What sounds better vinyl or metal tapes?

[anonymoustly]

What sounds better vinyl or metal tapes?

[flashandpan007]

It depends ... I think speakers sound better than both vinyl or metal tapes ...

[anonymoustly]

but that music from speakers also comes from a source that can be live music, CD, SACD, DVD, Tape, Vinyl, DAT, DCC, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, Laserdisc, CED video disc etc.

[flashandpan007]

The thing with analog is .. was it always analog in the recording chain?

See here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARS_code

[lingyi]

From my long gone audiophile days when I could actually hear the difference. Assuming you're talking about metal cassette tapes, IMO, direct to disc vinyl.

[anonymoustly]

ja metal cassette tapes (Type IV)

but what sounds better now?

[pandy]

Depends on source - theoretically metal tapes can deliver near CD quality - but even decent deck with NR like Dolby B can provide 66..68dB SNR and lower distortions than vinyl. If you know how limited are vinyls then answer is quite simple (most vinyls can't reproduce properly low frequency and high frequency signals).

[anonymoustly]

you say metal tapes basically sound better?

[pandy]

you say metal tapes basically sound better?

metal tape is superior to vinyl - this is quite obvious - limitations of cutting heads are described for example here http://www.cutterheadrepair.com/someneumanncutterheadspec.htm - normally vinyl offer quality worse than tape and this quality degrade way faster than tape.

[Bwaak]

Good quality digital audio can be recorded on tape, but not on vinyl. Hence, tape wins. Then again, a memory card is more convenient.

[jack_666]

“Is it real or is it Memorex?”

[lingyi]

The comparison is pointless.Analog is GIGO.

Metal tape on a boombox will sound terrible, but on a Nakamichi will blossom. Same with vinyl on a USB turntable vs a Thorens with a Koetsu cartridge.

[dellsam34]

Why are you comparing Vinyl to metal tapes, As far as I know there is no commercial titles came out on metal tapes, They are just a recording medium and Vinyl is not a recording medium for consumers so you are comparing bananas to sunglasses. If the recording came from a digital source, compare that digital source to Vinyl.

[anonymoustly]

I will know what can sound be better.

The Metal (Digital CD/file to Metal tape)
Compare to same album on factory vinyl.

[dellsam34]

No, that comparison makes no sense what so ever, Even comparing CD to vinyl makes no sense because you are not sure if they came out from the same master, But I'm confident CD sounds better even if it's the same master. Don't bring tape into this. Compare it to another recording mediums, say reel2reel, VHS HiFi, miniDisc, dcc ... etc. Stop this non sense comparisons.

[Cornucopia]

What makes me laugh is the fact that most making this comparison have never actually heard either, certainly not both, and especially not in their heyday when their respective technologies were at their optimum.

Metal with HXpro was VERY good, but anybody who heard a 1st playback of the the digitally recorded & mixed, 1/2speed mastered version of Ry Cooder's Bop Til You Drop, especially "the Very Thing That Makes Her Rich Makes You Poor" would be blown away at the Pre-CD quality, when played on a top of the line directdrive turntable with a Shibata pickup. Scintillating, silent. It's not 24/192, but if you had to be stuck in Analog land, it wouldn't be bad.

Now, listening to the 49th playback of the disc does not hold up as well as the 49th playback of Metal (though that doesn't hold a candle to the 49th listen of most CDs and SACDs which sound just as good as the first time).


Scott

[dellsam34]

I don't get recording digital files to an audio cassette other than a novelty fun. What good does it do if I can just play the original CD or the digital file? Reminds me of "That 70's Show" when Red Forman tried to record a show that Kitty wanted to just watch.

[Bwaak]

Gee, the unlikely allies I don't care for vinyl. I used to have a short collection of tapes from the 1980s-1990s, forgot about them starting late 1990s, but I was stupid enough to pick them up when I visited my parents' home a while ago, so needed something to play them. One thing after another, I got several walkmans and a couple of cassette decks, then I bought a bunch of prerecorded cassettes at a local thrift shop... So now I have 100+ tapes and a functional deck.

I recorded several tapes a couple of years ago just for fun. There is certain nostalgia for the format, I like the physical feeling when I hold a cassette, I like all the creases, the textures, you cannot get it from an SD card. And, they are prominently displayed on a shelf, so I can look up, pick a cassette and listen. With digital, I need to scroll through my playlist... somehow feels more tiresome.

Now I have about 30 NOS cassettes, but haven't recorded anything in two years, haven't played a tape in half a year. I don't believe in cassette comeback. Vinyl? Maybe it will stay, but only as a reliable tech to play all the vinyl that already have been produced. Sometime I am getting cold shivers when I think what will happen when optical transports won't be produced anymore, what I will do with my CDs?

Quality-wise, digital all the way. I was so happy when I did not hear pops, clicks, wobble, when pauses were completely silent. Need to fix my CD player: 20-20K and W&F "not measurable"

[dellsam34]

Funny how humans go through the same stages in life, I did the same thing in a visit to my parents back in 2007, got all what's left from my cassette hoard from the 90's, Digitized what thought it needs to be saved, bought the Sony D6C back then, had few other Walkmans, had a Jetta with a cassette deck back in 2005 and recorded tons of tapes to playback on the road, The Jetta has gone in 2013 and tape fun went with it.
I still have the D6C that needs belts, a Philips DCC730, Marantz 8-track, Sony DAT deck, Sony R2R, A direct drive Turntable that I even forgot the brand but it is a high end one, Mainly for archiving purposes not recording.