WHat did Audiophiles hear during Tape deck era?


How did Audiophile listened to audiophile quality during tape cassett era?
ashoka
Cassette tapes were NEVER audiophile period. I only made cassette tapes for mobile and that was simplified when CDs got cheaper AND easier to make. I challenge anyone to hear any SQ difference in a PeterCar at 70 mph.Β  8 track before that. A buddy had cassette in his van 1970, claimed it was better, I didn't care.Β  Another buddy had a 8-track recorder, plenty of mixtapes around.Β  At least I had a splicer from my R2R to key them going.
Nowadays cassette decks are good for archival recordings and movie props.The only "compatibility" issues with R2R was speed and track layout. A 4 channel 1/4 incher can play anything. It won't be quite as solid with a half track recording but a half track head is worthless trying to play a 2 sided quarter track tape, which are the majority of consumer recordings. You can always digitize and correct the speed.
Now to find a 4 channel USB interface to turn tracks into files before mine is broken for good.
It’s really heartening to see we have SO many cassette tape experts in the house.
😎😎
This was an interesting read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassette_deck

Cassette tape format was originally designed for voice recording applications, not hifi.

Started with your typical portable cassette tape recorder. Then later adapted to tape decks for use in hifi systems.

Follow-up technologies enabled cassettes better for hifi music applications.

" " The "compact cassette" (a Philips trademark)[1] was introduced by the Philips Corporation at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin in 1963[3][4] and marketed as a device purely intended for portable speech-only dictation machines.[citation needed] The tape width was 1⁄8 inch (actually 0.15 inch, 3.81 mm) and tape speed was 1.875 inches (4.8 cm) per second, giving a decidedly non Hi-Fi frequency response and quite high noise levels.[5]"

Frequency response of hifi cassettes was up to 15khz or so.

Back in those days, I could hear to 20khz and easily noticed the difference (lack of air) with cassettes.Β  Noise reduction technologies like Dolby B and C helped keep the tape hiss noise levels down.

Nowadays, 15khz would work fine for most older ears like mine that no longer hear to 20khz.


Basically it started life as a rival to the dictaphone system that is true.
i remember having this crabby little portable cassette recorder in oh 1974 or so.
I am sure it sounded awful and made terrible tapes but as a new teen just discovering rock music I was in heaven with it.
Yep Uber my first music maker was a Hitachi portable cassette recorder ~ 1972 or so. BEfore that a Panasonic transistor radio.

I graduated to a $200 Sanyo compact system with radio, phono AND cassette a year later. Woohoo I was in heaven. Until I started to visit the "high end" hifi shops in the area a few years later..