Cassette's Not Dead, Apparently!

[Barry]

I still have 1000+ cassettes, I still listen quite a bit, but don't make compilations as I once did often. I even wore out a Philips CDR I bought used for $125 at a second-hand store making dupes and comps... It is cool seeing the yunguns scrambling for blanks in the thrifts, and it's good to see that the medium isn't totally washed up. I make sure to use good gain structure, store them properly, never play them more than once a day (per tape of course), and they seem to hold up well. I have a little bit of everything (media-wise) except rtr, and even have a few 8-tracks on my "B" rig just for fun...

1000+ tapes!

Good grief - I though I was overdoing it with (only) 200+.

Despite enthusiasm for the medium shown by the likes of Nick (Beechwoods) and Alex (Nikitin), I have largely abandoned the use of cassette - apart from a Nakamichi machine connected to the TV to record the occasional performance.

Regards

[Reid Malenfant]

Good grief - I though I was overdoing it with (only) 200+.

I must have a couple of hundred as well

I switched to a different type of cassette for audio recording once i realised i'd be daft not to - Hifi VHS video recorder. I must have a couple of hundred video cassttes with about 6 hours of music on each one I used that constantly until i bought a CD recorder unless what i was going to record was longer than 80 minutes.

I really have no idea why other people didn't think of using a video, after all it has an amazing signal to noise ratio (up there with CD) as well as sub 20Hz to over 20KHz response with zero need for noise reduction It's similar to a reel to reel operating at 2M per second

[Barry]

I must have a couple of hundred as well

I switched to a different type of cassette for audio recording once i realised i'd be daft not to - Hifi VHS video recorder. I must have a couple of hundred video cassttes with about 6 hours of music on each one I used that constantly until i bought a CD recorder unless what i was going to record was longer than 80 minutes.

I really have no idea why other people didn't think of using a video, after all it has an amazing signal to noise ratio (up there with CD) as well as sub 20Hz to over 20KHz response with zero need for noise reduction It's similar to a reel to reel operating at 2M per second

I don't think I could put up with all that 'faffing about' to try and find a particular track out of 6-hour's worth. Anyway video cassettes are just too bulky - they're bulkier than four C90 cassettes.

Regards

[Reid Malenfant]

I don't think I could put up with all that 'faffing about' to try and find a particular track out of 6-hour's worth. Anyway video cassettes are just too bulky - they're bulkier than four C90 cassettes.

Regards

True, finding an individual track isn't the easiest, but i tend to listen to albums so just use search to find whatever.

They may be bulky, but it's less faffing than any real to real & better quality. That's got to be worth something Don't think of it as a cassette replacement & it all looks rather rosy

[Barry]

True, finding an individual track isn't the easiest, but i tend to listen to albums so just use search to find whatever.

They may be bulky, but it's less faffing than any real to real & better quality. That's got to be worth something Don't think of it as a cassette replacement & it all looks rather rosy

I think that might be a moot point. I might have a go at trying this out; you would have to explain how the audio is recorded as though it was video. VCRs use a conventional head past which the tape traverses at 1 7/8 ips for the audio track. Would be interested to hear how that compares with 1/4" tape running at 7.5ips.

Regards

[Reid Malenfant]

I think that might be a moot point. I might have a go at trying this out; you would have to explain how the audio is recorded as though it was video. VCRs use a conventional head past which the tape traverses at 1 7/8 ips for the audio track. Would be interested to hear how that compares with 1/4" tape running at 7.5ips.

Regards

Hi Barry, on a Hifi video the stereo recording heads are on the rotating drum along with the video heads, i can't remember which uses a deeper layer, either the video or audio? As the tape is wrapped round the drum for more than 180 degrees at least one head is always in contact with the tape. It's the rotating drum that gives the equivalent speed of nigh on 2M per second

E2A:- Some japanese manufacturer actually made an ADC/DAC so that digital info could be fed into the stereo audio heads, i can't remember who the heck it was though. Also the are the DVRs from the likes of JVC that were digital & had similar to the above built in. Take it from me, you'd be amazed at the audio quality from a Hifi stereo video recorder, any that have Nicam splashed on the front should in theory do the trick, if it says "hifi" then there is no question about it

[dave2010]

Take it from me, you'd be amazed at the audio quality from a Hifi stereo video recorder, any that have Nicam splashed on the front should in theory do the trick, if it says "hifi" then there is no question about it

Not really sure about this. I had a Philips VCR which seems to fit your description, and it was really good for picture quality, and the recordings made were excellent. However I think it developed a fault, and perhaps it wouldn't even work for audio now. I did think of dumping it, but it's still around somewhere. Suppose it could be worth just one last try to see if it's good for anything, though I suspect that if it gave up on video (I can't remember exactly how) that it wouldn't do audio either. I guess sometimes you just have to let go!

I guess anyone who wants to try this can pick up a Hi-Fi Nicam VCR perhaps in reasonable condition from eBay - currently there seem to be around 10 on offer - prices around £25-£50 including postage/carriage.

[Reid Malenfant]

If the video is gone then so is the stereo audio It's probably a head alignment thing, take it from me that it's vastly more complicated than any cassette deck. However it could just be that the heads need cleaning, this isn't an easy job either as you'll need to remove the top cover & then get at a few awkward bits whilst being very careful.

The audio quality is every bit as good as CD when everything is in alignment & working as it should be. I know that if you check on any specs for a decent hifi video recorder you'll find 90Db+ of S/Noise ratio & response from 20Hz to 20KHz though they'll go above & below that with a flat response unless filtered.

There is no noise reduction on any of these players, they don't need it as the background is as quiet as a CD due to the high effective tape speed (fast spinning drum but slow moving tape). They don't put tracks longitudally down the tape (except for the fixed heads), but in very close diagonal strips, this is why the drum is tilted & spun at a fairly high speed.

[Beechwoods]

The problem I always had with VHS and Beta-HiFi audio was that if the head drifted only slightly out of alignment, you'd start to hear the affect of the 'frames' as the head failed to track the striped signal properly. Drop-out was also often catastrophic rather than merely irritating. While on paper Beta-HiFi in particular had excellent S/N and frequency response credentials it doesn't compare with 7½ IPS open reel, or good (metal / chrome) cassette, IMO. For archiving open reel beats the pants of video tape, and indeed DAT (I've had horrible experiences with drop-out on DAT, even after only a couple of plays, or only one pass :ugh:!)

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Nick, yes the alignment must be bang on or it's not so hot admittedly Just think of it like fettling an LP12 every so often

It's to do with the distance between the fixed head just before the tape hits the drum, this puts the timing signal onto the tape. Then you have the angle that the tape goes accross the drum at as well

But then why the hell did Nagra make what is in effect a digital version of a reel to reel, similar to DAT if it didn't work..

As i say, keep things clean & in alignment & it is a wonder to behold