The Case for Cassettes

The well Accoutered music buff intent on updating his listening rig should check out some of the so phisticuted new cassette gear that's available this fall, Tape cassettes--which hold up to one hour of stereo sound in a plastic container smaller than a pack of cigarettes--have been highly regarded for their compactness and ease of handling, though they've never won kudos for outstanding fidelity. Today, however, as the result of recent technical breakthroughs, the sound quality of cassettes has been drastically in proved. Indeed, it's almost certain to become a favorite tape-recording medium for all but pros and semi-pros, and within the next few years could conceivably give the long-playing disc some very lively competition.

The history of tape recording has been one of steady progress toward miniaturization, automation and increased playing time. Considerable advances along these lines have already been made with standard open-reel equipment, thanks to transistors, pintsized motors, autoreverse mechanisms, slower playing speeds and thinner tapes. Unfortunately, it's impossible to streamline the open-reel system beyond a certain point. There's no escaping the basic bulk of an apparatus that must accommodate two seven-inch reels side by side, nor the necessity of threading tape from one reel to the other.

These inherent limitations have prompted the development, over the (text continued overleaf) past five or six years, of smaller and simpler tape systems. The first to appear were the four-track and eight-track cartridge players, designed primarily for installation in cars. By employing the endless-loop principle, in which tape unwinds from the center of a spool and rewinds around its circumference, the cartridge mechanism doesn't need a twin take-up reel; it also avoids the concomitant problem of threading. Running at a speed of 3-3/4 inches per second, tape cartridges can hold up to 80 minutes of stereo sound in a plastic container the size of a paperback book. Satisfactory as the tape-cartridge system may be for desultory listening on the highway, however, it has never been considered serious competition to the standard open-reel recorder. Though the endless loop is spacesaving, its principal limitation is that the tape can only run forward. It's impossible to reverse a cartridge for instant replay--a drawback, as anyone who has fooled with tape will appreciate. Moreover, the cartridge mechanism necessitates an irritating break in continuity every 15 minutes or so while the tape head shifts automatically from one set of tracks to the next.

Neither of these shortcomings afflicts the cassette, which measures one fourth the size of an eight-track cartridge, yet achieves even longer playing time. In essence, the cassette is a highly miniaturized, self-contained reel-to-reel device, using tape one eighth of an inch in width at a speed of 1-7/8 ips. Like the cartridge, it requires no threading. Unlike the cartridge, it can be put into reverse or run at fast-forward speed. Potentially, then, the cassette appeared to be an ideal tape format for the man who desires maximum flexibility, in minimum space, with minimum fuss. Ideal, that is, except for the cassette's middling fidelity in its early incarnation. The combination of extremely narrow tape width and extremely slow tape speed appreciably limited the system's frequency response, dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio. Cassettes thus found their widest application in cheap portables, in which fidelity is restricted in any case.

So much for past history. The news this fall is that the cassette is moving quickly out of the bargain basement. As a look at the new models will show, the accent now is on quality workmanship and superior performance. Dramatic advances have been made in both the design of equipment and the manufacture of tape. Standard ferric-oxide tape has been upgraded into new high-density formulations that appreciably reduce distortion and signal dropouts. But the most significant development is the appearance of an entirely new kind of tape that uses chromium rather than iron as the magnetic element in the coating. Chromium-dioxide tape (trademarked Crolyn by Du Pont, which developed it) is able to absorb signals of far greater strength at high frequencies than any of the ferric-oxide tapes. The effect of this increased sensitivity is to reduce hiss and other noises inherent in the tape itself, since the signal-to-noise ratio at high-frequency levels can be many times that of regular tape. Ideally, chromium-dioxide tape should be used with recorders equipped with the proper bias and equalization adjustments and will thus provide notably expanded dynamic range.

