I love your videos. There is just something a little magical about seeing you unwrap a late 70s tape and it looking brand new. And it sounded excellent too with the ZX-9. I was really impressed with how low the noise was when you used Dolby B on it. It sounded very close to the source.
Dolby B is good, but it's just not always good if you don't listen to it on the deck you recorded it on, that and the hiss doesn't bother me. Yeah, it's always hard to take in when you awaken something that has been dormant for nearly as long as you've been alive.
@Cassette Comeback Yeah I know what you mean with the Dolby incompatibility issue. But still it sounds impressive when used in the right way on a quality deck like your ZX-9. I also don't mind a little noise actually. I generally prefer the sound of 70s / 80s analog recordings over digital ones, despite a little noise. The clean digital sound can be a bit 'boring'.
Лучшая кассета 70х,которую я видел! Ей богу! Как они умудрялись делать такие вещи в то время? Ведь она убивает многие кассеты первого типа 80х и 90х годов! Поразительно!
@Cassette Comeback In the USA top rock bands were The Knack, ELO, Supertramp, Eagles, Van Halen, Styx, Bad Company, Robert Palmer, Journey...... Memories...thanks for bringing them back. Good times back then if you were a teenager!
Hi CC Way back in the day, I used to use TDK D, AD and SA cassettes, I used the D's for taping BBC Radio 4 Drama Plays, especially the Saturday and Monday night 1.5 hour plays because TDK made a 180 tape, 90 minutes per side, that I could readily use and I sometime used the AD tapes to record music from my LPs. However, my favourite tapes were the SA for recording music, the SA's required the Chrome setting on my cassette recorder, it recorded a deeper bass and was cheaper to buy than any other chrome tape on the market. I understand that the SA tapes were a TDK special ferric blend that required the chrome setting for optimal results but, back then, I had no way to confirm this. I did try other tapes, such as Maxell, BASF, Memorex, Sony and some others I can't remember but I mainly settled on TDK for D, AD and SA (mainly SA for music) and Sony FerriChrome, also for music with extra bass. And finally, my Hi-Fi cassette recorder/player was a Sony model TC-137SD which could use three types of tape, i.e. Ferric, Chrome and FerriChrome. As mentioned before, TDK SA was used on the Chrome setting, TDK D, AD and anything else was used on the Ferric setting while the FerriChrome setting was used for the FerriChrome tapes that only Sony made.
I remember the OD since I was a kid. My relative used to have this one with my dad singing with an unknown group called the Five Delights. It was recorded around 1981 or so. The group sang R&B classics from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. I have not heard it in a very long time.
I bought a brand new Nakamichi ZX-9 in the 80s It was an excellent tape deck until it died on me fo many years now. I still have it here and decided to keep it. I cannot find a good technician to fix it. I miss it so bad.
This is actually a clear demonstration of how Dolby is supposed to work. All the idiots crying about Dolby "dulling" the sound, are the same clowns who would buy commercial pre-recorded stuff with Dolby encoding, and then leave Dolby turned off and then thinking the over-hyped highs was the correct sound. This is why when they would switch it on they would complain. Dolby's only purpose in this context is hiss/noise reduction. It should be almost entirely transparent on a correctly calibrated deck.
There was a systemic problem with Dolby circuitry on 3-head machines, though. They needed perfect calibration/alignment of both Dolby circuits to work as intended. 2-head decks did not have that problem. Other than that, you are right. There was only one achilles heel for Dolby systems and that was off-spec level sensitivity on the tape itself. If your deck only allows Bias calibration, using double-coated tapes like SA-X or XLII-S is problematic with Dolby NR.
Dolby works great, my issue is just that it varies between decks. Works great on the deck that recorded it, but if the deck is being played on doesn't track it properly, then it's not so good. The real thing for me though is that the hiss doesn't bother me. It reminds me I'm listening to a cassette...
I don't agree... mass produced cassettes do not provide adequate pre-emphasis for Dolby to work properly because of the high speed duplication almost always used that put it out of tolerance. Ignore the Dolby logo on pre-recorded cassettes... you're never going to properly get it, and switching it on DOES dull the sound. There are enough thousands of pairs of ears in the world who agree on this. Put a CD on or a real-time duplicated copy you can instantly hear the difference.
@Harry Stevens Indeed, the incredible attention that the Japanese paid to details back then whether cars or electronics were incredible! You could tell a huge amount of work and thought went into every product like this back then from Japan.
TDKs are great tapes and yes I totally agree with you, when you find a great sounding deck keep it and use it and record with it! I am a huge AKAI cassette deck and R2R fan and just love and very happy with AKAI brands overall. Sure i have lots of various brands from AIWA, SONY, NAKAMICHI, ONKYO, and many other brands but love the sound and looks of the vintage AKAI decks. I also have some 40 old tapes and yes they still sound great, it depends on how one stores them and takes care of them!
Congrats on the ZX-9, it’s a fantastic deck! A word to the wise, if you find that one day it won’t calibrate, clean the capstans. If they look clean, clean them again because the ZX 7 & 9 insist on being spotless. Oh, and it’s always a pre-record Type I that ends up being the one that soils my capstans.
