What makes tape sound better than vinyl ?

Those who like cassettes may like compression - a more punchy sound. Cassette will definitely compress good vinyl. Good vinyl can have as much as 70dB dynamic range on the outer edge. Cassettes never exceeded 50 dB.

There is no need to feel ashamed that you prefer lower quality compressed audio - a lot depends on the quality of your playback system - compression in a modest car audio system usually works great and this alone probably lead to the success of cassettes (walkman and making your own compilation tapes are other factors). Of course from a sound quality perspective cassettes were a big step backwards.

Just speculating here I’d say the main factors for Tape possibly sounding arguably ‘better’ revolve around:
Bandwidth. Dynamic Range. Resolution.

Then or as well, the Mastering and duplicating Process… the playback device itself, the tape material, the bias applied to the particular tape material, and the original Master’s integrity prior to the conversion.

It could be here as simple as the devices have disparity in playback . resolution, TT vs Tape.

If everything here is home made, DIY duplications the factors are greater the duplicated version loses resolution during the process of CD > Tape, or TT > Tape. Merely the input/output connections demand a Db or so of loss for each set.

Regardless thereason, or IMHO, the reasons, it seems Inna has stumbled onto a scenario that has improved his ability to enjoy music.

I’ve found merely ripping CDs to lossey codecs then burning them back to CD and thereafter ripping to lossless codecs (which was not done intentionally) served to remove the roughness, aggressiveness, upper end brittleness the orig CD possessed in varying degrees.

Is it then more enjoyable? My jury is still out. Although, I’ve kept those files. Listen to them as frequently as nay others, so for me, its all good.

My enjoyment level does not hinge on the numbers associated with a digital track, only its sound.

Now and then, merely ‘different’ is indeed better.

shadorne
Those who like cassettes may like compression - a more punchy sound. Cassette will definitely compress good vinyl. Good vinyl can have as much as 70dB dynamic range on the outer edge. Cassettes never exceeded 50 dB.

>>>>>Huh? That doesn’t even make sense. Compression gives a LESS punchy sound, a more uniform instantaneous peak. It’s only LOUDER. Methinks you probably need to spend a little time in the library. Check out the Official Dynamic Range Database and try to get a feel for which formats are overly compressed.

Shadorne
There is no need to feel ashamed that you prefer lower quality compressed audio - a lot depends on the quality of your playback system - compression in a modest car audio system usually works great and this alone probably lead to the success of cassettes (walkman and making your own compilation tapes are other factors). Of course from a sound quality perspective cassettes were a big step

>>>>Again, huh? The compression is in the manufacturing, it’s the industry that’s doing the compression, the over compression, not the equipment. Listening alone will show cassettes do not SOUND compressed whereas CDs and even vinyl often do. Wake up and smell the coffee! ☕️ I never bought into the whole perfect sound forever marketing scheme, maybe I’m more open minded than the average bear, who knows? Furthermore, Walkmans or is it Walkmen? have a myriad of advantages sonically. Maybe we can review those advantages some time, if it won't upset you. 

Geoff, your experiences show our point.

lack of unwanted resonances on tape is a plus...