Philips MCII & UCII Type 2 Pure Chrome Cassettes - Are They Faulty, Or Just Hard Work?

Sometimes it's an art to get a good recording on a cassette. Not all decks can handle it. Here we look at some of the hardest cassettes to calibrate and how once a good recording is made, it will sound good on any working deck afterwards.
CASSETTE DECKS USED: Technics RS-BX505 & Nakamichi DR-10
If you'd like to purchase cassettes shown in this video, visit my online store at:
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[@gctechs]

Just put a piece of a sticky tape over the type 2 indication hole if your deck doesn't support manual tape type selection.

[@GrubyTolek]

"These cassettes remind me of a girl"... This channel in a nutshell. I love the personal touch in these videos. Keep it up man.

[@macelius]

"They're temperamental, fiery almost. You need a deck with lots of calibration functions to get the most out of them." That analogy was pure gold.

[@emanueltomasini9947]

"I dont't know, I don't care", smashing tapes, ripp open sealed 1985 tapes. I love you man. Things are ment to use. :-)

[@CassetteComeback]

There'll be many more ripped open before I'm done 😁

[@davidhunt240]

I'm starting to realise from watching lots of videos on cassette recording that many folk collect cassettes without ever recording on them. To me it feels like the folk who buy action figures and never open the box. On a slightly different note, I've seen lots of videos of mouldy TDK cassettes, it seems to affect many different generations of cassette. Is it worth buying NOS TDK?

[@CassetteComeback]

I don't buy a lot of TDK NOS, sight unseen, as I've been burned. They haven't aged well. And yes, in some respects cassettes are like works of art, that area appreciating in price and won't be made like this again, so I understand collectors. Not everything has to be used as intended, look at all those multimillion pound cars...

[@friendstype25]

I really enjoy your videos. I bought myself a tape deck a while back to listen to all my old recordings and ever since then AARP won't stop soliciting me offers. I promise I'm not that old!

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

Your channel is amazing! Thank you for teaching us all about how wonderful cassettes still are!

[@grasssnake7190]

Loved it, loved it, loved it, I'm definitely investing in a higher end cassette deck for recording, and use my current deck for replay, great and informative 👍👍

[@JamesE707]

I first started getting into cassette tape during April 1973. I was hooked, loved the small convenient format. I just wish I had looked after my old 1973 TDK SD C90 tapes, I've still got them but they could be in better condition. The next exciting move was Chromium Dioxide tapes - wow, I recall all the hype and excitement, and later there was FeCr, which I still have one - (my Dad's) a Sony FerroChrome tape. When I get some time, I'll dig all this out again (in boxes) for my own interest! I have perhaps hundreds of cassette tapes. I was a bit of a 'sad' collector really. :D Also have a Revox A77 reel to reel. Regards James.

[@Seven-ny6rq]

I bought a three pack of these Philips UC-II’s back in 1986. The deck I had at the time was an Akai HX-A3... not a fancy deck with bias adjustment or calibration, just a very simple Dolby B/C deck. I always wondered at the time why the recordings I got from these tapes sounded different to other tapes I was using like TDK SA’s. The recordings didn’t sound bad, just a little more middle coming through than I was use to. Like you say in this video the tape noise was very low compared to some other brands. I’m going to dig those old UC-II’s out and have a listen back. Thanks for this very interesting video Tony 👍

[@trippmoore]

you've been waiting 33 years to figure that out!

[@Uberhood]

I know you want to keep it as simple as possible for beginner audience, but just for the record: 17:44 -> Recording a Type II cassette as Type I cassette on an Deck with an Automatic Cassette Type mechanism is still possible; just cover the complete Tabs with tape etc. and your tapedeck will be fooled into thinking you're using a Type 1 cassette. In any case -> Thanks for your great insights!

[@CassetteComeback]

Sure. To be honest, I only did it for show, I normally record them as a Type 2.

[@Stoney3K]

@@CassetteComeback I'd be curious if that UC-II would auto-cal if you run it as a type I in the Technics. Right now you recorded it as a ferric and played it back as a chrome with 70us of EQ right?

[@wasimmogul4225]

Very informative Tony, good tips on BIAS adjusting.

[@75eszhgclk]

Some very valid points made here Tony.

