Best thing a Dragon can do with these tapes: burn them with fire.
@TheStarclipse5 жыл бұрын
Drakarys
@svenschwingel86325 жыл бұрын
@@TheStarclipse Valar Morghulis
@harrystevens38855 жыл бұрын
A very generous pair of videos and in all my years of owning cassettes and decks I never thought I would ever see the lowest of the low cassettes such as these go into a Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck. No sales pitch or money gain just Tony putting himself out for us. I thank you Tony because on that day you didn't eat shit for us but your dragon did...Possibly the two best videos on anything cassette related ever made on KZbin. Tony I salute you and thank you again!.:):):)
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Doing something for the hell of it is sometimes the best reason 😁
@olaniyi5705 жыл бұрын
I wish Nakamichi would start making decks again.
@AVadim5 жыл бұрын
It will be a Chinese Nakamichi with all the implications. :)
@olaniyi5705 жыл бұрын
@ 83 to 93. I think. You're absolutely righ:-) It would probably be silver because making it black would be considered offensive.
@hughjanus69755 жыл бұрын
@@olaniyi570 Lmao fuck people they suck thats why i like cassettes
@artderix8035 жыл бұрын
Buy yourself a good ReVox B215(s) it's the same or even better recorder...
@micheltremblay47744 жыл бұрын
@@artderix803 The Revox was very good, but better than Nakamichi, not sure of that, equal in many aspects but the auto azimuth adjustment of the Dragon, does wonder with pre recorded tapes as well as with blanks. When I bought my Dragon in 1985-86, I did extensive A/B comparisons with many of the top decks of the time and I ended up buying the Nakamichi Dragon and not long after, a TEAC X-1000RBL 10" reel to reel deck. I paid a lot then but they are still functionning like new.
@markphilpot49815 жыл бұрын
The Leda and the Pyral were 1-ish! The Dragon, because it’s circuitry is fabulous, is naturally going to make the best out of even the 1-ish ones. The bride crack killed me, up and down like a bride’s nightie! That is one I haven’t heard! I love that Tony! You make this so much fun!😊👍🏻
@rwparker19685 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for the follow-up video, Tony: I for one appreciate your service, and I will be sure to include you and your Dragon in my prayers.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
It's been exorcised by recording a nice Type 4 afterwards.
@carmelo0075 жыл бұрын
Cassette Comeback 😂😂😂
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
That's what I use to clean the heads and metal bits, but I use Servisol Foam Cleaner on the pinch rollers
@Henrydrn14 жыл бұрын
I was amazed at how refined and high end Nakamichi decks sound when compared to other expensive decks.
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
They earned their reputation for a reason.
@MihaiGradin5 жыл бұрын
Wow! We have the sequel! Thanks Tony!
@MrocznyTechnik5 жыл бұрын
I have some memories with this hi-tech tape. Maybe i'd be interested in buying one (in better hygienic state if possible). It was mid 1980s in Poland, my dad bought this hi-tech cassette in local hometown book store. Tape has been bought as mass storage for our Commodore 128 computer. It was sad times of communist regime in Poland and the only way of getting software was black/gray market. Once a week, in Warsaw (our capital city) there was an event called "Gielda'. During this event you can pay some guys to record your tape with software of your choice, manly games. It was a very sad day, when we returned home, after whole day trip to Warsaw, just to find out that NONE of the recorded software is redable. My dad's first suspicion was that we were cheated by Gielda guys, but after we tried to use this tape for radio recordings, it was clear that this was not Hi-Tech tape... However it brings some flashbacks from my childhood and those flashbacks become absolute treasure, since brain damage took my dad away :(
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Great story. No one will get nostalgic about downloading off steam.
@nazcaplain5 жыл бұрын
Here's a classic early 80s Commodore Pet computer being restored and the videographer turns his focus towards the cassette storage and hits a snag. Your post reminded me of this. That there's a Commodore gadget for checking cassette azimuth is fascinating, though I'm sure these cheese-based cassettes wouldn't work under even ideal circumstances. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJLcpZ1oqr-Cmas
@GOGGLETUBESUCKS4UIC5 жыл бұрын
I bet you gave the deck a good cleaning after playing those.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Oh yeah, but it was surprisingly clean.
