Chris A Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I don't know anyone that still uses cassettes or (cough)...8-tracks (...thank god...). In reality, RTRs are something of a novelty nowadays since the availability of RTR tapes has essentially dried up or the prices have gone out of sight, including old/used RTRs, which I would think would be getting fairly fragile nowadays. Even in the 70s, RTR tape from the '60s became very brittle and tended to break way too easily. Print-through is also an issue with many, many tapes. However, in their prime, those RTR tapes were definitely amazing...for their time. The ones that I remember the most for their fidelity weren't edited - just transferred to half-inch/2-track tape from the master. Wow. Picture that today. The same could be true of 24/96 tracks directly from the microphones before mixing/mastering, i.e., they'd sound..."amazing". What other types of analog sources are still standing? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbomberger Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Usually, I do not mind the fire crackling sounds from a scratched record, as long as it is not excessive. I DO mind how the how album cover images are shrunk so much that their cover art becomes lost and the colors subdued. Sometimes, the album is bought just to hang it on the wall. I also need a magnafying glass to read the liner notes on the CD inserts. Another good reason to shop the vinyl stores. I'm getting a great collection of album covers that I put into frames and hang on the wall. My personal musical history for me to enjoy and for the "apparent" enjoyment of friends. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbomberger Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Vinyl for me. Too much of my favorite music hasn't seen digital or ever will. And I find it more involving and palpable. Second to vinyl is open reel tapes. Half track Stereo if you please. I like good digital, but hate the excessive compression/limiting abuse and the noise reduction abuse on material which often didn't need it. I'm continually amazed by the quantity he keeps in stock and the prices my vintage stereo guy gets for open real machines, and for cassette players. Still a lively market for these and people are willing to spend. I haven't asked (but wondered) where the tapes they are playing are coming from. Maybe just in a closet like a lot of vinyl till the right time presents itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick J B Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Its hard to put into words but I'll try, SS + digital is dry and artificial compared to the organic sound of vinyl and tubes. Tubes have a sweetness to them that SS doesn't in my experience. I believe that understand your point of view, even though I consider what you say to be opinion. I can't fully agree with the statement as is without limiting its sweeping nature, since JFET amplifiers are also "SS", and they don't sound dry, and neither do high quality CDs, SACDs, DVD-As, Blu-Ray music discs, and downloaded 24/96 digital music files in LPCM format. Also, "sweetness" is to me synonymous with a large amount of lower even-order harmonic distortion - a form of distortion that creates a very opaque sound when playing anything but simple, thin instrumentation or pure tones: it falls apart on orchestral music--especially string orchestras--as sounding opaque and canned. Here is an excellent article written by Nelson Pass that may help to clarify why many SS amplifiers sound "dry": https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=73904 Chris Of course its opinion, mine. You don't expect me to parrot the impressions of others do you? I'm simply stating what I like to listen to, what I think sounds best. Are you doing any different? No I will listen to SS with vinyl and tubes with digital, but the SS + digital pairing I don't care for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 In reality, RTRs are something of a novelty nowadays since the availability of RTR tapes has essentially dried up or the prices have gone out of sight, including old/used RTRs, which I would think would be getting fairly fragile nowadays. Even in the 70s, RTR tape from the '60s became very brittle and tended to break way too easily. Print-through is also an issue with many, many tapes. It is interesting that many of my old RTR tapes from earlier years (most of those I recorded myself) will still blow you away. Sometimes the pre-recorded ones that I purchase on ebay sound as if they were recorded yesterday. OTOH, sometimes those types of tapes are so brittle and dry that they break the moment you put them on the tape machine. I have several reference series tape machines that I maintain very carefully. I buy new RTR "blank" tapes. I transfer today's digital recordings to tape. The result is very pleasing..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A1UC Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Easy just have best of both worlds analog and digital 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick J B Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 In reality, RTRs are something of a novelty nowadays since the availability of RTR tapes has essentially dried up or the prices have gone out of sight, including old/used RTRs, which I would think would be getting fairly fragile nowadays. Even in the 70s, RTR tape from the '60s became very brittle and tended to break way too easily. Print-through is also an issue with many, many tapes.It is interesting that many of my old RTR tapes from earlier years (most of those I recorded myself) will still blow you away. Sometimes the pre-recorded ones that I purchase on ebay sound as if they were recorded yesterday. OTOH, sometimes those types of tapes are so brittle and dry that they break the moment you put them on the tape machine. I have several reference