Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Reading through the topics on this forum, I noticed the reference to an album being on cassette. Are we seeing a revival of the audio cassettes, like we have done with vinyl?

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Nope.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

let me expand on that a moment


nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooope

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Dude would disagree, but then he's a bit nuts on things he likes. lol

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

And might there be any chance of a revival of the cassette tape? You can still get blank cassette tapes in some shops and I think that you can still get cassette decks as part of a music centre/hifi equipment.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Tapes are the worst format of all, Rillington. Always getting screwed up in the machine.

I don’t know why you like all this old, space-consuming stuff. I stream all my music these days. It’s much cheaper, you can hear just about every album going and you don’t have to find room to store the music.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

As I well remember. I was not sorry to see the cassette tape be replaced by CD.

Thank you........ I love anything analogue :)

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

It is only making a return because people are nostalgic and they like to go back to the old times.


It is the same with vinyl.



Sound quality is a lot better on digital formats.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

We threw out lots of cassettes recently but still have lots of stuff that was only ever released on tape. Some I have managed to get on CD or download but much is really small artists that sold tapes when they performed and aren't around any more.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

It's not quite the same though. For Vinyl people are still making good quality turntables so the playback now is not far off the best that used to be available. That's not to say a lot aren't cheap rubbish though.

For tape however, no-one is making good mechanism. Techmoan has a good video on that - https://youtu.be/90-gIAMvQNs

Also one on how good tape could be at its peak - https://youtu.be/jVoSQP2yUYA

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Yes there are some amazing quality turntables these days but everytime you are playing vinyl you are damaging it.
And unless you can afford a laser vinyl player (yes they do exist) then it will still wear out the vinyl.



One thing people like with vinyl is often the warmer sound. Or I would argue a bit more muffled sound. Digital mixing can often be a little too strict and harsh.
Equally you also get older recordings with more highlighted instruments whilst when processing music for digital mediums everything is often flattened out evenely so your slightly higher volume of drums in the band that you hear on vinyl may not be as loud on a ditgital recording.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

To avoid playing and damaging my vinyl albums I used to tape them on an open reel-to-reel recorder (Akai DS4000) with Dolby at 7 1/2 inches per second. That would capture the full fidelity of the record.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

And also with teletext as teletext art seems to be riding this old format nostalgia wave.

---------- Post added at 16:00 ---------- Previous post was at 15:56 ----------


And people don't always want that so-called 'perfect' digital sound.

At the peak of the cassette tape, which had the better sound quality - vinyl or cassette tape?

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

There was always a hiss on tapes and the tape oxidises too over time.
You could argue there were lots of pops on vinyl due to dust though.
And both types will wear down over each time they are played.
Vinyl can suffer from heat damage too.




Give me an uncompressed digital Wav version anyday.




So many things to factor in when listening to music. The layout of the speakers and the way the room is built has a massive influence too.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

You don't want perfect? Bloody hell, you're easy to please!

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

As I type this I have in front of me my Sony Walkman WM-EX510.

I must dig out some old tapes.

I replaced it with my Sony Walkman MiniDisc MZ-R700

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People believed that Vinyl was a better sound than CDs, but this is just not true.


A CD has a higher sound range, and the vinyl has the noise from the needle. (Ref: QI)

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

;)

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

:scratch:

I strongly disagree and am glad to have all the analogue stuff I have :)

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Well it will ofcourse depend on how compressed the digital audio is but uncompressed digital audio played on a decent hifi system in a room setup for audio will sound amazing.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Indeed, and it is often argued that radio sounds better on FM than in DAB for that very reason.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

people should listen to whatever they find best. one could get hung up on frequency response, dynamic range, soundstage, timbre, warmth, convenience... you know what - listen to whatever you like to listen to, on whatever medium you want to listen to it from on whater equipemnt you want to listen to it via. Music is to be enjoyed and it is one of the most subjective things there is.

For me, I prefer lossless digital. I refuse to listen or buy into MQA, because it's a lie and a way to get more money from the end user. A/B testing of the same track on MQA as lossless FLAC shows a noticeable difference to me, with FLAC sounding clearing, with more high end clarity. Equally, I do not want to hear hiss from a cassette, not clicks and pops from Vinyl. But that's just my preference. It's not right or wrong, just what I prefer for the types of music I listen to, which tends to be recorded in modern studios - it lends itself better.

The biggest factor for any media type though, will be the equipment you listen to it through. You pre-amp, amp and speakers/headphones will make a world of difference. Spend your money there well and it will bring your music to life like you never knew it could.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Well said. :)

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

I bought an album last year on Cassette. No player but was released as a collectors edition so as its a band I love I had to buy it.

It was Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings

---------- Post added at 19:58 ---------- Previous post was at 19:54 ----------

I've still got a large number of my parents vinyl from the 60s and 70s and they still sound great. Not damaged at all after decades of play.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

I have over 900 vinyl singles in my attic, mostly from the early 1980's.
I have a draw downstairs with loads of old [home made] music cassettes.

I have absolutely nothing that could play any of them.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

The only problem with Cassette is that if it chewed then that was it for the media.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Is it not possible yo get a hifi with a tape deck, or maybe even a stand-alone tape deck unit?

And I bet you have some fantastic music within those 900 singles.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

I would hate to think my precious music was held on tape, remembering if not played through the tape at intervals it would stick to itself and stretch!

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

My Madness tape, was still chewed up in the tape player of my Austin Metro when it went to the crusher :(

I love my cassettes!!!! (Especially the early ones I have that dont have dolby crap,etc)

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

If you have a decent player then dolby etc sounds much better.

Re: Is the cassette tape making a return?
 

Indeed - this is Techmoan's video on that subject - couldn't get it embed properly for some reason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVoSQP2yUYA