On Apr 30, 4:15=A0pm, "Dave" <dspear9...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> "CLM in ND" <camarv...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
messagenews:4ee2aa47-6ba0-437=
2-9062-74e27f88cd00@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> > Thanks for all the replies. =A0I'm going to buy some Akai tape, but
also=
> > a box or two of TDK as well.
>
> > I have a lot of music on hard drive, but I want a backup on a format
> > in case something should ever happen to my computer. =A0With CD-R's,
> > you're too reliant on the computer, not nearly as interesting to make
> > a disc as it is a tape, & I'm still not convinced of their long-term
> > durability. =A0I've heard too many stories of people not being able to
> > play CD-R's just a year or two after having burned them.
>
> Yeah, and I have a buddy whose 8-tracks don't sound right anymore after
he=
> left them on the back deck of his Gremlin all summer.
>
> But really, you can't be serious claiming that cassettes are "almost" as
> good as CD's. =A0They are not. =A0They have less usable bandwidth (~60dB
v=
s.
> 96dB for CD), are more fragile, more specific-tape-deck dependent, they
> stretch, get magnitized, can't be copied without degredation of signal,
ar=
e
> subject to wow and flutter, and the list goes on. =A0If you use good
quali=
ty
> media, CD's or DVD's are the way to go. =A0Also, much of the hoopla
about =
poor
> quality CD's relates to their ability to be played back in a standard CD
> player. =A0Whereas your run-of-the-mill under $100 audio CD player gets
on=
e
> pass at the information, a CD reader in a computer can take its'
leisurely=
> time trying multiple passes and having more processing power and clock
> cycles to correct errors. =A0It's VERY rare that Cd's become unreadable
on=
a
> computer. =A0Also, in the same amount of time and for the same cost
(let's=
> assume your time is worth >$0.80/hr), you could make 5 copies of each
CD,
> thus virtually guaranteeing you a reliable backup. =A0As an added bonus
yo=
u
> don't have to store them in a temperature- and humidity-controlled vault
t=
o
> ensure longevity, just keep them off the back deck of the Prius.
>
> > Everything I'm dubbing onto cassette I'm also going to put on Minidisc
> > as well. =A0Cassettes & Minidisc are much better for recording than
> > burning CD's, and are a lot more fun IMHO. =A0Both formats I like a
lot
> > & have never had an issue with either of them. =A0I listened to a
> > cassette the other day I recorded back in 1993 on a Maxell UR Type I
> > cassette & it sounded like the day I recorded it. =A0Until the
> > reliability issues with CD-R's are resolved, I'm going with cassettes
> > & Minidisc.
>
> Why don't you play your digital files through your computer speakers and
> record them with a mic onto your cassettes, that sounds REALLY fun.
=A0But=
> wait, fun isn't really what we're after here... or is it?
>
> That's great that your cassettes have held up so well, but they'll never
> have the fidelity of a CD. =A0They can't.
>
> You seem to have an affection for technologies that have gone by the
> wayside; maybe you should be looking for a DVD writer that writes only
> HD-DVD... it'd get you into the digital domain and still be obsolete!
> Win-win.
>
> There is a learning curve to digital editing and mastering... the
commerci=
al
> recording industry went through it in the mid to late 80's and there
were
> some horrible CD's released. =A0But... today's software has greatly
simpli=
fied
> the editing and production of digital media. =A0It may seem daunting,
but
> honestly it's worth it to learn how to do digital. =A0 Believe me, it IS
> easier than analog tape work.
>
> One last thing that strikes me is you mention ruined CD's. =A0If you're
> talking about CD's which fail during the recording process due to such
> things as buffer underruns, =A0you need to upgrade your hardware. =A0I
hav=
en't
> had a CD fail during burning for many years. =A0The write drives have
> good-sized hardware buffer, and the software maintains another buffer.
> Also, the I/O bus speeds and memory access speeds have increased
> dramatically, making it pretty tough to bottleneck a 48x CD write
> datastream.
>
> One last thing about Minidisks. =A0Whereas cassettes were an industry
stan=
dard
> for many years, perhaps a decade, minidisks never made it big. =A0As
such,=
> there is an extremely limited supply of equipment in existence. =A0If
you'=
re
> worried about longevity, I'd be thinking about moving all your Minidisk
> material onto some type of media which is readable on current hardware.
> Otherwise when you pull out the =A0minidisk you made today in 2023
(analog=
ous
> to your 1993 cassette) you may find that the last working minidisk
player
> was sold on eBay in 2015. =A0Just something to think about.
>
> Dave
Minidisc's are still readily available & have a loyal following.
Tascam makes a Minidisc deck & there are several multitrack
****tastudio-type recorders on the market. True, it never caught on as
a consumer product, but I like my Pioneer very much. And, unlike a
burned CD, the discs can be re-recorded on many times & can be
edited. I freely admit, it's a niche product.
What I meant by ruining CD's is if the music isn't cued up right, or
you select the wrong song, etc.,, i.e. human error, it gets burned on
& you can't correct it. If you need to only correct a small ****tion
of the disc, you can't & have to start all over. It happened to me
this weekend & that's what got me to thinking about using cassettes
again. Maybe I went a little overboard using the term "archive"; I
realize the limitations of cassettes. However, I still like cassettes
& I'm going back to them. Not exclusively, but more than I have in
years. I didn't say it was easier than digital, but I do miss the
effort in making tapes, and I'm going to use my CD deck more than my
computer. Computers make it too easy; too boring. You don't have a
connection with the disc you're making; the effort isn't there. Maybe
it has to do with setting the recording level, I don't know.
My intent wasn't to battle over specs; I know what they are. Some
people prefer tubes to solid state, LP's to CD's, etc... I really
just wanted to know if anyone had tried Akai cassettes. However, I'm
going to research the CD-R's on the market to see if any offer any
kind of guarentee or claims of long-life.
Cameron
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