New Type II Cassette Tapes vs New Old Stock - Which sounds better?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 чер 2022
- Are brand new type II cassette tapes any good? In this video, I unwrap one of the new ATR Magnetics Cobalt Silver Series, Type 2 cassettes and compare it against a classic Maxell XLII new old stock tape. I put the tapes through their paces in a series of recording tests on a Tascam 488 Portastudio. Let us know what you think of the tapes and if you know of any other type II tapes in production that are available in Europe.
Check out our facebook and Instagram pages if you like this kind of content. I’ll also post a link to the finished mix of our song ‘Bad News Rising’ once it’s finished.
/ multitrackcassettereco...
/ multitrackcassettereco...
/ wehappyfewmusic
Here's a link if you want to check out the ATR tapes.......
www.thomann.de/gb/atr_magneti...
#cassettetapes
#Tascam488
#TapeRecording
#Retrorecordingtechniques
#newtypeIIcassettes
#type2cassettes
#Analog
#newcassettes
#ATRcobalt
#cassettecomeback
#cassettererival
#londonbluesband
#cassettetapes
![ОРБАН приехал к ПУТИНУ и "отчитался" о поездке в Киев 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_0ukDovOWq8/mqdefault.jpg)
The Maxell all the way - the way the snare snaps on the NOS tape completely blows the ATR out of the water. IMHO they still have some tweaking to do on these new formulas before they’re in the same league as the classic formulas. Nice comparison 🤘🏻
Many thanks for watching and I think you’re right. Hopefully they’ll keep trying so we get some top quality new tapes to use in the near future. 🤞🏻
@@wehappyfewmusic I see the problem at the missalignement of the BIAS. This alignement has to be done very carefully. The type II tape is only the class of the tape. Each type II tape has his specific alignement. There was and still is a diffenece of MAXELL IIs und TDK SA-X. Otherwise you should make such comparisons on a NAKAMICHI Tape Deck instead of this poor build in cassette recorder. Furthermore you cannot really compare the true quality here on UA-cam.
Very helpful video, thank you! I tried the ATR tape in my Tascam 246 and was surprised about how bad the new tapes actually are in comparison to new old stock type II cassettes. I did not trust my own comparison, but this video makes it very clear.
Thanks and glad you found the video useful! Yes it’s a real shame the new tapes aren’t better, hopefully ATR will make a new formula soon?
It's probably not that bad, if you use it in a good 3-head deck with level and bias calibration capabilities. Yes, in a Portastudio, you should use the old tapes which it was calibrated to at the factory. My biggest concern about this new tape is its surface. It might be overy abrasive for the heads.
If you have a frequency analyser it will show the difference between the two recordings. I do think the Maxwell is slightly louder with a much better dynamic range.
Good idea, I’ve got a software one so will give that a go. 👍
Its absolutely no contest, yhat maxell tape blows the ATR right out of the water. Sounds way more transparent, better seperation, vocals were a bloodbath tbh. Way better on the Maxell. I'm tickled that they're making new tape, but they've got some ways to come. Its the same thing as new heads. No one makes new heads that are comparable to the ones from the 80's and 90's
Thanks for checking out the comparison and know where you’re coming from. Let’s hope they keep improving the new tapes and heads! 🤞🏻
Good to see new tapes being made again! Thanks for the comparison.
Thanks buddy 🙌
Word on the street is that ATR uses NAC tape stock, so outside of housing and cassette transport mechanisms they should sound roughly the same. LIstening to your vid thru RME interface feeding Adam A7X monitors and the Maxell stock blows it out of the water quality wise. This was a very helpful comparison. Give thanks!
That’s a nice interface and monitor setup you’ve got there, and glad you found my video useful! Yeah the Maxell is my favourite too.
The XLII prices are already in the "collectors' premium" territory, but the UDII still sells for reasonable prices and in substantial quantity. My dealer sells late 1990s Maxell UDII from 3 to 5 US dollars (equivalent), depending on tape length. For a private recordist, the choice is quite obvious - there's simply no place for ATR or any other current vendor.
