I have started getting into cassettes recently, and some people have told me they think its stupid, because of the sound quality, and for the most part, they’re right. But, if you’re listening to a cassette on a nice tape player, and it’s a high quality cassette, it has the potential to be as good if not better than both CD and vinyl. Before the business of cassette tapes was abandoned, the technology had just begun to reach great potential. High quality type 4 metallic and Dolby S cassette tapes are said to be as good if not better than CD. But, right as this technology was beginning to flourish, it was deserted. I have always understood the appeal to vinyl, but it's too expensive, too big, too impractical. I do, however, miss the idea of owning music, of looking through your collection, picking out an album, admiring the art, reading about it, and interacting with the record/tape/disc player. Now, I have a playlist of my favorite songs, it sounds pretty good (i should note that CDs are better than spotify quality, and yet we dont really think much about that today. The audio is highly compressed.), and its easily accessible. But, in return, I don't feel like I am as engaged in the music as I would be if I had a collection of it. I like tapes because of the nostalgia, because of the art, because of the aesthetic and the novelty. I like analog sound, and while I wish it were better, I know that if I get a nice player and a high quality cassette, I can listen to analog music in high quality, I can record my own music on them, and that to me is fun, and exciting. I just wish that, in the way that vinyl popularity has inspired companies to make new age turntables, the same will happen with cassettes so this technology can reach the potential it was always capable of.