[@eelcovvliet]

Tony, love your channel, I have About 180 tapes from my youth. Mostly Sony UX-s, Maxell xlI and Philips ultra Chrome. I think I have About 30 of these ultra chromes and they worked well on both philips and teac decks These ultra Chromes are already in the 1983 brochure and lasted a few years.

[@previousslayer]

IIRC, the older Japanese decks (think 70s and very early 80s) often had a tape type knob and an EQ knob. This meant you could select "Type II at 120 us", not just "Type I" 😄, and this is how (I believe) prerecorded chromes were duplicated. Maybe a deck like that could also tame this naughty kind of pure chrome? Another point is that while many of such decks didn't have Type IV support, they did have Type III 😃 And where I live, they're defo cheaper than the fancy 3 headers with fully packed manual cal.

[@nakamichi682zx]

Yup, having manual control over tape type as well as having at least bias or full manual calibration eventually could only be found on Nak and TASCAM.

[@willem-jandijke3120]

Hi Toni, I’ve seen many of your video’s already and really like them. It must be round 1986 when I got my Akai GX-A5 cassette deck, biased up for Maxell UD I for type 1 cassettes and TDK SA for type 2 cassettes. Since I love variety, like you do, I bought different cassettes for different sorts of music. Indeed, I noticed that Philips UC II cassettes sounded pretty dull (I never owned MC II cassettes). Thanks to this video I tried to play them back with the tapeselector switched on normal bias type 1. This made a real difference: much better sound without notable noise! So thanks for this advice!

[@nakamichi682zx]

Fantastic video as usual Tony!! Wow, it a while since I went on Tape Heads. These pure atural chromes are glorious but I have very few decks that can make the most of them. I like them due that unbelievably low noise floor. My Alpage AL-50 does a fine job with BASF pure chromes of the same era. These are a bit more idiosyncratic. Then it has to be a Nak 682ZX, and Alpage AL-300. Quite true about Auto Cal dropping the ball more often than not. Superb work Tony. These videos you make are becoming a major reference for enthusiasts.

[@CassetteComeback]

I always enjoyed reading your posts, but I think I'm a "dirty word" on that forum...even though I spend hundreds sponsoring it 😁 You should join our Facebook group "Blank Audio Cassettes" your knowledge would go down well there.

[@davek12]

I'm glad that you talk about the smell. New cassettes smelled good just like a freshly opened roll of film did. You could tell brands and so on by smell.

[@bloxyman22]

Too bad that is not the case with the modern maxell UR.... Literally smells like nothing

[@mikafoxx2717]

I remember the first time I heard a pure chrome tape.. last year. It was a recording on an early 80's basf tape recording the radio (also in the 80's).. I couldn't believe it wasn't a live local station.. after a while of playing I noticed the smell and those two factors got me to google what the heck was going on.. learned that almost all "chrome" tapes were actually cobalt. I wonder what tapes my Pioneer CT-F950 was calibrated with.. especially since it's the only deck I've ever seen with all four tape types.

[@markstewart1807]

Great video and love the analogy ❤️👍

[@santiagobeneth8543]

I don't know about these, but back in 2000 I tried every brand of Type II chrome tape that was available in my area; Sony, TDK, BASF, Panasonic (I know there were many more but I can't remember now) etc, but a Philips CD Extra with a translucent gray casing and silver letters was *by faaar* the best I've tried in my whole journey as a tape user.

[@sc0or]

There could be reason. Tdk, Maxell, Sony... ended in 90s. So, you couldn’t find a good one. However, the cassette you’ve mentioned is still surprisingly expensive. I have to try it out ) PS I’m afraid “with silver letters” was a Type I Philips. It’s sad. I don’t listen to Type I tapes.

[@wrestletube1]

Wow that Phillips worked as a great Chrome 120. Just shows that Chrome 120 can sometimes be or is by default a greater audio format than Chrome 70 or Ferric 120 if recorded perfect. Wow I would love to see Chrome 120 mode Vs Chome 70 on Chrome tapes a bit more in Chrome showcase videos after this. See if all the Chromes can handle both the Chrome 70 & Chrome 120 benchmarks.

[@TigerSystemProject]

Great deck. I have the same. I bought a year ago for $ 10 in excellent form. I also have problems with ATC cassettes from Fuji FR II, Axia J'z II, Basf Chrome Super II, Philips CD Chrome. Metal type cassettes such as TDK MA calibrates normally.

