Tascam Revives CD-A580 Cassette Recorder/CD Player/USB Flash Drive Recorder

Tascam announced the re-launch of the original CD-A580 Cassette Recorder/CD Player/USB Flash Drive Recorder, which in 2017 finally replaced the CD-A500MkII, the successor of the original CD-A550. By combining a cassette recorder, CD player and USB flash drive recorder/player into a rack-mountable unit, the CD-A550/580 was designed to be a playback device for installed sound applications. Gradually, it was in fact adopted by people who just needed something to playback their old cassettes and their old CDs, and wanted to copy those to a digital file.

In celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary, TASCAM launched the TASCAM Studio 424 Master cassette, a limited release genuine high bias cobalt oxide cassette specifically engineered for use with TASCAM Portastudio cassette recorders. The tape formulation was tested specifically in recalibrated and restored vintage TASCAM Portastudio workstations - the multitrack recorders that opened the door to home recording over 40 years ago.

The cassette is back! Again! Mixxim is launching the fourth-generation MIXXTAPE. The high-resolution audio player will be available on Kickstarter starting June 15. With a nostalgic, old-school look, MIXXTAPE offers music lovers a new experience, now supporting high resolution digital audio. The compact portable player is designed for those who are not yet into streaming services, miss the 3.5mm headphone jack, and just like to carry their favorite music with them at all times.

Following the successful launch of its FOX C-60 analog compact music cassette, magnetic tape brand RecordingTheMasters launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new Bluetooth-enabled portable cassette player. In addition to Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, the new Mystik portable cassette player also features a rechargeable battery, a built-in microphone, and 3.5mm jack input for recording, bridging modern features with the typical analog unpredictability of cassettes.

Wavesfactory, a creative Spanish developer of software audio tools, has announced Cassette, an audio plug-in that faithfully emulates the sound of vintage cassette tapes and decks in excruciating detail. According to the company, the plug-in has been carefully modeled after exhaustive analysis of audio examples recorded into real tapes, allowing anyone to obtain the same awful sound and unpredictable behavior of the original media. For whatever that might be worth.

Ready, Cassette, Go! The new old thang, in all its nostalgic, iconic glory, will never go away! Now, it has evolved into a fully functional portable digital music player thanks to company Mixxim which is introducing MIXXTAPE at CES 2020. In 2017, in a mere 30 days, MIXXTAPE was 1215% funded on Kickstarter, and later was recognized as one of only ten finalists at the 2019 CES Last Gadget Standing competition. Now, the portable digital player is available and will be launched at CES 2020.

As audioXpress reported back in October 2018, there's a company again surfing the analog wave trend, successfully selling new reel-to-reel tapes for audiophiles, studios, and archives, and it has now decided to offer new blank music cassettes and is making available bulk cassette tape for duplicators. RecordingTheMasters launched the new FOX C-60 Analog Compact Music Cassette in the retail market and audioXpress interviewed Jean-Luc Renou, CEO of Mulann at the recent Audio Engineering Society convention in New York to learn more.

Did you know that audio cassette tapes are outpacing all other audio formats - including vinyl - in sales growth? Yes, exactly. Since cassette sales reached its peak in 1989, when the US market alone counted 450 million albums sold in cassettes, the format was quickly replaced with Compact Discs and the digital recording uprise in home studios. But cassette tapes never went away and they are now returning to considerable volumes. Enough for RecordingTheMasters, the leading worldwide manufacturer of reel-to-reel tape to introduce a new music cassette with superior quality. Available in the US in November 2018.