Boombox Radio Cassette Players: Old School?

[KBallenger53]

In this world of Walkmen, Discmen, MP3's and whatnot, how often is it that you see someone carrying a Boom Box on their shoulders like we did back in the 80's?

Well check this out!!! I was walking to the store with my Realistic Model No. 14-805 AM/FM Stereo Cassette Recorder that I've had since my Sr. year in High School, class of '78 mind you. And believe it or not, it still plays CLEAR AS A BELL!!! Just has a little static in it when you turn up the volume.

I was playing one of my old 120 minute Dance Tapes that I made back in '82. When all of a sudden, some teenagers were checking me out, and suddenly said: "DAMN POPS, THAT'S OLD SCHOOL AS HELL!!! IS THAT A TAPE YOU'RE PLAYING??? MY FATHER USED TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE!!! YOU'VE GOTS TO GET A MP3 PLAYER 'CAUSE, THAT'S TOO MUCH EXERCISE"!!!

I couldn't help but crack up laughing, and then reflect on how HIP we thought we were back then while doing this!!! I guess I'm getting OLDER after all.............................................:c ool:

'NUFF SAID

[SandraDee]

I can't believe that as recently as the mid 90s I was taking a big stereo cassettte/radio along with dozens of tapes on holiday abroad wih me! I hardly had room for clothes! It's amazing how much music you can now cram onto just one tiny mp3 player.

[Disco Funk]

Kids these days and their mp3s! LOL! Actually, even though I carry around my music in an mp3 player, I really don't like the compression format. I think too much reliance on the mp3 format (and others like WMA) is destroying people's appreciation for good audio fidelity in music. Then again, much of today's music is filled with so much treble that lossy compression doesn't affect the sound quality as much as older music from the 70s, for example.

I know this is going on a tangent, but were there ever complaints or even talk of conspiracy regarding cassette tapes being of such poor quality (the hiss) or too easy to get damaged or the sound was easily distorted if the tape wasn't properly aligned in the tape machine? I'm referring to the pre-recorded albums on cassette. Were they like the mp3s of the 70s, making the music portable, but sacrificing sound quality to a certain extent?

Disco Funk

[KBallenger53]

You know what Discofunk, it all depended on what type of tape you were using. Normal Bias tapes tend to have that hiss in them. But, Chromium (CRO2) Bias tapes gave you more of a crisper sound, close to a CD. Then you had those expensive Metal Bias tapes, that gave you the truest sound available, if you could afford to buy one!!!

I used to use a lot of 120 minutes tapes, but the only danger with them is that they're so thin that if your heads, pinch rollers, and capstans aren't cleaned regularly, they'll pop on you in a Heartbeat!!! 60 Minute tapes were too short, and 90 minutes were the standard back in the day!!!

TDK was always my favorite tape to use. They're durable, and even their Normal Bias tapes sound like Chromium Bias tapes.

OH BY THE WAY, I REALIZED THAT I POSTED THIS THREAD TWICE!!! It's called: HERE'S A FUNNY STORY in the VINYL RECORD CARE, AUDIO RESTORATION, MP3 & COMPUTERS section. Hey Bernie, you can remove it from there if you want to!!! SILLY ME!!!

'NUFF SAID

[Disco Funk]

Oh yeah, I remember all the different kinds of tapes for recording at home. I liked the chromium, but I was young, so I didn't have any fancy recording equipment. But it was rare to come across a pre-recorded tape (i.e. an LP on cassette from a music company) that was chromium. I think my cassette of Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees might have been that, but 90% of the stuff I still have are just basic run of the mill "low-noise" cassettes. A funny name, considering they had the most hiss. I think the "low" was referring to the amount of decibels you could actually hear under all that hiss. I think TDK was also my favorite. It was between those and Fujis. I stayed away from budget ones like Memorex (even with their CDRs, I avoid them). Disco Funk

[canadiantire]

For those who would like to know a bit more about the "portable" format of the seventies/eighties, here are my personal comments (that reveal my bad writing/teaching skills):

Tape recording is a fascinating science.

Honestly, I don't miss the "magnetic" years so much...

Amongst other less significant factors, the noise of a recorded material mainly comes from either the tape itself or the amplifying circuits within the player.

The noise is more often caused by the low quality (graininess) of the coating material of the tape. It can be compared to film grain where a finer grain film produces a more defined picture (in this case, a better sound).

In order to achieve a better sound reproduction, manufacturers came up with new tape coating formulas which improved the magnetic support properties (normal, chrome, ferrochrome, metal, etc.)

Using less reputable cassettes was often leading to head-to-tape misalignment issues where a great portion of the high frequencies was lost.