[@CassetteComeback]

Have you given it a clean and demagnetise recently? Inside every deck are internal calibration pots. It could be maybe that the last owner had the deck set up for a specific cassette. Also, if your azimuth is not aligned, that could cause issues with ATC too.

[@jacobbellwood6184]

I recently picked up a Tandy brand realistic SCT 72 and so far it records well on type 1 and 2 for what I put on them even though it doesn't have the calibration or bias, it has the buttons for going up to type 4 but for all the recording I will do I don't need type 4 and the recordings I make work reasonably well in all my walkmans. When I record a tape for someone, I'll play it in 2 Walkmans for reasonable sound quality before handing the tape over.

[@MrocznyTechnik]

PHILIPS cassette with straight (no Philips) screws. LOL

[@michaelkeeling4385]

Philips from Netherlands didn't have anything to do with Philips head screw heads I thought they were related but are totally different companies

[@philyvo]

You were screwed over by the invisible L: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_F._Phillips

[@anthonyperkins7556]

As Philips had a hand in Du Pont they allowed Philips to use pure chromdioxide formula on its cassettes, but no other manufacturer, apart from BASF. The other manufacturers had to formulate their own tape formulas which perform in a similar way to Type 2 cassettes.

[@Dan-TechAndMusic]

Fairly sure Sony also had access to Chromium Dioxide, otherwise they couldn't make their FeCr tapes. But they might have been one of the only, if not _the_ only Japanese tape manufacturer that had access to true CrO2.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

​​@@Dan-TechAndMusic Du Pont were very particular, in whom used it's chromium recording tape coating technology, and those companies who didn't have a licence from the Du Pont chemical company to manufacture chromium recording tape, often had to come up with their own Type II tape formulae and formulations, would which gave very similar performance to chromium recording tape. But as we all know, there are many different qualities of recording tape, and as a result, some of the equivalent Type II's, in performance terms, did so much better than other brands.

[@danielesbordone1871]

Didn't know that Philips cassettes were made by Dupont. Interesting information.

[@philyvo]

Also, PDM: Philips DuPont Magnetics :)

[@david9572]

I think your right Tony, it's half the enjoyment trying to achieve a good recording with a difficult tape. I never managed to find any of these back in the day but experienced similar results with Agfa CDX11S. Maybe they were a similar formulation?

[@amazinganimallearningandfu3842]

love to see what the B215/ZX9/Cr7/Dragon would make of these beastly cassettes! Technically, why would putting in a type 2 on a type 1 setting work better? Is 120 micro seconds essentially more bias, than what 70 can muster? I wonder what the technical reason is for this. Anyway, great video AS ALWAYS!

[@chadjcrase]

Great video and this has inspired me to have another try with my ICM Superchrom's which I assumed were just too degraded to be useful (they are probably from around 1980 I guess). I think the lessons from these Philips here could apply to those chrome tapes as well. It feels wrong not being able to get a tape to play back above 0dB, but it shouldn't really.

[@CassetteComeback]

Nothing wrong with 0db on these as the noise floor is so low

[@command8783]

Thank you for your content. I've only been using 2 head decks; a nak bx-150e and some midrange double deck by pioneer from '85. Do you have any recommendations for 3 head decks with calibration? Thank you and please keep making these videos, they are highly beneficial for beginners such as myself.

[@CassetteComeback]

@Command8 Glad you like them, you guys are what I do them for really, the other guys already know this stuff. Unless you know what you're doing with maintenance, there are 3 things you need to focus on when buying a deck: 1. Condition 2. Condition 3. Condition :-) I'd rather have a lower spec deck, that has come from the original owner and has been looked after, than a TOTL deck that's been bought from a house clearance with an unknown past. As regards to 3 headers, honestly, never met a bad one. Out of preference, look for ones which have a "bias" and a seperate "level" knob as these will allow you to manually adjust the level and bias. Better ones, have in build tones and a visual display, so you know you've got it right. Others have auto cal, but personally, I prefer VU meters and my ears. The bargains are the late Aiwa 3 headers in my book, like my AD-S950. Aiwa is perceived as cheap, even tough they were owned by Sony at this time. They are late, so low usage, but also not prized as vintage...this means they go for great prices. I even managed to change the belts in mine, which is all that needed doing to it, as they're eady to work on. Yes, they don't sound like a Dragon, but then again nothing else does. All I know is that I've recorded hundreds of cassettes in my Aiwas and it was trouble free, with great results....and my favourite portables are Aiwa too. Very underrated brand. You want something that weighs a ton, go buy some bricks :-)

[@Sinhalayaki]

Another informative video-thanks for this! I'd love to see you do one to instruct beginners how to do quality recordings....do all 3 head cassette decks have the necessary controls to do quality recordings? I have an eye on a Denon DRM 800

[@CassetteComeback]

I've done a video like this, check out the rest in the channel.