Hi Tony!Nice to listen to a new old stock, forty years old cassette tape.It stills Performs excellent and plus has a story to tell.Beautiful tape!!!I didn' t know about this OD-C TDK .Interesting video!!Regards!Rafael
TDK were doing a lot of research into tape formulas. They were experimenting with formulas and particle size in the coating. Form memory they alter the formula to turn it into AD and the standard speech tape was TDK-D It gave a good price break for stockists. J Travis Formerly Teletape Marble Arch London.
The OD was a great tape,the setup was important but it delivered well. My dad had a 3 head tape deck and he got some great results from it. I’d be curious to know if with Dolby C and HX to see how it would cope. It was my favourite normal tape at the time. Have you done a video on the TDK metal tapes, I’d be curious to see how much they did change.
Профессор Ковалёвский, есть магнитофоны(как Вы спросили) Revox пара шт, SONY, AKAI 6шт. А deck- кассетники, по ниспадающей (не по качеству запись-воспр.,а по цене): GХ-7, Akai -91 и 95, Pioneer -910, Rotel -945, Harman/kardon -91 и пр.
Thanks, Tony, for a real blast from the past! IIRC, back in 1979 OD cost the same as SA. I remember buying one and not being blown away by it. Then again, I had a fixed-bias JVC KD-A2 - so maybe the deck just didn't see eye-to-eye with the tape.
I also have the 1979 SA which has the same shell than the OD was, and it was a Type 2 chrome cassette, another one of TDK’s best from 1979. I have a bunch of D, AD and SA cassettes which were the best of the entire lineup. The OD was used from 1979 through 1982 when it became AD-X.
Still have 100's of used tapes, mainly TDK, Maxell and Sony plus odd balls including That's, Fuji, BHSF and Memorex. Great videos, thanks for posting 😎😎😎
4:22 Hey, that shell resembles a 1985 D quite more than its contemporary 1979 D-C model or a 1982 D! They kind of recovered that aesthetic for the D in the last non-clear iteration of the model!
Another amazing deck- you lucky bloke. I am trying to pluck up the courage to adjust the speed on my Yamaha 580 deck at present. Guess i will have to take the plunge. Keep up the good work.
@@CassetteComeback Trust. me, i can assure you i was not questionning your work ethic- i have also worked all my adult life. Reason i said you were lucky is because my missus would not let me accumulate such an amazing collection of cassrtte decks ( mind you she does give ne free reign to collect jazz records/tapes/ Cd's. Keep up the great videos.
Hey Tony, life demands can be hard! I don’t think an apology is warranted, but I do understand it being given! You’re not like some guys are. You’re fun! I like seeing all the hardware. You have a good woman mate! Keep on being yourself Tony!👍🏻😊
Even with everything else that the Naks have, I still love that red counter display! Bring back original red LEDs and kybosh all this blinding blue mess.
@N6POP Amateur Radio Operator? Ha... True about blue LEDs...way way overused. They were a novelty when first released to the public but now the novelty has worn off. Bring back red, yellow, and green!
Could you report about the TDK AR limited editions . I have two and as far as I'm aware there were only two, one black and one white . I am an 80's teen and tapes were my music format but in hindsight if I had this info then I would have had much much better recordings. Also my tapes are very worn !! . I digress but am interested in these tapes but maybe they are nothing special . Were they just an end of line bit of b s ?? I love the time and effort you spend on this subject and totally appreciate your dedication so thanks for that Sir Tape of Comebackshire !
Before OD came Audua. I think these were sold as the high end type I on the early 70s. They were not compared to the D on the insert card but to "conventional" with a 10kHz boost. Bias high but not Cr02.
@@CassetteComeback I have at least four C60 and a C45. All used, one time recorded, a few playbacks. Tabs removed. I used sticky labels to type onto and cover the original. I suspect these could be carefully removed with minimal damage. I typed on plain paper and covered the insert so, other than slight sun fading on the ends exposed the insert is as new. If interested in getting a sample let me know.
Hi Tony, your right to do it this way. It's allso the reason I don't have and use FaceBook and instagram. With all those media things you don't have a privite life. The only social media I use is Twitter and then ofcourse WhatsApp but , when someone send you something, they exspect directly an answer. I then think, if it is that importand just give me a call. On topic. Seems that Nack is allso performing well. Can't remember whiich type Nack I did own before I bought my first ReVoX Cassette Tape Deck in 1981. The only thing I remember it was a 2 head machine. Since then I never changed brand. From the B710 to the B710 MK2 and then a B215 like you own aswell. And the 2nd one is the profesional one the Studer A721. Last one is with my other Studer equipment in the living room and the B215 in my little hobby room only for playing a cassette while reairing audio equipment or computers.
I started working in an electrical shop in 1988 as a part time junior 14 year old.They just bought in the new look TDK range....The AD-X was discontinued and the AR and AR-X were introduced.I think the MX-G were discontinued and the MA-X were introduced.Why do I remember this stuff?!!
Can you do these cassette videos in 30fps? It forces you into 50fps at anything over 480 and it crashes my computer. I understand with something like video game capture, but for these there is really little upside to 50fps.
