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Budget Hi-fi heaven

Agree with you that this is the position today, Arkless, and it has been so for many years. However, I have to add that back in the day (1970s - 90s-ish), ordinary consumer-level decks purchased from Comet(!), etc, such as the Pioneer I acquired, delivered stable performance for years. Hence, for our generation, they became very popular. Every dog has its day!

I completely disagree. All of the hundreds of cassette decks I've heard have been unacceptable on W & F other than a few TOTR models. Some of us are much more sensitive to this than others!
 
Agree with you that this is the position today, Arkless, and it has been so for many years. However, I have to add that back in the day (1970s - 90s-ish), ordinary consumer-level decks purchased from Comet(!), etc, such as the Pioneer I acquired, delivered stable performance for years. Hence, for our generation, they became very popular. Every dog has its day!

I bought a Goodmans SCD-100 cassette deck from Comet in the mid 70s, and only later discovered that it was a rebadged Nakamichi 500 Dual-Tracer https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/nakamichi/500-dual-tracer.shtml

Cassette technology was taken seriously back then.
 
Original pre-recorded or previously recorded onto blank tape/ I've yet to come across a pre-recorded (by artiste/multi-transcription) that has had a decent s.q. Conversely, a good DIY recording with good kit is a different matter.
If my memory isn't deceiving me, some prerecorded cassettes that were released in the 80s came out on CrO2 tapes and sounded OK. (Not many though)
 
CrO2 was around well before 1980, we were starting to get into metal by then. I have a TEAC A430 3head(ish) from 1981 which did metal and auto-biasing. It was very decent used with good tapes, but not even the best of decks make pre-recorded stuff sound good. They were the cheapeast tape in the cheapest cassettes. That media was great for sharing music with our friends (and when we encountered something we liked, we went and bought), but Hi-Fi? Nope. We've let 8 track die, please let compact cassette go the same way.
 
Cassette was a wonderful format. Better things are available today so it’s fallen by the wayside for most. My first decent system was a Denon DRM10HX, NAD 3020e and a pair of Maxim 2 and I reckon I enjoyed it just as much as all the stuff that followed. I can get my head round nostalgia for it from my generation and older who made tapes for their friends etc and for whom taping the top 40 was a thing - great times! I’m baffled by the hipsters getting into it though, when digital formats are easily available in better quality. In that case it clearly isn’t all about the music.
 
Cassette was a wonderful format. Better things are available today so it’s fallen by the wayside for most. My first decent system was a Denon DRM10HX, NAD 3020e and a pair of Maxim 2 and I reckon I enjoyed it just as much as all the stuff that followed. I can get my head round nostalgia for it from my generation and older who made tapes for their friends etc and for whom taping the top 40 was a thing - great times! I’m baffled by the hipsters getting into it though, when digital formats are easily available in better quality. In that case it clearly isn’t all about the music.

Not fallen here , My dragon is in for a rebuild / service . currently using my Audex ( Toshiba ) unit , May change to my Teac Z1000 next week
 
Not fallen here , My dragon is in for a rebuild / service . currently using my Audex ( Toshiba ) unit , May change to my Teac Z1000 next week
I did say for most! I’m not sure your experience of cassette is typical given that your kit is as good as it gets. I’m very glad you continue to enjoy it.
 
I still listen to cassette every now and then. I bought loads before I could afford a CD player, so maybe there’s a hint of nostalgia, but I still enjoy the way they sound. Reminds me of my youth having headphones on all day, then taking them off and hearing hiss for two hours after wearing them.
 
When I was at school I used to buy Maxell XLII cassettes in packs of 10
to record my friend's records as I could not afford to buy new records myself.
In the 90s I stopped recording and working as an Indie/Grunge/ Crossover DJ in bars in the evening,
I needed the spectrum of new records anyway.
So the last 4 packs of Maxwell XLII remained in a disengaged 60's refridgerator with my other hifi accessoires.
I lately learned they pay up to 40€ for 1 (!) of those originally packed tapes in the bay.
Not that I could be bothered..and it absolutely makes no sense to me when I think about how many
used CDs I can get for 40€ now.

The schoolboy in me is convinced the world has gone mad in some way..
 
Whoa! Just bagged about 32 top notch opera sets on cassette for £28.On a roll! For some it’s an anathema, for me it’s budget heaven!
 


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