That’s great that you’ve found a reliable source of NOS UDII! I can definitely see where you’re coming from. I’d be happier to pay higher prices for new tapes if the quality was better, mainly just to support new producers.
Everything sounds just so lively and vibrant on tape.
Yes tape kinda extends the sonic pallet and gives an extra breath of life to music. Thanks for checking out the video!
The Old Stock does sound better, however the supply of these are finite. I'm glad that there are still companies making type 2 tapes, and sure they may not be as great, but at least they're available at a reasonable price. The new ones also don't sound awful, to most people they sound great still.
Yes that’s a very important observation. It’s great that a few companies are still making new type 2 cassette’s. Hopefully they’ll keep refining their formula if people keep buying them. 🤞🏻
@@wehappyfewmusic let's hope so!
All old tapes of a certain age including super ferrics and Type IIs were cobalt doped (i.e. TDK SA=Cobalt doped, SAX =double doped, SAXS= triple doped. BASF one of the few true Chrome licensees fell victim to EU rules when Chrome was banned for its environmentally hazardous quality. Chrome was nasty stuff. ( 'Super Avilyn' or SA, TDKs formula was just cobalt doped ferric. Their own formula of course). I loved all that cassette manufacturers' gobbledygook on the J cards though.
Excellent info, thanks for this!
Check out Audio Magazine's tape comparison tests from the '80s and '90s. The specification you're referring to is "MOL" (maximum output level). It's lower on new tapes because, well...the preferable components were, typical of our post-modern, technologically hamstrung present day existence (thanks to the EPA), the best ones for the application. We need to bring back Type IV. Preferably yesterday, lol.
Hey thanks for watching and the info/tips, I’ll check some of those tape review articles!
Wow, it's like comparing a cheap Type I tape against a Sony CDit... Night and day! The ATR sounds muddy and not very wide; the Maxell sounds fantastic! Great, wide sound with all the frequencies there. These new ATR tapes are pretty much as expensive as a new old stock Maxell or TDK, which are vastly superior. Some people mention that buying new old stock is a risk, but so far I haven't had any single bad experience when it comes to sound and performance, only of course some of the jewel cases being cracked but that's a completely acceptable risk I'm willing to take for the noticeably higher sound quality, not to mention the looks! Thanks for the great content, keep up the good work 😊
Thanks very much for watching and sharing your thoughts! Yeah the ATR didn’t hold up very well in my Tascam compared to the Maxell, although some viewers have mentioned that it may perform better with a machine that has the facilities to adjust the tape bias. Hopefully they’ll be able to develop an improved formula in the future, but for the time being I’m also sticking with NOS tapes.
@@wehappyfewmusic yeah, I mean, if we’d need to have a super high-end cassette deck to be able to make new expensive tapes sound acceptable, we would end up buying new cheap tapes instead since they could potentially sound very good by adjusting the bias and equalization parameters to customized values outside of the regular standards; if I already had such a kind of deck I might give them a try, but since I don’t and I’m not planning on getting one, definitely NOS tapes is the way to go. To top it off, most of the new cassettes look like they were made for prison, nothing but completely clear plastic 😅
@@JoeOrber Excellent way of putting it! 😅👍
personally i like the audio quality from Maxell much more.. many greetings from Brunswick in Germany and please stay safe 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and greetings🖖
To me the Maxell had a much fuller and brighter detailed sound. I have the Tascam limited edition and the nonlimited cassettes, and neither one impressed me at all. There were alot of dropouts, the tapes distorted the highs and the overall sound was muddy. I recorded the same material at the same volume level on my Tascam 202mkVII deck on both the Maxell and Tascam tapes, And the Maxell blew the others away. I am very disappointed with the new cobalt tapes, especially for the price they are charging. I hope they will improve the quality but I am still not sure they would be worth the high cost.
Thanks for you comment, that’s really interesting that the new Tascam tapes are no better either, and rather disappointing. I couldn’t get hold of them in the UK but I’d suspected they might be similar to the ATR. Fingers crossed someone can improve this new cobalt formula soon! 🤞🏻
@@wehappyfewmusic I am highly suspicious that the Tascam tapes and ATR tapes are if not the same they are extremely close.