Tdk were brand leaders at one point, but I discovered "That's" tapes and never looked back. You should do one on "That's" tapes, unless you have done one already.
Да, дека крутая, кассету подобрать можно. НО , с какого источника писать? Что за копию и чего получим? Понимаю, может через микрофон писать шелест травы рассекаемой клешами рано утром на рассвете, в росе ?
Спросили у меня какая дека. Ответ : GX-7, Akai -95 и 91, Pioneer 910, по ниспадающей по цене, но не по записи и звуку воспроизведения, Rotel 945, Harman\Kardon 91-й и пр. + бабинники Revox пара штук, Sony, и 6 шт Akai. Все пишут один в один с винила и CD. И тогда вопрос мой и был: зачем такой дорогой аппарат? С чего писать? Что писать? P.S. А лучше использовать 6-головый стерео видик. Фомат носителя? Зато послушайте, какая тишина в паузах! Всего доброго.
Everything in this world is a balance. There's lots of crap on Facebook, but things like my groups balance that by being full of great people. Day is balanced by night. Left is balanced by right.
@Cassette Comeback Thing is that back in the day without social media people had to get out there and make personal contact with others, they had to try and extend themselves and really make an effort to connect with others, and it made for people being more open and outgoing in person compared to what I see today.
@@watershed44, I can understand where you are coming from regarding that. However, this hobby might not have more than a few aficionados in any given area. So, in that regard, FB is a good thing, bringing together people from across the world to discuss and post information about cassettes and the like. Without FB, or YT, how would I ever have known anything about Tony, and all his wonderful knowledge of cassettes? Since I'm an American, I simply wouldn't have.
@Kirk Mooneyham I'm not speaking so much about today, but how people had to socialize back then, there were clubs, back then for HiFi, video, ect.. and of course back then you had printed media like enthusiast magazines like HiFi and the like to promote the hobby and you'd find others because many of those magazines would print ads for various organizations and clubs you could participate in. But like I said you really had to physically extend yourself back then, it was a little work, but satisfying too.
Nice video, and a really good sounding tape! I remember those OD cassettes from a dim and distant past... we used to see them in the shop where I was working (fresh out of college), in Banbury, Oxfordshire..... we had TDK and Maxell as our main lines of tapes. I think the TDK 'OD' might have stood a better chance if hadn't been colour-coded in two-tone brown... Browns in technology don't normally go down too well with the public (unless it's a brown woodgrain finish!), so if they'd used maybe shades of blue, or even orange/yellow to match the 'C60' labelling, then it may have had more impact. Shame really, cause your example sounded absolutely superb - especially as the tape was 40 years old, which pains me to say as I can remember them from when they were new..!!
Hey Tony, you might have a beating coming! Nobody should have all that lovely hardware hanging around! You lucky bum! Your a real first mate you are!👏👏🤗👍🏻
IMO, they had pretty decent top end and didn't want to pay the liscense fee. HX was a great circuit and never hurt any deck it was on. It allowed much cheaper decks to equal Nak performance towards the end.
Ah...memories :) - had tons of ODs as a teenager. Think I always slightly preferred the AD which seemed to suffer less HF squash when pushed. But nevermind that - a ZX9! - the deck Daddy. I'm not envious in the slightest :)
I think there was an AR-S too if my memory serves me well. Was it better than the AR-X? BTW, the OD tapes I've used shed a lot on the heads & pinch roller.
Has anyone come across a TDK EC D90 from approximately 1981? From memory it has a black shell, with a white label with two coloured stripes at the bottom. A and B are in boxes with an arrow pointing up. And the tape is black (or at least very dark).
This video just showed up in my subscription feed. Ain't that strange? I thought you did this video today or yesterday, but it's 5 months old? How is that? Why would such an old video go into my feed?
A little tip. I would like to see you use a better background for your tapes, for instance a table covered with a nice clean cloth, rather tha an old chair. Good videos all the same, thanks for posting.
My bank account curses you for infecting me with the virus. I just got hold of a nice Kenwood 9050S deck 😂 This deck will go along nicely with the BASF Ferro Maximas I also ordered. To keep it on the topic of Ferric tapes 😊
This TDK OD sounds fantastic. BTW, you aren't the only cassette deck hoarder. I have an Aiwa XK-S9000 (3 Head, Dolby B, C, & S), a Technics RS-M258X (3 head, DBX, Dolby B & C), a Sony TC-K620 (3 Head, Dolby B & C), and a Teac C3-RX (3-Head, Dolby B & DBX). My two favorites are the Aiwa and the Technics in terms of sound quality.
Next time we gladly look at 'NAK killers': Tandberg 3014A or TEAC Z6000/7000. But to be honest my beloved ones are Aiwa's XK-009 Excelia and XK-S 9000. My own AD-F 880 (XK-005) is only indigent cousin to both of them. Funny thing is that Chinesse chemical companies can't copy technologies from late seventies to flood market with theirs fakes.
Oddly enough, I grew up in Kilmarnock in the 80s/90s and we always pronounced it 'Menzies', but if it was someone who had the surname you'd defer to whatever they preferred (I recall a local family who pronounced it 'Minnis'). Maybe we thought of the shop as a UK-wide chain/had just accepted the English pronunciation from hearing it on TV or suchlike.
