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In Reply to: RE: "Audio purists love the analogue sound that comes from the classic cassette." BBC posted by Chip647 on May 20, 2013 at 12:35:59
back in the late 80's when I as in the Navy I worked part-time at a local Radio Shack (Zion, IL). Me and another Navy bud would open up the store and throw in a VCR tape, hit the record button on Prime star satellite radio and viola' up to 8 hrs of uninterrupted hi-fi music. At one point I had dozens of 8 hr tapes of just blues, jazz, techno, you name it. Of course if you wanted the highest fidelity you'd simply record in Standard mode (vs long play). Nothing, and I mean nothing back then came close to the original source with the exception of maybe PCM players; virtually zero hiss along with high signal to noise ratios was common practice during playback -keep in mind typical cd recorders weren't even on the market yet.
Only problem was there was no set of standards among manufacturers (an almost impossible task to implement); therefore tape 'A' recorded on machine 'A' would sound noticeably different in machine 'B' (even within the same brand) and so forth.I kick myself for not keeping better storage of those tape, my kids have long since recorded Barney telecast over them several times over lol..
Now that I think back on those days; they were absolutely enjoyable...even though the manager of Hallmark next door would have to come over and tell us to turn down the volume on occasion... ;)
Follow Ups:
Luddite that I am...
I've even done some live recording with VHS HiFi VCR to pretty good effect. It pays to use good tape (which is ever harder to find - I tend to pick 'em up when I find 'em at my favorite local emporium).
My major application for VHS HiFi audio is... Christmas music! I am a big fan of holiday music of all types (schmaltzy to serious; chant to pop) and I've dubbed almost all of our (embarassingly) substantial collection onto VHS HiFi audio - 6 hours at low speed with very good sound quality.
Here's a photo of just such a dubbing session a few years back :-)
The Zenith VCR in the picture was purchased new at the Stereo Discounters' annual "HiFi Show and Sale" at Timonium Fairgrounds (MD) way back in - if memory serves - 1986. It was purpose built (and even labled) as a HiFi Video and Audio recorder; featuring peak-hold level meters and input audio level control (i.e., the ALC could be defeated for "serious" audio recording) and separate "VIDEO" and "AUDIO" record modes (the latter suppressed the video track).
It has served us incredibly well over a long, long time.
This particular deck is sort of interesting in that the tape rides side-saddle...
all the best,
mrh
Bingo! Stereo hi-fi on VCR tape at 'standard' speed would blow away any other format. I archived several of my most important original reel-to-reel tapes onto VHS. (Beta was even better, but, well, you know that story.)
Now, if I could just find someone to repair my Sony SLV-555...
Decent. But the mandatory compander didn't always lack pumping and breathing. And VHS tracking is a joke. Compatibility from machine to machine always a major issue. Not as good as 1/2 track open reel on better machines as a rule. Not a professional or mastering medium.
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