Techmoan has mentioned that all the modern cassette players use the same mechanism, which use cheaper capacitors and more plastic, and that it's not comparable to what the classic walkmans and other high end brands used... Without Sony rebooting those assembly lines there's no way to get the best listening experience from new hardware
The problem with old walkmans is the capacitors can leak with age, belts get old stretched and snap and read heads can wear. But I will agree if you get a good classic Walkman it's so much better than the current crop of modern units. I wish Sony would bring out a modern take on the DD line.
Well yah, but that same mechanism can vary in qaulity, more expensive players are fitted with metal flywheel and other metal parts, even though the design is the same. FiiO makes great digital audio players, so they probably offer one of the better versions of that mechanism.
Sure does I guess. I have to say I took my classic Walkman on a trip with these cassettes instead of my new FIIO because the quality was better in playback.
im stil using casettes Type 2 and Type 1.. Using High resolution source from Tidal or Apple music or Flac files then to cassette... and it sounds amazing with the right tape deck!
This may be my plan too. I've got a JVC DR-E45L which I used to record from to cassette or minidisc. Needs a light service before I make up a copyright free mix tape that I'll use for other videos.
I still use DVD and Blu-ray to store my most important media to this day. I have an Omnibot 5402 ( not sure if earlier or later ) but it still uses Cassette tapes :)
I lusted after an Omnibot when I was a kid! Never did get one though. I did however get an Amstrad CPC464 which as most personal computers of the time ran on Cassettes. Wish I still had it now.
@@handheldgaming4life I still have my Original ZX Spectrum 48K Rubber Keyboard, 128K Toast Rack, +2 and +3 computers in storage. not sure if they will still work or not but i have the KS1 and KS2 ZX Spectrum Next computers too. I Also have an Amiga A500 (working with an ACA 500Plus adapter) and an A1200 working too not forgetting my GBA and some games and Atari Lynx and some games too.
the Fiio is such a ripoff because it's just your msot average modern cassette player, with cheap components, cheap quality, but marked up price just because it's a Fiio product. I personally listen to my tapes on a really crappy stereo system and on a panasonic boombox, both from around 2005 and even tho it's still modern junk, at least it's better than all the modern walkmans you can find these days. I had a Sony walkman from the early 1990s but it was stolen from me while I was trying out some tapes at the flea market about a year ago.
To be fair to FIIO they've taken what was available and tried to improve it. Using metal flywheels goes a long way to improve the existing hardware. And while it's an expensive "cheap" modern stereo. It's very cheap for a FIIO product. 😂 But I totally get what you're saying. Old kit is of higher quality if it's in good condition. But sadly 20+ years hasn't been kind to the vast majority of personal stereos. I've got a video in the works that'll hopefully show this. Need to make up a decent copyright free music tape to show wow/flutter across a number of stereos as a comparison.
@@owen-trombone I wasn't even looking for cassettes either. But the Guardians Awesome mix popped up as a recommendation. My daughter and I have enjoyed it on our trip to London and the dual outputs on my classic Walkman-2 was perfect.
They do some very interesting CD box sets considerably cheaper than anywhere else. I haven't bought any as I've no idea if they're genuine, but I've been tempted...
I've got the FIIO CP13 and its not terrible, its competent but doesn't beat the best of the 80s-90s. Its on a par with the lower end stuff from the 80s I'd say. Musical quality wise at least, general build quality is way superior on the exterior but as we know the innards are all variations of the same Tanashin mechanism. FIIO have upgraded some of the pullies to metal which will help a bit with wow/flutter. I'd still rather use my classic WM2 but that's far from perfect to be honest but it just feels lovely and retro.
@@Tommi-C I've just literally stripped 3 SX25 units to cobble together one good one. Sound is great, especially S-XBS and Dolby. This is what raises classics above the current crop of units. But that's about it. A decent Panasonic can easily be £100+. But a good enough for beginner CP13 can be had for nearly half that.
@@deaddycruel I'd say guaranteed good enough. It'll still be better than most but not all classic units from eBay. Much as I like the CP13 I do prefer classic but then I'm a tinkerer. I get as much fun making stuff work.
there will *always* be hiss on all new production tapes, as dolby nr can no longer be licensed... completely legit new production tapes don't have dolby nr... so that's a moot point...
