Anyone still into audio casettes?

I got a few dumb questions.

What format are the old masters stored on? It's analog magnetic tape right?

Is there any way to make a nearly perfect 1:1 copy of magnetic tape (to tape) utilizing digital equipment?

I mean it's just on and off switches on the tape right? Seems like you should be able to read the switches, store them digitally, write them back to tape and read them a final time and correct any errors. Use two read heads and two write heads.

ki_atsushi said:

Man, those are nice!

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http://www.blood-music.com/store-us/ - pretty sure they'll be back March 2016...

Neo Ash said:

Oh...I know good and well what I'm getting into. Reel to reel is definitely not for the faint of heart. That's why I said the day I get a RR I will have officially lost my mind as it is an overall pain in the ass and not cheap by most standards. 1:1 master copies is my main interest.

This is actually the last year for the 5050. They are still available on a build to order basis at $8300 for a brand new unit. I like the fact the spare parts are not an issue and there are some good mods for that unit. I also might have a need for long cable runs, so I like the option of using XLR terminated balanced cables. Lot of people are coping their valuable LP collection to reel to both preserve the LP record and minimize wear to expensive cartridges.




There are a lot of variables, but an LP can sound clean. I invited a friend to an event at a favorite hifi shop. When I told him it was a record he said...wow it's not popping I thought it was a CD.

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I wouldn't spend more than a couple hundred for an otari 1/4" stereo or quad deck.. anything more than $1000 and you should be getting a mint condition 24 track studer *w* transport and bias reels.

otari mx or bx are worth between $200 - $500 tops w the wheel cart, they are widely available second hand. that or get a TASCAM although idk what the build quality is like on tascam consumer type reels.

it sounds OK but like I said the maintenance sucks and forget about finding service manuals

Another thing to look for on 8 tracks is the groove which identifies it as a Quad.

norton9478 said:

I got a few dumb questions.

What format are the old masters stored on? It's analog magnetic tape right?

Is there any way to make a nearly perfect 1:1 copy of magnetic tape (to tape) utilizing digital equipment?

I mean it's just on and off switches on the tape right? Seems like you should be able to read the switches, store them digitally, write them back to tape and read them a final time and correct any errors. Use two read heads and two write heads.

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That's not quite how tape works. This is the closest we'll see to master tapes: http://tapeproject.com/why-tape/

It is possible DSD audio in the future can approach master tape quality, but it'll depend on the DAC used for playback and the ADC used for capturing the masters. Of course this only applies to recordings originally done in analog, it's a different situation with entirely digital recordings.

Those older Walkman Professional units are so sick! My Dad stills owns his from when we were stationed in Germany, I recall seeing the price tag / receipt for over $350DM. It was his main unit for recording himself playing Guitar, which is maybe why I still haven't clued into more modern recording devices or software.

He wants to pass it onto me pretty soon but I'm sure he'll really regret it.

I've seen and passed on lots of reel-to-reel equipment over the years. How accessible is the format, and what are the options to even buy tape anymore? Is it worth the hassle?

Used tape can be had pretty easy.

Commercial tapes and unused blank tape are more difficult to find.

Then you have 7 and 10" reels. I'm under the impression that not all players can handle 10" reels.

norton9478 said:

Used tape can be had pretty easy.

Commercial tapes and unused blank tape are more difficult to find.

Then you have 7 and 10" reels. I'm under the impression that not all players can handle 10" reels.

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Correct, not a lot of players can handle 10" reels... the ones that can are usually professional recorders or were high end consumer models and are priced accordingly. The blank reels are like $60+ a pop too.

And look at what they're charging for those albums on madman's link...

Just got an idea... anyone want to trade mixtapes?

My only requests are:

1. Audio levels of tracks must be consistent. If you're recording from multiple sources (which most mixtapes do) make sure some tracks aren't coming out too loud or too quiet. If you're recording from computer this is attainable by raising/lowering the volume of the files in an audio editing program.

2. The tape must be recorded on either a professional or at least a nice high end consumer deck.


Could be time consuming but fun. I already have an 80's mixtape ready, going to put together an electronic/retrowave one soon.

Let me know if this is up your alley!

norton9478 said:

I got a few dumb questions.

What format are the old masters stored on? It's analog magnetic tape right?

Is there any way to make a nearly perfect 1:1 copy of magnetic tape (to tape) utilizing digital equipment?

I mean it's just on and off switches on the tape right? Seems like you should be able to read the switches, store them digitally, write them back to tape and read them a final time and correct any errors. Use two read heads and two write heads.

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

Masters were recorded on reel to reel, ulticam, dat and I'm sure hard drive today.
There's dat computer drives and you can rip the digital tracks right off them I would think.

You know what 90% of records are to me and I never hear anybody talk about this is
#1The mastering process
#2 The transferring process
#3 The pressing process

If you've got a crap record that they skipped any or all of those processes it doesn't matter how nice of a player or setup you have or how clean the record is. Almost all old records they didn't give a crap about fidelity wise when they made them. Most people couldn't tell the difference either because they listened to them on cheap little mono or stereo setups.