@Synthematix4 жыл бұрын
a head replacement will be needed
@Kalvinjj4 жыл бұрын
OK so not even a Nakamichi Dragon can save those tapes
@Musicradio77Network5 жыл бұрын
And now, the “Type 0” saga continues. I have many of the “Type 0” cassettes, and all I have on my “Type 0” is Old Time Radio shows like the “Lux Radio Theater” and other shows like “Jack Benny”, “Johnny Dollar” and more. I missed getting a bunch of “Type 0” cassettes at stores like Winn’s Discount, grocery stores, $0.99 stores and dollar stores in NYC as well as Woolworth’s, Caldor, Walgreen’s for the ToneMaster cassettes, CVS for their brand of “Type 0” cassettes and others like Certron, Sentry, Star, Hoyin, Martronic, Muratape, Astrosonic, Silver Shadow (a Woolworth brand), Concertape (a Radio Shack brand), Melody, Audio Plus, Melsonic, Professional Quality, Quality Tape, Broadway, Maxim, Sim, Pomtrex, Omni, Avanti, and more. Walmart also made another kind of “Type 0” called ONN which is a bad idea for a cassette tape, but usable.
@previousslayer5 жыл бұрын
That's quite funny because Mallory Duratape, unlike Muratape, should've been a pretty decent brand afaik (clever wordplay from our Eastern comrades, here 😄), while Certrons used to be made in Mexico from U.S. components before succumbing to the Chinese/HK horror... makes you wonder how the Murican ones fare against the Far East junk 🙃 (Also everyone hates on Concertapes... were they *that* lo-fi? They appear to be 100% American)
@rockrollhi-figuy68242 жыл бұрын
That Dragon sure does make the best out of any tape.
@JamesE7075 жыл бұрын
You brought back memories there Tony at about @14:46, with the LEDA tape. I had one of these, but not the one above. 1970s stuff.
@johnmarchington31462 жыл бұрын
My guess is that the oxide layer of those tapes is probably all over the place due to poor quality control and that was the reason that the bias and levels were up and down. The Dragon certainly did its best to compensate.
@NJPurling2 жыл бұрын
Maybe some buy up pancakes of reject tape. I have looked at the BKB, which is partially transparent, has poor calendaring and rail lines along the tape. Why intentionally have poor coating issues.?
@JamesE7075 жыл бұрын
I bought a Maxim tape at a flea market - it was so bad I actually threw it out, and I never throw stuff out.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I remember them, but could tell what they'd be like before I even used them...
@verastaki5 жыл бұрын
My parents have this same Maxwell tape that we used to listen to when I was a kid, and to my surprise, somehow it still plays very well to this day.
@andrewlittleboy85325 жыл бұрын
'TOKAIDO', Ribbed for extra pleasure!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
😁
@Digger_tlt5 жыл бұрын
Good day! Nice video! Such cassettes appeared in the USSR in 1990-1991. Amid a shortage of goods at the time. The cassette "maxim" I also came across ..... There were similar brands "yoko", "elekta". at that time we suspected that it was counterfeit from China. Because there were fakes with a similar tape inside in Sony Hf 90 cassettes.
@v-g-z36894 жыл бұрын
In my opinion, BASF NEVER disappoints!
@v-g-z3689 Жыл бұрын
@@GladeSwope That has never happened to me, I'm surprised to hear that.
@jeremytravis3605 жыл бұрын
When I ran a company called Teletape in London, I came across the Pyral brand. I think it was mainly sold in music shops that sold instruments and PA systems. I think I tested one out, I probably would have suggested that people buy a ferric tape like TDK AD and it would do better than the Pyral brand so I din't stock it. J Travis formerly Teletape London.
@Algabatz4 жыл бұрын
Now every time i record on my Dragon I have to go: "Test tone coming"! As usual, very interesting. Thanks!
@jasejj5 жыл бұрын
For reference, and to expand on my comment on the other video... In around 1982 a Sony CHF, single tape was available in Sunderland indoor market (very specific I know) for £1.29. A Kaytape type 0 was 25p from the same vendor. The Pyral Sprint was 79p, and I bought quite a few of them as they did the job. Unspectacular as you say but fine for taping off Radio 1 (which was AM at the time) and Spectrum games, and pirating music albums off a mate's Sanyo music centre. Not great but OK.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it all depends. Am two recordings off a boombox...they would be acceptable for that.
@jasejj5 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback I think Pyral knew their market. Its just an old-style 1970s LN tape and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. It probably sounded no different to a D on the typical music centre or shoebox of the time. Lots of tapes about like that at the time. The Leda was much the same - voice grade but OK for what it was. I remember things like Ever Ready, Pinnacle and Cambra which were the same sort of thing, and mid-1970s AGFA were no better IME.
@pcallas664 жыл бұрын
Great video. Bias setup is everything.
@meurighailstone19995 жыл бұрын
I once saw a Hi-Tech cassette that was made up of loads of different pieces of tape all spliced together (badly), all different shades of brown and black, however did they get away with that!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Because they didn't care, the people who sold them didn't care and they were so cheap when you used them, you didn't care.
