I think they sound really good,and i dont know what everyone is talking about the mechanism being noisy?They play rewind and fast forward silently on my Sony ES deck.The only thing i can see that i dont like about them is the jewel case they come in,they seem a little flimsy like you should be careful with them or they will crack easy.But as far as the build quality and sound quality of the tape it seems to be pretty good.I bought them online at Total Media Inc.I probably wont buy them again because my Maxell MS Studio series cassette's sound just as good and the maxell's are a little cheaper and easier to find.I was just curious ya know and thought i would give them a try.I will use the ten i bought to record some rare albums on and then go back to my trusty Maxell's(They hav'nt let me down yet)!As far as the Sony UX-Pro they have been discontinued and are impossible to find.The only cassette's Sony make's anymore are the CD-IT tapes you can buy at wal-mart and the cheap HF normal bias tapes.
Got my 10pack of Quantegy 472's today.
- Thread starter C Hugo
- Start date
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Thanx for the tip.
Are you doing stereo only, or do you use a cassette multitracker? I know all the high end media mfg'rs make high end cassettes, but in general, I've been using TDK CD-Power cassettes, and getting good results. I'm pretty happy with CD-Power cassettes, 'cause they sound good, are cheap & easy to find.
Going several years back, I've used TDK SA and SA-X tape, as well as Maxell UDXLII, or as they were later known, XLII's. I've never had a breakage, wear, or noise problem with any of these tapes, and I'm sure I have cassettes that are 10-20 years old.
I use cassettes in 4-track Tascams, mainly Portastudios, but I also have the 234 Syncaset. For the cassette format, I think the TDK CD-Power is a good tape, that sounds good, & seems to have a pretty decent S/N ratio.
For reel tape formats, I have Ampex/Quantegy, 3M and BASF tape, in 1/4", 1/2" and 1", for the reel machines I already own, and even a gigantic 2500' roll of 2" BASF tape, for which I have no player, yet. I found a place that every so often will place reel tape on clearance, so I've gotten an abundance of reel tape, at rock bottom prices, mostly 20-30% of retail, & sometimes less.
Last year, I got over 30 reels of 7"-1/4" and 7 reels of 1/2" new 3M tape for, [are you ready?],... $1/reel. Just recently, again, I got more 7"-1/4" for $1/reel, then I got 5" reels of 1/4" tape, [600ft], for, [are you ready?],... 5 reels for $1! I got 20 reels of tape for $4!
Anyway, I guess I got off on a tangent. Nice tape tip, and tell us later what your sound tests reveal about your Quantegy high end cassettes. /DA
Are you doing stereo only, or do you use a cassette multitracker? I know all the high end media mfg'rs make high end cassettes, but in general, I've been using TDK CD-Power cassettes, and getting good results. I'm pretty happy with CD-Power cassettes, 'cause they sound good, are cheap & easy to find.
Going several years back, I've used TDK SA and SA-X tape, as well as Maxell UDXLII, or as they were later known, XLII's. I've never had a breakage, wear, or noise problem with any of these tapes, and I'm sure I have cassettes that are 10-20 years old.
I use cassettes in 4-track Tascams, mainly Portastudios, but I also have the 234 Syncaset. For the cassette format, I think the TDK CD-Power is a good tape, that sounds good, & seems to have a pretty decent S/N ratio.
For reel tape formats, I have Ampex/Quantegy, 3M and BASF tape, in 1/4", 1/2" and 1", for the reel machines I already own, and even a gigantic 2500' roll of 2" BASF tape, for which I have no player, yet. I found a place that every so often will place reel tape on clearance, so I've gotten an abundance of reel tape, at rock bottom prices, mostly 20-30% of retail, & sometimes less.
Last year, I got over 30 reels of 7"-1/4" and 7 reels of 1/2" new 3M tape for, [are you ready?],... $1/reel. Just recently, again, I got more 7"-1/4" for $1/reel, then I got 5" reels of 1/4" tape, [600ft], for, [are you ready?],... 5 reels for $1! I got 20 reels of tape for $4!
