Do you still listen to cassettes?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Vincent3, Sep 25, 2019.

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  1. Vincent3

    Vincent3 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Just wondering how many of you have held onto cassettes and still listen to them.
     
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  2. ermylaw

    ermylaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City
    I voted no. Although I grew up with cassettes and the nostalgia factor is high for me, every time I consider buying a tape deck, I remember how many CDs I could buy with that money instead.
     
  3. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    I have a few but don't listen to them. And there's only one that I would want to listen to (a radio broadcast)

    There isn't a poll option for this. :)
     
  4. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Gave em all away. Another format whose usefulness has long passed.
     
  5. jcr64

    jcr64 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I still have a functioning Nakamichi cassette deck from about 1990. The last time I used it, though, was a couple of years ago, when I digitized the most important of my old tapes. At present, it's not even connected to my stereo.
     
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  6. bluesky

    bluesky Senior Member

    Location:
    south florida, usa
    No... but kept 60 'special cassettes and a 60 cassette wooden display wall case.

    I like cassettes... & they are analog!
     
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  7. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    I have successfully boycotted the Compact Cassette since the beginning.
     
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  8. nosliw

    nosliw Delivering parcels throughout Teyvat! Meow~!

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    I own some cassettes, mainly demos, live recordings, compilations, and releases that are only available on that medium. Otherwise, I buy them whenever they're ultra cheap.

    When compared to my collection of records and CDs, cassettes represent a very small percentage.
     
  9. brockgaw

    brockgaw Forum Resident

    I continue to make compilations of LPs for my own pleasure and see no reason to stop. I would rather listen to an all analog chain than a CDR despite the convenience of the disc. Because of my age (67) the majority of my musical memory is formed from LPs, cassettes and FM broadcasts which inform what I expect things to sound like. Despite this predilection I have no quarrel with what Giles Martin is doing.
     
  10. crazy eights

    crazy eights Truckstop Lovechild

    Location:
    new york
    i like mine and listen to them occasionally, it's a nice familiar sound

    and i like looking at them

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Blowby

    Blowby Static lp

    Location:
    Colorado
    Still listen to the well recorded tapes on the trusty ol player. Still surprised it sounds so good after all these years.

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Bungo

    Bungo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    Not since the early '90s or so. I never did own many pre-recorded cassettes, maybe a dozen or so. The rest were mostly recordings from LPs, radio, and later CDs, for portable use. All were disposed of long ago. Probably the only ones that I wish I still had were recordings of me and my friends making prank calls when I was a kid. :D
     
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  13. rfs

    rfs Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lansing, MI USA
    I have gotten back in to them a couple of years ago and found that I prefer them to vinyl - many pre-recorded tapes from the mid 80s and later sound great, they are analog without the clicks and pops. I still have the tapes I recorded in the 70s and 80s too.
     
  14. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I still have some, but I think the only player left in the house is a crappy old boombox that I don’t really care to use. So they haven’t been replaced, they’ve just kind of been left out of rotation.
     
  15. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Lately I've been buying them dirt cheap at Goodwill.

    they had 4 for a $1,
     
  16. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    no, but i still *buy* some. Because, hipsters. Some indie bands like to release on cassette as the only physical format these days (especially labels that primarily exist on bandcamp). usually come with a download tho. Not sure I would trust my old player not to eat them. Worst format ever IMO.
     
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  17. JayDog

    JayDog Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Chicago
    Gave em all away years ago. Hi-Res downloads and Vinyl all I use.
     
  18. gammarayson

    gammarayson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    Yes, I listen to audiobooks in this format sometimes.
     
  19. Big Jack Brass

    Big Jack Brass Two Separate Gorillas

    Location:
    Leeds
    Recently I digitised some of my old tapes, but the majority haven't been played for years. In the case of the street musician I met in Quebec in the nineties the cassette is my only option, so in circumstances like that I've decided to digitise what I have; most albums are easy to replace on a generally better format, however.

    The nostalgia is there, taking me back to my days of travelling around the States with a Walkman and a few carefully chosen albums, but in general I've moved on.
     
  20. Meehael

    Meehael Forum Resident

    Location:
    Slovenia
    I returned to cassettes in 2015 to record mixtapes from vinyl and DSD sources using Sony TC-FX6. I use Sony Walkman TC-D3 for music on the go. Recently bought a lot of sealed Sony chrome UX-Pro, chrome UX, and metal tapes.
    Last week I recorded a mixtape for my friend as a birthday gift. Being used to lossy formats, he was surprised of good sound quality it produces.

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
  22. George Cooke

    George Cooke Well unknown member

    Location:
    Cumbria, UK
    I still have a couple of drawers full of pre-recorded cassettes. Most I also have CD versions of, and some vinyl. Some have memories for me.

    The retro appeal does it for me, but I have to admit decent playback equipment helps, although walkman through decent 'phones is also good.

    Some go wonky, but keeping pinch rollers and tape heads clean helps, whilst any rubber belts eventually need replacing - but overall, I still appreciate cassettes.

    The Compact Cassette appealed, I guess, also due to its relationship with tape and reel to reel. It was like a small handy affordable version of what was in a studio. It was not perfect, but I find it strangely warm and familiar.

    I don't bother with Dolby - always found it knocked off too much top end for me. But, I cherish some cassettes as they were with me in my younger, poorer days.

    When Minidisc came along, it wasn't exactly the same - expensive for one - and I continued with cassette. I could record easily, make copies and still everything was fairly portable.

    My relationship with my first wife saw me ditching all my mix tapes in the light of the new, shiny CD era. I regret both deeply - I should've kept one of those things - I think you know which one!
     
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  23. Mlle. Aurora

    Mlle. Aurora Señor Member

    Location:
    Southern Germany
  24. George Cooke

    George Cooke Well unknown member

    Location:
    Cumbria, UK
    Yes! A great picture. This image illustrates other aspects of tapes -the aesthetic look, the level meters display, the beautiful box, artwork and even the cassette itself, which could look cool. Both my units are drawer mechanisms which swallow the cassette so you don't see 'em playing.

    Some cassette covers compromised the album artwork by confining it into little squares, whilst some enhanced it by cropping to the narrower format. When I get home, I'm gonna explore my drawers and remind myself of some of the decent front covers in my collection.

    There was always something about a refined deck that would draw me towards it. In fact, the physical playing of the media is a huge part of it. And, like a record, you can see it performing through the little window.

    I have both the Red and Blue double albums on cassette and love listening to them. Having portable Beatles was, for me, something special and a landmark for my musical upbringing.
     
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  25. jusbe

    jusbe Modern Melomaniac

    Location:
    Auckland, NZ.
    Yes, and I buy NOS blanks, NOS pre-recorded, new music (sound art, experimental, etc) and oddities. Along with vinyl and CD, this has me covered for most of my needs. Most of all, aside from the (predominantly) analogue ethos, it's fun and there's a thriving global cassette community.

    Might have a listen to Amazon HD though, and migrate the family music account later this year. But I'm not going to live forever, so I don't really need a gazillion tracks and the universe-on-a-stick, so to speak.
     
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