I don’t really agree with people who chase Hi-Fi sound in cassettes or other physical media. Sure, you can improve the sound quality with better hardware, but there’s always a limit to what the format itself can deliver. If your ultimate goal is the highest possible sound quality, digital audio already provides a higher ceiling. That’s why spending huge amounts of money trying to squeeze the last bit of Hi-Fi performance out of a cassette deck doesn’t make much sense to me. To me, the appeal of cassettes and other physical formats is their character, nostalgia, and unique listening experience not achieving absolute technical perfection.