I also played a cassette copy from a CD of the Beethoven Triple Concerto Richter/D.Oistrakh/Rostropovich and Brahms Double Concerto with the latter 2 soloists, BPO/HvK on the first and Cleveland/Szell on the 2nd. I was surprised how good it sounded. This was made by me with my Nakamichi 682 ZX on Sony UX Pro Type II, Dolby B on.
Most of them are at least Type II Dolby B or C on good quality tape (Sony, Maxell, TDK and Denon), but over 1/2 are on metal of the same brands.
You are far from crazy. My Nakamichi sounds akin to a good SACD, but maybe a little smoother and has that extended soundstage and open sound of good analog. And with metal tape, extended upper frequencies. Low end on that deck is 20 Hz.