@craigmaloney Don't bother me. I'm rewinding an MP3 file.

@craigmaloney Unless the cassettes are DAT or DCC, of course. Having worked at KUNI & KHKE during my college years (2000 to 2004) I can say that we usually recorded on DAT at a 48 kHz sampling rate, higher than the 44.1 kHz used for CDs.

Cassettes can sound pretty good, but a) they need to be at least High Bias (Type II) or Metal Bias (Type IV), b) the tape heads need to be aligned, c) the heads, capstan, and pinch roller need to be cleaned regularly, and d) they need Dolby C or S, or DBX NR.

@ND3JR These were decidedly not DAT /DCC, nor were they anything Hi Bias. And even with HI Bias they still tend to be muddy with a more pronounced high end. (At least that's my experience). I haven't had experience with Dolby S or dbx, but those tended to be formats that needed special playback in otder to work

Also 48kHz is best for recording but isn't any better for playback.

Cool that you used DAT at your radio stations. We were still using reel-to-reel for our promos et al.

@craigmaloney may I also wrap their tape around the capstans in a horrifying tangle that requires two hours with hemostats and nail scissors to disengage?

@MightyBigCar You do you. :)

@craigmaloney Remind me, have you already read "Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music" by Greg Milner? http://www.wordyard.com/2010/08/04/perfecting-sound-forever-great-book-on-history-of-recording/

@brainwane I haven't, but that looks interesting. I've noticed myself listening to older recordings and the newer "remastered" recordings how they tend to favor compression over soundstage so this will be an interesting read. Thank you!

@craigmaloney I *love* this book -- it non-condescendingly explained the things I needed to know about pop music and the physics of sound to understand the history of sound recording and playback. Also, it covers magnetic tape, the CD, and autotune, dynamic range & the loudness war, how they test new codecs, and intelligence work during WWII, its career effects on innovators, and intellectual property implications. Plus a bunch more.

@brainwane Wow. That just ratcheted it up in my reading list.

Checked the library system and they have copies available for hold so am planning my next trip downtown to coincide with picking it up.

Thanks again!

@craigmaloney You're welcome! I know a lot less about music than you do, I bet, so there may be more stuff in this book you already know, but I predict it'll still be a fun ride.

@brainwane I think the only thing I have going for me is a few more years of listening to it. That's the only bet I'm willing to make. :)

@craigmaloney Fair. :)