Cassettes

A cassette, commonly referred to as a compact cassette, is a small plastic cartridge that houses a length of magnetic tape wound between two reels. The tape records analog audio or, in other cases, computer data, and is read by a magnetic head in a playback or recording device. The standard cassette is designed for stereo sound and includes a tab indicating whether the tape is write-protected.

History and use: Introduced by Philips in 1963, the compact cassette was designed to be easy to use and affordable. It became the dominant consumer audio format from the 1970s through the 1990s, enabling portable listening, car stereos, and the creation of mixtapes. Beyond music, audio cassettes were used for data storage in early home computers with dedicated cassette interfaces.

Technical characteristics: The standard uses 3.81 mm wide magnetic tape, typically recorded at about 1.875 inches per second. Common lengths are C60, C90, and C120, indicating total minutes of tape. Each side of the cassette can hold its own stereo program, controlled by the direction of tape travel. The magnetic oxide coating stores the signal, and playback or recording is performed by heads in the player.

Decline and revival: The rise of CDs and digital formats led to a rapid decline in cassette use from the late 1990s, though some listeners and collectors maintain catalogs of releases in cassette format, and a revival of cassette culture emerged in the 2010s with new releases and limited editions.