About audio cassette files

The original ZX Spectrum used standard audio cassettes to load and save programs and data.

Spectaculator uses virtual audio cassettes (.tap and .tzx files) to emulate these.

Most games and other software are available in both TAP and TZX format from Spectrum Computing or the TZX Vault. They can be downloaded free of charge.

TAP files have the advantage of loading very fast. TZX files, however, accurately preserve the actual audio cassette from which they were made – even those containing games that used so called "turbo" loaders.

It can take two or three minutes plus to load games from these files (they load at exactly the same speed as a real ZX Spectrum would from audio cassette). However, with fast loading enabled, Spectaculator can load them in a few seconds or less.

Important

Some programs for the ZX Spectrum attempt to detect the presence of a Multiface 1 and, if detected, immediately crash the system. Many custom loaders such as the Speedlock series employ this as a means of copy protection.

As a result, many games will fail to load unless the Multiface is disabled. As a rule of thumb, you should keep it disabled until you intend to use it.