I was so on board with new tapes, but then I saw they cost €14 a piece! That's absolutely insane, I remember them being €1 each or something growing up. Makes no sense what they're priced at.
Yeah that’s some serious inflation going on there! 😆 I’d be more inclined to pay that kind of money for a really good new cassette to help support the makers, but not for this particular tape.
Very informative !
Thanks!
Seems like the chrome simply performs better. But I have heard dub mixes that sound better on ferric tapes simply because they usually favour the low-mids and introduce some short of compression\saturation there.That snare sounds larger than life in comparison to the first recording. I feel like the cobalt performs slightly better at +5db than 0db with better drum transients and some saturation but still the maxell sounds better at 0db with less saturation. So many attributes that can give different results really. Very fascinating
Many thanks for listening and spending the time to share your thoughts! I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with your observations, and the Maxell sounds fuller and smoother on both tests. The ATR should hopefully be usable with a bit more processing now I know how it performs🤞🏻. I’m actually planning on doing some experiments with one of the new FOX d60’s ferric tapes from RTM, so hopefully that will yield some useful tones/textures.
I can vouch for the low mid eq shift and saturation on ferric tapes, you lose a bunch of high end obviously which makes it not ideal for all sounds but you can get great results on a cheaper chunkier four track like the Porta02
I might be the only one here as I read the comments with a different opinion. I'm not a musician. I do record on tapes and have used the Maxell XLII 90's & 100's. I thought the first test, the Cobalt tape sounded better when the level was at 0 db. Test 2 with levels in red was closer but maybe Maxell had the edge.
Wow! Just checked the price on the ATR Cobalt silver series. I'll stick with Maxell or TDK.
Hey thanks for listening and good to hear your thoughts on the tapes!
I wish the older tape manufactures would allow the use of their tape formulas to be used so that newer manufactures could help with the comeback of cassettes
Think it has something to do with using chrome today. EPA law or something.
Yeah, if they don’t want to make any more cassettes, it only seems right to share the knowledge to those who do.
@@wehappyfewmusic this will never happen. The classics are certainly observing the market and if demand reaches a certain point, they would be ready to reintroduce their tapes of the past --for a premium.
The Maxell XLII is not a chrome tape it is a cobalt doped ferric tape designed to work at the type 2 setting.
Thanks for clarifying. 👍
Most of the tape from the Asian market was cobalt doped feric and, a good share of the European was too. The cobal doped ferics couldbe recorded at a higher level than a true chrome tape and was less expensive to make. It was almostan art form in Japanand we got very good tape and it didn'tcost alot. @@wehappyfewmusic
Real chrome tapes were often sold by Basf or Philips. Most japanese decks type 2 settings were not ideal for real chrome.
Clearly, Maxell won this battle. Actually it wasn't even a school yard fight.
Haha, great description, you’re not wrong! 😅
The Maxell is WAYYYY better, esp. in the first test. These new companies putting out Type ll tapes need to do a lot of R&D to get them to compare to the superb formulations of the past.
Yes, hopefully they’ll keep working on new formulas. 🤞🏻
Hi Adrian, thanks for this .... listening on Sony 7506s, can't say I can hear a 'Big Difference' first impression was the Maxell sound just a bit more bassy ?? Both quite usable.
Hi Billy, many thanks for having a listen 🎧! Yes the Maxell has a slightly better bass response and sounds a touch smoother on top end to me. As you mention both are quite useable and the ATR could be enhanced with some extra processing.
As the saying goes ..old is gold .. and it’s true . The maxell tape wins hands down. My favorites are the old TDK Tapes. I hope someone gets it right one day. The new tapes just don’t do it . Why is it so hard to copy the old formula?
I know it’s a real shame. I believe part of the issue is not being able to use the same chemicals.
Even with my left ear blocked (not good for mixing or editing or anything music wise right now really...lol) But even with that minor handicap, I can instantly hear the Cobolt is like a type 0 or very cheapo type 1. Type 0 being the 1960s/1970s brown tapes with a matt rough texture on the tape that sound very bad, wear out fast and damage your heads faster.
