DAT

DIGITAL AUDIO TAPE

In 1986 Sony launched this digital tape as a replacement for the compact cassette. Between licensing and copyright laws over digital copy and the falling U.S. dollar the format stayed out of the reach of the domestic audio fan and it had a very successful life in professional recording studios.

My personal collection of DAT tapes, just four!

Looks like a Mini DV tape!

I was in a band in the mid 90s and we did two full studio sessions in 1995.

Here you can see the inlay cards from the masters!

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR...

AND NOW VIDEO CASSETTES ARE UNDER THREAT!

As we all know, video cassettes contain tape, and tape is cool, so a little bit of video cassette  will not harm anyone. Technology has come along way and now it seems that hard drives and cards will one day make video cassettes redundant. 

Betamax

Sony's consumer-level video format from 1975. The format is virtually obsolete, though

an updated variant of the format, Betacam, is still used by the television industry. This format lost the battle to the very successful VHS cassette even though the quality

was slightly higher.

VHS

JVC were behind this format and it was very successful from the late 70s up to pretty

recently. There was an S-VHS version in 1987. DVD came along to kill the picture quality and DVD recorders the final nail in the VHS coffin. One upon a time nearly every household had a VCR, now they have a SKY box!

VHS-C

The compact son of VHS launched in 1982. It was cool because a) it allowed camcorders to be smaller and lighter, b) it could be played back in a VHS sized adapter saving the heads on the camera. How clever is that? S-VHS version in 1987 also.

Video 8

A Sony job from the 80s that ran parallel to VHS-C with higher quality but could not be adapted due to different specs and 8mm tape. It used the camera for playback or dubbing to a VHS machine or a stand alone Sony 8 machine. But who would have two different video machine in their home? There was a Hi8 version and a Digital 8 in 1999.

Mini DV

Another Sony invention launched in 1995 but this was digital and the quality superb in later years. Still available and used by professionals in high end cameras, but domestic camcorders are being phased in favour of SD card units. There are DVPRO, DVCAM, DVPRO50, DVPRO Progressive and DVPRO HD variants of this format.

A TDK Mini DV

SONY UX TEST

SONY UX TEST

Since 1986 the UX has been the base line Type II until it disappeared in the early 00s.

Here is a short test that auditions the tape in question from 1986 to 1995 approx!

Deck - Pioneer CT-S810S 3 Head. No NR used.

Audition Disc - Days of Open Hand by Suzanne Vega (1990 DDD)

Track - "Tired of Sleeping"

1986 version - This is my favourite looking of the bunch and it offers punchy bass and good clarity, vocals were well imaged and centered but the precision of the hi hats and rim shots on this recording are not as tightly focused as I have heard on some of the others in the test. 

1988 version - Here you will notice an immediate difference from it's predecessor. The percussive nuances are more sharply focused and the sound all the more engaging. Bass is strong but tight and focused. This is a different tape all together.    

1990 version - Again this is hard to tell apart from it's 1988 brother. It sounds fantastic, clear and highly focused and all the instruments in the mix can be heard without a problem. The vocals are very engaging and the sound very powerful.

1992 version - Hmm there is a slip in quality here. While the tape sounds fine in the quieter part of the song, once the song gets louder and the drums play harder this tape seems to distort the soundstage. The treble of the rim shots and hi hats is a little blurred and fuzzy. This was noticeable unfortunately and there seems to be more hiss than the others on the this tape. This one is made in Italy. 

1995 version - The same could be said for this tape as for the previous, the precision of the treble is simple under par and unfocused. There is the same kind of hiss here too. The quality is simply not as good as the 1988 or 1990 version and another thing I don't like is the lack of screws on the cassette shell, there are none, it's glued together like a prerecorded cassette and we all know how bad those are! This my friends is the curtain call for the Sony UX, once up a time, great entry level Type II. But not now!

VERDICT

So, I think the 1988 and 1990 versions are the best and still very easy to find. The construction is second to none and the sound super duper. The 1986 version is a lovely tape too and well worth chasing down in it's purple and chrome wrapper. From 1992 I think they are under par so I would chase the versions before that. 

That's That!

Tape Test - That's Cassettes

Manufactured in Japan by Taiyo Yuden in the 80s, these cassettes certainly

looked different and sounded superb.

The Magnificent Seven

I like the way the recommended recording specs were

written on the shell.

Deck - Pioneer CT-S810S 3 Head. No NR used.

Audition Disc - Days of Open Hand by Suzanne Vega (1990 DDD)

Track - "Tired of Sleeping"

#1 RX Type I 

This is the bottom of the range and it boasts 'very high performance' on the shell.

The vocals were very clear and focused but the subtle details were a little lost and the percussion not as clean and clear as I like. Bass was good but again lacked tightness in the mix. This tape may be good enough for the casual listener but under par for the Hi-Fi buff!

#2 AS:I Type I 

Now this is more than a step up the ladder. The clarity was stunning, the focus excellent and I thought I was listening to a Type II. The bass is punchy and tight and the performance hairline close to the original. A superb tape indeed and a joy to listen to.

#3 FX Type I 

This tape delivered the vocals in an excellent manner, with closed eyes the singer is in the room. The drums and bass were tight and focused with the percussion and rim-shots crystal clear. It was hard to tell the tape from the source with the monitor. This is a serious ferric for those into Type I tapes. 