Anyway, I guess I got off on a tangent. Nice tape tip, and tell us later what your sound tests reveal about your Quantegy high end cassettes. /DA
The Green Hornet
New member
YO CHUGO:
I'm glad you like the Quantegy cassettes. Let me know after you use all ten if all of the mechanisms are quiet?
It's the results that count and if you get good results, keep using Quantegy.
I buy much less expensive 22.5 per side minute cassettes and the mechanisms are all right but will never be as good as the Sony UX. Sorry you can't find Sony UX. But, Sony is like that.
I have a ton of UX cassettes that I've recycled from the days of my Tascam 488. A penny saved is.....
My, how my frugality astounds me!
Have fun.
Green Hornet
I'm glad you like the Quantegy cassettes. Let me know after you use all ten if all of the mechanisms are quiet?
It's the results that count and if you get good results, keep using Quantegy.
I buy much less expensive 22.5 per side minute cassettes and the mechanisms are all right but will never be as good as the Sony UX. Sorry you can't find Sony UX. But, Sony is like that.
I have a ton of UX cassettes that I've recycled from the days of my Tascam 488. A penny saved is.....
My, how my frugality astounds me!
Have fun.
Green Hornet
I will go back to my trusty maxell's!!
After i use up these ten 472's i will most likely go back to my trusty Maxell's.A couple months ago i purchased 120 of the now discontinued Maxell XLII-S tapes(my personnel favorite) i got them for $1.25 each from Terrapin Tapes Online,have you ever heard of them?So i bought up a bunch of them to last me awhile.Plus i have a couple of cases of the Maxell MS studio series tapes which are pretty good also.I just got a bug up my but and thought i would try the Quantegy 472's,they are alright but not any better in my opinnion than the Maxell's.Used to be a big TDK fan but i think in the last 10 years there Shells and mechanism's have gone down the toilet.I think TDK used to be the reference tape of choice 10-15 years ago but not anymore.I still love making recordings on tape,it's real gratifying pulling off a really good recording on tape don't you think?Digital is so sterile and dry to me,no body and warmth and no depth.But thats just my $.02....PEACE everybody!!!!!!!
After i use up these ten 472's i will most likely go back to my trusty Maxell's.A couple months ago i purchased 120 of the now discontinued Maxell XLII-S tapes(my personnel favorite) i got them for $1.25 each from Terrapin Tapes Online,have you ever heard of them?So i bought up a bunch of them to last me awhile.Plus i have a couple of cases of the Maxell MS studio series tapes which are pretty good also.I just got a bug up my but and thought i would try the Quantegy 472's,they are alright but not any better in my opinnion than the Maxell's.Used to be a big TDK fan but i think in the last 10 years there Shells and mechanism's have gone down the toilet.I think TDK used to be the reference tape of choice 10-15 years ago but not anymore.I still love making recordings on tape,it's real gratifying pulling off a really good recording on tape don't you think?Digital is so sterile and dry to me,no body and warmth and no depth.But thats just my $.02....PEACE everybody!!!!!!!
Fangar
New member
Tdk Sm60
Hi guys, has anyone used these TDK SM60 professional cassette tapes? If so what was your experience, how do they compare to the others, Maxell, Quantegy etc... I am inquiring for best results for use with my Tacam 238S. I just picked up a demagnetizing wand, the one with the red plastic/rubber protective tip cover. I have an old 80's Realistic Cassette style (battery powered) demagnetizer as well, but read in the 238 manual it might not be safe to use the cassette type with the 238, since the blasting hi-freq signal could damage some circuits. Anyone know about this? So I picked up a wand style, black with red tip Nakamichi DM-10? I can use it for both my 238 and an old TEAC A-1200U
Reel 2 Reel. Anyone have any info on this Teac? (TASCAM?) Or where I can get info? Also what and where is a good place to get hi-quality 1/4"-7" reel tape for the TEAC (Quantegy?) or comparable quality for this vintage machine. Best for low noise, and great sound since this machine is older and has no noise reduction.