That’s a good analogy.
I'm back in the cassette stream since 2 years. I own a good serviced 3 head dual capstan Denon. Latest type I RTM C90 are not bad, but can't compete with nos TDK AD. About type II tapes, there was already a quality drop in the late 90s. TDK CDIng can not compete against older TDA SA, not to mention SA-X... I won't give a dime for newer crappy Type II tapes
Yeah it’s a real shame that the new tape manufacturers aren’t able to match the quality of the old ones yet. Hopefully they’ll keep trying to improve the formulas 🙏
very helpful! I'm in the middle of editing a video with a type ii shootout with 8 tapes, one of them being the NAC type ii. I must say: very disappointing. I'll be sure to give this video a shoutout!
Thanks for checking out the video and that’s a shame about the new NAC type ii’s. I think they make the new ATR and Tascam tapes too unfortunately. I look forward to watching your tape shoot out video once it’s finished!
I have an ATR "gold series" cassette but haven't tried it yet. Their reel to reel master tape is the best I've ever sounding tape I've ever used and I've compared to most of the top NOS as well as Pyral so I'm surprised at how the cassette performs here. Someone else mentioned they use NAC for their cassette tape formulation. If that's the case, this result makes more sense.
Yes, I’ve also heard that ATR make excellent reel to reel tape, so it’s surprising that they’ve put their name on NACs less than perfect cassette formula. I hope the gold series performs better (would like to hear what you think of it when you’ve tried it out).
I bought not much used TDK SA- and maxell UDII-tapes from the 70's and 80's, they sound fantastic like new tapes and are much cheaper (2€ per cassette).
Good idea! I’ve done that a few times and it’s impressive how well those original tapes last. 👍
@@wehappyfewmusic Yes, it's amazing! Who has so much money to pay 10 to 20 eggs for one 90- minutes tape?
It's hard to say for sure which one is better through tablet speakers. But Maxell wins this one. But the ATR wasn't a bad sounding tape either. They need to work on the tapes formulation a bit more. But they are improving.
Yes, it’s good that ATR are coming up with new tape formulations and hopefully they’ll keep getting better.
Wait...it is unclear to me have you done bias tuning, I wish to make comparison on Dragon, please, with good biasing...?
No I wasn’t able to do that as I don’t own a dragon unfortunately and you can’t adjust the biasing on the Tascam 488.
Somewhat sadly, the Maxell sounds much punchier and more dynamic. I’m wondering if you can compensate by exaggerating the incoming signal a bit?
I know it’s a real shame but I think you’re right, the Maxell wins here. I think I could compensate for some of the ATR’s short comings with a little extra processing/equalisation though.
My goodness.. the vocal presence is even better on the maxell as well .. welp let me go by all the old stock I can find lol
Thanks, yeah we better get the NOS stock when we still can! 🙌
I think this ATR cobalt doped ferric could perform well on a good vintage japanese tape deck. Those tape decks usually were calibrated to them, not so much to chromes like BASF's tapes. The reviews I read for the Tascam tape weren't that positive though.
Yes, I think you might be right. I’d like to hear them on one of those decks.
Indeed, most of the classic high end decks of the 80s-90s have excellent calibration capabilties bringing out the best of almost any tape, so you'd hardly notice tape quality differences, unless it's really a bad quality no name brand tape.
