Maxell XLII 60 vs. 90

[Doug_3]

I've procrastinated in ordering 60's from tapes.com and now they are out of stock, leaving only the 90 min version left. I've found XL 60 min tapes on another site but the cost nearly doubles.

Is there any huge tonal differences between the 60 & 90 min tapes? I have a Tascam 688 and i know the 90 min version is at the end of the spectrum with what the manual recommends on using.

Should i pay more to get the 60 min or go with the cheaper & thinner 90 min?

 

[stevieb]

From my days with cassette, I recall clearly that virtually ALL tape distributors/manufacturers' publications said that the 120 cassette tapes were made of thinner tape. bit the 90's were made of the same stuff as the 60's.

 

[cjacek]

The 90's are a bit thinner than the 60's but they are fine to use. The only real problem is with 110 / 120 min tapes. I've used 90's without issue on my portastudios for years.

 

[shedshrine]

The 90's are a bit thinner than the 60's but they are fine to use. The only real problem is with 110 / 120 min tapes. I've used 90's without issue on my portastudios for years.

From Wiki:

"The C46 and C60 lengths are typically 15–16 µm thick, but C90s are 10–11 µm and C120s are just 9 µm thick, rendering them more susceptible to stretching or breakage. Some vendors are more generous than others, providing 132 meters or 135 meters rather than 129 meters of tape for a C90 cassette."

 

[cjacek]

Yeah, that's why I'd never use anything above 90's but indeed the 60's are of a more thick stock. TASCAM literature recommends 60 and 90 min tapes but not anything higher. Yeah, it seems the 90's are pushing it, thin wise but, again, I never experienced problems with 90 min cassettes.

 

[Beck]

I only used 60's going back to my TEAC 144 days. I was really picky though and trying to eek out every last drop of performance possible from the cassette 4-track format.

I would use 90's as a music listener in my car and such but not for recording.

Well, there were a couple times that I ran out of tape and popped in a 90, but as a rule I stuck with the 60.

All those old tapes are in surprisingly good shape too, including the handful of 90's I used, and that's going back to 1980 when I bought the first portastudio.

 

[Bobby Darko]

yes, cassettes age nicely, I only use tdk sa 90minutes form the 80's (with the golden front). Never had a problem.

But I am very curious about the subject too. Was there ever any testing or official statements about the difference in audio quality between 60 and 90 minute tapes. If not, maybe we should do a test ourselves. I do not have the right equipment for this, but I am sure some of you freaks do..

 

[Doug_3]

Thanks for the feedback.

I went ahead and got the 90 min tapes. I didn't mention beforehand that I've always used these in the past, but bare in mind it was with a little Porta 02. Now that i've got a more sophisticated machine in the 688, i was unsure if i should go the extra mile and get the 60 min XL's.

Although a bit thinner, it doesn't seem like there should be any major differences. And at $.89 a pop, not a bad deal either... 30 of these should keep me going for quite awhile.