cassettes CAN sound better than vinyl.

Given how many of the excellent bootleg live recordings from the 1970s were made on cassette decks (Mike Millard, Dan Lampinski, JEMS, etc etc) clearly quality can be had (most of these gentlemen went to Nakamichi decks with good quality microphones) in that mode. 

So compared to the average Joe whose turntable might not be audiophile grade, records themselves worn and poppity etc, the OPs statement is correct, can being the operative word.

vanson122 posts
09-28-2021 12:07am
Does anyone remember when you could record music on your VHS recorders?

Yes, the originals of many cassette bootleg recordings were stored by being dubbed to VHS tape. Given the long term degradation of many cassettes over time, that was a good policy to have.

I recently purchased and enjoy the music from a Nakamichi 
Cr3a deck. Highly recommend 
Pam, the Nakamichi salesman from California.  He has a technician who specializes in
refurbishing Nakamichi cassette decks. I’m totally impressed with
its ability to play music. But better 
than vinyl? 

My NAK BX300 sounded astonishingly good with clean and adjusted heads...it's now been mothballed and could use a tweak/cleanup and belts I imagine...also, no space in my gear heap rack...CD player, streaming devices, preamp, amp, power conditioner, laundry conditioner, a tiny nuclear power plant, maps of Cuba...

I have had the CR7 for many years and I can say that there were no differences between record and cassette with distracted listening, but paying attention and dedicating more time to listening and comparing, 9 times out of 10 you have identified the difference between vinyl and cassette a favor of vinyl; a slight haze or fog on the musical message and a slightly more compressed soundstage in the 3 directions to the detriment of the recorder.

I have had several top decks in my life, from the Pioneer CTF1250 to the Teac Z series but for me the best deck or among the best decks is and remains the CR 7 or if you want to rank the king of kings both for sound and for mechanics and ease of repair is the Studer A721 or Revox B 215 / 215S