Let me make something clear to you. All Japanese Type II audiocassettes from the late 70s are cobalt-doped ferro tapes. The last Japanese manufacturer that used true chromium dioxide until the early 1980s was Sony. Maxell XL II is a cobalt doped ferro tape. Maxell called their cobalt mixture EpitaXiaL, hence XL.. Sony called their cobalt mixture UniaXial (UX), TDK Avylin - Super Avylin (SA) and Fuji Beridox.. The only manufacturers of true chromiumdioxide compounds for cassettes were Basf and DuPont (Philips) which they sold them to other brands. Therefore, if you want to compare a true chromiumdioxide cassette with a cobalt cassette, you have to look at a Basf cassette manufactured until around 1995, because later Basf also switched to cobalt. The ATR cassette actually contains cobalt tape from the NAC workshops. However, NAC does not have the capacity and chemicals to develop cobalt tape, so it is rumored that they bought a ferro-cobalt compound from the British-Korean company AMPS Ltd (Soundwaves), which had been trying to develop this compound for Type 2 cassettes for several years. But the results were not very encouraging and later they apparently gave up on the development. "Evil tongues" claims that NAC bought this imperfect compound and started putting it in cassettes, regardless of the fact that the mixture does not even reach the quality of modern ferro cassettes such as RTM Fox / RTM One, EQ Professional, ATR Ferro, Capture Splicit, etc. Mixed results Maxell vs. ATRs are not given by using chrome vs. cobalt, but it is determined by the quality of development and production.
@@sevcaczech5961
great reply deserving careful reading, thanks. Being a 70's/80's kid myself, I am aware of most of the tapes that were offered back then, DIdn't know Fuji's composition was called Beridox (wasn't openly branded so). However, I was/am well aware that the BASF/AGFA/PDM Chromes were indeed different, they had a particular smell (I owned some / still do). It's just only as of recent that I read they were true "Chromes", the rest were all cobalts. Like most consumers, I wouldn't have cared as they were all viewed as type II tapes anyways. ALso to most if not all, this wouldn't have made a difference with average mid range quality tape decks, especially those with manual fine bias calibration, all type II tapes were good. As per ir's default factory calibration settings my Aiwa deck prefered TDK SA/SA-X / Fuji FR II / FR II S without extra fine bias adjusting, not so with most other tapes. I remember with BASF and AGFA tapes I had to turn the bias knob all the way. Sound results always great with almost any tape, as mentioned above. I tended to lean towards TDK / FUji type II's for the reson just mentioned or whatever else was availabe at reasonable prices. Also, liked to experiment with new brands / editions, which is the reason of having tried almost all the usual commercially available types. As for the modern comeback brands/types, I am not aware and do not really care. If I ever need to buy any I would look into the used tape or new old stock (whatever is available). Yes, I consider myself an Audiophile but not fanatic in this regard. Not willing to spend an arm an leg on equipment as it's not really worth it. The differences are really minimal to non-noticable.
Looks to me that the ATR tape behaves like a real chrome tape. Strange since they are cobalt. So I think that these ATR tapes need different bias and higher pre-reording level.
Yes that would make sense, shame you can’t easily change the bias on multitrack cassette recorders to match different types of tapes.
This might be a dumb question, but do you know if new Type II tape would work with a Yamaha MT8X? The manual states "This unit is designed to be used only with Chrome Position tape. CrO2 tape (HIGH position, TYPEII) should be used." I wanna buy some Type II from new manufacturers such as the C756 Cobalt Studio Type II but I am not sure if it will work.
That’s not a dumb question at all. The MT8X will get better results with traditional chrome type tapes, but you could also use new cobalt type II tapes as well. I’d only get a few to start with if you try the new one’s though to see if you’re happy with the sound.
@@wehappyfewmusic thanks for getting back to me with that info. I’ll try to find older chrome tape, it’s just getting harder to find nowadays. I’m glad to know that if I buy cobalt type II that it will still function with my machine as a back up. Thank you
no question at all!
Maxell I guess? 😊
@@wehappyfewmusic Hehe, i was hoping to find an alternative for the old stock cassettes. But this has obviously not happened yet! Nice comparison and music by the way!
@@cemski Thanks!
Never record stereo on track 1 or 8, put mono tracks like bass or backing vocals, 8 track on k7 makes track 1 and 8 very susceptible to dropouts!!!
I was lucky to buy last year 16 BASF type II 90 min rebranded by a supermarket chain, Carrefour in 1999, for 36 cents each, brand new sounding fantastic ferro cobalt tapes.
