reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorders posed a new challenge to the lp in the 1950s, but the higher cost of pre-recorded tapes was one of several factors that confined tape to a niche market. cartridge and cassette tapes were more convenient and less expensive than reel-to-reel tapes, and they became popular for use in automobiles beginning in the mid-1960s. however, the lp was not seriously challenged as the primary medium for listening to recorded music at home until the 1970s, when the audio quality of the cassette was greatly improved by better tape formulations and noise-reduction systems. by 1983, cassettes were outselling lps in the us.