WILL

HIGH QUALITY BLANK CASSETTES

EVER BE PRODUCED AGAIN?

You hear rumours all the time that cassettes are back. You see fake news stories that hype the hype and talk the tripe but my question is this:-

WILL HIGH QUALITY BLANK CASSETTES

EVER BE PRODUCED AGAIN?

The answer. They could, I mean if someone told you in 1995 that you'd be able to buy a lot of new music releases on vinyl today in 2018 you'd have said it's highly unlikely as CD has taken over. So my point is this. Will I ever walk into a music store or electrical shop and buy a tasty Sony Type I, or a UX Type II or even a Type IV all made like they were in the golden age for retro purposes of extra cool? It's a very tall order and an extreme of wishful thinking. I've more chance of winning the lotto at this stage. In this part of the world you hardly ever come across new blank cassettes except for the Maxel multi packs of 90s, which seem to be, or are the last man standing. 

Imagine seeing Sony, TDK and Maxell cassettes on the shelves of Tesco, or any high street music chain. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to buy them without looking on eBay where wrapped cassettes now sell for silly money. A TDK MA-X 90 unopened can set you back anywhere between €40 and €60 and that's because they are simply out of production. That 1986 Sony UX-S is now 32 years old and the price reflects it's scarcity. Now, I'm under no illusions, cassettes are still used by people that always used them or came back to them as they stored them away, but the majority of people are oblivious to them. I love the format, limitations and all, but then again, a limitation only exists when you compare it to something else, for instance CD track skipping is handy and not great with cassettes, but it's useless to me as I like listening to albums in sequence. So in itself the cassette is a wonderful format that gives you little challenges when recording, Dolby, bias, EQ, etc, and that's part of the fun. I'd also like to say that if high quality blanks were to return then what kind of decks would be manufactured? Remember in the 90s a lot of tape decks and players were pretty poor quality as shortcuts were taken to keep costs down on a disappearing market.

Anyway, on a final note, I do hope and pray that there will come a day that high quality cassettes will be produced again. Remember, faith can move mountains! 

This is a brand by Fuji, Japan.

JP-F 46 (Type I)

A rare big hub in 1988 style!

This is one I haven't come across before!

A/10 (Type I)

A short runner!

Probably for speech, Japan market.

SONY CASSETTES

If there is one brand that offered high quality, great design and superb sound it was Sony.

I always loved Sony cassettes. In fact I also loved TDK and Maxell, which were the big three in my mind. All Japanese made with very high standards but today my number one is Sony. And after all these years they are now more sought after and more praised than all the others. I did buy Sony UX and UX-S cassettes back in the 80s and 90s but I was a very solid TDK SA user and they were my main preference. Today my taste has changed and while I like Type II for clarity, I can say I prefer Type I high end cassettes like the HF-S and HF-ES, along with the TDK AD and AR. Now I'm not totally blinded by nostalgia for Sony for I'm well aware that there was a golden period for their cassettes and for me it was from 1985 to 1990. In 1985 they totally revamped their ageing range and made it look supercool, with big windows and great looking hubs. Then in 1986 they did it again with slight changes making the ultimate line up.

So let's start at 1985 shall we.

Type I

HF

This was the basic ferric with clear sound and high quality.

It was a lot better than a lot of basic cassettes back then and still is!

HF-S

A notch up the ladder and you get a sweeter treble with a nice bottom end.

These are great sounding cassettes and one of my all time favourites.

 

HF-ES

This was the pinnacle of Type I and a superb cassette with great treble often

matching Type II. These are getting harder to find and do not come cheap. 

 

HF-PRO

Loaded with HF-ES tape but with the added ceramic guide and striking white

shell this one turned heads and opened ears. An outstanding cassette indeed.


Type II

UXC

This was the entry level Type II in the Sony line up and a pretty good one it was too, quieter and more dynamic than most this was the right place to start.

UCX-S

This was a notch above and a fine sounding and well balanced tape it was too. It gave a fine sparkle to recordings and boasted a SP Mechanism II.

Type IV

METAL ES

Metal was the top tier high quality tape that hi-fi buffs with high end gear favoured. Sony metal cassettes were very good too, so this was the icing on the cake. 

ARE CASSETTES MAKING A COMEBACK?

MMMMM...PROBABLY NOT...BUT...

looking on eBay now I can see sealed tapes going for big prices! Who would have thought that a TDK MA-X would be selling for €40+ or a Sony Metal Master €100? Nobody! Since high end cassette production stopped nearly 15 years ago now, the world moved on to downloading which is now the norm but streaming is possible the new deal and soon it looks like people will not buy physical formats anymore. There are exceptions of course, am I for one am an exception, probably because at my age, 49, I've seen all the formats of the last four decades and now I can pick and choose the best of them. Okay I'm going to try to break this down for ease of understanding rather than blab on about it in one go.

(a) Why do I still like cassettes in this day and age?

Cassettes are great, and still sound pretty punchy compared to streaming or mp3.

Then you have the choices, the Types, the tweaking, the hunting for the ones you don't have. The sound tests, the Dolby B or C debate, the car stereo, the glory days of mid 80s analog technology. The designs, the big hubs, the decals, the blurb that sounds alien to some, the list goes on and on. A good quality cassette recorded well on a good quality deck can sound amazing.

(b) Which ones do I like the most and why?

