7 Cassettes In 7 Days - Day 7 - Agfa FEI-S

[@jamesdrake6200]

Like all good things.... the 7 cassettes series must come to an end. 😥 I really enjoyed it and I'm glad you still find ways to make cassette-related videos as I absolutely LOVE this channel. Also, I'm glad you got the astronaut theme sorted out, that must have been really frustrating to deal with.

[@jhschmidMD4]

I click the like button within the first 5 seconds of your vids. I just know I'm going to like it.

[@JamesE707]

Tony, you've got 24,000+ subscribers because your videos are good, none of this flashy, "oh look at me everyone!" rubbish. Your videos are 'to the point', which is why we like them! And I understand your point about 'likes'. Just me mumbling on .... on the wrapper, it appears that AGFA quoted their MOL figures at 315Hz for 3% THD (either Total or Third Harmonic Distortion), but magnetic field strength output from the said tape can indeed go higher, but of course with added distortion on the test sinewave until saturation. Quite often Total and Third Harmonic Distortion are similar which is why I often compute just for the third harmonic only when I analyse tapes.

[@kiirunavaara]

Talking about the technical data on the wrapper, I love how Agfa showed them in detail on each cassette of this line-up (except for the cheaper ones). If you look at the graphs and understand what they mean, you can imagine how the tape sounds even before you've tried to record it, and it gives you hints on how to set the bias, because auto calibration was a rare deck feature in 1982. Well, most people didn't know or even care, so the detailed specs disappeared from the wrappers again in 1985.

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

I always smash that like button. Cause i really like Cassette Comeback. Another very enjoyable video Tony, thanks so much for this series. 😎👍 P.S. here's to coming up on 25.000 subscribers !! 💥🥂💥🥂💥

[@christianholmstedt8770]

I got fond memories of the AGFA FE I-S. Bought tons of these back in '82 - '83 together with the BASF Type II of from the same time. I used it on my Phillips boom box and later on with my Yamaha KX-220 (Edit: K-220) deck (two head, fixed bias lower end deck) and these always sounded really good.

[@bletheringfool]

Thank you Tony for giving us your time from your 'sabbatical'. For your own sake I hope it ends soon. But as a fan, of course, I want to be able to take advantage of you being able to crank out more videos. If I ever win the Euromillions I'll send you a few quid. I loved the inclusion at the end of 'Bing Bong, Scoobah-dee-doo'. I just know an extended version of that would be awesome.

[@comicmania2008]

Been watching your channel for a long time! I very much enjoyed your series this time, saw I think 4 of the vids! This AGFA was my favourite - sounded very nice to me, but I've got tinnitus these days, after years of jet noises, gunfire and working on diesel genny sets. This AGFA reminded me of my very first tapes in 1973, made by AGFA, they were yellow shells and purple shells, quite light brown tape back then, but C120s 🤣😂my Dad bought them for me. I played and re-recorded on them about a 'zillion' times on my old shoebox cassette player, until they started to snap, ALOT, after being stretched and stretched for 3 or 4 years and being a heavy handed kid recording the top 20 every single week!!!! I mainly use type 2 these days since getting back into cassettes around 5 years ago, but listening to a type 1 maxell UR right now with Steely Dan on it on my Yamaha KX-E100 - she's a beaut, kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvcqX5mj6ipl68 there's nothing wrong with tapes, I can hardly make out any hiss, never could even when my ears were spot on! So nice and fun to use and listen to. TC-SS.

[@S7EVE_P]

Thoroughly enjoyed this series Tony, looking forward to more👍

[@v-g-z3689]

Brilliant, the best one is the last one, gotta love Agfa, they never fail you. My favourite brand of cassettes, even before BASF. Greetings from Germany!

[@petersavage9456]

wash your mouth out. Its TDKs every time! lol

[@v-g-z3689]

@@petersavage9456 I do, I usually use Vademecum Med mouthwash. The problem is that it has been discontinued for about a month now and I haven´t found a suitable replacement yet...

[@mikestackhouse9001]

I totally agree with your assessment Tony. I picked the Excel as #1 because of its dual performance and it is fairly handsome to look at. Dandy analysis and it shows how much we can enjoy a ferric that doesn't have all the markerting hype. Bravo!😊

[@CassetteComeback]

Excellence when it isn't expected is a sweet surprise.

