![]() (Your editor attended the press conference where Dolby Labs first demonstrated cassettes with their noise reduction.)Ĭassettes not only sounded better than 8-track tapes, they were much smaller, stored more music without breaks, and could be recorded in home recorders, which were uncommon in the 8-track format. The stereo "Music" audio cassette (or Musicassette) was introduced in 1966, and became a practical high fidelity format with the addition of Dolby noise reduction in 1971. The cassette was originally intended to be a monophonic dictation device with no consideration for high fidelity. The 8-track cartridge was briefly used for 4-channel "quadraphonic" recordings, but was made obsolete by the Compact Cassette, invented at Philips in 1963. Some players offered a limited fast-forward function, but rewinding was impossible. The design allowed simple, cheap, and mobile players but unlike a two-reel system, it didn't permit tape movement in both directions. ![]() The coating sometimes also caused the tape to slip, leading to poor speed control, which hurt the sound quality and made the cartridges unpopular with audiophiles. The tape within the 8-track cartridge was arranged in an "endless loop" and coated with a slippery material to minimize the friction where the tape rubbed against itself. ![]() 8-tracks replaced a similar 4-track tape system, called Stereo-Pak, invented by Earl "Madman" Muntz (known for crazy car commercials and cheap TVs). It was created by Bill Lear (the Lear Jet guy) in 1964. The 8-track cartridge was a magnetic tape format, popular for music from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s.
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