Cassette Tapes

oliverstoned wrote: No, digital devices such as your crappy sound card doesn't goes at 107 db. These are not true measures!

Of course you can ignore facts, that's your own decision.

oliverstoned wrote: Top Naka tape decks are both studio and audiophile equipment. Talking about digital: http://happybob.com/marc/digital_sucks/index.htm

Nice article. Doesn't say anything about signal/noise ratio though.

Edited by MikeEnRegalia

oliverstoned wrote: Any good analog device explodes CD signal/noise ratio!!

Oliver, that's bullsh*t. if you take aside technical "trickery" like Dolby, any cassette system is limited to about 70dB ... that's a little bit more than vinyl, but VERY far away from the 96dB of CDs/DAT, and even further away from modern digital equipment (like my soundcard) which goes to 109dB.

Remember that this is a thread about tape decks, not professional studio equipment. And you're again confusing signal/noise ratio with frequency bandwidth.

I prefer my old cylinders and the shellac 78s....

I reading some of the above with disbelieve. The cassette itself was/is the problem, especially with:
a)  contacting surfaces (ergo suffering wear),
b) a polymer tape that creeps under tension especially in players that run hot (giving permanent aural distortion),
c) debatable long term adhesion between polymer tape and magnetic surface (therefore problems with drop out).

Further the bloody Phillips/Sony patents  meant for anybody  licensing the technology, to manaufacture cassette players (or the tapes), for 2 decades could not operate at speeds faster than 1 7/8 ips - exaggerating tape noise.
Did any cassette deck match the signal to noise ratio of CD players. Bad day when I switch from reel to reel to cassette - besides 8 tracks gave better sound quality........................

BTW on a serious note: noticed how few MD portables on sale nowadays - another fad?

...and after come the Studer...

     

Abstrakt wrote: The Last one is the coolest! is it from the 80's? it sure looks like it

Yes, the 1000 zxl is from 1982, it's simply the best tape deck ever in the world (1000 zxl "gold" is even better, but very rare and expensive (see up)).

700 ZXL come just after, with a little colder sound, precise, more "goldmund" like. Excellent also!

1000(what i own) is on the same aesthetic sound's family than the 1000zxl: warm and analog sounding, extremely musical and incredebly dynamic, etc...

Build like a tank, it's studio device as long as an exception source for audiophiles.
And that's very big and heavy! As says Wikipedia, these tapedecks were so good that it made big tape devices obsolete...

Top Naka decks were used by the great artists in studio.
I.E Pink floyd, (we can see a naka1000 on a 70's PF in studio pic in Nick Mason's last book.)



Edited by oliverstoned

The sad thing is that cassettes really wear out after some time, depending on the conditions under which they're stored. Cassettes don't like to be driven around in cars - they get too hot in the summer and to cold in the winter. But the sound of a good cassette really is something to long for. Though I never could afford one of those high-tech-things above , I love taping my own compilations of my favourite bands or Best-Ofs that were much better than what you could get in stores (either on vinyl or CD) .

So you enjoy radio too?

Abstrakt wrote: INCREDIBLY AMAZING!

As you enjoy, here are others incredible tapedecks:















Edited by oliverstoned

your tape equipment!

INCREDIBLY AMAZING!