Term of the Moment
digital dollar
Redirected from: Compact Cassette
Definition: audio cassette
A 1/8" inch, analog audio tape format that was widely used for music distribution and home recording. In the past, millions of pre-recorded and blank cassettes were sold each year; however, sales dwindled to practically nil until 2017 when they made a momentary comeback due to Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks released on the nostalgic media.
The First Popular Portable Medium
Introduced by Philips in 1965, the "Compact Cassette" offered an alternative to the much larger vinyl record player as well as the 8-track cartridge. Not only was the drive battery-operated and portable, the tape was recordable, and the format became the standard among teenagers for taping concerts. As soon as commercial recordings on cassette began to proliferate, the audio cassette became the standard for music playback in vehicles. See 8-track tape.
Bi-Directional Recording
The tape is recorded in two directions, which doubles its length (two monaural or four stereo tracks). When the end is reached, either the drive operates in both directions or the user manually removes the cassette and flips it over.
Enter the Walkman
In 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, a small, lightweight and belt-worn audio cassette player that let a person comfortably listen to music via headphones while walking or running. The progenitor of the digital music player, the tape-based Walkman was extremely popular during the 1980s. It evolved into a portable CD player by the end of the decade. See Walkman.
Digital Recording
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of the first personal computers allowed audio cassette recorders to function as digital storage. Never widely used, their transfer rates were slow, and the floppy disk was always preferred. See cassette.
Audio Cassette Recorders
From Cassette to MP3 Player
Long Gone
The First Popular Portable Medium
Introduced by Philips in 1965, the "Compact Cassette" offered an alternative to the much larger vinyl record player as well as the 8-track cartridge. Not only was the drive battery-operated and portable, the tape was recordable, and the format became the standard among teenagers for taping concerts. As soon as commercial recordings on cassette began to proliferate, the audio cassette became the standard for music playback in vehicles. See 8-track tape.
Bi-Directional Recording
The tape is recorded in two directions, which doubles its length (two monaural or four stereo tracks). When the end is reached, either the drive operates in both directions or the user manually removes the cassette and flips it over.
Enter the Walkman
In 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, a small, lightweight and belt-worn audio cassette player that let a person comfortably listen to music via headphones while walking or running. The progenitor of the digital music player, the tape-based Walkman was extremely popular during the 1980s. It evolved into a portable CD player by the end of the decade. See Walkman.
Digital Recording
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of the first personal computers allowed audio cassette recorders to function as digital storage. Never widely used, their transfer rates were slow, and the floppy disk was always preferred. See cassette.
A huge variety of cassette players and recorders were made over the years, both desktop and portable. On the right, the blue-gray Radio Shack and silver Sony Walkman players had AM/FM tuners.
A third the size of the cassette, let alone the player, Apple's first iPod Shuffle held 10 times as much music as an audio cassette.
For decades, audio cassette players were common automobile accessories, and pre-recorded cassettes were available by the millions. Car players were gone by 2011, and today, cassettes are only found in flea markets.