I bought a ZX-9 recently with the Willy Hermann overhaul and your video showed me how to adjust it which I haven't even bothered with. Hopefully I can hear 15khZ? TBH I don't know how much better it is than my DR-2 other than that unit needs overhauled and this one just plain hauls (as in super fast rewinds). Kind of a rare machine was happy to get it.
Keep it looked after and it will only be worth more. I think the audible differences between Naks when they're all working and calibrated to the tape is minimal. It's the ability to calibrate the cassette well that is the main difference.
Most of these frequency response graphs were a load of bull****. They were done at -20dB. At higher levels the tapes would saturate at high frequencies. My test for a deck or cassette was to make a recording of Ommadawn by Mike Oldfield. At about 7 and a half minutes in there is a section with a tambourine which really made cassettes struggle. Metal tapes were a lot better but nothing could touch my Philips R2R at 7.5 ips.
@Cassette Comeback Apocalypse Now (1979) R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War. Alien (1979) R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi. Escape from Alcatraz (1979) PG | 112 min | Biography, Crime, Drama. All That Jazz (1979) R | 123 min | Drama, Music, Musical. Breaking Away (1979) Hair (1979) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979
To be fair, if you're comparing the monster decks most wouldn't be able to tell the difference (unless you love listening to test tones and are wasting time when you should be listening to music).
The reason this channel works so well is that this guy REALLY loves cassettes. It's infectious.
This is like travelling back in time, and i absolutely love it 👍👍👍
I love your videos. There is just something a little magical about seeing you unwrap a late 70s tape and it looking brand new. And it sounded excellent too with the ZX-9. I was really impressed with how low the noise was when you used Dolby B on it. It sounded very close to the source.
Dolby B is good, but it's just not always good if you don't listen to it on the deck you recorded it on, that and the hiss doesn't bother me. Yeah, it's always hard to take in when you awaken something that has been dormant for nearly as long as you've been alive.
@Cassette Comeback Yeah I know what you mean with the Dolby incompatibility issue. But still it sounds impressive when used in the right way on a quality deck like your ZX-9.
I also don't mind a little noise actually. I generally prefer the sound of 70s / 80s analog recordings over digital ones, despite a little noise. The clean digital sound can be a bit 'boring'.
That's a very nice sounding cassette! I have a great affection for that era of TDK's, they were so well made, and stylish.
Premium products at that time.
Лучшая кассета 70х,которую я видел! Ей богу! Как они умудрялись делать такие вещи в то время? Ведь она убивает многие кассеты первого типа 80х и 90х годов! Поразительно!
@Cassette Comeback
In the USA top rock bands were The Knack, ELO, Supertramp, Eagles, Van Halen, Styx, Bad Company, Robert Palmer, Journey......
Memories...thanks for bringing them back. Good times back then if you were a teenager!
Hi CC
Way back in the day, I used to use TDK D, AD and SA cassettes, I used the D's for taping BBC Radio 4 Drama Plays, especially the Saturday and Monday night 1.5 hour plays because TDK made a 180 tape, 90 minutes per side, that I could readily use and I sometime used the AD tapes to record music from my LPs.
However, my favourite tapes were the SA for recording music, the SA's required the Chrome setting on my cassette recorder, it recorded a deeper bass and was cheaper to buy than any other chrome tape on the market. I understand that the SA tapes were a TDK special ferric blend that required the chrome setting for optimal results but, back then, I had no way to confirm this.
I did try other tapes, such as Maxell, BASF, Memorex, Sony and some others I can't remember but I mainly settled on TDK for D, AD and SA (mainly SA for music) and Sony FerriChrome, also for music with extra bass.
And finally, my Hi-Fi cassette recorder/player was a Sony model TC-137SD which could use three types of tape, i.e. Ferric, Chrome and FerriChrome. As mentioned before, TDK SA was used on the Chrome setting, TDK D, AD and anything else was used on the Ferric setting while the FerriChrome setting was used for the FerriChrome tapes that only Sony made.
Those D180s are worth loads now...the SA wasn't the biggest selling Type 2 for nothing.
I remember the OD since I was a kid. My relative used to have this one with my dad singing with an unknown group called the Five Delights. It was recorded around 1981 or so. The group sang R&B classics from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. I have not heard it in a very long time.
I bought a brand new Nakamichi ZX-9 in the 80s It was an excellent tape deck until it died on me fo many years now. I still have it here and decided to keep it. I cannot find a good technician to fix it. I miss it so bad.
I found a bunch of TDK AD's from 1979 on the weekend, plus some 77 SA's!
SA for days!
ya basterd ;)))
TDK is the king of having many different great blank tape formulations that had a short life and now they super expensive .
Oh how I'd love to get a load of SA-XS...
This is actually a clear demonstration of how Dolby is supposed to work. All the idiots crying about Dolby "dulling" the sound, are the same clowns who would buy commercial pre-recorded stuff with Dolby encoding, and then leave Dolby turned off and then thinking the over-hyped highs was the correct sound. This is why when they would switch it on they would complain.