@jamesdurber884 жыл бұрын
i remember the bits ones - was they also the same in the white label ones too, but they did look almost the same as poundworld branded ones and Flyer
@ShawnTewes5 жыл бұрын
Another possible sign of a type 0 could be if the window in the center is cut out rather than being solid, with only the slip sheet covering it. I wonder if those two tapes could be considered type 1/2.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
True, that window is usually a good sign. I think back in the day, the Pyral / Leda would have been as good as most other cassettes, time has probably taken its toll.
@Trance885 жыл бұрын
That dragon is such an amazing deck. It's like the holy grail of consumer decks. I would so want one! It's almost impossible to get one that's less than 2 grand though.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
You pays your money...I didn't get mine cheap, but I've no regrets.
@baronvonlimbourgh17164 жыл бұрын
At least these things keep their value. If you wanna sell it 5 years later you'll always get your money back if you take care of it. Maybe even more. Try that with your 1500 iphone.
@micheltremblay47744 жыл бұрын
Never buy a second hand Nakamichi Dragon except for parts and cheap or fully inspected and working like new. I bought a Nakamichi Dragon in 1985-86. After a month, it started acting strange, I sent it back to my dealer that sent it back to the distributor for repair. After a month, I got a call telling me that they had to send back the unit to Japan as they could not resolve the problem with it. Another month passed by and I received a new Nakamichi Dragon straight from Japan. They could not fix it either.
@TapesNstuffS2 жыл бұрын
It's like a German car. When it performs to spec, it's amazing but complex, prone to failure, and expensive to repair. If I had one of these, it would be a shelf queen as I wait to find someone fanatic enough to spend over a grand on a cassette player.
@pjshots5 жыл бұрын
That deck won't come to any adverse harm from such a short tryout.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
It didn't.
@NJRoadfan4 жыл бұрын
I have a different "Hi-Tech" Type 0 here. Says "Made in Hong Kong" on it so you know its quality. I always found it amusing that these bottom of the barrel tapes almost always have the official Compact Cassette logo on them and the text "low noise" printed in big letters.... yeah ok. Lucky for me the recordings on those tapes are all of me walking around with a cheapo Gold Star DC bias cassette radio using the built in microphone. Popping some of these tapes into a high end deck and trying to calibrate them is always fun. The Sony TC-KA1ESA's calibration meters bounced everywhere when I popped in one of those white generic "dictation" tapes. I suppose everyone has tried a Type 0 with a high end deck to see if one could indeed "polish a turd".
@dwoodog5 жыл бұрын
These type 0 tapes like you say are cool for collecting only, will never see them again. Just to get off subject a bit, I also own a Dragon. Would have liked to seen atleast the following: Different colour segments when past 0 db on the levels, maybe red. Also some led's for source and tape button, and some leds for what dolby your in. But it's no big deal, love my Dragon. Thanks for another great video.
@MikeBracewell5 жыл бұрын
Top job, Tony, thanks for the update! Talking of type 0, you ever come across Decca tapes? My mum used to work for them & she got a shed load for nothing about 1980. She was done: worst tapes I've ever come across. Shreding, striping, gritty orangey tape - you name it. Even the felt pads fell out after a couple of plays!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I haven't and, by your description, am glad of that.
@alexandershalin35435 жыл бұрын
I'm into open reel decks, but I like your channel. You have such a BBC reporter voice)
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
BBC wouldn't use someone with a broad accent like mine 😁
@GustoTheGamer5 жыл бұрын
even the dragon of the Nakamichi family can't handle this tape😎😂
@chevycaprice875 жыл бұрын
Because this is not tape, this is peace of cardboard paper.
@scaleop45 жыл бұрын
@@chevycaprice87 yep just utter crap
@tarstarkusz5 жыл бұрын
Anyone who could afford a $2,500 cassette deck in 1982 ($6,646.92 2019) was probably not using these cheap type 0 cassettes!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Indeed. This was just answering public demand.
@Schlipperschlopper5 жыл бұрын
I love unknown brands and in Germany you mostly get very good (!) tape inside because most dept. store brands here bought the tape at BASF and AGFA or the GDR ORWO: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmaWipywlK2CftU
@xsc10005 жыл бұрын
@@Schlipperschlopper But Orwo wasn't good tape.
@tarstarkusz5 жыл бұрын
+Cassette... Now that's what I call good service! :)
@Schlipperschlopper5 жыл бұрын
@@xsc1000 Depends on type their IEC I Ferro Extra and II Chrome Extra were similar to AGFA and BASF Basic type formla ORWO and DESSAUER tapes GDR delivered magnetic tape to MAGNA and Permaton West Germany too as well as Agfa. But that was export quality.