An equally auspicious development is the arrival of cassette tape decks embodying the Dolby Noise Reduction System. For several years, the ingenious Dolby "black box" has been widely employed by professional recording engineers to combat tape hiss, but its cost--about $1500 for a two-channel unit--has effectively kept it out of the home. By means of an intricate electronic circuit, the system modifies the characteristics of a signal in such a way that low-level, high-frequency passages are boosted before recording and then reduced in a precisely equalized mirror image during playback. This attenuation in playback significantly reduces noises that were not in the original signal but inherent in the tape itself. In the new Dolbyized cassette units, a somewhat simplified version of the professional system is used. It works well, not only in eliminating extraneous noise but also in clarifying and sharpening everything that emerges from the tape.

Along with the appearance of Dolby on the cassette scene, there have been some notable refinements in transport mechanisms, loading slots and tape-head design. Taken together, these various improvements in tape and equipment put the cassette at last on a competitive footing with the more cumbersome and complex reel-to-reel recorder. Three Dolbyized cassette decks are already in production this fall. Advent Corporation--a new outfit headed by Henry Kloss, one of the founders of KLH--is out with the Model 200 cassette deck ($260), equipped with built-in Dolby and switch for selecting the proper bias and equalization for standard ferric-oxide, high-density ferric-oxide and chromium-dioxide tapes. Other features include a headphone jack and an automatic motor shutoff. Harman-Kardon's Model CAD-5 ($229.95) is an updated, Dolbyized version of this company's well-regarded Model CAD-4 cassette deck; it also incorporates bias and equalization adjustments for the new tapes. Another second-generation cassette deck embodying Dolby is the Fisher RC-80 ($199.95). The most compact of these three units, it measures only 7-1/8" x ll-1/8" and weighs six pounds. Each of these decks, incidentally, can switch the Dolby System out of the circuit when playing conventionally recorded cassettes.

It seems highly probable that other producers of quality cassette decks will be following the Dolby route before very long. Bear this in mind when investigating such models as the new Ampex Micro 54 deck ($159.95), featuring front slot loading and automatic eject; the TEAC A-24 ($199.50), powered by a hysteresis-synchronous outer-rotor motor; the Concord F-106 ($99.79), with dual bias selection; and the heavy-duty Wollensak 4860 ($239.95). All these cassette decks are designed to be hooked up to existing stereo setups.

For the man who's starting from scratch, a goodly selection of integrated compacts is available in which the cassette plays a major role. Some of these three-piece outfits rely solely on cassettes as a program source. A particularly trim example is the Norelco 2401 ($269.95). But more often than not, they also include an AM/FM radio and a record changer as well. The Concord HES-35 ($279.95) provides an AM/FM radio and a cassette recorder, together with such trimmings as separate bass and treble, twin VU meters and a headphone jack; while the Panasonic "Essex" ($349.95) and the Sony HP-199 ($329.95) and a four-speed record changer to the array. In all cases, a pair of bookshelf speakers is included. Buyers with a more generous budget should consider Altec's opulent Model 912A ($1040, with a pair of Santana speakers)--a top-of-the-line system that boasts a Garrard SL95B automatic turntable, a slot-loading cassette recorder, an AM/FM tuner and a hefty 180-watt amplifier in its control-packed central module.

On the horizon is a variety of cassette-changer systems. So far, the only automatic changer in production is one developed in Holland by Philips and sold here under the Norelco, Bell & Howell and Ampex insignias. The device works in similar fashion to a record changer and holds up to six cassettes in a plastic-enclosed stack. An optional accessory--the Norelco Model CC6 Circulator ($19.95)--converts the cassette changer to nonstop operation. Later this year or early next, several alternate systems are expected to reach the market. Roberts is readying a cassette deck modeled along the lines of the Philips system but equipped with a mechanism that automatically turns over the cassette, permitting playback of both sides in succession. Benjamin has a cassette changer in the works that will hold up to 24 cassettes stacked vertically in a rotating carrousel magazine. Denon will offer a cassette deck that vertically stacks a dozen cassettes, while Wollensak is developing a cassette recorder that spreads out five cassettes pieslice fashion on a rotating plate.