Dolby's only purpose in this context is hiss/noise reduction. It should be almost entirely transparent on a correctly calibrated deck.
There was a systemic problem with Dolby circuitry on 3-head machines, though. They needed perfect calibration/alignment of both Dolby circuits to work as intended. 2-head decks did not have that problem. Other than that, you are right. There was only one achilles heel for Dolby systems and that was off-spec level sensitivity on the tape itself. If your deck only allows Bias calibration, using double-coated tapes like SA-X or XLII-S is problematic with Dolby NR.
Dolby works great, my issue is just that it varies between decks. Works great on the deck that recorded it, but if the deck is being played on doesn't track it properly, then it's not so good. The real thing for me though is that the hiss doesn't bother me. It reminds me I'm listening to a cassette...
@@CassetteComeback I'm with you there, Tony. The hiss generally doesn't bother me either.
@@svenschwingel8632 I generally don't bother with nr on type 2s anyway.
I don't agree... mass produced cassettes do not provide adequate pre-emphasis for Dolby to work properly because of the high speed duplication almost always used that put it out of tolerance. Ignore the Dolby logo on pre-recorded cassettes... you're never going to properly get it, and switching it on DOES dull the sound. There are enough thousands of pairs of ears in the world who agree on this. Put a CD on or a real-time duplicated copy you can instantly hear the difference.
You are one crazy lad. Dragon, ZX9 AND A FRIGGIN' CR7?
What comes next? A gold-plated Nakamichi 1000ZXL and a Pioneer CT-F 1250?
What can I say, go big or go home 😂
@@CassetteComeback the simple way is to always aim for the top 😂👍🏻
Tandberg 3014a. :)
TDK 70 and 80s styling all the way from the packaging to the cassette. Nice video Tony..
@Harry Stevens
Indeed, the incredible attention that the Japanese paid to details back then whether cars or electronics were incredible! You could tell a huge amount of work and thought went into every product like this back then from Japan.
TDKs are great tapes and yes I totally agree with you, when you find a great sounding deck keep it and use it and record with it! I am a huge AKAI cassette deck and R2R fan and just love and very happy with AKAI brands overall. Sure i have lots of various brands from AIWA, SONY, NAKAMICHI, ONKYO, and many other brands but love the sound and looks of the vintage AKAI decks. I also have some 40 old tapes and yes they still sound great, it depends on how one stores them and takes care of them!
Storage is all. Anything will deteriorate if you don't store it well.
Congrats on the ZX-9, it’s a fantastic deck! A word to the wise, if you find that one day it won’t calibrate, clean the capstans. If they look clean, clean them again because the ZX 7 & 9 insist on being spotless. Oh, and it’s always a pre-record Type I that ends up being the one that soils my capstans.
Cheers. I don't do pre recorded, but I do have a regular cleaning regime.
Cassette Comeback I have to keeping reminding myself not to play dodgy cassettes with unknown histories in decks that I treasure.
I never use my ZX-9 or Dragon or so, I use my TEAC V900X , it´s a amizing deck when it comes to crappy pre-recorded tapes !
Brother got a bunch of them and they have stood the test of time. TDK of the 70s rule C90!
Hi Tony!Nice to listen to a new old stock, forty years old cassette tape.It stills Performs excellent and plus has a story to tell.Beautiful tape!!!I didn' t know about this OD-C TDK .Interesting video!!Regards!Rafael
TDK were doing a lot of research into tape formulas. They were experimenting with formulas and particle size in the coating.
Form memory they alter the formula to turn it into AD and the standard speech tape was TDK-D
It gave a good price break for stockists.
J Travis Formerly Teletape Marble Arch London.
Nice video ohh I got one of these on my Collection! With a little tear at the left but still wrapped and beautiful!
Brown wrapper, brown label, brown J-card... Gloriously 70s. I can just see this sitting in the centre console of a Rover SD1...
Or a brown Austin Allegro!
Hi, Absolutely for the " Golden Memory " It's really right way!All the Best from Russia!❄🎄🎉☃️🙋♂️
The OD was a great tape,the setup was important but it delivered well. My dad had a 3 head tape deck and he got some great results from it. I’d be curious to know if with Dolby C and HX to see how it would cope. It was my favourite normal tape at the time. Have you done a video on the TDK metal tapes, I’d be curious to see how much they did change.
Профессор Ковалёвский, есть магнитофоны(как Вы спросили) Revox пара шт, SONY, AKAI 6шт. А deck- кассетники, по ниспадающей (не по качеству запись-воспр.,а по цене): GХ-7, Akai -91 и 95, Pioneer -910, Rotel -945, Harman/kardon -91 и пр.
Thanks, Tony, for a real blast from the past! IIRC, back in 1979 OD cost the same as SA. I remember buying one and not being blown away by it. Then again, I had a fixed-bias JVC KD-A2 - so maybe the deck just didn't see eye-to-eye with the tape.
Could be. Calibrating to the cassette makes all the difference and wasn't common knowledge unless you read hi-fi mags back in the day.