@hughjanus69755 жыл бұрын
Due to a particularly nasty previous housemate, I know that if that stain was someone at the factory having a happy time, it would be yellow by now.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
That's both disturbing and comforting to hear 😃
@jasejj5 жыл бұрын
BTW I suggest you wind some of those type zeroes (especially the later Acme-shell ones like the Hi-tech and Maxim) to the start of side B and take a look at the tape creasing. The other absolute giveaway of a bad tape is the tape window. A half-decent old-school tape had a proper hard-plastic window; the rubbish ones would just have a cut-out in the shell, and the only protection the tape had was the slip-sheet.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Indeed
@alynicholls32305 жыл бұрын
why not test the chrome one on the dragon?, the ferric version was damaged, but you know better than anyone how hard it can be to get some chrome tapes to sound good.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I tried it on my Revox as a Type 1, and type 2 at 70 and 120. No dice.
@vacban73324 жыл бұрын
So i have a couple of MTV brand cassettes from back in the day. All the songs recorded on to it were recorded at 0db on the meter. But on playback they played at around -10db, except for one which played at -5db. Would these be considered type 0?
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
If they sound like crap, yeah.
@vacban73324 жыл бұрын
Cassette Comeback they actually sound decent, its just that you have to turn the volume louder due to the lower playback level, so you get more hiss. Looking at it now its an MTV C-60 tape, and it says normal position, type 1 on the cassette.
@scaleop45 жыл бұрын
good vid again tony
@RightWing14 жыл бұрын
Back in the day even the Budget price Ferric Type 1's sounded better than any of those, but I rarely used anything other than TDK (SA, SA-X) or Metal, and sometimes BASF CrO2 / Maxell. Such a shame that these are not as readily available new nowadays but I suppose when tape sort of died then I can understand why Manufacturers didn't bother producing them anymore. I would like to ask though are new old stock TDK etc on eBay still usable or will the coating have deteriorated? If tape is in resurgence I may just hang on to my Pioneer CT656 3 head machine :)
@SimbaSeven.5 жыл бұрын
So, it really is the deck that makes the difference. Even on a crap tape. Could you try a Walmart Onn tape in a Dragon?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
A good deck can make the most a bad cassette, but a bad deck can't make the most of a good cassette. I tested the ONN in a different video and didn't rate it.
@jaimemarques48285 жыл бұрын
NAKAMICHI DRAGON the best deck the word..iam the NAKAMICHI CASSETE DECK 1...
@mikewhiles46354 жыл бұрын
Can you suggest anywhere that can service old cassette decks ? I have Sony, Pioneer band Yamaha. Many thanks and thanks for all the great reviews. 😎😎😎
@crucie755 жыл бұрын
really liked that audio track you used this time round, very catchy! unlike the tapes used to attempt a recording lol. great vid as always :)
@7272nighthawk5 жыл бұрын
ah the memories lol we had a box for :type 0 } tapes they went to use on the computer it turns out they tend to work quite well as DATA use tapes sometimes we might get duped into buying a 20 pack for a few bucks only to find out that they were only about 5 to 10 mins per side We found two good uses for them 1 the answering machine and 2 single play games for the computer it made loading games very quick and easy as you could just pop in a tape and blindly load it instead of having to use the counter to find it off a master tape !!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Yeah, the sine waves of data were fine for these, I used some to dupe games for friends.
@Henrydrn14 жыл бұрын
The Nakamichi decks that I have heard have a very high end sound that reminds me of very expensive British equipment. They're very accurate and "silky" and make most other equipment sound "harsh."
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
They earned their reputation for a reason.
@AVadim5 жыл бұрын
The drawback of Dragon developers is that there is no TAPE / SOURCE indicator.
@blaizejosh5 жыл бұрын
Can you please do a video on two cassette tapes comparison?: The vintage Laser computer cassette data tape made by Swire Magnetics which is a clone of the Eagle C-15 reel to reel blank cassette tape. Which cassette tape is going to be better? The Laser computer cassette data tape or the Eagle C-15 reel to reel blank cassette tape?
@wisteela5 жыл бұрын
That BASF really is impressive. Turns out I've got two of those International cassettes. One sealed, and found I've used one. It wouldn't rewind, so had I had to use my finger. The tape is in a right state. Turns out it was a test recording from a Fisherprice cassette recorder. Voice sounds ok(ish). I've noticed the Leda is UFO 1.
@daspolemon5 жыл бұрын
Do the type 0 cassettes leave more residue on the capstan, pinch roller, and tape heads? Are they more abrasive than the better quality tapes? Or is all that of no issue, and they just have a bad audio quality?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I guess they are over the long term, but since I don't use them, I can't confirm.
@CPUTests5 жыл бұрын
Those you've tested may be usable on ZX Spectrum games on tape and it has the risk of because of the dropouts the game may not load... Kkk. Tanks for the video. And remember to clean the heads of the beautiful Dragon after all those rubbish tapes had been inside. Best regards and pardon me for my poor english.
