Cassette better than CD

I picked up the Metallica cassette on RSD. Unfortunately it does not represent "state-of-the-art" cassette mastering, but it is a fun novelty nonetheless

 

Fun novelties are cool. Really. There's just no way it's a sonic masterpiece.

Ed

 

Sound quality has nothing to do with pre-recorded cassettes or CD, they are about convenience. Tapes were portable and convenient when compared to LP's. CD's are more convenient than tape, hence the demise of cassette. Digital files are more convenient than CD, hence the eventual demise of CD's. Someday someone will refer to you (and I) as "...darn cute" because we still listen to and enjoy CD's.

There is nothing special about cassette as opposed to any other format, they can sound excellent to horrible depending on a myriad of factors.

I wouldn't say I love cassettes, but I do like them when they sound good.

 

It is not a sonic masterpiece. That is why I said it does not represent "state of the art cassette mastering". Realize however that the music on that cassette was originally recorded by Metallica to cassette, so they could release it in 24/192 high-res format and it would still sound like schitburgers.

 

Why would they? CD's can genuinely sound really good. Cassettes, by their very nature, can't and don't. Yes, even stuff on Naks. That name is thrown around like it matters where cassettes are concerned. Cassettes weren't designed to sound great and making/playing one on a Nak with Dolby BCSBVD/XBR/HX-Probiotic/Whatever isn't going to change that.

When is that?

Ed

 

Springsteen's NEBRASKA album sounds fine. Also before CD-R , cassettes were taken home from the master mix at studios for checking. Sound great when transferred to digital. Those Beatle bootlegs were taken from cassettes and even sound better than the Anthology series (IMO) in some cases. "Because" is an example. A well recorded cassette sounds pretty good after transferring to digital. IMO.

 

I had an elcaset. I had 2, one a Sony, the other I cannot remember. Both were fantastic sounding machines.

 

Ed,

You know nothing about quality cassette playback because, as you stated, you have not yet experienced it. But, you have a good personality and that goes a long way. So if you are ever in the greater Oshkosh, WI metro area you are cordially invited to kick back and relax (with or without controlled/un-controlled substances, I recommend both) in my Hi-Fi dojo whilst I decimate your cerebral cortex with select cuts on my NAK (of course it matters...don't be fatuous ). Then we will hit the club and pick up some young tenders that couldn't care less about 8-Track and PONO as long as we buy them drinks and maintain we are Record Executive's sent by Sony/BMG to recruit new talent.

Peace,
J-ROC

 

LOL! Hi-Fi dojo. I'm so stealing that!

I haven't experienced quality cassette playback because the term is an oxymoron. It simply doesn't exist. Yes, I've heard Nak's, Yamaha's, Tandberg's, Wisenheimer's, etc. with all their noise-reducing headroom-extending goodness. I worked in a TV studio for years that gave me the opportunity to hear their pro-level machines. Not impressed. Again, cassettes weren't meant for audiophile playback. They were meant for convenience. LP's were meant for and can deliver audiophile playback. Ditto for CD's although LP's well cut and mastered can kill CD's. Nakamichi truly doesn't matter when it comes to cassettes. One can have the best deck in the world (Nak's certainly qualify) but it's goodness will come down to the medium on which it's attempting to spread it's goodness. The poor Nak can't possibly win in this case. Sorry and all that...LOL!!

If you're in the mood, you can always do a cassette-drop and send it at me so I can hear it. While I won't get it's analog-ness, I will be able to get a taste at least. I'm all ears if you're in the mood.

Thanks for the civil discussion. Usually when I start on cassettes, it doesn't go this way at all. Cheers!

Ed

 

I never had one. I was a little young to know it existed. Fatter tape should have made a difference. You're making me very curious...

Ed

 

I like cassettes. Until I finally got a computer that was the best way to make comps. Probably spent most of my listening life listening on cassettes.
So I like them. If I'm biased am I Normal Biased?

 

LOL!!

Ed

 

Metal or Chrome II for the win my boy.

