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1. Embed this notice
   Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 14:38:10 JST Chris Trottier

   Why are people surprised that cassettes are still made?

   It should be obvious why they’re still around.

   Cassettes are the cheapest form of music media out there. Anyone can buy one blank cassette and start recording. Equipment is cheap: all you need is a boombox.

   If you want good analog recording, you can use them on a Tascam Portastudio 4-track machine—and it will sound great.

   I went to a music store the other day and saw the same album on vinyl, CD, and cassette. Guess which one I bought?

   It was the cassette. It was C$12—thus C$28 cheaper than the vinyl.

   Here’s the kicker. If you have a good tape deck, and a quality recording, cassettes can sound better than vinyl. Even a type 1 cassette theoretically has better dynamic range than vinyl.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:26 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • imabuddha
     • Luke Miller

     @imabuddha @upmultimedia Thing is, I never said cassettes sound better than CDs. I said they’re cheaper to buy than CDs, which is true.

     They’re also cheaper to reproduce than CDs, which is also true.

     My point is, cassettes sound better than vinyl (not CDs), are recordable, and easier to reproduce.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:27 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • imabuddha
     • Luke Miller

     @imabuddha @upmultimedia Burning or pressing a CD is not the same as recording. Unless you know something I don’t, I’m unaware of any way to record directly to CD.

     I’m not telling you to go back to cassettes. I’m explaining why they never went away.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:28 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • imabuddha
     • Luke Miller

     @imabuddha @upmultimedia What? No, CDs sound better than cassettes. Problem is, you can’t record directly to CD. They have to be pressed or burned.

     Open reel tape, on the other hand, sounds better than CDs. Especially when run at higher speeds.

   • Embed this notice
     imabuddha (imabuddha@techhub.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:28 JST imabuddha

     in reply to

     • Luke Miller

     @atomicpoet @upmultimedia I'm not really sure what point you're trying to make. Yes, open reel tape can be a very high quality choice, particularly the wide types that were used in professional studios. However, you were talking about people being surprised that cassettes are still being made…

     Recording directly to cd is trivial these days. It's no more difficult than dubbing cassettes.

     In any case, I'm not going back to cassettes. Been there, done that, good riddance.

   • Embed this notice
     imabuddha (imabuddha@techhub.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:29 JST imabuddha

     in reply to

     • Luke Miller

     @atomicpoet @upmultimedia A Nakamichi is hardly a budget tape player. I'm also mystified by your choice of cassette over cd. I'd argue that devices that can play cds are cheaper, more widely available, and definitely higher sound quality than cassette players. Other advantages include no wind/rewinding, side flipping, tape stretch/wear, no wow/flutter of cheaply made commercial recording cassettes…

     Before cds were available I was an enthusiastic user of cassettes. For people born after the mid '80s that want to experience cassettes, or old folks that are nostalgic for them, great!

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:30 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • Luke Miller

     @upmultimedia Not a stretch at all. Have you ever heard a type 1 that utilized Dolby NC on a Nakamichi? I have, and it’s glorious.

   • Embed this notice
     Luke Miller (upmultimedia@mastodon.gamedev.place)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:30:31 JST Luke Miller

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet

     > If you have a good tape deck, and a quality recording, cassettes can sound better than vinyl. Even a type 1 cassette theoretically has better dynamic range than vinyl.

     That's a real stretch! But I like your optimism

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:42:49 JST Chris Trottier

     • goatsarah
     • imabuddha
     • Luke Miller

     @goatsarah @upmultimedia @imabuddha Yeah, bit rot has plagued several of my video game CDs. I loathe it!

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 16:51:21 JST Chris Trottier

     • goatsarah
     • imabuddha
     • Luke Miller

     @goatsarah @upmultimedia @imabuddha They were largely right about the technical specs. What they didn’t account for was the human bullshit that would abuse those specs.

   • Embed this notice
     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Wednesday, 22-May-2024 21:38:01 JST Chris Trottier

     • goatsarah
     • imabuddha
     • Luke Miller

     @goatsarah @upmultimedia @imabuddha For this reason, I use gold CD-Rs and DVD-Rs for all my burning. It’s more expensive but hasn’t let me down.

     Funny enough, I use these for burning games that I bought on GOG.com.