[@dougbergen8157]

Thx for all 7 days of the cassette parade. Great look at these tapes . Cheers and keep em coming.

[@andykay9827]

Loved the little joke at the end. It has been a pleasure to buy tapes from you and still have the keyrings. Happy tapping 😎👍

[@TomiT29]

Amaizing Series. I remember actually recording on few of those Cassetes. That was a fun time...

[@paulb4uk]

Loves this series a cool video to look forward to every day.

[@danielthomas3057]

I always hit the like button when I watch your vids. Enjoyed this series❤

[@psychofreak1982]

WOW ❤❤❤ What a great Cassette Thank You so mich Tony

[@christopherrigby2798]

I believe the Agfa passed the audition! I had the tightness issue with some one reason for sticking with Maxells here but the tape itself was great. I took one apart and found waxy paper liner sheets and did wonder if they may of been the issue. Thanks for a great mini series of reviews. Chris.

[@danielbissett-xi8vw]

Thanks Tony, really enjoyed the seven cassettes in seven days series.

[@wuergbern1183]

That was a beautiful little series, that I enjoyed tremendously. The Excel really was a banger cassette that came complete out of the blue. Enjoy your holiday! :)

[@JD-lk7im]

Loving the playout 'theme tune ' thanks Tony, ...best of luck to you.

[@JamesTaylor-yg7ow]

All the best with the work situation Tony. I enjoyed all the videos as always. Thanks for them all.

[@middlesbroughmike1027]

I've really enjoyed this series Tony. Thanks so much for doing it. Great to have you back in the saddle again

[@steveoszman8746]

Thank you Mr T. This week of cassette tapes was quite enjoyable. Has a habitual buyer of off brand tapes, this was most excellent.

[@denispoirier19]

I really enjoyed this 7 part series. Can't wait for more since I've binge watched all the other ones now.

[@joeclayton2875]

Clear winner. Amazing performance!

[@manti1923]

It was great going over the various cassette tapes....I still have a good 100 blanks from various brands TDK, Maxell, Sony etc..as well as all my old cassette tape recordings...keep up the good work my man.

[@El-Ritmo]

I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to produce and upload these videos - I've really enjoyed this series this week, and I have found it informative. Cheers.

[@roberttaylor7462]

You know the very first cassette I ever recorded on was an AGFA, the free Esso give-away one, LNX, and I never managed to get them to record properly - muddy is how I would describe. I've now a reasonable enough deck to try again and the LNX and these would be definitely worth a re-visit. Thanks for the video and thanks Paul.

[@disienna]

Never had an AGFA cassette, but their B&W camera film is next level. Even when you cut it down for a Minox, it holds up well.

[@nigelpez5056]

Very enjoyable series! Thanks 🙏

[@Mouse2113]

Brilliant series Tony

[@cassettecomebackcanada392]

Fantastic set of 7 videos Tony! Some new tapes going your way! Nice ending with the copyright bit! 😄 Cheers from Cassette Comeback in 🍁🍁🍁

[@vwestlife]

SuFEI-S it to say this is a good cassette.

[@CassetteComeback]

I left it to last as I thought it would be the best...but that Excel screwed that up 😁

[@JanCumps]

Once a tape has really shiny silver print on the cassette label, I don't care about the sound anymore. It will win all of my seven day contests . My ears have eyes.

[@arekw7388]

From what I remember AGFA FE I-S were magnetite doped (Fe3O4)

[@lookoutleo]

Amazing you can find cassettes that are 40 years old and still sealed . I just opened mine and used them :)

[@BubbaBigDude]

Thank you for the great cassette videos!

[@CatDadChris]

You should do cassette tier list videos. It would be interesting to see how everything stacks up.

[@DollyBoy_1923]

Agreed

[@bct2255]

Seven great videos, thanks!

[@monke7177]

Automatically click the like button on all your videos Tony, even if they haven't started yet! 😂

[@CassetteComeback]

Cheers! Unlike those that give them a thumbs down as soon as they're uploaded...

