Is there a cassette tape resurgence?

[JSmith]

 

 

JSmith

[mrbuzzardstubble]

5 hours ago, mwhouston said:

$100 each? That's crazy. In the day a mate and I use to buy a whole box of Maxells XL II or some thing they were called. We would then go halves. They were meant to be one step under metals. 

Chromium Dioxide (Cr02)? About 10 years ago when I was selling cds on ebay, one of my customers was a DJ in Italy. He along with a couple of others in Europe would ask me if I could get any metal or CrO2 tapes in Oz. They were prepared to pay a pretty penny for them. I looked around but alas all you could get was the low noise variety. Interestingly while searching on ebay I found out that Sony used to make  minidisc mixing consoles for DJs. I never ever saw these in Australia. I still love that format.The ATRAC compression was superior to mp3. Anyway, here's an image of the Sony minidisc DJ console.

Edited November 19, 2017 by mrbuzzardstubble

[gat474]

19 hours ago, mrbuzzardstubble said:

Well I'll be darned. I found an image of the tapes descibed above. Excellent construction.

Edit: There are some on ebay at around $100 each.

 

Were they called the MAX-G? I used to use ADX-90's and SAX-90's back in the day as well as some TDK MA and MAX metal tapes.

I had a Hitachi D5500M which was a stellar deck from the 80's. It had an auto bias program that you could set for different types of tapes. It was much better than the general chrome and metal settings. Also had a remote control which used to slip out of the deck and took four AA betteries. The deck started to chew tapes in the 90's so I gave it away. Wish I still had it just for the looks.

 

[Addicted to music]

2 minutes ago, gat474 said:

Were they called the MAX-G? I used to use ADX-90's and SAX-90's back in the day as well as some TDK MA and MAX metal tapes.

I had a Hitachi D5500M which was a stellar deck from the 80's. It had an auto bias program that you could set for different types of tapes. It was much better than the general chrome and metal settings. Also had a remote control which used to slip out of the deck and took four AA betteries. The deck started to chew tapes in the 90's so I gave it away. Wish I still had it just for the looks.

 

Ya gotta love those UV meters on tape decks, I can watched the needle bounce around all day! 

[gat474]

19 minutes ago, Addicted to music said:

Ya gotta love those UV meters on tape decks, I can watched the needle bounce around all day! 

Not only VU meters, this deck had peak lights in between the VU's which were more accurate and quicker to react than the meters.

[cwt]

6 hours ago, gat474 said:

Were they called the MAX-G? I used to use ADX-90's and SAX-90's back in the day as well as some TDK MA and MAX metal tapes.

I had a Hitachi D5500M which was a stellar deck from the 80's. It had an auto bias program that you could set for different types of tapes. It was much better than the general chrome and metal settings. Also had a remote control which used to slip out of the deck and took four AA betteries. The deck started to chew tapes in the 90's so I gave it away. Wish I still had it just for the looks.

Seem to remember that TDK had 2 grades of metal tapes ;the best ones with the screwed anti vibration cases  and the 2nd with a more regular case . Cant remember the later ones nomenclature but they were more reasonably priced 

 

I was averse to paying for type 1V when I could get a low noise floor with dolby C and more headroom with dolby HX for biasing so good ferrite type1;s were adequate [or CRO2 ] . Drooled when auto bias machines like yours was released ; thought peak hold switching for the VU meters was impressive let alone led for record level 

Couldn't afford another 3 head deck [ had a yam with this ; dbx noise reduction and wired remote] but was impressed when Yamaha released a good value dual cassette deck with auto reverse play and record on both decks - not just deck a[b?] like most .. still have it stored away Couldn't resist the champagne gold [ not black like a lot]

Edited November 19, 2017 by cwt

[Ahh- Schnoo Schnoo]

1 hour ago, cwt said:

Seem to remember that TDK had 2 grades of metal tapes ;the best ones with the screwed anti vibration cases  and the 2nd with a more regular case . Cant remember the later ones nomenclature but they were more reasonably priced 

 

I was averse to paying for type 1V when I could get a low noise floor with dolby C and more headroom with dolby HX for biasing so good ferrite type1;s were adequate [or CRO2 ] . Drooled when auto bias machines like yours was released ; thought peak hold switching for the VU meters was impressive let alone led for record level 

Couldn't afford another 3 head deck [ had a yam with this ; dbx noise reduction and wired remote] but was impressed when Yamaha released a good value dual cassette deck with auto reverse play and record on both decks - not just deck a[b?] like most .. still have it stored away Couldn't resist the champagne gold [ not black like a lot]

 

I don't think Nakamichi ever used dolby HX, did they?

[cwt]

22 minutes ago, Ahh- Schnoo Schnoo said:

 

I don't think Nakamichi ever used dolby HX, did they?

Yes ;that's what I recall;  Nakamichi always made much of their accurate head azimuth alignment  and didn't need bias adjustment for high frequencies tracking ; it was quite awhile before they stepped up from dolby b to c iirc too .

Always wondered if they were protecting the Nakamichi name more than anything though another cost was licensing fees to b&o Even the one we all wanted 'the Dragon; shunned it.. 

