OK, well, you have a lot more tolerance for tape hiss and compression artifacts and muted highs than I do, the only quiet tapes I’ve heard were big fat studio tapes when I had access to a research studio.

I spent so many years trying to get a decent field recording out of the best portable recording (cassette) decks that I may be a little traumatized. DAT recording was a revelation, even with horribly unreliable decks.