ABSTRACT
Also known as audiocassette, or musicassette, the analog-audio cassette was introduced by Philips in 1963 as dictating-machine technology. Once introduced into the world of high fidelity, it was supposed to replace the reel-to-reel or open-reel format, and the awkward eight-track tape cartridge. While it did not displace analog open reel at the professional recording level (digital recorders eventually did, however), it came to dominate the audio-hobby oriented, home-recording field for three decades. The format is itself rapidly being replaced by the minidisc, recordable compact disc (CD), and DVD, as well as computer hard-disk technologies. Indeed, few serious audio enthusiasts take the analog cassette system seriously any more, and sales are but a fraction of what they were during the previous two decades.