Back to the subject at hand I tried to stop buying cassettes in the early 90's. I liked records but they got hard to find in the late 80's early 90's. Cd's were hard to find for awhile as well. Tapes were cool because you could find play them in your car or at friends houses. Everybody always had a tape player.

I still have about 30 tapes. I tried to sell them on Ebay like 10 years ago for $15 auction free shipping.
Nobody bought, heard they've become popular again.
I haven't listened to them in at least 5-7 years.
I think I have some portable tape players I found next to the dumpster.
I got a ti-94 and it seems broken but the tape player works, maybe I should jam out to them on it.
Yeah I thought it was ok if you have a nice player. I found a nice high end one and I put it in my parents system. It had auto reverse, seek, line level adjustments played several formats. I asked them a couple years later if they still wanted it and they said they gave away the entire stereo system to Goodwill.

Why didn't the HD sound formats like DVD-A and SACD take off?

Xavier said:

You know what 90% of records are to me and I never hear anybody talk about this is
#1The mastering process
#2 The transferring process
#3 The pressing process

If you've got a crap record that they skipped any or all of those processes it doesn't matter how nice of a player or setup you have or how clean the record is. Almost all old records they didn't give a crap about fidelity wise when they made them. Most people couldn't tell the difference either because they listened to them on cheap little mono or stereo setups.

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Also, Up until the 70's they didn't even come with a sleeve. Just the raw jacket.

Xavier said:

Why didn't the HD sound formats like DVD-A and SACD take off?

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The main reason they didn't take off was because they came about in a time when mp3's were already hugely popular and all physical formats were beginning to suffer. It also didn't help that these high quality formats (read: expensive) were for a niche market, the audiophile.

ki_atsushi said:

The main reason they didn't take off was because they came about in a time when mp3's were already hugely popular and all physical formats were beginning to suffer. It also didn't help that these high quality formats (read: expensive) were for a niche market, the audiophile.

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Maybe a dedicated player was expensive when they first came out in the late 90's. A couple years later tons of components played both of them them on the cheap. The discs were only a couple bucks more than a regular cd.
The most expensive thing at the time was having a hd amp. Yeah I guess physical media for musics pretty much been dead now for the last 11+ years now.
Guess that's why record/lp sales have been growing exponentially, people longing for something to physically touch.

ki_atsushi said:

The main reason they didn't take off was because they came about in a time when mp3's were already hugely popular and all physical formats were beginning to suffer. It also didn't help that these high quality formats (read: expensive) were for a niche market, the audiophile.

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I think the dumbest thing was that you couldn't output multichannel audio via digital.

That was my biggest hand up with the formats.

ki_atsushi said:

Just got an idea... anyone want to trade mixtapes?

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This is a cool idea... but I lack the time to do a proper tape (quality music someone else might like) atm.

norton9478 said:

I think the dumbest thing was that you couldn't output multichannel audio via digital.

That was my biggest hand up with the formats.

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That was probably a technical limitation. Digital optical outputs didn't have the bandwidth for uncompressed multichannel sound, and personally I'd take uncompressed stereo over compressed multichannel any day.

RAZO said:

Dude, they sound like shit compared to other formats. The worst is when the tape go's off track or gets chewed up and the tape is pretty much done. Hey dude, I'm not mad at you. If it's a nostalgia thing than go for it but I will never ever go back to Casettes, VHS, or 8track format.

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How about Neo MVS? You should go with digital or blu ray format, not cartridge anymore

GohanX said:

That was probably a technical limitation. Digital optical outputs didn't have the bandwidth for uncompressed multichannel sound, and personally I'd take uncompressed stereo over compressed multichannel any day.

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It was more about anti-piracy.

Especially SACD which didn't even have a digital option.

Very tempted to buy an early PS3 just to rip SACDs.

I've only got a couple SACDs and didn't find them to be all that much different from regular 16/44.1. I use an external DAC now so playing them isn't even an option, but I don't miss the format.

I have a small stack of them I got from Goodwill. I also have a bunch of blanks I use for mixtapes/recording off the radio. Pics to come.

While out and about at one of the local flea market places I picked up a decent looking Reel to Reel player pretty cheap and then a box of tape reels with who knows what on them for .25 each. When I get the time I'll clean it up and see if it works. Should be amusing to see what is on the tapes if anything.

What are the best blank casette tapes (that were available in the US)?

I pick op new XLII tapes when I see them sealed.

I know that there are some better tapes out there I just don't know what to look for.

norton9478 said:

What are the best blank casette tapes (that were available in the US)?

I pick op new XLII tapes when I see them sealed.

I know that there are some better tapes out there I just don't know what to look for.

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Norton if you want some I can send you a few.

XL IIs and TDK-SAs are good tapes, but the later XL IIs are mostly crap quality. The best stuff is from the cassette heyday.