So, over the past couple of months, I've furthered my experimentation with audio-only VHS...(copying my most cherished LPs in an effort to play them less & preserve my styli) and I must say it has been a good experience. Using both my modern VCR with no level controls and an older 4 head with level controls, the tapes sound consistently good. Interestingly, tapes made on one machine sound fine on the other and vice-versa...and the machine without input level controls seems to be more transparent somehow....
Then I did something silly...I copied a VHS album to cassette using my Tascam Portastudio...so I could listen in the car's cassette deck. Yes, generation loss is evident (some treble attenuation) but it is certainly analog sounding
which of course I like.