[@BlaBla-jj6sh]

I have a Denon DRM800 myself. While that deck does not have Dolby S or level calibration, it does have bias level control and my experience is that it is not a very finicky deck either. It will pretty much accept anything you throw at it without hassle. It's also built to last. Mine is from 1991, used to be from my older brother but was always mostly used by me and it has never had any problems whatsoever - even when I stowed it away for a couple of years. I've never even had it serviced. In other words: this one's a workhorse and you should definitely have one alongside your überdeck with Dolby S, full calibration control etc. My überdeck is a Sony TC-K920KBS from the QS range from the late nineties, basically a rebadged ES deck. The Sony and the Denon work very nicely together. After calibration etc. the Sony is better, but it doesn't like all tapes so they then get a second life in the Denon. And I'm perfectly happy with the results the Denon gives me.

[@TheFilwud]

I remember that pure chrome tape is harder on your heads than cobalt treated ferric, they are more abrasive. Glad I stuck with my TDK tapes over the years since new heads are no longer being manufactured, well I did until I switched to minidisc.

[@gregkarris6869]

All these years and i never knew anything about "Tape Calibration" - still don't know why. All we did in the 80's was tape our new expensive CD's onto BASF Chrome tapes to throw into our Walkmans while away at college walking around Campus..

[@CassetteComeback]

Snap

[@robni7]

Hi Tony, I really like the song you played at 15:00, but I couldn't find it on your bandcamp or in the youtube library... Can you tell me where I can find it? Cheers EDIT: Found it, it's called “The Emperor’s Army” by Jeremy Blake ;)

[@seacampal1425]

Interesting video! I still have two unopened BASF chrome cassettes... I will try them in my Nak BX 300 AND in my JVC KD-A7 who can record on all types even Ferrochrome. By the way, i have recorded a Sony Type 3 on Ferrochrome position with this deck and it sounds like heaven when the tape is played back on type one position.

[@CassetteComeback]

If it sounds good, then it is good 👍

[@Fluteboy]

16:57 - The Sagitarius of the cassette world, then!

[@farchmarch7043]

I used to have both, mid 80’s: believe me, they sounded terribly good on my mother’s Akaï 2 heads tape deck; they’re NOT easy to find new nowadays, for good reasons…

[@GustoTheGamer]

Please review The Philips type 3 tapes!,

[@nicktsoulli1796]

Picked one of these UC-II's from you. They are pretty special really happy my Technics RS-BX727 deck can calibrate it as a type 1 or 2 them. I did a mod to this deck to enable it to put out the proper levels to Metal tapes, when i re calibrated it I set it so the UC was in the rec sensitivity/level adjustment. So i can monitor recoding perfectly. I wish there was more of them you could buy cheep but this is why they probably didn't make many. This also begs the question being so down on level like many real chrome tapes, whats the longevity like as on tape head many suspect that the levels where much better back in the day and he tapes may be ageing badly.

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah, I think they are slowly decaying, but hey, it took them 30 years to get to this level, and still work. I have SD cards that didn't last 18 months...

[@seacampal1425]

Yes it's an art to get a good record on cassette. Especially put some hi-res source on them like SACD's and compared to the CD format... The analog warmth IS also THE art in them!

[@seand67]

Thanks for the warning

[@harrystevens3885]

Best with 120us and chrome bias setting both independent settings and only available on certain decks and a lot different from the single button push type 1 setting . True chrome tapes where the most misunderstood tapes by the consumer even in the eighties.

[@CassetteComeback]

Agreed. I remember buying Chrome Extra 2 to use in my boomboxes in the late 80s, thinking they sounded dull and never buying BASF again... That's why pure chrome are such a delight to use now.

[@lesrogers7310]

I have one of those RS-BX501's and I have to say it's very good considering a it's only 2-head. Auto-calibration works well on it for 99% of tapes that I've tried.

