Tape Trail

not so much IMO

71.192.138.56

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

In Reply to: RE: Cassette Tape - Worthy Analog Alternative to Vinyl? posted by sisterray on February 19, 2020 at 19:56:40

linear tape speed is so slow and the track width so narrow... it is amazing what was accomplished with cassette tape, but the starting point was so compromised, it's really akin to hot-rodding a Yugo (or a Subaru 360, perhaps even more aptly).
Imagine if some of the formulation and NR 'technology' developed for cassettes had been put into consumer reel to reel tape hardware and media?

A format like Beta (or VHS) HiFi -- which records audio via frequency (not amplitude) modulation using rotating heads onto video tape, offers economical analog recording of at least potentially very high quality and wide dynamic range.
FWIW, I've actually done a lot of VHS HiFi audio recording (dubbing and live recording). The results are generally very good to excellent, and the tapes have held up well. We (still) listen to "holiday music" throughout every December via VHS HiFi, recorded at the slowest (linear) tape speed (i.e., 6 or even 8 hours per tape) and it sounds great.
Dubbing to VHS HiFi Audio from LP using a Zenith-branded deck we bought ca. 1986 (and still have). :)

all the best,
mrh

Edits: 02/21/20 02/21/20 02/21/20

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