One thing I noticed about cassette tapes, or atleast the player(s) I used, is that they seemed to playback the audio faster the more worn down the cassette got. Because of this, there are several 80s tunes that I actually prefer at a faster tempo than originally recorded because that's the way I'm used to hearing them. When I hear it today, it sounds too slow.

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Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

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there are several 80s tunes that I actually prefer at a faster tempo than originally recorded because that's the way I'm used to hearing them.

The vinyl passion that some exhibit is for similar reasons peculiar to vinyl.

Reading this makes it plain that home audio has never had it better than today, in the availability of kit of high quality at very affordable price points, and the orders of magnitude larger size of the window of access to music from all over the world via the internet.

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The vinyl passion that some exhibit is for similar reasons peculiar to vinyl.

Reading this makes it plain that home audio has never had it better than today, in the availability of kit of high quality at very affordable price points, and the orders of magnitude larger size of the window of access to music from all over the world via the internet.



Not just all over the world, but all over the past. There is lots of older music that I really didn't appreciate, partially due to taste and partially due to availability, when I was a younger man. Now, I can gain exposure to that without much cost. More importantly, my kids can easily gain exposure to older music as well. I never would have guessed that my son would become a big George Strait fan, or that daughter would prefer Prince and Michael Jackson to more modern music. All of this without me specifically playing my old music in front of them (I've never even bought any George Strait music).



In contrast, I do miss record stores. I also think I had a little better appreciation for acquiring music since it was harder to do back then. Growing up as a kid, albums were always at the top of my Christmas list, along with blank cassette tapes so that I could copy whatever my brother and sister got. Then in college, it was getting my hands on CDs, particularly the ones from more obscure artists. Even better when you could find it in the used bins.

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I find it amusing that although I pay two lots of the BBC licence fee here in the UK, I can't access this BBC content, whereas others who (presumably) pay no BBC licence fee at all can see it! (Trivial to work around with TOR or a VPN, which makes it even more senseless.)

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Eight track grew in popularity when car companies started adding them into new models in the 1970s...

I vividly remember the eight track player in one of my dad's cars. With a tape cartridge inserted, it was impossible to select reverse gear because the cartridge impeded the gear lever!

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I also think I had a little better appreciation for acquiring music since it was harder to do back then.

Yes. It is similar for books today, on Kindle/Kindle Unlimited. Or even for acquiring knowledge - Britannica then versus Google today.

And I remember thinking of CD buys as capital investment, the price points those were at when introduced, compared to cassettes or even LPs at that time.

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I vividly remember the eight track player in one of my dad's cars. With a tape cartridge inserted, it was impossible to select reverse gear because the cartridge impeded the gear lever!

I thought that eight track was always more of an American thing, and therefore suited for cars with the auto selector stick behind the steering wheel, where this may not been a factor?

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As I recall the story, the 8-track was developed on a bet, by the guy who created Lear Jet. So it wouldn't surprise me if the greatest penetration was the US market.



But I recall sitting in some car (a Ford Mustang, maybe? Torino?) that had the exact same issue, where the 8-track got in the way of putting the transmission in Park. But for some reason, memory is suggesting that it was an aftermarket 8-track device. I'm glad I never "got in to" the whole thing, but I do seem to remember that there were Quadrophonic versions of 8-tracks....



It's been quite a while, to be sure 🙂

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Heh. Should have checked wikipedia first. It's all there:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-track_tape

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