Yeah, I gave these cassettes a bit of a hard time over the hiss, but having now played around with lots of older tapes I can say while they do have more his its not that bad. And its not an issue when music is playing (just the gaps between tracks). I've played the heck out of these Guardians cassettes over the last few weeks. Now I'm on the look out for more cassettes to review.
It doesn't have to be licensed, as the patents expired, you just can't buy the chips any more - which actually seems a little weird to me, you'd think Dolby could produce a bunch for companies like Teac to buy up in bulk. There is cheap software (DDi Codec) available that can encode & decode dolby B & C. New cassettes could be recorded on "old" tape decks(which have much higher end decks available anyway) with dolby NR. Also Dolby HX Pro which improves recordings for tapes played on any machine, as it automatically adjust the recording bias to suit the current audio frequency range. Unfortunately new tapes are basically sold as gimmicks. Albeit anyone that has a nice deck could just buy digital versions and record it onto tape themselves.
@@Helderhugo and that's what makes them superior to digitally too clean music. I actually like digital but the sheer volume of choice means you can suffer from overload. There is something special about taking time to buy a more personal and limited collection.
Digital can be boring. I have a collection of giant boomboxes from the 80s and some weekends I’ll take one to the Venice Beach skate park, pop in a mix tape, and play old school hip hop all afternoon. People stop and talk and take pictures and videos. It’s a lot more fun than streaming Spotify into my AirPods.
Techmoan has mentioned that all the modern cassette players use the same mechanism, which use cheaper capacitors and more plastic, and that it's not comparable to what the classic walkmans and other high end brands used... Without Sony rebooting those assembly lines there's no way to get the best listening experience from new hardware
The problem with old walkmans is the capacitors can leak with age, belts get old stretched and snap and read heads can wear.
But I will agree if you get a good classic Walkman it's so much better than the current crop of modern units.
I wish Sony would bring out a modern take on the DD line.
Well yah, but that same mechanism can vary in qaulity, more expensive players are fitted with metal flywheel and other metal parts, even though the design is the same. FiiO makes great digital audio players, so they probably offer one of the better versions of that mechanism.
There will be never again high quality walkmans produced as in the 80s or 90s. Today we have Streaming in best possible quality and that's it.
This says just as much about the state of personal cassette players in 2024 as it does about AliExpress bootleg cassettes
Sure does I guess. I have to say I took my classic Walkman on a trip with these cassettes instead of my new FIIO because the quality was better in playback.
im stil using casettes Type 2 and Type 1.. Using High resolution source from Tidal or Apple music or Flac files then to cassette... and it sounds amazing with the right tape deck!
This may be my plan too. I've got a JVC DR-E45L which I used to record from to cassette or minidisc. Needs a light service before I make up a copyright free mix tape that I'll use for other videos.
I still use DVD and Blu-ray to store my most important media to this day. I have an Omnibot 5402 ( not sure if earlier or later ) but it still uses Cassette tapes :)
I lusted after an Omnibot when I was a kid! Never did get one though. I did however get an Amstrad CPC464 which as most personal computers of the time ran on Cassettes. Wish I still had it now.
@@handheldgaming4life I still have my Original ZX Spectrum 48K Rubber Keyboard, 128K Toast Rack, +2 and +3 computers in storage. not sure if they will still work or not but i have the KS1 and KS2 ZX Spectrum Next computers too. I Also have an Amiga A500 (working with an ACA 500Plus adapter) and an A1200 working too not forgetting my GBA and some games and Atari Lynx and some games too.
the Fiio is such a ripoff because it's just your msot average modern cassette player, with cheap components, cheap quality, but marked up price just because it's a Fiio product. I personally listen to my tapes on a really crappy stereo system and on a panasonic boombox, both from around 2005 and even tho it's still modern junk, at least it's better than all the modern walkmans you can find these days. I had a Sony walkman from the early 1990s but it was stolen from me while I was trying out some tapes at the flea market about a year ago.