Also, one could experience fluctuations in high frequencies due to a faulty (worn) transport mechanism, a magnetized head or simply because the tape was exposed to a strong magnetic source (not applicable to metal tape technology though).

For the tape players that were used intensively, head wear has always been an issue (especially for reel to reel player which could record/playback at a higher speed).

In order to overcome the head wear problem, manufacturers have also improved recording/playback head formulas (ferrite, sendust, permalloy) but in the end, wear could not be completely eliminated.

But to me, one of the most often seen pitfalls was the head misalignment.

In order to provide optimum results, the recording/playback head has to meet two important criteria:

1) A good (and stable) physical contact with the tape.

2) A perfect alignment of the head with respect to the tape. Any changes in the alignment immediately lead to noticeable high frequency losses.

Any serious cassette player manufacturer would have their machine go through calibration using an "alignment reference cassette" which could only be used for "so many" calibrations.

Unfortunately, I've seen more than one “out-of-the-box player” showing misalignment.

Unless it's badly off, the alignment is not noticeable until you either play a commercially pre-recorded cassette (which was supposedly recorded on a properly calibrated machine) or when a cassette came from someone else's recorder. Only until then you realize that there is something wrong. It could be compared to using someone else's prescription glasses.

A perfectly maintained cassette player/recorder equaled heavy maintenance.

In essence, the unstable nature of the magnetic recording and the absence of consistency in the alignment are what I disliked the most about the compact cassette.

But there was no other “rugged” portable medias alternative in these days…

[canadiantire]

Originally Posted by Disco Funk

Oh yeah, I remember all the different kinds of tapes for recording at home. I liked the chromium, but I was young, so I didn't have any fancy recording equipment. But it was rare to come across a pre-recorded tape (i.e. an LP on cassette from a music company) that was chromium. I think my cassette of Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees might have been that, but 90% of the stuff I still have are just basic run of the mill "low-noise" cassettes. A funny name, considering they had the most hiss. I think the "low" was referring to the amount of decibels you could actually hear under all that hiss. I think TDK was also my favorite. It was between those and Fujis. I stayed away from budget ones like Memorex (even with their CDRs, I avoid them). Disco Funk

I must have purchased every possible mfg. selling compact cassette to the North American market.

A the very end of cassette's lifespan, TDK came up with a nice METAL formula tape, housed in an aluminum molded frame.



...A pure marvel that was sold around $20 a piece if my memory serves me right...

[Bernie]

The TDK MA-R metal bias tapes in the metal frame was my tape of choice as they held up real well and was one of the few tapes that retained their "highs" for years after. The TDK MA (without the R) was essentially the same tape stock without the metal frame housing) and I bought these when money was tight. I used to buy both in New York City for under $10.00 each and they were worth every penny. Still have around two cases worth of them that still play well, but they hardly ever see the light of day anymore. Can't believe I put up with all that nonsense like Dolby B-C, hiss, rewinding, fast-forwarding, knocking out the erase tabs, re-spooling mangled tapes, flipping over the tape at the end of each side... for so many years. Aww, memories-not Memorex!

Originally Posted by canadiantire

I must have purchased every possible mfg. selling compact cassette to the North American market.

A the very end of cassette's lifespan, TDK came up with a nice METAL formula tape, housed in an aluminum molded frame.



...A pure marvel that was sold around $20 a piece if my memory serves me right...

[KBallenger53]

Originally Posted by canadiantire

I must have purchased every possible mfg. selling compact cassette to the North American market.

A the very end of cassette's lifespan, TDK came up with a nice METAL formula tape, housed in an aluminum molded frame.



...A pure marvel that was sold around $20 a piece if my memory serves me right...

OH MY GOD!!! It's been a MILLENIUM since I've seen one of those!!! But hey, tell me this, do you guys remember how HEAVY those tapes were??? TDK really lived up to it's reputation back in the early 80's when they came out with this TRULY METAL TAPE!!!

I had the priviledge of owning a few of those, GOD only knows whatever happened to them. And they really did give you the HIGHEST SOUND QUALITY, and were very interesting to look at as well. I remember my friends & fellow DJ's saying: "WOW man, what kind of tape is that"? When I told them what kind of tape it was and how much it costed, they quietly said...............oh.

'NUFF SAID

AND THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!

[BrunoRepublic]

I was thrilled when Sony came out with an affordable metal/type IV cassette. They had dark, opaque shells and while they cost more than the average cassette, they were still much cheaper than regular metal cassettes.

Speaking of fancy cassettes, did any of you ever see the ceramic Sony one? Those were about $20 a pop, white ceramic shell, heavy, and came in an aluminum case. Sony called them "professional" although even with these it still wasn't possible to get anywhere near professional sounds out of the format.

I do not miss cassettes. :)