7 Cassettes In 7 Days - Day 2 - Sony EF Premium

In this video I unwrap a Sony EF Premium. Have a look inside and put it through it's paces.
Deck Used : Arcam Delta 100
For your North American cassette needs, go to:
www.cassettecomeback.com

[@moogultop]

5 more to come... Can't wait!😃👍

[@marcnewman370]

I just recorded last week a 90 minutes mix tape with this cassette. The color of the tape was like yours, the older Super EFs were darker. I love the sound of these entry level ferrics and i like to have many different designs in my mix tape collection.

[@stevenichols5708]

So glad you are posting new videos again!!!

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

Sounded damn good to me ! Can't believe that its a type 1 tape. 😎👍

[@danniielle]

That sounded mighty fine to me Tony! That Arcam deck sure gives a great account for itself too. 😎

[@mariogambrelli]

Hi, thanks Tony! Cool series of videos! Also, I am happy that you sound happy and cheerful.

[@clarencehoover6748]

A bit of high frequency roll off, but it sounded really great, has great aesthetics and will probably be a consistent performer as well. Another great option from Sony!

[@guerrillaradio9953]

Well, there's another Sony I'll be on the lookout for! Did anyone else notice the treble response sounded brighter and more detailed from the tape than the source? Not even sure how that's possible, unless there's Dolby or other DSP used after the playback head. Either way, sounds right up there with my current favorite Type Is, HF-(X)S, SF, TDK AR....I doubt it's a superferric, not with that tape color, but a fantastic buy for certain.

[@mikestackhouse9001]

Liking this one Tony. The tint is cool too. On to day 3!

[@lookoutleo]

Hardly ever had Sony cassettes , mostly TDK and Maxell. Had few yashimas , can't wait for your reactions to them :) thanks for posting

[@hughjanus6975]

It's going to be a good week.

[@analoguecity3454]

Amazingly close to the source! Daaaaammmnn!🎉🎉🎉

[@Jim_2E0HKM]

Like you I've never had a bad Sony cassette now or even as a kid recording TV show theme tunes off the TV, robust and bright sounding, if I'm being ultra anally retentive I've found the FX or FX1s tend to compress mids & the highs a little on my decks, this cassette sounds great, perhaps slightly brighter then the source on my surround TV system. Enjoyed video No.2 looking forward to the next one Tony.

[@badscrew4023]

I liked the regular EFs a lot back in the 90's, they were affordable but very good still. Have still dozens of mixtapes from back when, and they work perfectly well

[@juliancurtis4071]

couldn't agree more fella, Sony cassettes have never disappointed me I started with the CHF's and a few earlier used type 1's... really looking forward to the EMI review... I know they get a bad rap, but tbh, while they were never gonna beat a Sony HF-S/AR etc, they were not that bad (apart from the pressure pad falling off)

[@Ale.K7]

Sounds good! I miss the smell of a freshly opened Sony cassette...

[@BilisNegra]

I'm glad I'm not alone. As a kid/teen I loved that. The tape had a very distinctive smell. I wonder if people who were adults back then got to do something as weird as smelling cassettes.

[@lesgl]

When my Auntie passed away a while i ended with a pile of her cassette tape and there was EF Super in with them with some music recorded on it and the sound is top notch with very little background hiss..as you say Sony made some great blank tapes

[@EZ647]

Hello We call models like the Sony EF and FX budget models, where they have pushed the factory and selling price down a lot, so they are also the source of many compromises :) Sony almost never listed them in their catalogues, with some exceptions, so vintage is difficult to determine. For this particular EF Premium, I'm guessing 1995, but based on some of the features and the shell design, there are only 4 screws and not 5, too modern a booklet, so it could be very new, even 2000-2005. I assume Made in Thailand. As I mentioned, the shell is indeed like the old HF, but made with four screws. Also, Sony has only used the EF Super name so far and never the old HF shell, but the even more basic one. With Sony EF and FX there is another big problem. Often times they use third party OEM tapes, by batch and year combined with their own HF belts. The tapes are sometimes quite different even for one model/vintage version. We had a case where a Sony FX-I was filled with a UX type II tape in a type I shell. The cassette was new in the foil. Again my piece of the same cassette as in your video got worse results, at +2dB level it was fine, but the bias was very low because the Akai I do test recordings on is factory calibrated to superferro (Maxell UDI) I also had a big drop in output level compared to the source there was a difference of 4dB. In other respects it's a good, usable cassette, quality mechanism, but with the Sony budget I'm concerned about tape inconsistency. Regards EZ