[@CassetteComeback]

It's very good with most tapes, but these aren't most tapes 😁

[@kelvingreen3736]

I had one of these RS BX501 decks as my first proper cassette deck in the late 90’s. Loved it. Gave it away more 10 years ago now. But have a Yamaha KC 393 deck which I prefer for its great playback. Edit. I also had the gold Philips tape back in the day about 85 and although I only had cheap crappy “music centres” to use it with it sounded great. Was that the intention? Make a tape that sounds ok on cheap equipment?

[@josephfrye7342]

those are Magnavox phillips alright but I kinda missed finding them though but eh you will demonstrate em ;)

[@jonathanzohany1454]

This video is exactly why i have three 4 tracks in my home studio. All 2 of them had pristine transports and heads and i dont want to wear one out doing all my work on one deck. I do however only have 1 mixdown deck (Tascam 112rmkii) which i got also almost new and its a great 3 head late gen deck. I should just get a regular 2 head deck for listening and leave the tascam for studio work only

[@CassetteComeback]

If you record it well, most decent decks do a good job of playing it back, so why put the hours on more complex decks for playback only.

[@davidhunt240]

I have experienced a weird problem with the Philips MC-II. I took the recording I made of The Brandenburg Concertos and put it into my ancient Panasonic RQ-S80 "Walkman" and walked to the gym, I noticed a strange echo in the recording, most noticeable during the silent gaps between tracks, I could hear the track start at least three times before the track actually started. I tried the tape back at home on a few different decks and they all have the same problem. It seems these old pure chrome tapes suffered from this problem where the ferric/cobalt types did not. I wonder if there is any way to stop this from happening? According to Wikipedia, this problem is due to the large crystal size (which also explains the lack of >14kHz)

[@CassetteComeback]

Wikipedia is right. This has happened on many pure chromes I've used too. Not a big problem except for silent bits.

[@lucianisvoranu7013]

You should try also on a deck with FeCr Type III position!!! Or on a Nak with manual bias at 120µs and Chrome position!!! (Y)

[@davidhunt240]

It really, really doesn't like Type III - the sound is very distorted and thin. After tape calibration distortion creeps in at about -10dB and the tape sounds a bit thin. I've had more luck with cobalt doped ferric on Type III (just for a laugh, no-one would seriously use that mode) it gives a heavy bass and a crisp treble at the expense of the entire mid-range...

[@seantweedie9268]

I want to ask will you do video on Fuji cassettes?

[@CassetteComeback]

Oh yeah. Really like Fuji. I covered the FRI-Super in my Type 1 video, but will do more.

[@paulb4uk]

I have never seen these philips tapes i did often usedthe Philips FE-I range of type 1.s and i has a phillips fs that i assume is an skc

[@jeremytravis360]

This is very sound advice. When I made a recording on my top end cassette decks I never played them back on the same machine. Why wear out a good deck when you can get buy with a cheaper one. This is the argument for having more than one cassette decks. I'm not sure about your analogy though as I think most people might say it's not very PC. I used to make other analogies usually relating cars or other inanimate objets or possessions. i.e. I wouldn't were a £50,000 diamond ring every day I would were a cheaper one.

[@CassetteComeback]

“The term "political correctness" has always appalled me, reminding me of Orwell's "Thought Police" and fascist regimes.” ― Helmut Newton

[@jeremytravis360]

Yes I know what you mean, I have been married for 46 years and all I know is if you make a comment concerning women and relationships a lot of people will come back at you.@@CassetteComeback

[@JamesE707]

I have a Nakamichi DR10, and I can say that the variation in available bias is rather small for each tape type setting. I wonder if these Philips tapes can be tuned by (say) a Revox B215?

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah, it's not massive on the DR-10. Don't own a Revox, so can't say.

[@philyvo]

@@CassetteComeback How about it Tony? You d o own one now! ;)

[@wrestletube1]

I'm actually looking forward to the stack of sealed 10 EMI Supers from the UK if you are massicrist enough for the £80 price tag as well as it being a UK based tape too. I'm thinking about it from the logical standpoint that EMI of Feltham were an actual recorded media company so might actaully perform the goods and Queen themselves may have even used them for Demos. It would mean a good reliable UK made tape to add to the lists if it does deliver. Mine if I fixed them with new tape parts might not sound as good as a brand new stack so I remember them as not delivering in sound but delivers in looks becaause of how batterered they are so they sound crap anyway battered. lol.

[@willem-jandijke3120]

One more question, would this also be your advice for BASF chromium dioxide cassettes from round the mid eighties?