@jonasgustafsson97663 жыл бұрын
Still those sandpaper tapes would eventually destroy the heads.. why use crap tapes when you can other decent ones like late Tdk D
@vinylcity15995 жыл бұрын
1:45. The BASF shell looks just like the TDK D-90/60 shell!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
They're quite different in the flesh
@johanrbhallensjoberg4 жыл бұрын
What about Agfa-Gevaert AG's tapes? Any good?
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
Usually yeah. Early ones need to be stored well or can deteriorate.
@v-g-z36894 жыл бұрын
Yeah, agreed. AGFA is pretty much equal with BASF.
@teletronikoforever4 жыл бұрын
Pyral and Leda yes, are kinda usable; still pretty crappy though but compared to the "yellow hubs" Maxim these sounds 100 times better.
@GOGGLETUBESUCKS4UIC5 жыл бұрын
Does the Dragon have the pad lift mechanism? Are the cassettes more stable with less dropouts in the Dragon?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
It does, but I don't think that affects the dropouts, that's due to tape quality, but it does help when cassettes have poor pads in them.
@GOGGLETUBESUCKS4UIC5 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback That and closed loop dual capstans for more even tension.
@Synthematix4 жыл бұрын
The type zero tapes were manufacturing defects bought by the chinese in bulk and sold off cheap, sometimes replacing the pads makes a big difference
@BC-qb7tx5 жыл бұрын
Can you do some old super tapes? I have a few and they are not so bad. I see them on Ebay a lot.
@jasejj5 жыл бұрын
You need to do a video repairing the Yoko tape and testing it. You never know it could be a fantastic tape :)
@marcelovalenzuela51742 жыл бұрын
para deck como este , minimo un maxell UR60
@moshezaharia46665 жыл бұрын
Hi Tony! using the Dragon was very helpful in two ways: one: the visualization for the bias and level shows clearly why these "type 0" preforms so poorly. Two: It looks like your Dennon needs service, as it shouldn't get locked on some of the cassettes. maybe oxidization occurred on the trimmer pots that sets the bias and level. Best Regards, Moshe.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
There's no pots for the bias and level it's all automatic. I only used it as it was stuck in a cupboard... Which is where it had returned to.
@moshezaharia46665 жыл бұрын
Cassette Comeback Even when it’s automatic, there will be trimmer pots inside the deck, and these do go bad.
@vetaleumvision11614 жыл бұрын
Sony tc-k777?
@chevycaprice875 жыл бұрын
I have Mark II CHROM 60 tape that looks very similar to your Pyral C90 tape. Even that clean leader with printed words on it, in my Mark II its "CRO2" words. Mark II is German-made cassette with US-made tape in it (as written on J-card "by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Inc. Wilmington, Delaware/USA"). I recorded it with auto-BIOS, sounds like good chrome tape from 1970s.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I also got a couple more possible Type 0 "chrome" cassettes, that I'll do a separate video on.
@chevycaprice875 жыл бұрын
First test is a smell test :) My Mark II tape have very strong "sweet wax" smell 😀
@michaelh74535 жыл бұрын
I remember having some of those ITN casette tapes, they really were terrible at times they would just stop for no reason mid way through.
@roelc165 жыл бұрын
Thank you Tony for your second video about the Type 0 zero cassettes you tested earlier on your Denon deck. I love your channel and since I've discoverd it. I've learned A lot about cassette tapes (which are good and which not). I love your Dragon deck, but it's to expensive too buy. I currently owning a Yamaha KX-10 cassettedeck, but it sadly broke down. Now I'm in the market for an another cassettedeck. And I'm trying to buy a secondhand Sony TC-KA6ES cassettedeck and I'm hoping that I've got the highest bid. Is it a good three head cassettedeck in your opinion?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
If it works well, yeah, it's a good deck.
@roelc165 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback Thanks for your reply. Good to hear you like that cassettedeck. Now hoping that I get that deck. I will let you know if I got any luck.
@roelc165 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback I did not get that deck. But the good news: he is also maintenance an Sony TC-K808ES and that one is for me after he finished with maintenance that deck...
@nowt10025 жыл бұрын
I've got a few of those maxim tapes knocking about. They were pretty variable although all pretty terrible. I remember of them would barely even record, you had to turn it up full to even be able to hear it.
@v-g-z36894 жыл бұрын
The music you are using for recording the tapes sounds like it´s from around 2012/2013/2014! Is it?
@animeboyzx64034 жыл бұрын
Rocking the Seiko Arnie nice.
@simongallagher21775 жыл бұрын
Another great video, very entertaining viewing. That thing where you send a bunch of TDK MA's to the most prolific Facebook commenter, why not send a bunch of Taikaidos to the worst Facebook troll/biggest "Glory Hound" 😂😂😂
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I'd still have to pay for postage...