I also have the 1979 SA which has the same shell than the OD was, and it was a Type 2 chrome cassette, another one of TDK’s best from 1979. I have a bunch of D, AD and SA cassettes which were the best of the entire lineup. The OD was used from 1979 through 1982 when it became AD-X.
Ive got about 10 OD TDK cassettes there was an hi fi shop called Laskys in Preston here in the UK and I got some good recording well worth getting
Still have 100's of used tapes, mainly TDK, Maxell and Sony plus odd balls including That's, Fuji, BHSF and Memorex. Great videos, thanks for posting 😎😎😎
4:22 Hey, that shell resembles a 1985 D quite more than its contemporary 1979 D-C model or a 1982 D! They kind of recovered that aesthetic for the D in the last non-clear iteration of the model!
That one resembles the early AD series more than D. At least in terms of Aussie availability in 1985/86. The D tapes I got were all clear shells.
Another amazing deck- you lucky bloke. I am trying to pluck up the courage to adjust the speed on my Yamaha 580 deck at present. Guess i will have to take the plunge. Keep up the good work.
Lucky? I've found that the harder I work, the luckier I get 😎
@@CassetteComeback Trust. me, i can assure you i was not questionning your work ethic- i have also worked all my adult life. Reason i said you were lucky is because my missus would not let me accumulate such an amazing collection of cassrtte decks ( mind you she does give ne free reign to collect jazz records/tapes/ Cd's. Keep up the great videos.
Hey Tony, life demands can be hard! I don’t think an apology is warranted, but I do understand it being given! You’re not like some guys are. You’re fun! I like seeing all the hardware. You have a good woman mate! Keep on being yourself Tony!👍🏻😊
nice one good info on the TDKS but i have to say i am totally in love with your NAK decks! too bad i may never own one Cheers!
Never say never
Having the money for one as well
Even with everything else that the Naks have, I still love that red counter display! Bring back original red LEDs and kybosh all this blinding blue mess.
Gwad I hate blue LED's they are so abused and over used!
N6POP Fashion fades, but style remains.
@N6POP
Amateur Radio Operator? Ha...
True about blue LEDs...way way overused. They were a novelty when first released to the public but now the novelty has worn off.
Bring back red, yellow, and green!
I have a bunch of the AD-X. Very nice casettes, even after all these years.
Could you report about the TDK AR limited editions . I have two and as far as I'm aware there were only two, one black and one white . I am an 80's teen and tapes were my music format but in hindsight if I had this info then I would have had much much better recordings. Also my tapes are very worn !! . I digress but am interested in these tapes but maybe they are nothing special . Were they just an end of line bit of b s ?? I love the time and effort you spend on this subject and totally appreciate your dedication so thanks for that Sir Tape of Comebackshire !
Yeah, white and black AR limited editions. Be aware of sealed ones. I got a box of ten of the black and they were all mouldy ☹️
Another strong video, also had no idea OD was an early AR, always thought they were US version of AD or something, an educational channel as well 😁
Before OD came Audua. I think these were sold as the high end type I on the early 70s. They were not compared to the D on the insert card but to "conventional" with a 10kHz boost. Bias high but not Cr02.
Yeah, never got my hands on one of those...yet
@@CassetteComeback I have at least four C60 and a C45. All used, one time recorded, a few playbacks. Tabs removed. I used sticky labels to type onto and cover the original. I suspect these could be carefully removed with minimal damage. I typed on plain paper and covered the insert so, other than slight sun fading on the ends exposed the insert is as new. If interested in getting a sample let me know.
Hi Tony, your right to do it this way. It's allso the reason I don't have and use FaceBook and instagram. With all those media things you don't have a privite life.
The only social media I use is Twitter and then ofcourse WhatsApp but , when someone send you something, they exspect directly an answer. I then think, if it is that importand just give me a call. On topic. Seems that Nack is allso performing well. Can't remember whiich type Nack I did own before I bought my first ReVoX Cassette Tape Deck in 1981. The only thing I remember it was a 2 head machine. Since then I never changed brand. From the B710 to the B710 MK2 and then a B215 like you own aswell. And the 2nd one is the profesional one the Studer A721. Last one is with my other Studer equipment in the living room and the B215 in my little hobby room only for playing a cassette while reairing audio equipment or computers.
1:58. Yeah, I think I've got the vintage D-C90. Style and all is the same.
I used the OD cassettes and always liked them. Then, of course, they stopped making them.
Aussies didn't have AR or OD tapes (as far as I can recall). We had AD, SA and D as standard. 46 - 120 minute.
Ive managed +5 with dolby S and it sounded superb! truly a premium type I :)
thx, I own the ZX-9 . but forgot how to set Cal. thx
I started working in an electrical shop in 1988 as a part time junior 14 year old.They just bought in the new look TDK range....The AD-X was discontinued and the AR and AR-X were introduced.I think the MX-G were discontinued and the MA-X were introduced.Why do I remember this stuff?!!
That's the strange thing. We DID remember. Must have meant something to us...
@@CassetteComeback TDK also did a neat promo stand for the New look range and POS.....Now if only you could get your hands on that!
Sound from tape better, then from source. :) Please, try cassette Konica XR-I in this deck. I really liked the sound from these tapes.