[@CassetteComeback]

Probably, as my observation is that single layer pure chrome are deteriorating and getting harder to make good recordings on now a days.

[@davidhunt240]

I wonder if the MC-II identifies itself as pure Chrome by mentioning CrO2 on the label? I noticed the UC-II doesn't mention it. I'll have to pick up one of these pure-Chrome tapes for a challenge!

[@CassetteComeback]

These sort the men out from the boys...

[@DeAudiofilosyLocos]

I remember having problems

[@djstephennicholls]

That's interesting. I have a JVC KD-A77 and basf pure chromes like cr-e sound terrible on chrome position however if I change it to type 3 ferro chrome setting they sound amazing.

[@CassetteComeback]

Interesting...

[@djstephennicholls]

@@CassetteComeback also then I change the eq to +2 as the jvc deck doesn't have manual bias only manual eq. I'm getting a denon drm24hx which has record calibration on it so looking forward to doing some tests

[@Rockit66]

OK, kinda lost her. I have a UC version now, and did you say that recording in a type 1 position was the best result? I have a 3 head Sony TC K490.

[@olaniyi570]

My nak bx-150 is extremely flexible when it comes to different tapes. It doesn't have any calibration capability not even bias . So I don't know how it does it.

[@CassetteComeback]

Some decks are just good...

[@coffeehigh420]

I love the sauce

[@82abn34]

thanks

[@berndp3426]

These chrome dioxides are no longer a question I assume. The production of pure chromedioxide particles was a licensing thing and the former BASF who invented this type of tape (now EMTEC) does no longer produce it natively. SONY as well has obtained a license for it but does no longer produce cassettes. And as well it is now very hard to find any Type II cassettes meanwhile. The market simply and already ran out of raw material to be confectionated. Which is sad. So, we either have to wait until these patents expire or try to find manufacturers who still produce the cobaltparticles, coated with thinnest cromedioxide layers. (the so-called chrome-substitutes). Quiet tapes: The smaller and denser the actual particles are, the quieter is a tape. But there are different characteristics with each tape, which heavily affects the BIAS-level to be used on it (or which can be used with). A higher bias saturation ability causes a tape to take up higher levels initially. Tapes saturating at lower biases are therefor unable to take up higher recording levels.

[@olaniyi570]

Azimuth alignment can be a real issue when playing back a tape made on another deck no matter how good the initial recording, no?

[@CassetteComeback]

Oh yeah. That's why whenever you get a deck back from service that's be all calibrated, make a cassette with test tones on and one with a song you know well. Then you can calibrate your other decks azimuths to it by ear. Do it at your own risk though :-)

[@xxxsale007xxx]

If you look at both together @ kzbin.info/www/bejne/namqq6iigqeSj8U the UCII seems to be a liitle bit more like dark brown from the side while the MC II ist totaly black -> pure chrome. Can it be that it is ferric doped chrome tape ??? Something simular like FeCr? That would explain why it could be recorded as a type I cassette.

[@davidhunt240]

Oooooooooh! this Philips MC-II doesn't like it hot and saturates easily, it has a weirdly soft rounded sound, once calibrated. A very listenable sound, echoes of instruments fade to inky darkness. My guess the chrome particles on this tape are quite large as the high frequency roll off is very obvious. I have to take the response curve on the box with a pinch of salt, the +5dB nope, it is well into saturation, a few excursions to +2dB doesn't bother it much. I was thinking of finding some music that suited its rounded sound and chose the Dunedin Consort's interpretation of J.S. Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos taken from a 24 bit / 192kHz master recording. It certainly shaves some of the sharp edges from the sound :) The only problem I've had is that the transport is leaving a mark on the tape, it only affects this tape and no other, maybe this MC-II is getting to the end of its life. It doesn't sound like it is affecting the recording, I just hope it isn't filling the deck with chromium dioxide! (thankfully it is chromium (IV) so I'm not going to die) Just taken my headphones off after a session with this tape and the cassette makes a lot of noise during rewind. The shell is cheap, I think that is where the BASF's of the same era have it beaten. Shaking the cassette, it is clearly not of great build and the felt pressure pad can move around... So much for the "ultra precision mechanism" - I bought it as a challenge and I agree this is a tape for classical/jazz/choral as it is inky quiet and has a good response in the low and medium frequencies. Just for a laugh I tried Dolby-C, in a word, nope... :P

[@rationalrabbit797]

Is not the low hiss simply the inevitable result of the low playback levels? Low signal - low hiss? Or am i missing something? I am guessing that the tape was not manufactured properly, and that the oxide coating was laid down too thin. This would mean a low playback level and low hiss level. It would also make them very hard to bias.