Wow, that’s a great bargain for the BASF tapes, and good tip about avoiding edge tracks for stereo sources. 👍
Its great that there doing this but ! there's a problem the last decent Dolby system was Dolby s, and i got the only 4 track thats used it fostex 380s and i bought it brand new in 2013 with the tape on the lid still amazing but most of theses new decks don't have it so i find it pointless !
Yeah it’s a shame they didn’t make more Dolby S machines.
ATRs seem to have no bass at all. How about checking RTM tape out?
Good idea, I actually got a RTM fox C60 in the same order from Thomann and am planning to test it out soon on a multitrack recording.
Excelent test ! Cu siguranță Maxell rămane regină la acest test. Eu aș face însă altul. Din curiozitate, aveți in afară de Tascam și un alt recorder ? Mi-e tare teamă că Tascam nu știe să premagnetizeze suficient banda ATR Cobalt. In plus Tascam nu știe de casete metal din ce am citit in specificațiile tehnice. Eu va recomand un test similar cu un Pioneer TD-7 sau Technics RS-AZ6 sau AZ7. Dacă aceste aparate își fac controlul automat de bandă, veți avea surprize plăcute cu o casetă ATR. Am și eu și sunt foarte mulțumit de ele. Cu deosebit respect !!!
Hi thanks for watching and great idea to do another test on other tape machines! I’ve got a Yamaha MT8X II which is a multitrack machine so may have the same issues? I’ve also got a Technics RS-BX626 which has a bias adjust and auto tape recognition. Will give it a go. 👍
@@wehappyfewmusic Am citit manualul Yamaha MT8X2 si am gasit , pentru casetofon, raspunsul in frecventa 50Hz-14Khz over all. Raspunsul in frecventa la Technics RS-BX626 este 30Hz to 19kHz ... Deci ... Merită încercat un test cu BX626 deși nici el nu e din generație mai noua .. fabricat 1992-1993 ... Recomand un casetofon de casa, greu de gasit, dar nu imposibil, care înregistrează de minune . AIWA AD-F910 cu capete amorfe. (10Hz to 22kHz (Metal tape), Signal to Noise Ratio: 80dB (dolby C). In versiune japoneza se numeste AIWA XK-5000 , fratele cel mic al lui AIWA XK-S9000. Am vazut cat de versatil este un mixer de studio dar eu as asculta și cu alta sursa de inregistrare, Cele bune ! Respect !
@@tutupiciu Brilliant, many thanks for having a look! I’ll give the BX626 a go and keep a look out for a Aiwa AD-F910, as that could make a great mix down recorder with those specs! 👍
@@wehappyfewmusic I can't recommend a late 80s Aiwa deck more.. eg. AD-F770. F880, or F990. a pleasure for sight and sound. They calibrate any tape to get the best performance, and almost no difference noticable in dynamic range let alone frequency responces beyond human hearing.. Mine ran from 20-20,000 hz (as per specs). From experience, Aiwa decks had their defaults set on TDK SA and Fuji FR II and FR II-S. As for bad experience it was either on Agfa or BASF normal type 1 tapes, can't remember which ones now.
@@Advancedkid great, many thanks for the details!
Cool song...
Glad you like it, thanks very much!
@@wehappyfewmusic I also record: Tascam 24-track digital... But I learned on 4-track analog... I miss it...
@@chrisnicol1644 oh yeah, those 24 digital multitrack machines look fun! You could always buy another 4 track cassette recorder to work along side it and add a bit of analog flavour?
@@wehappyfewmusic I have been looking around...
Some experts said that Black Magnetite XL-II were not as good as previous Epitaxial. I can't confirm but the Maxell sounds amazing.
For what I understand this new cobalt doped tape is performance wise below a Brilliance tape from TDK, Brilliance being a tape below the D, the company's trademark. How do I know this? Put simply, to a casual listener a D sounds as good as an XL-II... so this must be decisively inferior than a TDK D.
Who is going to need a tape like that is BEYOND me. I have degraded Type II cassettes that still sound better than that one at a reduced input level. There is PLENTY of used recorded tapes for sale these days. If you're really after a new experience I'd greatly prefer to invest in printing new J-cards and new cassette cases.