#4 VX Type II 

Now we're in the Type II camp and the first thing you notice about this superb tape is there is hardly any hiss at all. You have to hone your ears to find it. Bass is plumb and tight and you can here the singers lips between syllables. This is a stunning tape and the music just floats out in high precision. No wonder people rave on about these cassettes.

#5 EX Type II 

This is an oddity amoung Type IIs as it offered Metal sound in the Chrome Position!

The source was almost impossible to tell from the tape and even sounded more musical and jaunty. The precision of the drum kit was outstanding, the vocals thrilling and the bass plumb and bouncy but never slack. This is a serious tape and it must have both delighted listeners and frightened the competition it's heyday!

#6 MG-X Type IV 

Now its metal time! The first thing you notice with this tape is the depth and richness of the overall sound. There is no colouration of the sound whatsoever. The drums are big, the bass is deep, the percussive detail is exactly where it should be and how it should sound. The vocals are in your face and its a long way up the ladder we have come with this super sonic wonder of audio engineering! I used this tape as a 4 Track master in 1991 so it's time-locked and I can't record over it, and there was only a little space left at the end of the tape left to make the test on. I wish I had another one for the sheer brilliance it offers up.

#7 CD/IVF Type IV 

This is the Suono Format that is so sought after now. This is from the 90s and its a monster. The quality is unsurpassed by other metal tapes from the time. The sheer muscle and boom this offers is breathtaking. It makes the source sound even better as it takes the flatness out of the recording. It would be very hard to try and top this, maybe the TDK MA-XG or the Sony Metal Master may pose a threat. Who knows. Possibly one of the greatest cassettes ever made and every tapehead should own one!

Tape Test - The Legendary Sony UX-ES

SONY UX-ES AUDITION

This test, auditions one of the greatest Type II cassettes from 1987,

the top of the range UX-ES, there is also a UX-Pro but it uses the same tape

as far as I know. I have several 1988 versions of this cassette, (narrow window), but

this is my very first of this version that I bought online especially to audition.

THE DECK

Pioneer CT-S810S with Super Auto BLE'd UX-ES ready to roll!

No Dolby NR used. Amp Kenwood KA 3020 SE. Speakers Mission M73.

THE MUSIC

A fair variety of music for the test!

First up is Suzanne Vega's 'Tired of Sleeping' from 'Days Of Open Hand' 1990 DDD.

While recording I couldn't tell the difference from the source and as I concentrated on

the recording flipping the monitor on and off I actually preferred the tape. The CD was flat

and rigid while the tape was tight, deep open and the vocals were pristine and dead center.

This was a joy to listen to with closed eyes, every tiny nuance of the mix could be heard

amid the drums, bass, organ and guitars. Tape hiss was very low and the tape was bursting with energy, working with little effort to please my senses. In other words stunning.

Joe Satriani 'Flying in a Blue Dream' from 1999 Remastered CD of the same name.

This track fades in with guitar feedback and the noise of some distant talking, but when the heavily compressed clean guitars panned left and right came out of the speakers, I knew I wasn't dreaming. The drums burst in with the subsonic bass and steamed along like a juggernaut. This is what I call power and then when the solo guitar came in I could hear every squeak and squeal that came from the heavily overdriven guitar. I actually thought if I reached out my hand I could actually touch Joe's Ibanez axe! Dazzling performance

and again better than the CD!

Supertramp 'The Logical Song' from 'Breakfast in America 2002 remaster.

The opening Rhodes piano was solid but warm and the percussion clicked like seashells.

The vocal was edgy and the bass super-tight. The cymbals were jangling and seemed to float around the mix and around my head. This performance was a little hissy in comparison to the others but the tape did not overstate this giving a super performance. There is a warmth to this tape that lacks in other high end Type IIs by other manufacturers.

Christina Aguilera 'The Voice Within' from Stripped 2002.

This was to show how the tape would perform with the more recent production values of the 00s. The opening piano was solid and airy with miss Aguilera's fine voice crystal clear and bang on in the centre. The song seemed to float along in comparison to the CD and Christina's amazing voice was even more lively. The bass and drums kick in for verse two with a solidness and punch only analog can deliver and I am riveted to the vocal delivery and it makes me wish I could have see her perform this in the studio, but the UX-ES

gives me the best 'second hand' audition possible I believe!

Keith Jarrett Trio 'The Wrong Blues' from Standards Live, 1986 ADD.

Finally some jazz, and I always loved my jazz on Sony UX and UX-S tapes.

This was just perfection, the bass was really solid and muscular with an elastic delivery in perfect time to the heavy brass percussion on the drum kit. The bell of the ride cymbal rang so clearly I nearly got goosebumps, the brushes were almost in the room. The piano was both heavy and musical with a super sparkle on the high register. This is the sound of a jazz trio at their peak in concert during the mid 80s and I was almost there! I did see this trio live a few times in the last ten years.

THE VERDICT

So what do I think of this cassette? It's amazing. It handled different types of music and played it back musically and very beautifully without a problem, noise was very low and drop-outs unheard. It's incredible to think with all the technology we have today, that more than a quarter of a century ago, the Sony UX-ES was a stunning musical performer. There is very little even today that can match class this high, so don't you even bother trying! 

Thank you Sony UX-ES for making the music I love that much more lovable!