Did Paper Label Audio Cassettes Actually SOUND Better?

If you collect audio cassettes, chances are you like the look of the ones with paper labels best. Well known for adding vivid colour to the product, paper labels can also on occasion create character by bubbling up away from the casing, as seen in the picture above.

But is there any link between cassettes with paper labels and a higher quality sound? Is a cassette without a paper label any more likely to have a dull sound? As regards the 1970s output, probably not. But 1980s and 1990s tapes with paper labels do show statistical evidence of higher audio quality…

How To Tell if a 1970s Audio Cassette is an Original or a Reproduction

1988 BASF CR-E II 90 Audio Cassette

BASF chrome cassettes of the 1980s were not only exciting to listen to, with their sparking high fidelity and transparent midrange – they were also a cassette-nerd’s dream, changing in visual detail at very regular intervals.

Heading the Chrome Type II post, there’s a very similar BASF CR-E II to the one above, but they’re not the same. The one depicted above – which I believe was bought in 1988 – has a smaller window, with opaque black plastic in front of the wheels. The one heading the Chrome Type II post has a bigger window, with the clear plastic stretching out to reveal the wheels. I reckon the larger window version in the other post was bought in ’87.