@kexthekool26824 жыл бұрын
There's another cassette in the style of Hi-Tech called Flyer. The Flyer Cassette is most probably the same quality as the Hi-Tech.
@grizzlyaddams36064 жыл бұрын
Oooo I just found an, "Atlantis". I'll bet it's a type 0?
@johnd16165 жыл бұрын
It’s amazing how many garbage tapes where out there.Its to bad you didn’t do a review of the Certron 90 mins tape.Here in America that tape is the biggest piece of garbage that was ever created.I think even on less expensive boomboxs it would case damage to the heads. Great video Tony🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
@Italodancer5 жыл бұрын
This is probably one reason why many people say how bad tapes is.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Certrons are not easy to get in the UK and the reputation they have is why I've never bothered. I never "bought" any of these, they either came in job lots or were gifted to me.
@johnd16165 жыл бұрын
Cassette Comeback They are garbage. Tony when I plug my iPhone X into my tape deck to record,when I set the levels on my tape deck,it also changes the volume on my receiver.My question is since my Pioneer isn’t a 3 head deck is the volume coming from my Pioneer deck or my Sony receiver?? Thanks,JOHN😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎
@josephfrye73424 жыл бұрын
yeah well, i am not gonna molest or trash my deck with type 0 cassettes it's too risky but I need specific type 1 2 3 or 4 control tape just incase such as tdk basf axia fuji etc for example. the type zero pyral is not a good sign but maybe I think well maxim knock off of maxell is an issue i would say.
@josephfrye73424 жыл бұрын
um high tech well that tape is not gonna pass though it will drop out. I see you crushed and destroy maxim xd cassette thank god but it depends if its 46 74 50 60 90 100 or 120 minutes for example
@richardhudson30145 жыл бұрын
Hey Tony do those cheap cassettes really do a good bias?because they sound horrible and way out of faze and really low output and they are very distorted so was it the other tape recorder or the tape I think it was the tapes!!!
@xsc10005 жыл бұрын
Some type 0 cassetes look quite old by design. So there is a question which year they were manufactured. Because if you take Maxell LN from end of 70s (also black box, Low Noise and CC logo) and compare it with Maxell LN from 90s, there will be a huge difference in sound quality. The cassete from 70s would sound like type 0 too. Maxell from end of 60s / beginning of 70s would sound horrible.
@tobymummert30355 жыл бұрын
Conclusion: The Dragon just simply kicked the Denon's ass!
@philmarriner53002 жыл бұрын
I used the Hi-tech for recording voice... Spanish language courses on in the early '90's. Only 1 tape survived and even that tape needed to be reshelled in a TDK Headcleaner cassette. Total waste of time, money and effort!
@Henrydrn14 жыл бұрын
I expected the Dragon and other Nakamichi decks to outperform "mass market" decks. I wasn't expecting the Nakamichi to sound so clearly to superior to a very expensive Revox that's built like a tank. The Revox sounded harsh when compared to the Nakamichi.
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
Must be something to do with KZbin and compression. The Revox is a wonderful deck, don't dismiss it without actually hearing one in person.
@Henrydrn14 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback I didn't mean to refer to Revox in a derogatory manner, it's a very serious deck. I have listened to comparisons on KZbin and to my ears, Nakamichi sounds better than the Revox. I listened through my integrated amplifier and good speakers, and to my ears, Nakamichi sounded more British. By British I mean a high end smooth, extended, "silky" yet lively and dynamic sound. Some electronics give the impression of good treble extension, but sometimes it is accentuated treble between 7 and 12 kHz. That's obviously different than treble that actually extends to 20 kHz or higher. I have a three head Nakamichi but don't have a Revox of similar capabilities to compare side by side.
@shaun91075 жыл бұрын
To ALL the Dragon haters , the final test is done
@rich_edwards795 жыл бұрын
Who in their right mind hates the Dragon? They might not be pretty (far from it) but they're the best decks ever made bar none in terms of sound quality, and that's what matters surely?
@shaun91075 жыл бұрын
@@rich_edwards79 I have had 2 haters so far . Ugly ??? no not with that contral panel
@previousslayer5 жыл бұрын
I surrender :D And it managed to pull all this without EQ calibration... were there really any decks out there with an *absolute full* set of features, like, 3 heads (obviously), auto cal and manual bias-level-EQ cal with a wide range, minimal increments and independent channel regulation, as well as all Dolbies available on the market, together with DBX... while having a neutral sound and a high (wink wink Sony) saturation ceiling? I don't think so 😄
@shaun91074 жыл бұрын
@David Simmons There is a lot of Dragons all different
@showstopperrob10975 жыл бұрын
Well maybe the Denon needs some new caps and a drop off oil. It's just a sugestion.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
I think it's heading for a new owner instead...