[@lucas1prime]

I would recommend Yamaha KX 493 instead of Technics if you want a 2head reliable deck...The ATT is very efficient on this one!!! (Y) Or Technics RS-BX 727 if interested only in tape response & calibration!

[@CassetteComeback]

I don't have a Yamaha deck, but have great respect for the brand. I quite fancy a 6 or 9 series 3 header.

[@lesrogers7310]

Amongst my deck collection I have a KX-580. It's a great sounding deck and it has Yamaha's 'PlayTrim' which tweaks the top end. The only downside really is the build quality which is not that great. The tape door is a well documented weak point on these, it feels flimsy and doesn't align with front panel very well.

[@larryhazelwood5491]

Use thetechnics rs-b905 or 965 3 head technics decks.

[@NJRoadfan]

I have come across a Type II mystery tape that acts like the MCII. Its a mystery because its a 1990 BMW New Owner Program cassette in a duplicator shell. BMW decided to spend the extra money and go Type II with their demo and instruction tapes. Sadly the original recordings are crap and over-modulated (there are examples from the tape on youtube). Anyway, since it was a Type II, I wanted to see what quality I could get out of it. Had to crank down the bias as per my deck's calibration meters and crank up the recording level to get it at 0dB compared to other tapes I have. There is no country of origin on the tape, so I have no clue where BMW might has sourced the tape. It could be pure chrome for all I know. It just reminded me of this video with how much of a pain it was to calibrate and make a decent recording.

[@CassetteComeback]

If it's BMW, chance are it will be a BASF or AGFA pure chrome. Have a sniff, see if it smells of crayons.

[@NJRoadfan]

@@CassetteComeback Good thing nobody is around to see me sniffing random cassettes. They have a very faint smell of crayons.

[@NJRoadfan]

After the smell test, I decided to tackle getting a recording on this tape. Seems that keeping it below 0dB is best as it quickly distorts over that.

[@paulgoudfrooij6561]

So basically, that UC-II acts pretty much like a FeCr.

[@MrRonaldHB]

Looking at my old cassettes, I have several UC-II's but they behave very differently. One of them is a very old fashioned chrome, almost impossible to calibrate, very very muffled on a deck without calibration facilities. The other UC-II's are much more aligned with contemporary type II's and sounds lively and bright. Both smell 'crayony'. The MC-II's do not, but behave much the same as the 'good' UC-II's. It also found some in my recently acquired lots, will be nice do some tests in my Nakamichi CR-4.

[@jasejj]

So, the obvious question is: how does the Technics perform in the UC if you tape over the type II slot on the top of the tape?

[@CassetteComeback]

I don't know. You've got me thinking now...

[@BigKelvPark]

It probably won't make any difference - EQ 70 or 120 play no part in the calibration process. Best regards.

[@CassetteComeback]

If you say so Big Kelv, that's good enough for me to not bother trying.

[@killmore75]

would be nice to see a back light on the deck : (

[@CassetteComeback]

Check my video on BASF Metal Maxima. I use an open well there with a backlight 😃

[@larryhazelwood5491]

On technics decks you should record 4-6 db.

[@gregornu]

Where are these Philips cassette tapes made? In Austria or the Netherlands? The Dutch factory was in Oosterhout: www.bndestem.nl/oosterhout/wil-de-laatste-pdm-er-het-licht-uitdoen~a87903cb/ en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_Media_Group_International?wprov=sfla1

[@ShawnTewes]

15:00 Type II recorded on type I setting; if you cover the detection holes to get the Technics to play as type I, I reckon you could get that to really sparkle even more. I assume this is a similar technique used by mass produced commercial tapes that used chrome tape stock at 120 us for playback at normal setting?

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah. Supposedly pure Chromes were initially designed to work at 120 microseconds, so they would be compatible with all decks, it's the FE/Co Type 2 that NEED 70 microseconds.

[@Schlipperschlopper]

My Revox B215 cant bias it and my Sony TC.K950Es too :-))) This tape seems to need a Philips or Marantz deck. (No Problems with ORWO / Dessauer, BASF Chrome or Agfa!) I think Philips missed the formula...