series tape machines that I maintain very carefully. I buy new RTR "blank" tapes. I transfer today's digital recordings to tape. The result is very pleasing..... Very cool, I've long desired a nice reel to reel, rig but have thus far avoided the temptation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 (edited) Yes, Reel to Reel is probably the best, especially original tapes (like I used to make with my Crowns), or real time transfers, and I did like 1/2 track better than 1/4 track, and Crown or Revox better than Teac or the later Ampexes. But ... everything other posters said about the limitations is true. The tapes don't last, are delicate, and decent prerecorded tapes are hard to find. People used to think that the solution to print-through and some of the other problems of RtR tape was 35mm Magnetic Film -- nice and thick, great sound, wide tracks (3 to 7, if you count Cinerama). It turns out film turns to vinegar in time, and restoration is very expensive. Edited September 30, 2014 by Garyrc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 (edited) You can purchase new tape... http://www.rmgi-usa.com/page3/page3.html http://atrtape.com/shop/ I also have a friend in California who records amazing things on digital. It doesn't bother me a whole at all to listen to his CDs. Incredible mixes. Bruce Edited September 28, 2014 by Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc2001 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I'm one of those kids that only listens to digital sources, the exception being terrestrial radio. That's always been the case, even before really getting into music, even before really getting into the audio hobby. I'm 34. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 There's probably a bunch of old guys on this forum that don't like you now... Welcome to the 21st century. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 The new lossless formats are astoundingly good... if they can only offer more titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Nakamichi Dragon... a different animal as far as cassettes go. A decent metal tape in my refurbished deck sounds almost indiscernible from the original source. Mostly just used for old but decent recordings I made many years ago. Then there are the old normal bias tapes someone in my family used to record us singing around the piano on some get together long ago... lousy sound, questionable singing talent, but excellent piano playing and priceless nostalgic value! Even after I get the last of these converted to digital I can guarantee that I will be saving the originals as backup. It is really senseless to get your nose up in the air too much about any format when they all have their place... benefits, frailties, artist availability. I use digital sources the most because it is the easiest and my time is limited. Most of the vinyl I own I have not heard yet and much of the rest was played once 32 years ago or so when I recorded it to tape (on a Nakamichi of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I'm one of those kids that only listens to digital sources, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalcomfort Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Members 3,437 posts LocationArlington, Texas, USA Offline Posted 28 September 2014 - 02:15 PM I don't know anyone that still uses cassettes or (cough)...8-tracks (...thank god...).You need to get some more friends. LOL I am not picking on you, but think there are many in the new generation that need to hear the "old school" music systems. Maybe they do not sound as good as the new stuff, but it is part of our audio history and as such, should be respected for what it is. I love my cd,dvd,blurays but there is something about a tape or LP that can't be reproduced on a cd. It is amazing what some companies could do with a few gears and belts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Members 3,437 posts LocationArlington, Texas, USA Offline Posted 28 September 2014 - 02:15 PM I don't know anyone that still uses cassettes or (cough)...8-tracks (...thank god...).You need to get some more friends. LOL I am not picking on you, but think there are many in the new generation that need to hear the "old school" music systems. Maybe they do not sound as good as the new stuff, but it is part of our audio history and as such, should be respected for what it is. I love my cd,dvd,blurays but there is something about a tape or LP that can't be reproduced on a cd. It is amazing what some companies could do with a few gears and belts. Do you have your rtr set up for four channel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalcomfort Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 No have not figured out how yet!! Would love to record some sacd music to it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I am strictly digital but, there is something about analog and a nice analog setup that I envy everytime I am around that type of setup. Some of this is an art form and all of our taste in art is slightly different. I am like some others, have both and enjoy it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swapface Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I feel I should disclaim my statement: Analog for music all day - every day. Digital for movies - no question. Yep, yes, sho nuf, word! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 (edited) In my opinion neither digital or analog or ss or tubes sound much like live music. For the music I listen to, tubes and analog sound the most pleasing. I don't listen to a lot of music produced by electronic synths or drum machines.For the most part I listen to music produced by acoustic instruments. For those instruments Analog and tubes sound best to me.J Edited October 2, 2014 by joshnich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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