the medium after a long hiatus. I still use an FM tuner and enjoy it very much...
 
It's hard to make a logical justification of any tape format over a good streaming service. Play tape because you enjoy it. I love my decks but streaming still has a place.
 
jamiecantar said:
I've been contemplating for a while now how much use I really get from the cassette deck and is it even relevant anymore. So i started doing some tests using some home made tapes versus Spotify online.

The tapes were originally made on a Akai GXC-735d cassette deck back in the 1980's. The cassette tape used was a TDK OD-90 normal bias with no Dolby on and the turntable was a Akai AP-307 turntable with stock Akai cartridge. Everything was new at the time, even the record. The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire (Red Album). So everything was produced analog.

Yesterday, I performed this test playing the 38 year old cassette tape back using a JVC TD-V1010 cassette deck and powered through a JVC AX-Z1010 Integrated amplifier. And for the Spotify source I used a HP desktop Pavilion with high quality sound card using digital Optical connections to the amplifier at 48khz digital processing...

After flipping back from Cassette Tape to Spotify I have to say the Cassette held it's own, the sound was warm and engaging. The Spotify source was clear and detailed but lacked warmth. Sounded sterile. The source was no doubt a CD or digital remastered version of the album... After all that, my conclusions are that the analog cassette can still sound amazing and compete with the latest technology...There is no clear winner, but it's now a matter of personal taste. Do you want the physical media, the chore of placing the tape in the machine pressing series of physical buttons or do you want the convenience of playing things through wifi and your phone. But the cassette is still relevant and fantastic sounding, and I think I'll keep it a while longer....


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and the better decks even take it up a notch further.

and they don't have to break the bank, just a few months ago I picked up a schveet Teac C-3RX (consumer version of the Tascam 122B) for $175. The Tascam 122 was the work horse for recording/radio studios for decades, these usually sell for much more, but this shows there are still deals out there.

20210607_183909.jpg

The Nakamichi MR1 is another nice deck but harder to find deals on, but I recently saw one on eBay for $299 I believe, I wouldn't sell mine for that.
 
My 30 year old daughter got into vinyl about 10 years ago. She will not listen to a CD anymore. She does stream music-it's the "new" radio now.

She got a bug recently to try cassettes. I gave her a deck and a few tapes. She is clamoring for more!

To the OP-keep your deck. You are becoming 'cool' again :)!
 
My Red copy of the Best of E,W&F is rather poor sounding. I was disappointed as it was found as a NOS sealed copy a few years back. On top of that, it was warped with an off center spindle hole! I didn’t pay much, and eventually found a turntable/cart combo that allowed me to record it to cassette (red vinyl will not work on auto indexing tables) for easier listening when in the mood. I’ve not had the greatest of luck with colored vinyl sounding as good as black.
 
Cassettes will always be the red-headed step child because everything is processed through something else before it even hits the tape deck. I hear tapes stink a lot but maybe it's your crappy TT I used to make a copy? Unfortunately tape decks always get the blame in the end, anything upstream never gets the same attention.

I'm a gadget guy that loves the mystery of moving media and tape decks are the pinnicle of coolness. Not only can you enjoy these amazingly beautiful tape decks, and there's 1000's of them, but if you really like gadgets, there's so many add-ons to play with to tweak the sonics.

There's also something about having something physical that makes it sound just a tad better, I listen to streaming music all of the time but since it's basically free vapor-ware, I just don't have the attachment or enjoyment as grabbing a tape even if it does sound worse.
 
I bounce around between my open reels, cassettes and streaming. Always feel guilty about streaming. I have a large collection of vinyl but I don't really play it anymore. Also have a large collection of 8-tracks that I listen to in the workshop on some tube gear. I have most of it for nostalgia I'm sure but I swear some of it just sounds better than streaming, whether or not it really does is irrelevant I guess.
 
While streaming Spotify you were listening to an mp3. At the most 320kbps. Which is great, but not CD quality. Spotify will be offering hi-res streaming later this year. Thats the comparison to make. But I prefer analog over digital any day. I did the ole comparison a few years back with vinyl, tape, compared to hi-rez streaming via Tidal. I used UFO's Strangers In The Night for the test. Detail was there on all mediums, but the lp's overall sound was best and was less fatiguing than the hi-rez stream. The cassette was great too, but the stream had it beat on the clarity and detail.
 
It's still fun to record and play tapes so that's why I do it. Yeah I could record FM radio digitally, put it on my NAS and have it take up zero physical space, but where's the fun in that? I also like recording a bunch of shorter LPs to tape for convenience and keeping it in the analog realm.
 
Max77 said:
It's still fun to record and play tapes so that's why I do it. Yeah I could record FM radio digitally, put it on my NAS and have it take up zero physical space, but where's the fun in that? I also like recording a bunch of shorter LPs to tape for convenience and keeping it in the analog realm.
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I agree. I have mix tapes that I throw on during game nights. All made from lp's, CD's, and maybe a cassette or two. That way I do not have to keep flipping or changing lp's during a Risk game or Euchre. But it is fun to do mix tapes. **** I remember back in 1974 (age 12) I got a Lloyds compact system for Christmas that had an 8-Track recorder in it. My brother and his friends (all older), had me recording 8-Track tapes all the time. My dumb ass should have been charging them, but I enjoyed doing it. Plus they would buy me and my underage buddies beer. They did supply me with the blank tapes. Oh the good ole days !!!
 
Bone Yard said:
There's also something about having something physical that makes it sound just a tad better, I listen to streaming music all of the time but since it's basically free vapor-ware, I just don't have the attachment or enjoyment as grabbing a tape even if it does sound worse.
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I don't mean to stray off topic, but I've always wondered why someone doesn't create a music player software that would simply look like a cassette deck, or R2R, or maybe even a TT. You could select from a library of deck front ends so to speak. If I knew how to write software, I'd do it myself.
 
Artie said:
I don't mean to stray off topic, but I've always wondered why someone doesn't create a music player software that would simply look like a cassette deck, or R2R, or maybe even a TT. You could select from a library of deck front ends so to speak. If I knew how to write software, I'd do it myself.
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here is one for mobile
B3F4974C-CAEA-4FE9-A566-D41456059CCB.png
 
I also saw a couple cool versions from GourmetLabs, but neither actually works. Besides, I wanted for my laptop. I almost never play music on my phone.
 
Artie said:
I don't mean to stray off topic, but I've always wondered why someone doesn't create a music player software that would simply look like a cassette deck, or R2R, or maybe even a TT. You could select from a library of deck front ends so to speak. If I knew how to write software, I'd do it myself.
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that makes about as much sense as a virtual girlfriend lol.
 
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