People wonder why many hold on to old formats or go back to them after an absence. Maybe these people don't fall into the hype of new formats or the forever replacing one thing for the next new thing on the block. Or maybe we just prefer the old format over the new. Whatever the reason- analog tapes still have a presence in the HiFi world in some people's systems. It may not be as flashy as say the new digital formats, but the cassette doesn't need to be. People who listen to tapes don't forever skip from one track to the next in search of good music, but prefer to relax and let the music flow around them listening to the whole side of that tape. Sure one cannot search the music as easy as the digital formats, but who cares when the music sounds so good. I will be biased here (pun intended)- I prefer analog music over digital. I have a Luxman tube CD player, a Sony SACD player, a Panasonic DVD-Audio player, and a computer with music on it. So I know what digital music sounds like. And SACD discs sound very good indeed. It’s the one format which doesn't fatigue my ears after prolonged listening and sound more realistic with more space around the speakers the most other digital formats. But something is still missing. That analog warmth. That easy on the ears sound. CDs are not the best way to present music to the listener, and this includes MP3 files which are all the craze today. CDs have less life or synergy in the music compared to vinyl or tape. Technically CDs sound accurate and even impress upon the listener of the technical quality they produce, and sure they can produce all the tones in the music, but the sense of realism, space, and loss of artificial edgy sound are not there as much as vinyl or tape. And how much uncompressed CD data can fit onto a MP3 player? Not a whole lot. At least with cassette tapes you get the full sound quality in a compact unit. So this brings us to tape.

Tape is the format most music was mastered onto right up to the 80s. It's what records were pressed from, CDs made from, and cassettes made from. Cassettes on the top flight cassette decks can compare very well to reel to reel decks. The top 5 cassette decks can even surprise people who own reel to reel. I will go into a list of top 10 tape decks that many say are the best out there and most recommended for producing quality tapes:

1. Tandberg 910/911.

2. Tandberg 3014/3014A.

3. Nakamichi ZX-9

4. Revox B710.

5. Revox B215.

6. Tandberg 3004.

7. Teac Z7000.

8. Nakamichi CR-7.

9. Nakamichi Dragon.

10. Luxman K-05.

Runners up would be a Nakamichi 1000ZXL, Teac Z6000,  Luxman K-04, Sony TC-KA7ES, Aiwa XK-S9000, BIC T4M, B&O Beocord 9000,  and the Pioneer CT-93. Any of these decks mentioned above will make your sound system sing and be very musical. The Tandberg’s even give reel to reel a run for their money. The Nakamichi decks have a sound all their own which some prefer. This is not to say that if you don't own one of the above decks, you won't get great sound. Many good tape decks can do this, but if you really want to maximize quality and get the most out of the cassette format, look at the list above.

Cassettes were the portable format before MP3s took over. MP3s can sound technically good if a 320 kbps compression ratio is used, but I dare one to put on a cassette tape made on a good 3 head deck and ask which one sounds better. Cassettes even give CD are run for their money in some aspects. Musically tapes sound better. If people wonder why people tape music off CDs instead of listening to CDs directly, it’s because tape warms up the sound a bit and makes it more pleasing to listen to. You can do this with MP3s as well.

As for recording onto cassettes, this is the most rewarding thing about using tapes. I have a Sony CD-R recorder and it leaves much to be desired in terms of making an easy recording. With CD-R decks- you have to make darn sure you have the levels correct without going over. Hit the threshold and the disc is toast. And if you screw up the recording- you throw the CD out. And if you are lucky to get all the tracks down- time for finalizing it and prey the disc finalizes without issues. With cassettes- there is a method to doing a great recording and this makes it a rewarding experience. You get to adjust levels and its fun watching the bouncing meters- especially when the lights in the room are off. If it goes slightly over- no problem, the tape will handle it. You calibrate the tape with the bias, etc adjustments. You can tweak the tape at that point if you want it to have more treble or less. Then you lay down the music and watch those lovely little reels move 'round and 'round. Anyone who has reel to reel decks knows how much fun it is to watch the reels spin and the tape run from one side to the other. This makes the recording experience fun. You can also tailor the recordings by what tape you choose and the resulting sound from that choice. Try that with CD-Rs. I love being able to pick a certain tape out of my stash, pealing the wrapper off, and holding the tape in my hand when labelling it while looking at the cool shell design and cool labels. Tapes are also known to last for a long time, which CD-Rs have been known to fail even within 2 years of being burned. And digital music on your computer is very risky indeed. Get a hard drive failure or a virus, or the CD gets scratched, and there goes your music collection.

