Maes
I like big butts!
Posts: 8662
Registered: 07-06 |
Well, those that defend tape are actually defending reel-to-reel recorders, which are a wholly different kind of beast compared to compact cassettes. It's much like Vinyl vs CD, only that with 1 ft/sec of tape vs the 1 inch/sec of compact cassetes, they do have a point.
The latter (compact cassetes) can only sound kinda decent with a combination of advanced tape decks, Dolby B recording and high quality chrome or metal tapes, which are increasingly harder to find (or near impossible, unless you tap into the niche audiophile market for some mid-90s or late-80s hi-end decks).
If your experiences are limited to nasty 80s boomboxes and walkman knockoffs, don't bother comparing: those were nowhere near the maximum CC potential.
That being said, none considered tapes as a serious contender to vinyl or CDs for what regarded playback: their strengths came from the fact that they were pretty much the only sane option for home recordings and dubbings.
Seriously, name me ONE mass-produced, affordable digital recording format, present or past, tape or disk or whatever,using cheap removable media, and as easy to use as normal cassetes.
Yeah I know, don't bother, there ain't any because:
- The interest in home dubbing and recording has faded significantly, even if you can record at more than CD quality with any integrated soundcard.
- The interest in standalone devices that can do the above has faded.
- CDs have to be mastered, a process which is extremely different that recording stuff on the fly, and can't be done at the touch of a button. OK, there are some standalone CD recorders that do just that, but those are more expensive than a high-end cassette player, and you can do the same with software....which means a whole fucking PC. Still a far cry from a simple to use device.
- None of the re-recordable digital formats that were meant to replace tape were successful (DAT, DCC, MiniDisk) or economical enough to replace compact cassettes, and despite their designers' best effort, they weren't as easy to use, either. There never was a "poor man's MiniDisk recorder" in the same way that there was a "poor man's tape recorder" or boombox.
Copying compressed audio files around and burning CDs has all but replaced home taping or even radio-to-some-medium recording, so a direct comparison with the home taping days is kinda moot. The times are very different.
Last edited by Maes on 03-21-10 at 19:59
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03-21-10 18:12 