To be fair to FIIO they've taken what was available and tried to improve it. Using metal flywheels goes a long way to improve the existing hardware. And while it's an expensive "cheap" modern stereo. It's very cheap for a FIIO product. 😂
But I totally get what you're saying. Old kit is of higher quality if it's in good condition. But sadly 20+ years hasn't been kind to the vast majority of personal stereos.
I've got a video in the works that'll hopefully show this. Need to make up a decent copyright free music tape to show wow/flutter across a number of stereos as a comparison.
I had no idea that aliexpress sold cassettes. I’m going to check it out. Thanks for the heads up! 📻
@@owen-trombone I wasn't even looking for cassettes either. But the Guardians Awesome mix popped up as a recommendation.
My daughter and I have enjoyed it on our trip to London and the dual outputs on my classic Walkman-2 was perfect.
They do some very interesting CD box sets considerably cheaper than anywhere else. I haven't bought any as I've no idea if they're genuine, but I've been tempted...
Forget any modern cassette player. All made by the same Chinese company and terrible quality.
I've got the FIIO CP13 and its not terrible, its competent but doesn't beat the best of the 80s-90s. Its on a par with the lower end stuff from the 80s I'd say. Musical quality wise at least, general build quality is way superior on the exterior but as we know the innards are all variations of the same Tanashin mechanism. FIIO have upgraded some of the pullies to metal which will help a bit with wow/flutter. I'd still rather use my classic WM2 but that's far from perfect to be honest but it just feels lovely and retro.
@@handheldgaming4life I kept my Panasonic RQ-X20D from the 90s. I recently put new belts on it.. Muder to get on and also clean the old ones off.
@@handheldgaming4life it's not terrible, it's just guaranteed crap
@@Tommi-C I've just literally stripped 3 SX25 units to cobble together one good one.
Sound is great, especially S-XBS and Dolby. This is what raises classics above the current crop of units. But that's about it. A decent Panasonic can easily be £100+. But a good enough for beginner CP13 can be had for nearly half that.
@@deaddycruel I'd say guaranteed good enough. It'll still be better than most but not all classic units from eBay.
Much as I like the CP13 I do prefer classic but then I'm a tinkerer. I get as much fun making stuff work.
there will *always* be hiss on all new production tapes, as dolby nr can no longer be licensed... completely legit new production tapes don't have dolby nr... so that's a moot point...
Yeah, I gave these cassettes a bit of a hard time over the hiss, but having now played around with lots of older tapes I can say while they do have more his its not that bad. And its not an issue when music is playing (just the gaps between tracks). I've played the heck out of these Guardians cassettes over the last few weeks. Now I'm on the look out for more cassettes to review.
It doesn't have to be licensed, as the patents expired, you just can't buy the chips any more - which actually seems a little weird to me, you'd think Dolby could produce a bunch for companies like Teac to buy up in bulk. There is cheap software (DDi Codec) available that can encode & decode dolby B & C.
New cassettes could be recorded on "old" tape decks(which have much higher end decks available anyway) with dolby NR. Also Dolby HX Pro which improves recordings for tapes played on any machine, as it automatically adjust the recording bias to suit the current audio frequency range.
Unfortunately new tapes are basically sold as gimmicks. Albeit anyone that has a nice deck could just buy digital versions and record it onto tape themselves.
I don't understand the reason for the existance of this. In the past I use thousands of tapes and when digital came I don't care about them anymore.
Much the same as with Vinyl and CD. There is something that's nicely physical and focused rather than too much digital content.
@@handheldgaming4life CD is gigital. Tapes and vinyl are full of imperfections.
@@Helderhugo and that's what makes them superior to digitally too clean music. I actually like digital but the sheer volume of choice means you can suffer from overload. There is something special about taking time to buy a more personal and limited collection.
@@Helderhugo that's the charm
Digital can be boring. I have a collection of giant boomboxes from the 80s and some weekends I’ll take one to the Venice Beach skate park, pop in a mix tape, and play old school hip hop all afternoon. People stop and talk and take pictures and videos. It’s a lot more fun than streaming Spotify into my AirPods.