[@mrnmrn1]

Really liked the series. I like and hate these AGFA FeI-S cassettes. I like them because they sound really nice, but I hate them because it's very hard to get one which is not factory defect or worn down. I must say I never came across one which was sealed, I only bought used ones, but the type of failure most of them has can not be caused by wear or abuse. In the affected ones, the coating on the tape is very uneven, full of little dimples which causes a ton of dropout. I have some which was only partially recorded, and even the unrecorded portion has this issue, so it must be a factory defect. The ones that don't have this problem are usually worn down, full of scratches and folded edges. I probably have at least 20 of them, and maybe four of them are perfect. They also have that horrible waxed paper slip sheet, but that is easy enough to replace. 7:19 Is this tape moldy? Seems like a grey spot appears on the supply reel every revolution. Or is it just reflection?

[@inesmoreira7699]

I love your videos

[@Ale.K7]

Loved this series! I always hit the like button :-)

[@adamlipsky8010]

This is a pretty unique tape in its formulation; they used Fe2O3 (instead of FeO2), that's why the colour is black (there's no cobalt). This, however, had a consequence - the bias and level setting was way off any common deck was calibrated for and the results were terrible, you could get other tapes that sounded good for the same price. A side note: they also made a "Superchrom" tape that was a dual-layer ferrochrome meant to be used as a Type II chrome. Results were borderline unusable even back then, let alone today.

[@EZ647]

Correct comment, but with that Superchrome it was probably only in the 1981 version, later they changed it to pure chrome dioxide, probably dual layer?

[@kiirunavaara]

@@EZ647 I also thought so that from 1982 and onwards, the Agfa Cr II-S SUperchrom HDX was a double layer pure chrome. But just recently I've read in one of the old German Hifi magazines, that the lower layer in these should be the same black magnetite Fe3O4 as in the Fe I-S (not Fe203, which was the brown hematite, to be found in most other type I cassettes). It can be found somewhere on Werner O's blogspot pages or in the Tonbandforum archives. Well, sometimes the jouralists were wrong, but in this case it is worth considering. I will try to find out, some of the people involved in Agfa's tape production in Munich are still alive... Oh, and when new, the Agfa Cr II-S performed very well. In German "Stereo" in 1982-ish, it won the test as best type II, out-performing even the BASF CR-S II which ended up (close) second. It was the upper chrome layer that aged quickly, and the mediocre Agfa shells which killed their reputation.

[@arthurfraguas]

Amazing series, Tony! What a great surprise how was the performance of these less known brand tapes!

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Tony consistently picks the perfect moments to switch between source and tape.

[@CassetteComeback]

You'd think I knew the song off by heart or something 😆

[@hughjanus6975]

I'm both happy and sad to see this marathon end, thank you. Like button, just for you.

[@marvieachanzar4674]

The only one statement I could agree with: "Use ANY NACKAMICHI cassette player / recorder with Type ll High Bias or higher Metal tape" and one CANNOT go wrong with its sublime musicality ". greetings from Chicago

[@danniielle]

"Ya Bastards!!" 🤣😁 I must admit, I didn't hit the like button when you mentioned it. ..... But I did click it afterwards as I always do on your videos Tony. 🙂 Agfa were a major player with open reel tape in the 60s and 70s too. I have some 1/4" reels of it here that I have recorded on many times and they're still going strong.

[@FreeKraps]

Been jamming to Synergy all week, what a banger!! 🏎💥

[@lesgl]

I have a couple of Agra Metal position tape which i used to do some live band recordings in the late '80's which the sound has gone bad now which are of the same era as the ones above but they still sound good..great tapes bias up well on my Yamaha decks

[@analoguecity3454]

Great performance for a tape on KZbin audio compression!😊

[@DollyBoy_1923]

I personally really like Agfa’s Film and am surprised that they made cassettes too. Really cool.

[@taunusv4power]

I've always had good luck with agfa and basf, even type iii

[@pc4ad]

Here in the Netherlands we have the shop called Hema, who used to use the same shells. No idea what kind of tape there was in though, parents have always used those for saving programmes for the MSX computer systems

[@martijnappeldoorn8686]

Hema used a lot of SKC tapes, have a couple of hd60 tapes, they’re really good.