Well to me it's always been TDK and Sony, with Maxell at number three. TDK made superb cassettes in the 70s and all through the 80s, while Sony did too and now I find myself drawn mainly to Sony from 1985 to 1992, especially the 1986/87 range which is in my mind the best. TDK type IVs are superb and can't be beaten for quality. I was a big TDK SA man back in the 80s/90s but now I find them a little to sterile and for some reason I'm in the type I camp for both TDK and Sony who's HF-S and HF-ES excite the hell out of me and I'm currently scouring for more of the ones I don't have.

(c) Do I still buy CDs and vinyl?

Yes, but not as much as I did say 10 years ago. I only buy an LP that I feel I really want as I've a room full of records already. As for CDs, I've been buying mainly compilation albums from artists I don't already have. I tape them of course and play them in the car on the way to and from work. 

(d) How about Mini Disc?

I also have a truck load of MDs and a lot of players/recorders plus two full size recorders. It's a great format and I also love it very much, and again the discs are all different colours which makes it more fun visually. 

(e) What am I doing now?

I'm searching for more Sony cassettes on eBay!

Firstline

FIRSTLINE SPORT STEREO CASSETTE PLAYER

When I first laid eyes on this in a record store, for a second I thought it was a

Sony Sports Walkman. Well it wasn't but it was a Chinese made imitation. It worked fine, it sounded alright too. It cost me €7 and it was a bargain. 

  The 'washing machine' styling is cool!

  The detachable belt clip.

   The controls, Play, FF and Stop. No Rewind!

  The AC in and headphone socket have plugs.

  Opened up you see the rubber lining on the door and the clasp!

  Battery compartment.

  The view through the window.

  The unit plays with the door open so you can watch in

wonder as your favorite tape rolls by!

BUSH

The British innovator from the days of 'the wireless' made tapes too! 

SF 90 (Type I)

Generic cassette with old brand name on it.

We all know the SF was TDKs super fidelity but this SF from Bush

is just a run of the mill budget Type I

Sony Walkman Cassette

It's a Sony Walkman Cassette!

This is a pure novelty if there was ever one. A cassette designed for the Walkman user,

with Quick Access leader tape being 3 seconds, funky J Card, and great graphics.

With super-cool graphics on a screwless shell mould Sony used for a lot

of their tapes back then it was certainly striking to look at.

It even had it's own custom labels in pale green!

The J Card is arty and totally unique!

Well it looks fantastic, but how does it sound? Bloody good, really bloody good.

I recorded Mike Oldfield's Platinum CD to this and it blew me away in the D6C.

This begs the question, what were they loaded with? HF, HF-S or HF-ES?

All boxed up and ready to go!

The super sexy Type II offered 100 minutes!

Sony D6C

SONY WALKMAN PRO D6C

The top of the tree cassette-corder!

The D6C, launched in 1984 was an upgrade of the D6, and it boasted Dolby C, Amorphous Head and some other tweaks such as line in, line out and 20db mic boost. I was given this by a friend that no longer needed it. It came with the faux leather cover case, original power supply, which is good as the battery case is missing and I must try and find one online. So, when I first saw these in Hi-Fi shops back in the 80s they carried a hefty price tag, I really loved the playback only model as it was smaller, but now I realise and appreciate the fact that this records even tough it is pretty bulky compared to a MiniDisc recorder, making it far more useful by any means, but you do need a plug in stereo microphone. I couldn't wait to hear this beast, so I plugged it in and plugged a good set of headphones into it. I popped in Carpenters Gold recorded from CD onto a Pioneer CT-S810 three head machine onto an early 80s TDK AD90. Wow! The sound was amazing. The clarity, punch and depth was astounding. Separation fantastic, bass, tight, warm but never muddy. The soundstage was precise with crisp treble but very little hiss or fizz. My first thoughts were, how could a machine with zero EQ controls sound so good? That's the D6C, a high precision machine made by possible by Sony's relentless pursuit for excellence!

Daiso

DAISO

Japanese brand.

60 (Type II)

Japanese market cool!

I like the design and the Japanese text, very very cool.

74 (Type I)

Japanese market Twinpack!

Two 74's please!

TDK MA-R

MA-R

THE OVER-ENGINEERED BEAST BY TDK

In the late 70s, somebody at TDK must have got it into their heads

that the cassette needed a facelift. Enter the MA-R Type IV, a complete

re-think and design of a format that was heading for it's

twentieth birthday.

More than the sum of it's parts!

When you hold one of these cassettes in your hand, you can't help

notice it's weight. It's heavier than nearly all other cassettes. The metal frame is the center point that the shells are screwed to with no less than six screws. The record tabs can be moved in and out of record position so there is no need for cellatape like other tapes with cracked tabs. The MA-R was made to impress and you can bet, it did more than that.

Side A covers the guide rollers.

Side B reveals them.

Unlike later MA-XG cassettes the frame was completely joined up.

The reversible record tabs.

The two different colours of the tape clips.

The pressure pad on the oval steel suspender.

SONIC TEST

Deck - Pioneer CT-S 810S, No Dolby, Super Auto BLE

'Tired of Sleeping' by Suzanne Vega was delivered with a warmth and depth that

can only be described as superb. The detail and placement of the instruments excellent.

The acoustic guitars on 'Men In A War' were tight and vibrant. The kick drum punchy and

energetic. It was impossible to tell source from tape. 'Flying In A Blue Dream' by Joe Satriani

sounded incredible. The tightness and clarity was stunning. The bass monstrous but

never intrusive. The lead guitar cut through like a bolt of lightning! The MA-R delivered 

every single bit of the sonic spectrum without noise and dropouts. It's hard to believe

a cassette could sound this good from 1979, but what do you expect from TDK,

one of the greatest tape manufacturers of them all. Incredible performance

from a tape that is nearly 35 years old!

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.