 

Easier to open.

 

Interesting thread, a strong case of "your miles may vary" from me. This is only from my perspective, but I think that its a case by case scenario and generalizations can be thrown out the window. Tapes can sound great, CD's can sound great, but I prefer music that was recorded as analog to remain analog. The agony is that tapes have to be properly maintained and I sense that folks of the contemporary era have little patience for dealing with the nuances of appreciating a nearly dead medium. Tapes seem to need exercise periodically before signs of compromise emerge. The same would not be said for CD's. Taking the "new" mono musical sources into account, I have taken a renewed interest in spinning mix tapes. I could be magnifying the potential, but it seems to be even easier creating a great tape when one is mastering it down to a both the left and right channels of a "summed" mono signal. The medium seems efficient enough to preserve, at least for the time being.

 

I much prefer the cassette version of Exile in Guyville to the cd. It seems about 1-2% faster (or maybe that's the right speed, and the cd is wrong?!) Not a lot of sonic nuance to worry about on that album, so Liz's vibe just comes across better on cassette.

 

Todd Rundgren's "Nearly Human" seems to have more definition between instruments on the cassette than the reverbed mush on the CD.

Danny Wilson "Meet Danny Wilson" has much more crispness in the high-end than the CD does.

That reminds me: I need to dub off Todd Rundgren's latest "Global" onto cassette and take it on my walk around town tomorrow.

 

This deserves special acknowledgment for being blasphemous, clever, and funny at the same time

The rest of it I just skimmed over, except for the part about LP superiority (which is true according to science)

The idea of a tapedrop (if I had the necessary equipment) is awesome. You have already heard all the Nakenheimers and they sucked, so the whole thing would be pointless.

I accept your negative opinions and feelings toward cassettes and NAK's, and will start preparing a mix tape in anticipation of your arrival.

Enjoy summer and music.

 

You skimmed enough to grab it all. I'm honored... If ya change your mind, I'm all ears.

Ed

 

I'm so pumped right now

 

Just finished copying the last of my VHS tapes to DVD. At some point I'll rip those and store them on the file server...

Yup. MTS stereo used for television stereo in the US utilized dbx though, if memory serves.

Well, they certainly weren't meant for "audiophile" playback. That came decades into the evolution of the format.

 

True. I should have said, "can offer audiophile playback" instead.

Ed

 

Who wants my last ever cassette tape ?

I'm having a clean out at home and found an old Maxell UDII 90, of Hendrix recordings.
I had an 8CD Hendrix box of "unofficial" recordings that was quite patchy,
so I waded through it one weekend and picked out what I considered to be the highlights and put them on a tape.
From memory it worked out pretty good !
I have no tape playback facility anymore and thought rather than throw it away, it might be fun to send it on to someone to hopefully enjoy.

So first PM with your address gets it, postage cost is on me !

 

Kind of a funny argument. When cassettes were fresh (not heat or play damaged), recorded well, and played back on a high quality deck, they were about as good as any other analog source, which is to say, great. @Nostaljack, it's true that "Nak" is a buzzword, but if you've heard a Dragon deck playback a well-recorded tape, it's hard to deny that they sound great, I spent some time listening to one at a friend's home played through Shindo amps and WLM speakers, and it was pretty magical. Analog. And all of that stuff people hated about cassettes - the wow and flutter, the hiss, etc. - was magically dealt with by Nakamichi's top tape deck. No idea how they did it, but that deck was something special. I have an LX-5, myself, although I rarely use it.

To me, I can't get past the fragility of cassettes. I prefer vinyl, so that is already my fragile, stay-at-home medium. For on the go, it has to be digital (CD or files). I can forgo that last bit of sound quality in exchange for convenience.

Nothing wrong with enjoying the sound of a medium from days gone by, though. It is a hobby, after all.

 

Now if you want to talk about a crap medium, how about Sony's MiniDisc? Engineered for mediocrity...less than Mp3 quality, on an inconvenient format.