[@kiirunavaara]

For some time in the mid-80's, the Hema cassettes were made by Agfa. I don't know if there was a superferric model with the same tape as the Fe I-S in this video, but there was a variety of different Agfa tapes sold under the Hema label. Earlier Hema cassettes were supplied by Permaton (also with Agfa tape) and Audio Magnetics, later Hema tapes were SKC from Korea, and by the late 90's they came first from Socimag (Spain), then from Emtec.

[@ralphalder14]

I’ve enjoyed the 7 cassettes in 7 days feature. Thanks Tony and I hope you find a new job soon.

[@426hemicuda1090]

This series has been great... sad it's over

[@professorvoluck9311]

Where can I buy one of those tape winders? I don’t 3D print so hoping someone has them for sale.

[@FlopsPL]

Love ending!

[@nicksubmit76]

gorgeous cassettes, especially the latest ones, which are shiny and very expensive, but also all high-quality cassettes that we can see with your help, I would also like to see something exclusive and rare, metal cassettes or something that is not available whom, see you on the channel, I have a huge collection of cassettes and there are many rare and high-quality beautiful things

[@stevenichols5708]

Love this series

[@davidford3744]

I Remember the Dixons version were pretty good. I do believe they came in packs of 20 for about £7.99 back in around 1990

[@tvelektron]

I remember Agfa tapes in the store that time but extremely rare got one. For me in comparison (especially to the Japanese) they looked so old-fashioned...

[@DaXande135]

It just so happened that I got 4 Agfa Fe I-S and one CR II-S in the last two days that weren't used too much (either no or just pencil writing on it). Got them for free from family and friends

[@insertaverygenericnamehere]

We had those at home in the 80s - no wonder (I am from Germany)

[@garrettgabales5065]

Good Record Good Tape I love cassette

[@moco2802]

Great series, thoroughly enjoyed it. Any chance of winfield/alpha plus video? And perhaps some c120’s?

[@towelful42]

The high end on this one sounded exaggerated to me too, which was not to my liking. Thanks for the videos.

[@EZ647]

Hi This Agfa is a big oddity because it does not contain classic FerroCobalt but Magnetite, Fe3O4, black tape type I. Of course Maxell also based their 90's audio tape production on BlackMagnetite, but I think there is a number of differences, Agfa Superferro is a very unique tape. And I don't know exactly the manufacturing differences that differentiate Maxell and other manufacturers, it's highly likely that Maxell has the Cobalt in it as well, Agfa's is very questionable. Agfa used this type of composition in the superferro from about 1982 (the cassette in your video is the first 1982 version with this tape) until 1988. I'm not sure if this tape was still around in the last 1989 line, because I don't own the HR-S and HR-XS already contains the OEM tapes. The tape is characterized by very high energy at high trebles, which you saw in the bias calibration that it was extremely high, even in my tests it came out that way for all versions. If you ever get an ICM superferro audiotape with black tape, you can be sure there is an Agfa superferro Magnetite. Thank you for your very refreshing 7 Cassettes In 7days series, please still the 365 Cassettes in 365 Days series :P Regards EZ

[@CassetteComeback]

Your knowledge is always a pleasure to read.

[@EZ647]

@@CassetteComeback Thank you, I love watching your videos too :)

[@kiirunavaara]

Agfa F-DX I S was their last model to contain the magnetite tape. With the appearance of the 1989 line-up, it was discontinued. HR-S contains Maxell UD I tape, and in HR-XS you can find Maxell XL I-S and BASF Ferro Maxima I tapes. SR-S is either Maxell UD II or XL II tape. HR and SR are original Agfa tapes. Not sure about the SR-XS, some say it has BASF CHrome Maxima II tape, but the tape type codes on the spine suggest it was an original Agfa formula, too. The Metal-XS I can only guess, there's a "Made in Japan" on the wrapper, and I suppose it relates to some Maxell tape, too, while the shell is clearly German Agfa :-)

[@ralphalder14]

Hi again Tony. I have about 10 blank tapes that were hanging around my office and probably date from the late 80’s early 90’s. All they have on them is “the professional tape” with C60 stamped on the j card and a green wavy line under the title. Printed on the j card is “Professional Magnetics LTD, Leeds England then a phone number. They are only type 1 but record (to my ears) really well. I’m happy to send you one if interested? Any clue on these would be greatly appreciated.

