Type IV Metal Cassette Tapes - Holy Grail or Holy Cow? Live Audio Comparison
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- Опубликовано: 2 май 2023
- Have you shopped for new Type IV Metal Cassettes lately? Holy Cow, are they expensive! After a recent eBay search for new tapes, I decided it was time to do a live comparison between a normal bias (type I) cassette and the more expensive metal bias (type IV) cassette and see if there really is enough of a difference to justify the large price tag.
As always, the raw WAV captures are available to download or listen to on my Patreon page for supporters for those who want to hear the difference a little more clearly.
Music track used for the comparison: Disco Knights by Quincas Moreira
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#vintageelectronics #cassette #cassettetape #cassettetype #metaltapes #retrotech
Stop using that deck!!! You are killing the thru potential of the tapes!!! Get a three head deck with monitor and manual calibration for bias and level!
I used metal tapes on occasion back in the 90s. Miles ahead of type 2 and 3 tapes.
Metal better than Digital!
Metal has distortion, Type I has natural and hiss sound
Compared to that metal bias tape? There ARE NO highs on that normal bias tape. Normal tape was made for voice diction. I think ya gotta get up into type 2 tapes just to get the medium INTO the hi fi realm. The best NAK deck can do a lot with normal bias tape. But most folks ain't ever gonna own a NAK.
You need a 3 head deck to show the real sound on any tape, a well calibrated metal tape sounds very close to a digital source.
Yes,it's true.But when recording a normal cassette from DSD,or other digital formats,the sound is more detailed and higher frequencies.What is your opinion?Thank you.😊
I’m just going to keep using the normal cassettes. I don’t have the money to spend on metal cassette tapes, and if I have the money, I’m just gonna buy more normal tapes so I can get more.
IMHO, on a good three-head deck, properly biased and leveled, a good Type II is the best. Unfortunately we will never see them manufactured again.
Recall that I read that metal tapes increase head wear. You can buy old metal tapes but new heads for your machine is tough!
Metal is of course better quality sound however, the cost is the issue. If you correctly bias and use a modern high fidelity example Type I cassette, you can push +4db on your type I recordings easily and they will sound just fine. Especially with HX-Pro and, if needed, a little help in the EQ department to offset any shortcomings. 3-Head machines take the guess work out of things because you can clean things up quite a bit on the fly. It's worth noting that not all Type I cassettes are the same. Some brands perform way better than others. IMO, while metal is superior, it isn't enough difference to where it's worth the extra cost. A great quality deck can make a type I sound really good. Unless you are bouncing back and forth, you really wouldn't notice much of a difference as much as you would in the size of your wallet. We're talking about $25 dollars (Type IV) vs $6 (Type I) per tape. I don't hear a 19/20 dollar difference in quality per cassette. But to some, getting that little bit of edge might be worth the extra cash.
I prefer the sound of the type 1 cassette. The metal cassette had reduced high end. On my Nakamichi cassette deck metal cassettes sound significantly better than type 1.
Digital, then normal, then metal,
You should do a bias test on the tape, Then use dbx ON. Metal is by far the lowest noise >90db signal to noise and really records the true fidelity of all tapes.
i should do this using my high speed cassettes. both cassettes at x1 speed sound muffled. but a type 2 at x3 speed sound better than type4 at x1 speed as higher frequencies are more loud which you can use an eq to compress back down which also compresses the tape hiss even greater.
i prefer the metal cassette but to much base. i dont know if its Bias level or you make the record to high volume on your deck . But clearly the sound are alot better on the metal cassette
How worn are the heads on this deck? It sounds dull in the highs. Ive recorded type one tapes with my decks and they don't degrade the sound as bad as this demonstration.
Hey ho guys, I feel here like at home. For author , I would like to contact out of this youtube, because my idea considering normal tapes has just arrived. And it is breaktrough, I believe. Please how we can be in touch
When calibrated up properly in a good deck, the sonic difference between Type II and Type IV tape is not that huge. In my book it's not worth the extra money. In this day and age it's a collector's item.