Info on this format of audio! (1 Viewer)

[MarkLaf]

I was rummaging threw my parents basement and found a piece by sony called and EL Cassette. Any ideas on how old this is or what the format ammounted to. There are also some tapes look like vhs tapes almost.

Thanks, Mark

 

[alan halvorson]

El Cassette was a failed format promoted by Sony. I can't recall the year it was released to the public - I think sometime in the early or mid 80's. The idea was to combine the cassette with reel-to-reel, and use wider tape for all the reasons that wide tape is better than narrow tape. It was to be more audiophile oriented. Nice idea, but one of the advantages of cassette is its small size, and El Cassette, of course, is anything but small and convenient. Not many cared about the advantages and so it was eventually dropped.

I believe there are some El Cassette enthusiasts still around, but I haven't encountered one for years.

Have you tried playing the machine? It would be interesting to know if it still worked.

 

[MarkLaf]

I havent played it yet. According to my dad he packed it up to move in september 1980 2 months after i was born and its been in the box in the basemnet ever since then. I am going to take it out this weekend and see if it plays. Is this worht money to anyone like a collectors piece@

Mark