Fun With Cassettes!

Some of my cassette tape collection, from clockwise: Maxell XLII-S60, Sony UX-S90, BASF Chrome Extra II 90, TDK MA-XG90, TDK SA-X 90, Maxell XL II-90.

Since restoring my Teac V-670 cassette deck, I've been having much fun exploring my whole cassette collection again. As shown above are just a fraction of my collection of mixed tapes with I recorded with the Teac V-670 deck. I still have a small collection of original pre-recorded tapes back from the 80's till 90's period.

With this post, I will share just how each tape type typically sounds like and their inherent characteristics:

Type I - Normal: This is the most commonly used tape, and usually comes as standard when you buy original pre-recorded tapes. Quality can vary a lot with Type I tapes and sound performance can go from pretty hissy to good overall. For my minimum sound quality requirement, I think the TDK D series Type I cassette is a good place to begin with. The TDK D series tape offers a good balance between hiss noise level to overall recording clarity in sound. Typically Type I tapes do not stand re-recordings well, unlike the Type II Chrome & Type IV Metal tapes, which can be re-recorded over at least 2-3 times.

This is where it all begins! Type I Normal tape.

This is common pre-recorded cassette you can buy.

Type II - Chrome: From here on, things start to get interesting. Sound quality goes up a whole new level of clarity, much lower noise floor, increased band width and better bass response. With certain tape brands on the higher range like TDK SA-X series you could actually hear "airiness" in the recordings! The TDK SA_X series Chrome tapes were my reference at this level. There is a wide range of Type II tapes at various price levels. My favorite Type II tape at the time was the BASF Chrome Extra II series because I felt it offered the best price to performance ratio. It was fairly affordable, yet sounded very good, only down side is Wow & Flutter was slightly higher with this tape. At one brief point in the 80's, you could actually by original pre-recorded music on Type II tapes(available in limited titles only). 

This is where things get serious, Type II Chrome tape.

You can still get original pre-recorded Type II Chrome tapes if you want near audiophile sound quality. 

Type IV - Metal: Now we are at audiophile level recording tapes, where tape his is almost non existent, almost CD like band width & clarity, and with solid bass quality. If you've got a 3 head tape deck, it would be most beneficial to use Type IV Metal tapes for recording. With a 3 head tape deck, you can instantaneously hear the playback quality of your recording as you record. One thing is for sure though, there are NO cheap Metal tapes out there, with some costing nearly 2/3 of the price of an original pre-recorded CD, the TDK MA-XG 90 comes to mind. However that TDK MA-XG series tapes are built to a whole new different standard of quality. The tape it self is really housed in a metal shell, sandwiched in low resonance resin full window panel on both side. The tape reel itself is made of ceramic material! Now that's fanatical attention to quality! And sure, the TDK MA-XG series Metal tapes are THE BEST sounding tapes your money can buy, EVER! CD recordings made on Type IV tapes offers CD level sound quality, but retains the mid range texture of best analog source, it's really the best of both worlds! TDK MA series Type IV tapes offer the value for money, as they can sound very close to the much pricier MA-XG series, at half the cost. Guess what? I just saw a brand new TDK MA-XG 60 tape on sale in Ebay, with a bidding start of USD $99.00!!!

The ultimate cassette experience, Type IV Metal tape, a must have if one is using 3 head recording decks.

I am glad I had taken the path to restoring my Teac V-670 tape deck. The last sold cassette was in year 2001, just barely 20 years ago. Now, the cassette revival is real and very happening!