Cassettes were just crap, weren't they? .... :-)
Well, I've just gained a glorious hifi cassette deck from an audio enthusiast's 'jumble sale' - one of the Technics three head variety - and armed with a stash of new Sony 'Chrome class' UX-S cassettes snagged from Poundland, I'm currently recording a few tasty compilation tapes for the car.
While recording and doing a live comparision of source and playback (the benefits of having independant replay and recording heads) and me fiddling with bias settings, record level, choosing various NR systems- and also having an unlimited internet streaming catalogue of music available to select choice tracks from to record (something I never had as a teenager in the eighties - it was FM radio back then), I've come to the conclusion that a little bit of geeky enjoyment has just come back home. It sounds fine and these being new tapes are less likely to fall apart ....
There are lots of things a time ago ye could have never played with, either the technology was financially out of reach or your priorities were different. However now, there is a glut of reasonably high end articles in audio, video, photographic and other technical interests going for next to nothing. The current advertising is saying all this is outmoded by developments in technology, and it's not so cool to admit even enjoying the old kit. It should be in the skip. Baahhh....
So three weeks ago I went to this here audio jumble sale in Tonbridge, Kent, and assisted a friend putting together a video of the event. It's on youtube and yes, well, we all look like geeks...