Those qualities are exactly what makes the casette/analogue sound appealing to some ('organic', 'imperfect' etc.) Sonic aesthetics cannot be reduced to a question of fidelity alone.

I’m old enough. The bad sound quality is the point.

It’s like emulating old video games. On a perfect display it doesn’t look very pleasing but if you add CRT and NTSC analog artefacts, it may have some charms.

No, it's not quite...

> Nobody should look back

Vinyl has outsold CDs for many consecutive years in the recent past. A strong retro-trend is booming right now with (mostly young) people rebelling against things that are aesthetically too sharp or crisp. The imperfections you decry, are seen as "authentic".

A few people are paying more for their wedding to be recorded on an old SD Camcorder rather than 8k. I suspect it's part of a whiplash against (tech) companies "ruining everything" and a yearning for a simpler time by people too young to have experienced it

Simpler time my ass. Try organizing anything without email or cellphones. It was hell. Filming your wedding on vhs isnt nostalgia when you also have a hundred iphones in the room. Nostalgia would be using a VHS only to have it fail and your wedding video disappear... forever. It's up their with nostalgia for slide rules and cars without seatbelts: they seems cool now because you do not have to actually rely on such things.

Tell me you've never heard a good Type IV recording without saying you've never heard a good Type IV recording.