Many wonder what a good starter deck would be. A 3 head TOTL (Top of the Line) Sony ES deck would be a good choice and they are not too expensive (other then the A7ES of course). Pioneer made some good decks, as did Aiwa, BIC, JVC, Denon, and others. If you are buying a used deck- keep in mind if you can still get parts for it or not. Many decks today need belt replacements, but more may need new motors or heads, etc. This is why decks with low hours command such high prices. But even with those decks- they still may need new belts. I have owned a Sony TC-K909ES deck which was one of their best decks, and it indeed made excellent recordings. Other good decks are the JVC TD-V711 and V1010, Aiwa XK-009, NAD 6300, and so on. Those are lower cost alternatives that will still make great tapes on your system. If you can get a Dolby S deck- do it. They had higher standards to hold to then average decks. Plus Dolby S works very well- if you must use Noise Reduction. Some lower end Nakamichis can also produce a very pleasing sound. It is best to stick with 3 head decks if you can, but some 2 head decks can still do a very good job on recording.

What does tape sound like? In my words- natural, softer in presentation, spacious and full of depth (especially if no Noise Reduction is used), warm, and easy on the ears. The notes sound more real then in CDs. Examples would be the sound of horns or the twang of a stringed instrument. You can actually hear the after notes of the vibrations which seem to be missing on CDs. It's like on CDs the notes are technically right, but don't sound real for some reason. Tapes won't agitate the listener if the recording is properly done. To do a proper recording- the deck you use would preferably have tape calibration controls. This is record level sensitivity, record EQ, and bias. Some decks also have HX-Pro. Tandberg used their own system which is similar called DynEQ and Actilinear. Noise reduction (NR) can help reduce hiss. Such systems are Dolby B, C, and S. There is also DBX type 2 on some decks. DBX and Dolby S were the best of those systems. But if you have a top 5 deck, the deck will be good enough to produce recordings with no NR at all that will sound better then if NR was used. You will still hear hiss, but the compression problems with NR will not be there and the micro dynamics of the music will be heard.

People who have such decks prefer to use no NR at all because it sounds better then using NR. Just make sure you use a "quiet" tape with reduced hiss levels such as a pure chrome tape or some better chrome equivalent tapes. BASF made some pure chrome tapes and they will make excellent recordings if record levels are reduced. TDK SA-X tapes were also very quiet tapes and could take a high record level. The higher the levels, the more compression will be on the recording. Many people will trade off signal to noise for more dynamic sound by reducing the record level on the tape. Instead of recording at +6db, turn it down to 0db and the recording will sound better. And you won't even notice the hiss after a while of listening. Some people actually like the sound of compression on tape, so it’s all up to the listener as to what you are trying to achieve.

Tape types all have their strengths and weaknesses. Type 1 tapes are more hissy, but have a more natural sound with good bass response. The top flight "super ferrics" can even give chrome or metal tapes a run for their money, as they can take higher signal and have better treble response then average type 1 tapes. Chrome tapes offer less hiss and better treble response. Some say the treble on chrome tapes sound more natural then say metal tapes. Only thing with chrome tapes is bass response isn't as good as type 1 or 4 tapes. Keep in mind there are two types of type 2 tapes. There are pure chrome tapes and chrome equivalent tapes. Pure chrome tapes are the quietest of all tapes, but can't take as much signal on the recording. Chrome equivalent tapes are slightly hissier, but can offset that with higher signal on the tape. Metal tapes offer good bass like type 1, with extended treble response that can beat chrome tapes. And to comment here- there was also a type 3 tape called a ferro-chrome. It was a hybrid of type 1 and 2 tapes, offering the best of both. Type 3 tapes were phased out because of lack of linearity in their frequency response curve. Also metal tapes offered just as much or more performance then type 3s. Also some type 3 tapes would lose the top layer of the tape particles, making the tape useless afterwards. Type 3 tapes were a dual layer tape, as one layer being ferrous oxide and the other chrome dioxide.

Being things of retro are coming back into vogue like vinyl and reel to reel tapes to a lesser extent, I suspect cassettes may make a small comeback to when a new generation finds out that they can indeed sound very good. Looking at the NOS market for sealed blank cassettes for the higher end models, one can see they can fetch a good price indeed.