Quote

The feature that made the Dragon the new plus ultra deck was its Automatic Azimuth Correction technology. With this technology, all tapes—even prerecorded ones—were played in perfect alignment to ensure accurate and airy, high-frequency response (and for both “sides” of the tape). The Dragon’s downside was that its record bias settings weren’t automated, as they were on many other high-end decks. The Dragon required hand tweaking to optimize recording quality. But if you got it right, it was really right. Nakamichi’s tape transport mechanism used different sized diameters (and, hence, rotational speeds) for the two capstans and flywheels to ensure the smoothest possible tape movement over the record and playback heads. To deal with tape hiss inherent with the Compact Cassette format, the Dragon had Dolby B and C noise reduction, but Nakamichi never added the more advanced Dolby HX Pro.
Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nakamichi-dragon-cassette-deck#fwwjp8LlgpRCvwx5.99

 

Quote

Dolby HX Pro headroom extension provided better high-frequency response by adjusting the inaudible tape bias during the recording of strong high-frequency sounds, which had a bias effect of their own. Developed by Bang & Olufsen, it did not require a decoder to play back. Since B&O held patent rights and required paying license fees, many other manufacturers refrained from using it too.

 

[Ahh- Schnoo Schnoo]

Thanks Colin 

[mrbuzzardstubble]

What a beauty

 

[Electrovoice Interface.]

There was never a resurgence in cassete decks As they never went out of being Hip Trendy  and darn right Cool period...?????

[mwhouston]

9 hours ago, Electrovoice Interface. said:

There was never a resurgence in cassete decks As they never went out of being Hip Trendy  and darn right Cool period...?????

I'd argue that one. I think they died a real death. I know some have held onto thier players but I haven't heard a tape played for donkeys. Unlike vinyl. Over the later years I have played both vinyl and CD but never tape. These days add Pi server for digital and streaming. As I posted above I sold my big player years ago therefore no tapes in this house.

[mrbuzzardstubble]

There was also DAT,but that never really took off.

[JSmith]

1 hour ago, mrbuzzardstubble said:

There was also DAT,but that never really took off.

 

Not for home use so much, but was widely used in industry, recording studios etc.

 

In fact many vinyl pressings of live performances could have come from a studio master recorded to DAT and delivered to the pressing factory.

 

JSmith 

[JSmith]

https://www.stereo.net.au/news/the-humble-cassette-tape-is-back

 

... it's on.

 

JSmith 

[Full Range]

I held on to my cassette 2 players ( and tapes ) 

Nakamichi 480 and Tascam 133

 

But as noted above they don’t get as much use if any compared to Records 

However I did hook the Tascam 133 up to play a cassete tape a few days ago for nostalgia 

 

[EV Cali]

I still have a few cassettes , found a Stone roses  cassette  recently plus the Red and Blue Beatles compilations.

Put the Beatles ones on Ebay at $25 for both but no interest.

This bit of nostalgia brought back a few memories but revival in cassettes  never .

 

  

[Addicted to music]

On 20/11/2017 at 12:13 AM, mrbuzzardstubble said:

What a beauty

 

It was a teenage dream to own one of these.   

[Ian McP]

Repaired my faithful Yamaha K960 a few years back. All belts had morphed into black slime!

https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/yamaha/k-960.shtml

< When Yamaha's audio engineers decided to design a truly high performance cassette deck, they didn't overlook any details.

First, they chose a two-motor transport, but redesigned the system to eliminate the instabilities of conventional two-motor designs.

For the record/playback head, they used the finest material available - Sendust - formed by a unique Yamaha process for absolute purity.

With 5-layer core lamination and low impedance design, this head is superior to ordinary types in all respects.

And for the best possible dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio, the DBX system was included.

Add to this features like fine bias adjust, focus switch, metal compatibility and Dolby NR, and the result is the K-960 - a triumph of cassette deck engineering. >

 

Armed with new belts (around $10) and an essential service manual ($22) that made it a less complicated dissassemble!

A quick clean up and it was off and running! What really surprised me was just how good cassettes I'd recorded off vinyl

back in the 80's still sounded!

 

Also inherited a Nakamichi 480 (since sold on) from my father, all was OK but it had stopped recording. The internet is your friend, learnt about the dreaded "orange capacitor disease" these often have.

https://www.nakremotes.com/Geo/Scott_Nak_FAQ.htm#Orange Cap Disease

New caps and a couple of semiconductors replaced in the affected section and all was well!

regards Ian

[JSmith]

I merge this with all downloaded and streamed music... saves me from playing tapes like I used to.

 

 

JSmith 

[mwhouston]

OK. So which company that is going to start manufacturing cassette players? 

 

 

[JSmith]

33 minutes ago, mwhouston said:

OK. So which company that is going to start manufacturing cassette players? 

Teac;

 

https://www.stereo.net.au/news/the-humble-cassette-tape-is-back

 

JSmith

[Ancientflatulence]

Does anyone want about 150 cassettes recorded from records, rock and pop from the 70s through to the 90s. A friend has amassed a collection which he no longer requires and like to clear out

 

Anyone interested ???????????

[jazzdog@groovemasters]

See it really is reel!  Cassette tapes making a comeback thanks to young, independent artists

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-28/cassette-tapes-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-young-artists/9161938 

Edited November 28, 2017 by jazzdog@groovemasters

[jazzdog@groovemasters]

There's all sorts of weirdness out there just waiting to be revived.......