Would you believe, just a few months after Sony produced their last Walkman cassette player, audio cassettes are coming back?
Nostalgia for the richer sound of cassettes could see a revival similar to that which is
now being enjoyed by vinyl records. Both were displaced by the compact disc in most
parts of the world - except in the Middle East, where cassettes are still the main format
for recorded music. The sales of blank audio cassettes fell off by 60% in the 1990s, and
makers such as TDK and Maxell slimmed their ranges while Philips - who had launched
the new format in 1963 - stopped entirely. However, now original blank C60 and C90
cassette tapes from the late 80s and early 90s are selling for as much as $37 on the
Internet. Devotees of rare higher-quality cassettes such as Sonyʼs UX Pro 90 and metal
tape are paying the high rates. Not only the high-end purists but also the majority of
people who still have a cassette player around have gotten interested again. Younger
people who purchase older used cars find they usually have cassette players built in
and ready to use. They often find the sound quality of analog recordings richer than the
flat digital sound of highly data-reduced MP3 files on an iPod device.
Another attraction of cassettes is for mix tapes of special songs for a boyfriend or
girlfriend. Many are returning to the format because it takes more work to put together,
requiring the person doing it to listen to each song in real time instead of just dropping in
various audio files on the computer. Making a compilation tape therefore becomes a
great labor of love and is more appreciated. A UK music critic calls it “one of the great
forgotten folk arts,” and refers to the judicious use of the pause button that is required.
The popularity of cassettes peaked in 1988 with 73 million prerecorded music tapes
sold, compared to LP records which had peaked at 58 million in 1975. The books-ontape
movement also contributed to the long life of the cassette medium, and many
public libraries still have huge collections of them available to loan out. Many audio buffs
are unaware that there was a niche of high-end audiophile prerecorded cassettes -
many dubbed in real time rather than at high speed, and on metal or chrome tape.
There were also perfectionist cassette decks such as the Nakamichis. Dolby Labsʼ
Dolby S encoding process came on the scene too late to save the cassette medium; it
was far superior to earlier Dolby systems for reduction of tape hiss, and in fact could
equal CD quality. It also sounded great on portables and car stereos without any
decoders.