Monophonic portables, mainstay of the cassette trade for several years, are still being turned out in profusion by practically every manufacturer in the business. They come with and without AM/FM radio, carry price tags in the (concluded on page 257)Cassettes(continued from page 146) $30--$100 range and serve tolerably well at the beach and other alfresco entertainments at which the listening is casually uncritical. Two typical models are the Norelco 1530 ($64.95, cassette only) and 1570 ($89.95, cassette plus AM/FM), weighing about five pounds each and featuring an ingenious tape-transport system with two separate motors, for record/playback and fast-forward/rewind. Similar gear is supplied by Admiral, General Electric, Motorola, RCA and other name-brand manufacturers.

The most interesting action on the portable front has been focused on cassette machines with stereo capability. Stereo portables are being promoted on the assumption that many listeners demand the same high quality outdoors as they can get indoors. Hitachi's Model TRQ-222 ($119.95) does its binaural thing via two detachable swing-out speakers yet tips the scale at 11.7 pounds. It operates either on A.C. line current or on six "D" cells. Other stereo cassette portables worth investigating are the Ampex Micro 70 ($189.95) and the Concord F-400 ($179.50), as well as the Craig 2609 ($189.95) and the Panasonic RF-7490 ($179.95); the last two are equipped with a built-in AM/FM stereo radio.

Listeners on the go will also want to look, into the new stereo cassette players for cars--a domain hitherto ruled by the eight-track cartridge. Both Chrysler and General Motors will be offering factory-installed cassette equipment in some 1971 cars and there is a proliferation of add-on units for either dashboard or floor mounting. Most of these automobile players come from Japan and look pretty much alike, no matter what the brand name. Almost all have slot-loading and push-button eject. Some feature automatic reverse--for example, the Bell & Howell Model 3700 ($119.95). Others incorporate FM stereo--for example, the Aiwa TP-2010 ($109.95) and the Roberts CC10FM ($129.95). Yet others--such as the Hitachi TRQ-206 ($119.95) and the Mayfair 222 ($109.95)--offer recording capability for in-transit dictation. Anyone opting for the cassette system at home will probably want it on the road as well, in order to get double-duty from his cassette collection. But since the automobile gear is fairly new and untried, choice of equipment should be made according to the recommendations of the dealer who will install and service it.

Regarding the little cassettes themselves, both blank and recorded: As indicated earlier, Du Pont's new chromium-dioxide formulation seems to have a lot going for it, especially when used in cassette gear with bias and equalization adjustments. Du Pont isn't marketing the tape in blank-cassette form but is licensing other firms to do so. Germany's BASF plant was already in production in midsummer and other major tape suppliers, such as Ampex, Norelco, Sony and 3M are expected to join the parade shortly. Meanwhile, high-density ferric-oxide-tape cassettes--most notably the "SD" line of 30-minute, 60-minute and 90-minute blanks manufactured in Japan by TDK Electronics--have won high praise from the experts.

Proper cassette assembly is as vital to smooth performance as high-quality tape. A fully configurated cassette contains at least a dozen precision components (the exact number varies with the brand), many of them minuscule springs and rollers that must meet rigorous production tolerances. Thus, it's well to beware of blank cassettes made to sell at cut-rate prices. They're often shoddily put together and can cause annoying jam-ups in operation.

Every major record label now routinely releases new albums in cassette format, and the catalog repertoire, both popular and classical, is reasonably extensive. But it's no secret that sales of recorded cassettes have so far proved disappointingly slim. Prices have been too high and fidelity too low for the cassette to compete successfully with long-playing discs. This situation will change as technical advances affect the design of mass-duplicated cassettes. Producers of quality recorded cassettes are certain to switch over to chromium-dioxide tape or the high-density ferric-oxide tape before long, and, in time, probably all recorded cassettes will have Dolby equalization. Four-channel cassettes are also on the way, most likely in a compatible configuration that will allow the same cassette to provide either regular or quadraphonic stereo, depending on what playback equipment is used. As The New York Times observed recently, "The lowly cassette has at last come of age."