Can you do these cassette videos in 30fps? It forces you into 50fps at anything over 480 and it crashes my computer. I understand with something like video game capture, but for these there is really little upside to 50fps.
Tdk were brand leaders at one point, but I discovered "That's" tapes and never looked back. You should do one on "That's" tapes, unless you have done one already.
I certainly have 😁
Isnt Dolby C the best of the B and C?
Да, дека крутая, кассету подобрать можно. НО , с какого источника писать? Что за копию и чего получим? Понимаю, может через микрофон писать шелест травы рассекаемой клешами рано утром на рассвете, в росе ?
Спросили у меня какая дека. Ответ : GX-7, Akai -95 и 91, Pioneer 910, по ниспадающей по цене, но не по записи и звуку воспроизведения, Rotel 945, Harman\Kardon 91-й и пр. + бабинники Revox пара штук, Sony, и 6 шт Akai.
Все пишут один в один с винила и CD. И тогда вопрос мой и был: зачем такой дорогой аппарат? С чего писать? Что писать?
P.S. А лучше использовать 6-головый стерео видик. Фомат носителя? Зато послушайте, какая тишина в паузах!
Всего доброго.
I wish people would stop using facebook entirely some day.
Everything in this world is a balance. There's lots of crap on Facebook, but things like my groups balance that by being full of great people. Day is balanced by night. Left is balanced by right.
@Cassette Comeback
Thing is that back in the day without social media people had to get out there and make personal contact with others, they had to try and extend themselves and really make an effort to connect with others, and it made for people being more open and outgoing in person compared to what I see today.
@@CassetteComeback One day, everybody will be able to overcome the system of night and day :)
@@watershed44, I can understand where you are coming from regarding that. However, this hobby might not have more than a few aficionados in any given area. So, in that regard, FB is a good thing, bringing together people from across the world to discuss and post information about cassettes and the like. Without FB, or YT, how would I ever have known anything about Tony, and all his wonderful knowledge of cassettes? Since I'm an American, I simply wouldn't have.
@Kirk Mooneyham
I'm not speaking so much about today, but how people had to socialize back then, there were clubs, back then for HiFi, video, ect..
and of course back then you had printed media like enthusiast magazines like HiFi and the like to promote the hobby and you'd find others because many of those magazines would print ads for various organizations and clubs you could participate in. But like I said you really had to physically extend yourself back then, it was a little work, but satisfying too.
How about trying a healthy Maxell LN black case blue sticker of the same era.
I've seen another '70s TDK tape on eBay which went by the unfortunate name 'ED'.
поздравляю ZX-9 крутая дека. Имею ZX-7
Nice video, and a really good sounding tape! I remember those OD cassettes from a dim and distant past... we used to see them in the shop where I was working (fresh out of college), in Banbury, Oxfordshire..... we had TDK and Maxell as our main lines of tapes. I think the TDK 'OD' might have stood a better chance if hadn't been colour-coded in two-tone brown...
Browns in technology don't normally go down too well with the public (unless it's a brown woodgrain finish!), so if they'd used maybe shades of blue, or even orange/yellow to match the 'C60' labelling, then it may have had more impact. Shame really, cause your example sounded absolutely superb - especially as the tape was 40 years old, which pains me to say as I can remember them from when they were new..!!
Brown was a very 70s colour. With the gold wrapper, they look kind of premium, but also a bit "old man" 😊
Hey Tony, you might have a beating coming! Nobody should have all that lovely hardware hanging around! You lucky bum! Your a real first mate you are!👏👏🤗👍🏻
If one of the biggest guys in the world for cassettes can't have great decks, who can? 😉
I spotted one on ebay new sealed for a reasonable £8.99 i was tempted but as expected it was not on their long before selling .
Loved Nak, had plenty of it. Wished they used Dolby HX. It was a great circuit.
They said they didn't need it. Maybe it was their non IEC EQ that was the reason?
IMO, they had pretty decent top end and didn't want to pay the liscense fee. HX was a great circuit and never hurt any deck it was on. It allowed much cheaper decks to equal Nak performance towards the end.
Ah...memories :) - had tons of ODs as a teenager. Think I always slightly preferred the AD which seemed to suffer less HF squash when pushed.
But nevermind that - a ZX9! - the deck Daddy. I'm not envious in the slightest :)
Believe me, if it wasn't for the channel and giving you guys some variety, I would have called it a day with the Revox.
There's also TDK HX, a type 2 cassette that's somewhat difficult to find. At least when compared to SF/SA.
Yeah. I did a video on one of those.
I think there was an AR-S too if my memory serves me well. Was it better than the AR-X?
BTW, the OD tapes I've used shed a lot on the heads & pinch roller.
No AR-S from what I can see. Old tapes shedding is a combination of age and storage problems.
@@CassetteComeback No, my mistake, the tapes I have are AD-S not AR-S. They are really good type I tapes.
Thanks for the interesting review
Has anyone come across a TDK EC D90 from approximately 1981? From memory it has a black shell, with a white label with two coloured stripes at the bottom. A and B are in boxes with an arrow pointing up. And the tape is black (or at least very dark).
Where’s that CR-7
i can say just from personal experience the adc 60 cassetts are pretty good.