[@CassetteComeback]

Pleasure and pain. If you can get your deck to work with these, they are amazing...but it's hard work to get your deck to work with them.

[@batteryman2852]

daang. that gold colored cassette almost sounds cd quality. if not equal.

[@troyconnolly9053]

Has any one used Philips UCX / MCX I think they are the same deal as these ones . Better looking ICM shell

[@dantevortex]

So the tape on these actually is different in a bunch of ways. And decks from, let's say 10 years after these were made cannot cope with them for some reason unless you have a deck that allows you to do everything manually. I wonder what happens if you put these tapes into a no nonsense ~1980 machine which has no fancy crap added to it, just good to honest recording, and then see what happens.

[@CassetteComeback]

They sound dull an quiet. I can't believe that they were like this when new 35 years ago, otherwise anyone who bought them would have returned them to the store. I think they've degraded over the years. Some people say they've never experienced this with pure chromes, but...

[@ciprianwinerElectronicManiac]

This kind of reminds me of pure Chrome BASF tapes like the Chrome Super and Chrome Extra and Chromdioxid :)

[@CassetteComeback]

Yeah, but these are even harder to get a good recording on than the BASF 😀

[@trippmoore]

Liked just for your accent.

[@dubious3749]

So these are cassettes with borderline personality disorder? Cool!

[@codebeat4192]

Not only the tapes of Philips were bad in this era, also the decks when you buy it now (second hand), be aware! Construction wise fine however the materials, kind of plastics they have used at time, bad choice. Cheesy gears, gummy gears used to reduce the noise of the mechanism however degrade, perish (broken tooth) over time and not easy to fix (because there are no spare parts except 3D printed ones that are pretty expensive). That is what you got when you bought Philips, the inventor of the cassette tape and mechanism. A shame, a real shame, others did it better. After the 70's, at the end of the 80's something started to change, use the quality brand to sell production costs reducing/cheaply made products. Still the same today or even worse, Philips is like, how do you call it exactly..... shit? Sounds plausible ;-)

[@CassetteComeback]

Philips used to be so innovative, now their consumer division is just a licensed name for products made in Turkey / China.

[@ahah1785]

I have alot of philips eq*1 90 TYPE 1 tapes..... strange tapes they record like crazy: level is db-3 and bias 65... i can push them to +6 or even +8 without distortion. It says type 1 on the label but records like type 2...i dunno what they smoked when these tapes were created....but the sound is the most rich and crisp i have ever heard on a type 1...super low noise as well when recording sielence... you think you have seen it all by now nd this happens... go figgure...

[@CassetteComeback]

Philips cassettes on the whole area strange, but good if your deck can handle them.

[@MrMicrolin]

You get a copyright claim from your tube yet I use to do that set norm on chrome

[@CassetteComeback]

Nothing copywrited used. Either royalty free music or my own.

[@blaizejosh]

2:58 I'm surprised that Philips didn't use Phillips screws on those cassette tapes if they're Philips brand. Phillips screws would of looked better on those Philips cassette tapes.

[@chekiechekie]

The Phillips screws you are referring was invented by Henry Phillips in 1932. Nothing to do with Philips.

[@steinbeisser1180]

The brother sounds much better

[@adrianredodo]

Recording a Chrome like a Ferro! Sometimes i used to do it for testing; I do not remember the tape sorry :( TRICK --> i used a HACK for mix disco songs (radio recorded) I 1 I have ready the end of a song (radio DJ speaks always *uck!, haha) 2 I start the record in this point of the tape (chrome tape) with 120 bias (ferro bias in a chrome tape)) 3 One second later or half second i push the 70 bias and the two songs are mixed without an expensive mixer* xDDD *The thinks we do with 15 years old with no money ;) It was a Philips radio cassette with turntable and EQ. Something like this (little older and much bigger) I pay for it 300 euros in 1984? with my own money "working" with 15-16 years and one year saving. My first equimnent! -->www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RETRO-1989-PHILLIPS-INTEGRATED-MIDI-SYSTEM-wIth-2-speakers-and-new-power-cable/223533082377?hash=item340b9c2709:g:YEkAAOSwhEBc7VFZ

[@mistermatix8241]

Never liked Philips kit, there was just something about it

[@bunkelops]

too many mouth noises.

[@CassetteComeback]

If I don't move my mouth, you won't hear me speak :-D