[@Mr.Rude.]

I always set the Like to peak at +1 on your vids, but usually just draw a blank when it comes to recording a comment. For the record though, thiss daily uncommon compact cassette contest type content's clearly a completely cromulent congenial concept.

[@karensingh2020]

i have agfa cr11-s superchrom hdx. pure chrome cassette.

[@benkrake3678]

The shell looks like a Supertape shell from the same period.

[@clarencehoover6748]

“Seven days is all she wrote…”

[@martijnappeldoorn8686]

“ a kind of ultimatum note, she gave to me, she gave to me….”

[@courageouscommenter756]

I know exactly what you mean about the nostalgia thing. I love the clear shell cassettes as I had heaps of those. I do have a question which may make good video content if you have one or could get one... That is in relation to clear shell 90''s TEAC CDX cassettes. I used quite a few of those back in the day (they were cheap). The hubs and shell wreak of Sony EF, they give off a hint of SKC too but I am not sure exactly. Do you know what they are? Cheers as always for the great content.

[@kiirunavaara]

The older Teac CDX were made by Gold Star in Korea, the later cdx I that come in slim cases were made by Forward in Hong Kong, probably with Greencorp (Australia) tape.

[@courageouscommenter756]

@@kiirunavaara Thank you, that explains also why they sounded alright too. Cheers.

[@Rick_Todd]

Next Week. 14 Cassettes In 14 Days. Yes Please.

[@saiprasad8078]

What headphones do you use for listening usually ?

[@CassetteComeback]

Not saying, as whatever they are, someone will point out why they're rubbish 😁

[@donpedro769]

And the winner is... Excel Studio? 😀

[@sevcaczech5961]

"Super ferro" Agfas were actually Fe3O4 not standard Fe2O3...

[@toddlee2571]

The main thing to remember about this hobby, is that he's using tape decks that cost well over $2500 USD and if you're lucky enough to even find one, it's going to be used and most likely in need of repair. The average consumer decks back in the day wouldn't sound this good even with premium cassettes.

[@CassetteComeback]

This hobby labours under the fallacy that cassettes do, and always have, sounded rubbish. I try to make cassettes sound the best they can. Yeah, the decks aren't cheap, and need maintenance, like a classic car. £2500 buys you not a good deck, but one of the best ever. Ever. There's no other aspect of hifi that is that cheap for one of the best pieces of gear ever. Try getting one of the best amplifiers / record decks / CD players / speakers EVER for that price...

[@toddlee2571]

@@CassetteComeback I did some checking and a Nak Dragon refurbished was going for around $3500 USD, some even more. I was into cassettes back in the day. Had a decent Onkyo tapedeck but had the luxury of having a Nak TD-500 car unit. Yes, tapes did get a bad rap because most people weren't going to spend that kind of money on a deck. To be honest, you can't buy a good new deck anymore. And it's rare that you see anything but junk in a second hand store. I have enjoyed your videos though. A blast from the past.

[@thejoojooman6538]

U're a what that does what? That's some job description dude. 😂

[@CassetteComeback]

It's tech mumbo jumbo. If only a cassette company had an opening in their marketing department...and it was 1986 😆

[@kforkrish]

These cassette names becoming are hilariously uncanny 😅 Yet, im still interested in the analysis anyways.👍

[@dubdoodle7191]

Once covid coma seized to exist, I unloaded all my decks and am strictly 1/4" RTR. Surprisingly my A77 even at 7.5 ips 1/2 track reproduces far superior than a Dragon or B215 for that matter

[@CassetteComeback]

And...

[@BigKelvPark]

Why didn't you use the same deck for all of the tapes? You've used the same music for each one as a reference - why not the deck? Not all decks however high end behave the same.

[@CassetteComeback]

Because the cassettes are a bit random, so I didn't see a need for a "like for like" comparison. Different cassettes, different decks, just a bit of variety and fun.

[@AnthonyStone-dn9ym]

Love all your videos but, listening to the same test song, over and over makes me not want too watch. Don't you have other music to use?? If so please do!!

[@CassetteComeback]

Have you checked out any of the other 100 or so videos I've done... 🙄