Hi out there, I've been contemplating buying a nice old cassette deck (perhaps an older NAD, Denon, HK etc.) But I've been looking on the web to see where I could easily obtain good blank tapes, and I'm seeing very few places and fewer options of tape type and brand from what I remember back in the 80's/90's. So I'm worried that I might just be investing in a corpse if I revisited tape again.
I have the capability to hook up my laptop, load Reaper (professional digital audio workstation) saving as a FLAC or .Wav file, add a little compression or EQ if needed, render and burn to CD or DVD and even put markers for the tracks, but this is a lot of work, and throwing in a good chrome tape is a lot easier.....and I know on a good deck with my system it will sound great too. But what about obtaining tapes in the long run?
Also, it's been a long time since I purchased a new or used cassette. How wise is it to throw a few bucks into eBay auctions for pre-recorded cassettes anyway? I currently only have about 30-40 cassettes for what that info is worth - most of my collection is on CD and vinyl in that order. My current deck is an old Sharp and a real piece of (insert expletive)
I appreciate your thoughts! best, John
PS. My current set up is (living room) Cambride Audio Azure 640a, CAA 540p, Thorens TD166, Marantz DVD/CD player, NSM 5S w/ Energy Sup. (studio) Harman Kardon Coral integrated tube amp, Denon HDCD player, Sharp tape deck through vintage Advent model 3's
Cassette has largely lived its lifespan and should be put to rest. Pre-recorded cassettes were generally very low in quality. If you insist on using cassette, then buy a stock of blank tapes and do as you please. Quality of most recent cassette recorders is not largely influenced by the brand or type of tape, they all record with equal blandness. Any tape deck though is set up for a specific brand and type of tape. Once you've decided on the deck and the tape you'll use, have a technician bias the deck for that specific tape and always use that tape to achieve the best results.
Thanks for your thoughts. I was mostly considering this to pack up my vinyl for playback in my studio system that I've now set up where no turntable will be present. Also to play what tapes I do have, but perhaps it's best to replace them on vinyl and CD and just archive digitally like I described above - though there is a bit of hassle involved. Well, nothings perfect I suppose. If tape had a viable future for some time still to come, I would just go ahead and do it, but your response and other stuff I'm reading and finding is certainly giving me pause.
On a side note, the NSM's you sold me are doing great and sound wonderful. I've still very pleased! When I got my old Harman Kardon Coral fixed up and set up in the studio, I paired them with a nice set of vintage Advent smaller model 3's. Excellent sound for only $9 + shipping!