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Why are people surprised that cassettes are still made?

It should be obvious why they’re still around.

Cassettes are the cheapest form of music media out there. Anyone can buy one blank cassette and start recording. Equipment is cheap: all you need is a boombox.

If you want good analog recording, you can use them on a Tascam Portastudio 4-track machine—and it will sound great.

I went to a music store the other day and saw the same album on vinyl, CD, and cassette. Guess which one I bought?

It was the cassette. It was C$12—thus C$28 cheaper than the vinyl.

Here’s the kicker. If you have a good tape deck, and a quality recording, cassettes can sound better than vinyl. Even a type 1 cassette theoretically has better dynamic range than vinyl.

Luke Miller

@atomicpoet

> If you have a good tape deck, and a quality recording, cassettes can sound better than vinyl. Even a type 1 cassette theoretically has better dynamic range than vinyl.

That's a real stretch! But I like your optimism

@upmultimedia Not a stretch at all. Have you ever heard a type 1 that utilized Dolby NC on a Nakamichi? I have, and it’s glorious.

@atomicpoet Maybe in pristine lab-like conditions early in their life cycle a cassette tape would sound better than vinyl but cassette tapes seem to have more points of failure (thinner material, moving parts, spooling and unspooling). I'm happily a digital music person so not the best person to comment on physical formats really!

@upmultimedia You might be overestimating the fidelity of vinyl. It’s not that good. In the best conditions, it has a dynamic range of 60dB.

Meanwhile, a cassette with Dolby S has a dynamic range of 85dB. Not as good as CD but better than vinyl.

And trust me, vinyl has more points of failure: dust, scratches, warping, needles going bad, etc.

@upmultimedia @atomicpoet See, I'm not sure it is - here's why

Any analog recording/playback device is going to require care/maintenance. (My buddy who's /way/ into vinyl has an array of brushes & sprays & devices that come out every time he puts a platter on the turntable. It sounds amazing! And it looks exhausting!

For tape, you need to periodically get out the isopropyl & special lint-free swabs to clean the heads - a chore, but the median well-maintained tape deck > average turntable.