[@kiirunavaara]

I agree that this EF Premium must be some late model which appeared even after the last EF in light blue packaging: As you mentioned, the 4 screws, plus the plain j-card used for many late budget models, and the high EAN code are all details which point to a late vintage. They were probably not an EU market thing either, as the only examples I could ever buy new were those I found in small shops run by people from Middle Eastern countries around 2005-2010. Ok, they might have been sitting on the shelves for some years, but not for decades. There was also a 00's design HF (like EU version HFC) with the very same 4-screw shell and the "With Screws" marking on the sealing for the Middle East. My examples of the EF Premium have that nasty very slim case like the Sony CDit cassettes, and they also have a darker tape. The example here in the video probably has the same tape as early 00's HF from EU and Thailand.

[@EZ647]

@@kiirunavaara Hi I found the Sony HF with screws mentioned by you on an unnamed well known stolen images website :D According to the descriptions on the back, it really seems to be for the Asian market and maybe Eastern Europe. The end of audiocassette production provides some really unusual combinations, like Sony produced in Thailand at TDK with a combination of Sony hubs and TDK clamps. But I consider the worst thing is that one is never sure of the quality of the tape, as it can often be different from different manufacturers. This is something that is almost never stated by the manufacturer on the packaging, although some batches are the exception. And Japanese models have again in recent years listed extra tape origins, even if only the country and extra origins of assembly or components. When Tony gets the latest generation Sony CDix Japan audiotapes, I'll write a post that hasn't seen youtube here :D By the way, I need to reopen our little argument regarding Fuji DR China SKC vs ECP sometime, as I have found a few more clues that lean towards the SKC version, where one of the reasons is the version of the Sony ZX model made by the same as the last generation Fuji DR. Maybe I'll post it on the forum sometime. Lest I forget, my Sony EF Premium, also has an ultraslim case. Regards EZ

[@thejoojooman6538]

I may have 2 acquire a few of these.

[@imansfield]

A really good type 1 is all you need really.

[@uliw6605]

Es ist so wunderbar! Wenn ich noch kein Abonnement hätte, ich würde noch eins abschließen!👍👍👍

[@paulb4uk]

I do love the sony cassettes ,the only ones i bought back in the day were the fx type 1,s and revisiting the fx now i really like them even more. Another sony i really like is the fx 2 type 2 i bought a batch of used fx2,s and i need to give the tdk cding another chance at the moment there not a cassette i have much love for .

[@CassetteComeback]

I used to buy both FX, and apart from their boring looks, always thought they punched well above their price.

[@BilisNegra]

I kind of very remotely think I remember the 1985 HF being more light, chocolaty brown than the following iterations, and your guess about old stock stuff being used for this EF makes sense to me considering that.

[@TheJoydivision2]

Definitely better than the Memorex!

[@xxxsale007xxx]

Hi Tony, btw. nice video as always 👍, but i would like to send you two cassettes for making a review, that i couldn't find in any video you made. The first one is the type II tape "Chrome Cobalt For Professional Audio Application SHX 60" from the company "TYROLIS" made in Austria, and the second one is an old PHILIPS METAL tape probably made at the beginning of the 80's and both are factory sealed. How can I do that?

[@CassetteComeback]

Thanks, but I have both of those. I will get round to them at some point.

[@MikeDS49]

Have you tried the Sony DC-90s? A type 1 "dictation" cassette, but they sounded pretty good.

[@thisisnev]

The only Sony cassette I was ever disappointed in was the old CD-α of the late 70s. Otherwise, Tony, I agree completely - Sony consistently turned out great-sounding tapes!

[@Astralify]

Wish we had the EFs in the SM II shell. I love that shell. Sadly our EF's were the low rent CHF shells. But yeah, this Sony EF Premium is a lovely cassette.

[@user-vu9xc1ns9s]

I have a lot of this cassettes, but "made in Japan" version. Designed like a SuperEF (looks much better).