Thanks for your comment and I know what you mean. There must be a limited demand for the cobalt type 2 tapes if they sound worse than standard ferric ones.
BASF Indonesia, MAXELL UD
👍
Cool video my man. I liked the ATR Cobalt Silver sound the most. It had a darker sound and shaved off some of the higher frequencies. I record with one of these 488s all the time. They sound awesome. I have some of the new type ii c-44 tapes and use them pretty regularly with decent results. I'm running out of tapes though and need to purchase more soon so this video was helpful.
Hey man, great to hear you like the video and yeah the 488’s are such good machines! Is that the new Tascam type II tapes you’ve been using? I’ve not managed to get hold of one of those yet.
United States we have international auto company and they have Cobalt type 2 but I seen a video and it hisses real bad in my opinion I think you're better off with type 1 cassette and that's brand new old stock for type 2 a risk where international auto company is not old new stock its new butt dont mean good when it hiss lol.
Hi, I think I’ve seen the same video about the National Audio Company’s cobalt type 2, and know what you mean. 👍
Maxell.
Thanks for letting us know your vote!
I always buy used Maxell or TDK for 30-50 Euro Cent and erase them. Better and cheaper it can´t be.
That’s a great price, even though they’re used! 👌
Just looked at those cassette ah £22.90 for 1 no thanks I will buy mew old stock
Wow, that’s so expensive, they’ve really shot up in price! Yes, it sadly looks like NOS is a better option at the mo.
XLII by Maxell is not traditionak chromium tape. It's cobalt doped ferro tape..
Yes, sorry I got that wrong unfortunately. A few people have mentioned it 😊
I've been trying to run down blurbs and videos on the new Type II tapes. It seems no matter what brand they are all fails. More drop-outs and lower output is not what a Type II cassette should be. I've read excuses as lame as the recipes for the best Type II tapes were all lost. Can this be? It seems ludicrous. Now, I do believe the machinery that the best makers used is all gone to the scrap pile, or so heavily modified to be useless. Well, there are machines that currently mate magnetic coatings to tape so how hard should it be to just get the right Type II oxide formulated and bound to tape? Someone has dropped the ball big time. Tape chemistry isn't like perfecting nuclear fusion. In fact it's quite extensive as tape was the primary medium for archiving all sight and sound up to the nineties. There were professional tape formulations that far exceeded the audiophile market and that technology boosted the audio tape formulas to quite a refined level before it all went away. I simply can't wrap my head around new Type II tape failing so miserably if all of the knowns were figured out many years before. If NAC doesn't raise the bar on their Type II tape there must be a reason and I'd like to know what that is.
I know, it’s such a shame that nobody can get their act together to produce a useable Type II cassette tape at the moment!
the maxell has a lot more bottom end a least they are trying but i thing the earth nuts are going to kill the quality FOREVER
Yes it is does have a better bass response. Thanks for checking out the video. 👍
Maxell XL2 is NOT a chrome tape it is a cobalt doped ferric tape Maxell call epitaxial!
Yes, a few people have corrected me on that front. I’ll know for next time 😊
Almost without exception all Japanese type ll cassettes were never true chrome dioxide tape , due to Japanese manufacturers not wanting to pay licensing fees for chromium dioxide formulation pigment , therefore almost all Japanese type ll cassette tape was ferro-cobalt. BASF , PHILLIPS and other European type ll cassettes, on the other hand were always true chromium dioxide type ll tape formulations. Towards the end of the cassettes run things got a bit murky , when European brands , started to reduce the amount of chromium dioxide pigment , in their formulations. New old stock sounded better to my ears , by the way.
Hey that’s really interesting to know, many thanks for the background info.
@@wehappyfewmusic You're welcome.
If i was you i would not use those tape's again ! it sounds worse and could sand paper down the head in the 8 track, i got shit loads of type II tapes and never use a dollar store tape i saw a guy use this there's a reason why all these company's got good making these tapes.
I agree, I only used the ATR tape for this review and I’m back to NOS type II cassettes now. 👍