£1.59 john menzies, They were the days.
Great tape, gorgeous deck(s).
Those prices...me likey 70's tech to 70's prices... in 2020 ;)
This video just showed up in my subscription feed. Ain't that strange? I thought you did this video today or yesterday, but it's 5 months old? How is that? Why would such an old video go into my feed?
A little tip. I would like to see you use a better background for your tapes, for instance a table covered with a nice clean cloth, rather tha an old chair. Good videos all the same, thanks for posting.
It's my trademark. Others are copying it. Like everything on my channel, it keeps the focus on the important bit, the cassettes.
I had some of those kinds of tapes too
Dragon, zx9 and revox B 215, I am super jealous of you 😅
My bank account curses you for infecting me with the virus. I just got hold of a nice Kenwood 9050S deck 😂
This deck will go along nicely with the BASF Ferro Maximas I also ordered. To keep it on the topic of Ferric tapes 😊
My bank account takes a battering from this hobby too 😀
This man is Lucky as well as rich , 3 DRAGONS !!!!!
The harder I work, the luckier (and richer) I get...
@@CassetteComeback Yeah 4 DRAGONS now
This TDK OD sounds fantastic. BTW, you aren't the only cassette deck hoarder. I have an Aiwa XK-S9000 (3 Head, Dolby B, C, & S), a Technics RS-M258X (3 head, DBX, Dolby B & C), a Sony TC-K620 (3 Head, Dolby B & C), and a Teac C3-RX (3-Head, Dolby B & DBX). My two favorites are the Aiwa and the Technics in terms of sound quality.
Next time we gladly look at 'NAK killers': Tandberg 3014A or TEAC Z6000/7000.
But to be honest my beloved ones are Aiwa's XK-009 Excelia and XK-S 9000. My own AD-F 880 (XK-005) is only indigent cousin to both of them.
Funny thing is that Chinesse chemical companies can't copy technologies from late seventies to flood market with theirs fakes.
13:28 Reset!
0:32 - It's pronounced Mingis!
Never knew that. All us South of the border called it Menzies. I'm sure they answered the phone as "Menzies" too.
According to Private Fraser in Dad's Army!!
Oddly enough, I grew up in Kilmarnock in the 80s/90s and we always pronounced it 'Menzies', but if it was someone who had the surname you'd defer to whatever they preferred (I recall a local family who pronounced it 'Minnis').
Maybe we thought of the shop as a UK-wide chain/had just accepted the English pronunciation from hearing it on TV or suchlike.
Do you mean as in minging?
I can hear the 15kHz even through youtube, just to let you that your deck is working properly 😂
You must be younger than me...
I don't remember the TDK OD.
I bought a ZX-9 recently with the Willy Hermann overhaul and your video showed me how to adjust it which I haven't even bothered with. Hopefully I can hear 15khZ? TBH I don't know how much better it is than my DR-2 other than that unit needs overhauled and this one just plain hauls (as in super fast rewinds). Kind of a rare machine was happy to get it.
Keep it looked after and it will only be worth more. I think the audible differences between Naks when they're all working and calibrated to the tape is minimal. It's the ability to calibrate the cassette well that is the main difference.
@@CassetteComeback yes thanks and I never knew the "no door" was for heat because it seems a bit odd to me too...
I really wish you could go into a store that sold good blanks, not cheap Maxells.
Edit: I’m in the US.
Don't we all...
Yeah
Radio Shack or Circuit City should come back. I wish I was around to experience those.
Doesn’t Best Buy sell Sony blanks though? I think I may have seen some on their website.
MAXELL'S Metal Vortex - simply the best🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🇻🇨🌈
Most of these frequency response graphs were a load of bull****. They were done at -20dB. At higher levels the tapes would saturate at high frequencies. My test for a deck or cassette was to make a recording of Ommadawn by Mike Oldfield. At about 7 and a half minutes in there is a section with a tambourine which really made cassettes struggle. Metal tapes were a lot better but nothing could touch my Philips R2R at 7.5 ips.
@Cassette Comeback
Apocalypse Now (1979) R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War. Alien (1979) R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi. Escape from Alcatraz (1979) PG | 112 min | Biography, Crime, Drama. All That Jazz (1979) R | 123 min | Drama, Music, Musical. Breaking Away (1979) Hair (1979) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979
To be fair, if you're comparing the monster decks most wouldn't be able to tell the difference (unless you love listening to test tones and are wasting time when you should be listening to music).
Exactly. The differences appear on a screen, not in your ears at this level. I'm waiting for someone to say the 1000ZXL pisses on them all...
I LIKE CASSETTE
never see tdk OD
T D K ...best
Low Noise High Output!
I can just barely hear up to 19,000 Hz.
You're a lot younger than me then 😀
those sexy cassette wrappers...yummy
Please don't dismiss dolby, particularly dolby s.
S is very good... The problem is it's just not compatible with much.
@@CassetteComeback Tony I do agree with you there.
You have kids? I bet you'll be teaching them why kid-marketed decks like the Fischer-Price Model 826 and My First Sony are "rubbish"...! :)
Cassette porn
Блять, нихуя не понял!