Don't forget that we audiophiles, or just those who CAN appreciate improved sonic reproduction are a tiny niche market that may only represent <1% of the total electronics entertainment business. We own, or can appreciate the equivalent of Ferrari's, Porsches, BMW's, etc. vs. the average public that just wants some overpriced crap car for basic transportation. I really love the fact that most people who buy an SUV will NEVER take them off road! Digital and home theater are the revenue generators for the next few years. People want something new and trend setting, even if the new technology is inferior to the old! As Borsteen said, "You sell the sizzle, NOT the steak!"
Some observations on tape medium: Buscis2, I still have a TDK MAR metal tape! They had milled aluminum housings instead of the plastic ones. They were not cheap, however! The standard TDK metal tape could be had for $3- to $5-, while the MAR with the aluminum housing went for $16- in the early '80's! But what a piece of workmanship! I NEVER bought a pre-recorded cassette, since most were encoded with Dolby B (if you were lucky), not Dolby C, and were dubbed at high speed. Take into account the poor quality of the plastic housing, and parts tolerance resulting in azimuth alignment problems, and you had a frequency response of 10-12 kHz (maybe) on the pre-recorded commercial junk. DCC, MoFi, and Nakamichi did make some really great pre-recorded cassettes. Another problem was that of the head azimuth alignment on the recording machine, and that of the playback machine. For those of us who recorded cassettes at home, to be played back on our car decks, the azimuth difference could easily drop the frequency response to 15 or 16 kHz. I always had my home machine aligned with my car deck (before installation). Unfortunately, the azimuth angle could change, due to climatic conditions, or amount of tape on the take-up spool! I ended up with the Nakamichi TD 1200II reversible car deck, with continual automatic azimuth alignment (a mobile version of the Dragon!) Not cheap, $1200- in the mid '80's, but the best of the best...and never equaled! Toward the tail end of the cassette format, I believe that S/N ratio was 73 dB on some of the better Nakamichi home decks.
All magnetic tape will degrade over time! Similar to old color movie film-stock. There are many thing that you can do to preserve magnetic tape (low humidity storage, "Tails Out" storage...NEVER REWIND BEFORE STORAGE, store away from magnetic sources[including all electronic devices]), but eventually, the magnetic material will start to separate from the Mylar or similar backing. Certain magnetic material (KrO2) could be very abrasive on some heads, and certain types of record/playback heads are known for rapid wear. Regular head cleaning and degaussing are a must.
I have had more experience with professional reel to reel tape decks (Ampex 440's), which is in another league than consumer machines. They were 1/2 track, used 10" metal reels with speeds of 7 1/2 and 15 I.P.S. or ones that were actually using 15 and 30 I.P.S.! Half track and high recording speeds allowed for VERY hot recording levels without tape saturation, great S/N ratio, and very wide frequency response. Add professional DBX encoding/decoding, or professional Dolby type A noise reduction at 30 I.P.S., and tape "hiss" completely vanished on the master tape. Unfortunately, home machines playing 1/4 track 7" reels at 3 3/4" were a far cry from the fidelity of professional machines. Dopogue, I think that the reason that your R-R recordings sound better than vinyl is due to the fact that R-R pre-recorded tapes were taken from 2nd or 3rd generations of the master tape. Vinyl pressings had to actually re-master the master tape. Due to the many limitations of vinyl pressings, the "artistic" interpretation of the vinyl mastering engineer, and the marketing pressures of the record companies executives, whose primary concerns WERE NOT fidelity and sonics, most '70's and '80's rock and vinyl pop albums are but sonic shadows of the master tapes!
8 track tape was a revolution for car audio! At last, you were not dependent on a DJ for your music, commercials were eliminated...IF you could handle a song switching tracks in the middle, and the ensuing 5-10 second delay for the resumption of play, and the unavoidable and inevitable mechanical misalignment of tracking! I couldn't; but car cassette players were just around the corner!
Some observations on tape medium: Buscis2, I still have a TDK MAR metal tape! They had milled aluminum housings instead of the plastic ones. They were not cheap, however! The standard TDK metal tape could be had for $3- to $5-, while the MAR with the aluminum housing went for $16- in the early '80's! But what a piece of workmanship! I NEVER bought a pre-recorded cassette, since most were encoded with Dolby B (if you were lucky), not Dolby C, and were dubbed at high speed. Take into account the poor quality of the plastic housing, and parts tolerance resulting in azimuth alignment problems, and you had a frequency response of 10-12 kHz (maybe) on the pre-recorded commercial junk. DCC, MoFi, and Nakamichi did make some really great pre-recorded cassettes. Another problem was that of the head azimuth alignment on the recording machine, and that of the playback machine. For those of us who recorded cassettes at home, to be played back on our car decks, the azimuth difference could easily drop the frequency response to 15 or 16 kHz. I always had my home machine aligned with my car deck (before installation). Unfortunately, the azimuth angle could change, due to climatic conditions, or amount of tape on the take-up spool! I ended up with the Nakamichi TD 1200II reversible car deck, with continual automatic azimuth alignment (a mobile version of the Dragon!) Not cheap, $1200- in the mid '80's, but the best of the best...and never equaled! Toward the tail end of the cassette format, I believe that S/N ratio was 73 dB on some of the better Nakamichi home decks.
All magnetic tape will degrade over time! Similar to old color movie film-stock. There are many thing that you can do to preserve magnetic tape (low humidity storage, "Tails Out" storage...NEVER REWIND BEFORE STORAGE, store away from magnetic sources[including all electronic devices]), but eventually, the magnetic material will start to separate from the Mylar or similar backing. Certain magnetic material (KrO2) could be very abrasive on some heads, and certain types of record/playback heads are known for rapid wear. Regular head cleaning and degaussing are a must.
I have had more experience with professional reel to reel tape decks (Ampex 440's), which is in another league than consumer machines. They were 1/2 track, used 10" metal reels with speeds of 7 1/2 and 15 I.P.S. or ones that were actually using 15 and 30 I.P.S.! Half track and high recording speeds allowed for VERY hot recording levels without tape saturation, great S/N ratio, and very wide frequency response. Add professional DBX encoding/decoding, or professional Dolby type A noise reduction at 30 I.P.S., and tape "hiss" completely vanished on the master tape. Unfortunately, home machines playing 1/4 track 7" reels at 3 3/4" were a far cry from the fidelity of professional machines. Dopogue, I think that the reason that your R-R recordings sound better than vinyl is due to the fact that R-R pre-recorded tapes were taken from 2nd or 3rd generations of the master tape. Vinyl pressings had to actually re-master the master tape. Due to the many limitations of vinyl pressings, the "artistic" interpretation of the vinyl mastering engineer, and the marketing pressures of the record companies executives, whose primary concerns WERE NOT fidelity and sonics, most '70's and '80's rock and vinyl pop albums are but sonic shadows of the master tapes!
8 track tape was a revolution for car audio! At last, you were not dependent on a DJ for your music, commercials were eliminated...IF you could handle a song switching tracks in the middle, and the ensuing 5-10 second delay for the resumption of play, and the unavoidable and inevitable mechanical misalignment of tracking! I couldn't; but car cassette players were just around the corner!