Elcaset is a short-lived

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

format jointly developed by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, Panasonic, and

Teac TEAC may refer to: * TEAC Corporation, a Japanese electronics company * TEAC Oval, a sports stadium in Port Melbourne, Australia * Tetraethylammonium chloride, a chemical compound * Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, a measure of antioxidant c ...

in 1976, building on an idea introduced 20 years earlier in the RCA tape cartridge. In 1976, it was widely felt that the compact cassette was never likely to be capable of the same levels of performance that was available from reel-to-reel systems, yet clearly the cassette had advantages in terms of convenience. The Elcaset system was intended to marry the performance of reel-to-reel with cassette convenience, but be more of a compromise on size between the two than the RCA cassette is. The name "Elcaset" may simply mean L-cassette, or large cassette, since the " tape inside is double the " width found in compact cassettes. They were divided into four tracks. Wega Elcaset E 4950

The cassette itself looks similar to a compact cassette, only larger—about twice the size. Like the earlier RCA tape cartridge, it contained tape running at , twice the width and twice the speed of a compact cassette, providing greater frequency response and

dynamic range Dynamic range (abbreviated DR, DNR, or DYR) is the ratio between the largest and smallest values that a certain quantity can assume. It is often used in the context of signals, like sound and light. It is measured either as a ratio or as a base ...

with lower high-frequency noise than the compact cassette. Another notable difference from compact cassettes is that the tape is withdrawn from the cassette when run through the transport mechanism so that the manufacturing tolerances of the cassette shell will not affect sound quality. The top-of-the-line Elcaset decks also have all the features of deluxe open-reel decks, such as separate heads for erasing, recording, and playback; remote control, and heavy-duty transports for low wow & flutter. The system is technically sound, but a nearly complete failure in the marketplace, with a very low take-up by a few audiophiles only. Apart from the problem of the bulky cassettes, the performance of compact cassettes had improved dramatically with the use of new materials such as

chromium dioxide Chromium dioxide or chromium(IV) oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CrO2. It is a black synthetic magnetic solid. It once was widely used in magnetic tape emulsion. With the increasing popularity of CDs and DVDs, the use of chrom ...

Dolby B A Dolby noise-reduction system, or Dolby NR, is one of a series of noise reduction systems developed by Dolby Laboratories for use in analog audio tape recording. The first was '' Dolby A'', a professional broadband noise reduction ...

noise reduction, and better manufacturing quality. For most people, the quality of compact cassettes was adequate, and the benefits of the expensive Elcaset system limited. Audiophiles turned away from Elcaset and towards high-end compact cassette decks from companies like Nakamichi, which began making very high-quality tape decks using the compact audio cassette in late 1973, even three years before the Elcaset was released. The tapes they made could be played on any compact cassette machine. Also, the Elcaset machines were expensive. Elcaset began a fast fade-out in 1978, after the Northern Audio Fair in Harrogate, Yorks. Sony LC-90 Elcaset

The Elcaset system was abandoned in 1980, when all the remaining systems were sold off in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

In 2017, musician Jeremy Heiden released his album ''Blue Wicked'' on Elcaset, along with several other older formats, including MiniDisc, Digital Compact Cassette, and Compact Cassette.

References

;Notes *

External links

Kees Stravers
"The Sony Elcaset cassette tape machine"
(an enthusiast's page). ''Kees's Computer Home''. Last accessed on 14 August 2007. {{Audio format Audio storage Products introduced in 1976 Discontinued media formats Tape recording

See also

References

External links