thanks
edge59
(Ed)
Hi guys, has anyone used these TDK SM60 professional cassette tapes? If so what was your experience, how do they compare to the others, Maxell, Quantegy etc... I am inquiring for best results for use with my Tacam 238S. I just picked up a demagnetizing wand, the one with the red plastic/rubber protective tip cover. I have an old 80's Realistic Cassette style (battery powered) demagnetizer as well, but read in the 238 manual it might not be safe to use the cassette type with the 238, since the blasting hi-freq signal could damage some circuits. Anyone know about this? So I picked up a wand style, black with red tip Nakamichi DM-10? I can use it for both my 238 and an old TEAC A-1200U
Reel 2 Reel. Anyone have any info on this Teac? (TASCAM?) Or where I can get info? Also what and where is a good place to get hi-quality 1/4"-7" reel tape for the TEAC (Quantegy?) or comparable quality for this vintage machine. Best for low noise, and great sound since this machine is older and has no noise reduction.
thanks
edge59
(Ed)
Teac A-1200U
I am also curious if You (Reel Person), think that mixing down to the Teac 1/4" would be of any benifit from the 238, to master to 2 track, or would that not really be of any benifit? I am getting an Alesis ML9600 for CD mastering and I realize it will record just whats going in, but can the Teac A-1200 U Fatten up the sound anymore than the 238? Also what are your thoughts on using (sparingly) the TC finalizer? I appreciate your comments and experience very much! I want to make the best sounding home (pro-sounding) recordings that I possibly can.
edge59
(Ed)
I am also curious if You (Reel Person), think that mixing down to the Teac 1/4" would be of any benifit from the 238, to master to 2 track, or would that not really be of any benifit? I am getting an Alesis ML9600 for CD mastering and I realize it will record just whats going in, but can the Teac A-1200 U Fatten up the sound anymore than the 238? Also what are your thoughts on using (sparingly) the TC finalizer? I appreciate your comments and experience very much! I want to make the best sounding home (pro-sounding) recordings that I possibly can.
edge59
(Ed)
B
Beck
Guest
Since I bought the original 144 portastudio in 1980 I’ve used mostly TDK SA and SA-X. I’ve tried about everything over the years as I upgraded to the 244 and then 246 portastudios and always came back to TDK.
I used Denon HD-7s in the mid 80’s for a while. TDK SA, SM, SA-X and SM-X are all good choices for the Tascam multitracks in particular. Not much difference between SA and SM. I also like Maxell XL-IIS for standard cassette listening.
I’ve found that no single tape manufacturer seems to get it right across the board. I tried Ampex pro cassettes in the 80’s and was not impressed, but their open-reel line was unmatched. Sony high-grade cassettes were terrible, but I would use nothing but Sony UHG or PRO-X for beta hi-fi audio recording.
TDK and Maxell are the most popular high bias cassette makers for good reason.
I used Denon HD-7s in the mid 80’s for a while. TDK SA, SM, SA-X and SM-X are all good choices for the Tascam multitracks in particular. Not much difference between SA and SM. I also like Maxell XL-IIS for standard cassette listening.
I’ve found that no single tape manufacturer seems to get it right across the board. I tried Ampex pro cassettes in the 80’s and was not impressed, but their open-reel line was unmatched. Sony high-grade cassettes were terrible, but I would use nothing but Sony UHG or PRO-X for beta hi-fi audio recording.
TDK and Maxell are the most popular high bias cassette makers for good reason.
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Like Herm said,...
Your tracks will be all analog on the 238s, so there's probably no benefit to dubbing to the 1/4" tape first. Anyway, I'm not sure if the Teac A-1200 is a true mastering deck, or a consumer deck. A mastering deck would be 2-track/2-channel (half track), and run 15 ips, with 7.5 ips optional.
You'd be just fine to mix down from the 238s to the CD recorder. I typically mix from my analog systems to my 'puter as a final mixdown medium,... then burn cds from there.
Your tracks will be all analog on the 238s, so there's probably no benefit to dubbing to the 1/4" tape first. Anyway, I'm not sure if the Teac A-1200 is a true mastering deck, or a consumer deck. A mastering deck would be 2-track/2-channel (half track), and run 15 ips, with 7.5 ips optional.
You'd be just fine to mix down from the 238s to the CD recorder. I typically mix from my analog systems to my 'puter as a final mixdown medium,... then burn cds from there.