@showstopperrob10975 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback That's allso a posibity. Think you have a good variaty off Decks. Btw Did you downloaded the manual for your Revox, or have you bought one?
@demonufo5 жыл бұрын
Surprised to hear anybody accusing Pyral of being Type 0. They were actually a pretty big and respected French manufacturer. I suspect age is very much the issue here. Open reel users will be more familiar with the Pyral name, who were on a par with our british Zonal/Racal.
@previousslayer5 жыл бұрын
A funny bit I've observed recently... there was a Super Ferro XD tape available for some period of time probably in the early 80s that went under the brands: Magna, Zonal, BANF (!) and maybe something else. (Goes to prove those times could've been almost as crazy in Europe back then as they are to this day in China 😄) Some of it was "Made in Western Germany", some in England, some "in the U.K." I think. There was also an RKL DX with a similar shell that some chaps tested and compared to BASF ferrics of the cooking grade. Any thoughts Tony?
@Henrydrn14 жыл бұрын
I wish Nakamichi had made Dolby S deck. A deck equipped with Dolby S could theoretically outperform decks with Dolby C. Of course there's a difference between theory and real life. Could a Dolby S equipped deck from Sony ES, Teac, Aiwa or Yamaha outperform the Dragon?
@Mouse21135 жыл бұрын
Just show how quality of a basic type 1 from a known manufacturer is still far superior to some of the cheap and nasty stuff out there
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
That's it. Really makes you appreciate the main brands who never made stuff like this...
@Ale.K75 жыл бұрын
Thanks! :D
@Fluteboy5 жыл бұрын
Feed Sonya to the Dragon!
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Some people are never happy... 😀
@GeoNeilUK5 жыл бұрын
I have a feeling the LEDA might have been made in the Second World, there's just something Eastern European about that name.
@montynorth30095 жыл бұрын
Does the Nakamichi have auto bias calibration only,as distinct from some other decks ( like my Pioneer ) which calibrate using both bias and equalisation? Anyway,on any deck,auto calibration using bias only, which typically uses a 10khz tone to set the bias level for equal HF output between record and play,could result in under biasing on a poor quality tape coating with bad HF frequency response, resulting in low and middle frequency distortion. The best way to calibrate a tape is to set the bias level for maximum output level at around 400hz, then adjust the equalisation at 10khz to give the same output. Using this method guards against underbiasing with its associated distortion and dropouts. I wonder if Tony's Revox would give better results?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
There's no auto bias on the Dragon, it's manual, 400hz for level 15khz for bias. You want to hear these on the Revox now...are some of your ever happy?
@vinylcity15995 жыл бұрын
Most modern music has all this "auto tune" crap in the voice, to me "auto tune" sorta sounds like drop outs! Playing a cheap type 0 cassette on a good deck, is like playing a bad record on a good turntable! Neither is a good idea!
@Popart-xh2fd5 жыл бұрын
The Ahhhh moment...
@adrianezequielkabakian83174 жыл бұрын
Sería muy bueno tener los subtítulos en idioma Español.
@Schlipperschlopper5 жыл бұрын
Could you please try soviet russian Slavutisch and Svema tapes and hungarian Polymer as well as polish Stylon (communist era). Most them should work well due to their BASF/ AGFA and ORWO origin
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Not unless someone sends me some.
@kiirunavaara5 жыл бұрын
ACME of Hong Kong is probably the company behind all "real" type 0 tapes in this video: Hi-Tech, Maxim, ITN and even the white Tokaido. Well, sometimes I am not even sure whether it was Acme themselves or another Chinese factory that made an even worse copy of the typical Acme cassettes. I like your strategy to blow some life into type O cassettes by replacing the tape with something better. Done that a lot of times :-). The big problem here is that it isn't always worth the efforts, because the shells are so bad. You might get into all kind of trouble like channel imbalance, damadged tape edges, jamming... The other way round, the Pyral tape would probably behave more stable during calibration if it were put into a better shell (I think your one has a Saehan shell; these were not really top class by that time).
@jasejj5 жыл бұрын
I'm pretty sure Acme made kits, and the assembly was done by small back-street factories, by hand and using prison/child labour rather like batteries and toys. Later tapes (1990s) were much more consistent, but no better really. Kaytapes were a case in point; the tape itself maintained quite consistent quality but the shells got worse and worse over time; they clearly were using some of the kit components. The plastics used got steadily worse with imperfections in both the plastic colour and the moulding, with the write protect tabs becoming less and less square. They also started to omit components like the metal plate behind the pad, the guide rollers, leaving out the middle screw and even the slip sheet. But the tape itself remained rather better than some other type zeroes. It was clearly a race to the bottom once the Koreans started producing good, professional tapes at not much higher prices than the back-street HK shops... the type zeroes around 1988 were being pushed down to 20p per tape or less and became unviable. I remember some tapes branded "Economy" coming on the market in around 1989. One stall near me started selling them 10 for £1.39... C90 as well... Needless to say the quality was bad even by type zero standards, with two of the tapes in the pack I bought didn't even have the tape leader connected to the hub, and another one only around 25 minutes per side. There was at least three different types of tape stock within the single pack as well. I should have bought more and kept them for posterity...