[@christopherrigby2798]

Could just detect a drop of absolute detail on the busiest parts of the track but bearing in mind what someone would of paid for it as a basic ferric more than good enough for a Walkman or in car player. Never used many Sony tapes outside of FeCrs in the early 80's, just a few BHF and UCX but they were good, were reliable and could be had discounted. Bring on those Yashima's next!

[@RJARRRPCGP]

It shows that classic ferro doesn't have to sound all muddy.

[@wepif]

thought it lost a bit of brightness on the high end but sounded more EQ'd on the tape

[@roelheijmans]

Synergy, so that's where your intro tune comes from. Awesome track 🤘 Is it a Villarosso song?

[@CassetteComeback]

No, it's off the KZbin audio library.

[@2prtv]

Strange, I bought a heap of these from the US in 90 min length, and they have black tape in side and sound fantastic. Tony's version seems to have brown tape and quite a bit of high end run off, definitely different formulation.

[@CassetteComeback]

The non "HF" Series cheap cassettes by Sony are "Bitsa" cassettes - Bitsa this and bitsa that. They aren't consistent except they all perform well.

[@Bob-1802]

I wonder. The Arcam does not seem to have the HX Pro, at least I can't find any in its specifications. It could improve trebles with Type 1 tapes.

[@CassetteComeback]

Probably with the Nak philosophy, their decks are good enough without it 🤷‍♂️

[@pfink70]

Looks like the HF has a 5th screw in the bottom center that the EF does not.

[@Czechbound]

To me, that sounded a tiny bit "softer" than the Day 1 tape. Note : I know nothing

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Is this an omen?!? I JUST looked at my phone as a distraction from the stress of deciding whether or not to sell my cassette collection before I (unexpectedly & soon) move. There are many. They are heavy. I don't want to risk taking them out of climate control. I don't have patience or motivation otherwise to sell them. Anyone have the answer? 😓 (Btw, I LOVE this EF!)

[@robine5280]

Don't. If you get excited when a new video from Tony drops, you're gonna regret it.

[@famoterlhh4993]

I just got 5 used Sony EF super cassettes from a seller online, all with sony hubs and one of them looked more like a ferric while the rest looked more like cobalt doped cassettes Unfortunately I don't have a cassette deck to record on, only a recording walkman that could use some repair, but they sound decent I hope to be able to afford a decent cassette deck to record on these cassettes but I don't know too much about buying cassette decks

[@CassetteComeback]

A fully working, recently serviced, cassette deck from a known good make, is a better buy than one with lots of features, that is in a state of disrepair.

[@famoterlhh4993]

@@CassetteComeback 🙂👍

[@famoterlhh4993]

@@CassetteComeback also is tape calibration on a deck very important

[@nigelpez5056]

I have several pioneer ct606 decks from 79 and they make fantastic recordings and don’t have calibration facilities, I use my recordings in house and in my car and they’re brilliant, ppl are blown away at the sound quality, and all my recordings are on tapes from 82 to 88 😎

[@steveoszman8746]

Making sure the secret is out on Sony tape. Thanks

[@CassetteComeback]

I let it be known years ago...

[@kforkrish]

I have bought exact same Sony premium EF in mildly used condition, recorded once. Later i recorded multiple times but never sounded bad, sounds better than tdk b60 and d60 as well👍

[@ArturArocha]

Sony é Sony, não adianta.

[@CassetteComeback]

A bit like you really 😆

[@ElectoneGuy]

I could hear some high frequency loss on the tape, but nothing to write home about.

[@randyharrigan4790]

The lowest form of sony cassette i have encountered is the zx and even those are decent. They lack a bit of mid range compared to the rest imo but can still record well when biased.

[@benstone5038]

I had a batch of Sony FX-II Position: IEC II/Type II High Bias that were made in Thailand, they were terrible, lots of drop outs.

[@RyanCoomer]

A gentleman stopped by the office today and brought me this giant vegetable thing so I decided to place it on the dash of my vehicle and drive around with it. It's already driven 10 miles with me.

[@DAVIDWILLIAMS-qn1be]

🔔🔚🤔

[@charlesloukas1946]

Is it married to Jimmy Savile ?