Mr. Lin
08-11-2008, 07:43 PM
I decided to make a tape for my girlfriend. Not a mix tape, but a one-album-per-side deal, both albums she'd never heard before. Some of you may recall my 4th of July story where I discovered that her car has a Nakamichi tape deck in it, which alleviated some of my concerns about compatibility with my Nak BX-1.
Now, she's only 21, so she really missed the end of the cassette era, and she's used to CDs. She's not an obsessed "audiophile" like myself. Although she appreciates good sound, it's more about the music and everything she knows about cassettes or anything to do with hi fi audio comes from me.
The albums were The Faint's Danse Macabre and Cursive's Domestica, both indie bands of sorts, the former with a lot of electronics, bass-heavy beats, and layered sounds, the latter more of a loud guitar-driven rock. Naturally I picked my favorite tape, the TDK SA-X, which in my experience so far is pretty much impossible to go wrong with.
When she got home from work today she really surprised me with her thoughts on the tape. She said it sounded absolutely amazing, better than CDs, and that nothing had ever sounded so good in her car. Mind you this was not just to be nice - believe me she would have been honest if it sounded bad. But she was so impressed with the sound quality that she even asked why it sounded so good. This was unexpected since I anticipated that she'd only comment on the music itself (which would have been OK), and because she's rarely inquisitive about my audio hobby.
I told her the following things probably contributed to the great sound of the tape: First, it was recorded and played back on a Nakamichi deck. Second, I ran the signal through a tube preamp, which typically enriches the sound and brings out midrange detail. Third, I threw some of my better cables at it, including the Kimber Silver Streak that I usually use for recording and Anti Cable interconnects. Fourth, everything, from CDP to tape deck to tube preamp is isolated with various types of footers for decoupling. Finally, it sure doesn't hurt that the CDP is a Rega Planet.
Later in the evening we took a ride so I could hear it in her car, and it was indeed very nice. The bass was powerful and punchy which probably had a lot to do with why she liked it so much (she loves bass), and this really speaks to the quality of the SA-X because the bass in the Faint album goes very low and is quite challenging for speakers/headphones and components in general. The recording was definitely a little on the dark side, frankly I would have liked a bit more high-frequency extension, but hardly anyone else would have even noticed that. Overall it just sounded excellent.
After we were finished listening she lamented the fact that CDs don't sound as good. I didn't say anything but I wonder if her cars CDP is to blame.
Now I suppose it's time to tackle a good old fashioned mix tape for her, which I haven't done in about ten years.
Dave
Now, she's only 21, so she really missed the end of the cassette era, and she's used to CDs. She's not an obsessed "audiophile" like myself. Although she appreciates good sound, it's more about the music and everything she knows about cassettes or anything to do with hi fi audio comes from me.
The albums were The Faint's Danse Macabre and Cursive's Domestica, both indie bands of sorts, the former with a lot of electronics, bass-heavy beats, and layered sounds, the latter more of a loud guitar-driven rock. Naturally I picked my favorite tape, the TDK SA-X, which in my experience so far is pretty much impossible to go wrong with.
When she got home from work today she really surprised me with her thoughts on the tape. She said it sounded absolutely amazing, better than CDs, and that nothing had ever sounded so good in her car. Mind you this was not just to be nice - believe me she would have been honest if it sounded bad. But she was so impressed with the sound quality that she even asked why it sounded so good. This was unexpected since I anticipated that she'd only comment on the music itself (which would have been OK), and because she's rarely inquisitive about my audio hobby.
I told her the following things probably contributed to the great sound of the tape: First, it was recorded and played back on a Nakamichi deck. Second, I ran the signal through a tube preamp, which typically enriches the sound and brings out midrange detail. Third, I threw some of my better cables at it, including the Kimber Silver Streak that I usually use for recording and Anti Cable interconnects. Fourth, everything, from CDP to tape deck to tube preamp is isolated with various types of footers for decoupling. Finally, it sure doesn't hurt that the CDP is a Rega Planet.
Later in the evening we took a ride so I could hear it in her car, and it was indeed very nice. The bass was powerful and punchy which probably had a lot to do with why she liked it so much (she loves bass), and this really speaks to the quality of the SA-X because the bass in the Faint album goes very low and is quite challenging for speakers/headphones and components in general. The recording was definitely a little on the dark side, frankly I would have liked a bit more high-frequency extension, but hardly anyone else would have even noticed that. Overall it just sounded excellent.
After we were finished listening she lamented the fact that CDs don't sound as good. I didn't say anything but I wonder if her cars CDP is to blame.
Now I suppose it's time to tackle a good old fashioned mix tape for her, which I haven't done in about ten years.
Dave