@jonasgustafsson97664 жыл бұрын
Agreed. If you compare the Maxim LN with a Acme MS 400 you can see they are smular. (Except the paper label)
@TheJohnsoline4 жыл бұрын
@Cassette Comeback I want them type 0s. I've got some ideas to test on them. You should send me them and I'll send them back, I think I might be able to make them pin.
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
I gave them away months ago
@TheJohnsoline4 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback Oh that sucks. If you come across any more let me know if you're interested in parting with them for a little while. I've got a recording rig set up with some "home-engineered" features. The only "type 0" looking cassette I have sounds almost like a chrome, but you know how every once in a while a bad looking tape can have some magic inside. I'll keep looking around for some crappy tapes because I got a theory to test. Hey thanks for the response, that's the mark of a good channel.
@v-g-z36894 жыл бұрын
@@TheJohnsoline That sounds quite intersting. Have you heard about "Windsor" tapes? I recently bought them in Austria, regularly in a shop, the owner told me that they were newly avaliable. I bought a pack of 5 and think the fall into the modern type 0 category from the look they got. Will be interesting to see how they do! I have no idea where they come from though...
@TheJohnsoline4 жыл бұрын
@@v-g-z3689 Never heard of them, then again, I don't live in Europe
@dean68165 жыл бұрын
Do cassette ever suffer from sticky tape syndrome?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Yes
@nicktsoulli17965 жыл бұрын
So nope hope with these tapes unless you have a really good deck. But most of them are a bit variable. it's tapes like this that gave cassettes a bad name.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
Yeah, they are...and they're still being made in China 😥
@strangers53839 ай бұрын
Dragon slayers! )
@sfij14 жыл бұрын
Okay, the Nakamichi Dragon as a professional deck can do acceptable records on these, but a used Dragon costs $2500 today. Consider if that would brand new you might spend $7000-$8000 for one. If You can afford that amount of money for a deck probably You won't fed this beast with tapes of ¢50
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
Indeed...but people seem to like to see decks like this being punished.
@jrmcferren5 жыл бұрын
Some of those sound like they won't be useful in a shoebox recorder, let alone for music, especially if you are distorting at 0.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
They actually aren't that bad as most cassettes sound crap in a mono shoebox...
@CannondaleCAAD5 жыл бұрын
You should make a Discord server my mate. Also I would never play any of those crap tapes in my main deck.
@UtkarshAmitabhSrivastava5 жыл бұрын
You mean discord?
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
You're not the first person to say this, but with this channel, my Facebook pages and groups and business emails I'm pretty swamped to add a discord server on top of it... I'd never get any family time 😁
@CannondaleCAAD5 жыл бұрын
@@UtkarshAmitabhSrivastava yea sorry lol
@CannondaleCAAD5 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback well if you ever do consider making a discord I would manage it and make it look pretty. Also do you own any walkmans?
@micheltremblay47744 жыл бұрын
I would not slip one of those tapes in my Nakamichi Dragon. I would get a cheapo cassette deck from any Trift store to give them a try.
@CassetteComeback4 жыл бұрын
But then the video wouldn't be as appealing as, before watching, secretly, a lot want to see the dragon suffer and break...
@micheltremblay47744 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback As long as it is not mine that breaks, not everybody fix them. My initial Dragon failed when it was about a month old and Nakamichi Japan replaced it with a new unit.
@TheMentalblockrock5 жыл бұрын
Your source track isn't perhaps the best test as with all the effects on it the vocals and other instruments it sounds quite fuzzy and sibilant with a soft treble even from the source.
@CassetteComeback5 жыл бұрын
It honestly doesn't matter with these. You could get Sir Georg Solti directing the Berlin Symphonietta into an army of Telefunken microphones, and it would still sound crap on these.
@TheMentalblockrock5 жыл бұрын
@@CassetteComeback Looking at the meters it is evident that the KZbin library tracks you use are all modern mastering style brickwall limited. For a 1970's or 80's cassette it would be a much better test to record from a comtemporary source such as a vinyl record or a CD from the 70's or 80's. There would be much more dynamic range in the music and fature many more organic natural sounds than the synthetic dance tracks you record. This would be a much better test for the accurate audio reproduction performance of these cassettes. Use them to record the sources they were intended for. please??