I have several of the first type of D sealed, but some say "Tape Made in Japan, cassette assembled in U.S.A." and a different address in Port Washington, NY as well as some that are assembled in Thailand, like your example . (I have a few of the SUPERIOR 'play it loud' ones as well). Shells appear the same. I recently picked up a Sony HF with a date of 2012 on it (I thought end of the line was 2005-6). Thanks for the vid, Tony!
I'm impressed that Cassette Comeback used normal bias cassettes in his Nakamichi ZX-9 cassette deck. I've known audiophile snobs that would use nothing less than high-bias metal tapes on such a high-end cassette deck.
I really miss the good ol days of buying blank cassettes and all the options there were. I was pretty happy with SA or the SA-X when I wanted to upgrade and then the MA-R for the big splurge.
Looking through my assortment of D's, I don't have any of that recent vintage, what I do have is the two previous generation tapes. Out of curiosity, I pulled them out to look at manufacture information. The prior gen tape to the first US version you showed (similar looking CD to the last version D packaging, but superimposed and partially transparent behind the label) was also manufactured in the same order, Japanese Tape, Thailand Assembly. This is the '97-'01 US version. Probably the most common version of the D that I have encountered (through Ebay, thrift stores, etc.) is the '92-'97 US version. Aka- the "Red Triangle TDK D". What was the interesting part was one stated the same as the above tapes, Japan Tape, Assembled in Thailand, but this info was only listed on the sides of the package. However, another "Red Triangle TDK D", while looking almost identical save for how the text is arranged on the back, states, "Tape Made in Japan, Cassette assembled in U.S.A." So that must mean TDK started outsourcing halfway through production somewhere in '92-'97 and did not change the packaging significantly? (at least in the US) Which also makes me wonder where in the states was TDK assembling cassettes... because I'm fairly certain at that time both Sony and Maxell were assembling tapes in Mexico instead of doing it stateside to save on costs. (Maxell was also the OEM for Radio Shack at this time) There is no manufacture code printed on the packaging either, so I can't give an exact date. Some folks would probably say I'm weird for looking at cassette manufacture dates and locations. I say it's part of the fun of the hobby!
Finally, a video on a tape that I actually have sitting around. Some of them are even sealed. I never really saw the "Superior D" versions in stores. It seems that most places (like the mixed media section of the drug store) just stocked the Maxell UR to the end of the cassette era. The only exception might be Best Buy, they seemed to have stocked all Sony media for their token obsolete media shelf.
We had once in the past large chain stores here... Tower Records and Wherehouse Records always had a huge stock of all brands... I sure miss those stores.. My massive collection of sealed cassettes mostly came from thrift stores..
In the early 2000s, that "Superior D--Life on Record" version was all over the place in New York in almost every one-dollar store. I used a lot of them with excellent results. My local store used to give one free if you bought 10.
Always a pleasure Tony. Still settling into my new place. TDK D is still a performer. Maxell still in there also. Really love these two brands the best. Consistency in performance and that is what makes this hobby fun. Cheers Tony on the new label and I hope it works out for you! Stay safe mates!😊👍🏻😷
We have all recorded on a D at some time in our lives as they were the most commonly available cassette and you could record over them many times. Although designed for speech, they handled all types of music well. My favorites were the 1985 and 1988 (1988 shell also used on some 1990). In fact AD's were just as common but the cheaper D sold better so it is more easy to come across AD's these days from what I have observed.
About two months ago, I got a boatload of second to last TDK D’s at a place called the Red Hook Yard Sale. It has a bunch of D60’s and a handful of D90’s and it’s the US version, and I haven’t done any recordings yet.
Those "Superior D90" TDK tapes used to be sold in 4 packs at Family Dollar stores in America right up through the final Imation tapes. Obviously they were miles above the Type-0 "Universal" 3--packs Family Dollar used to sell. Family Dollar's competitor, Dollar General, never sold branded audio cassettes, but always Type-0 "Realitech" bags.
I also love TDK D's. I live in the U.S and have all those D's and i noticed the "Superior" ones do not have the metal plate behind the felt pad spring. Wonder if it makes any difference in the long run or why they decided to omit it after all these years.
@@crashbandicoot4everr interesting, they are the only blank tapes I've encountered so far that did not have the plate. I wonder if it was a U.S only thing.
With French and Spanish on it, that was likely made for all of North America, maybe Central and South America as well. Products sold in Canada are required to have French printed as large as the English text. That one labelling will pass muster in almost all markets.
Hi, I have just gotten my hi-fi (Panasonic SA-AK45) back running and became obsessed with using the cassette deck again. Playing old tapes, watching your videos here discovering the different kind and varying quality of tapes and the newly learned legendary TDK D tape. I have tested recording from cd to cassette (Maxell & TDK D) and the rock songs sound really great but I've noticed on certain instruments like acoustic guitar and some piano notes the sound isn't fully reproduced, it wobbly. If there is a vocal line over the acoustic or piano part the vocal is fine so I'm assuming the cassette deck and tape is fine. Song example...Sarah McLachlan - Angel and the intro to Metallica - To Live Is To Die Can someone fully explain what's going on exactly on, I know I don't have a professional deck ar anything but I would like to know as I have put new belts and pinch rollers into my twin decks. Thanks, hope to hear what ye have to say. More detail the better:)
Are you running any kind of Dolby encoding on your recording process? I'm wondering if you are hearing what's known as "pumping" because of the Dolby encryption. Sometimes, when the sound signal is low, the Dolby system has a difficult time accurately doing its magic. It comes off sounding a little like flutter, especially when piano is played back, but also acoustic guitar. I've noticed the same on certain decks I've owned, despite them being very good decks and not exactly inexpensive.
@@carriestuart9921 Hi Carrie, I just know that I have a Dolby noise reduction button but I always have it off as it dulls the sound for me and I don't like it. I've never heard of "pumping" but ill look into it. I though my problem was related to playback speed but I tested it by playing the same cassette on both decks and it was exactly the same time. I do believe it most likely electronic related like you suggested the Dolby thing. I just cannot remember what the decks sounded like when I bought the hi-fi 20 years ago. I though it might be the actual heads of the cassette deck but my gut says no and to leave the azimuth alone. Anyway thanks for the comment:)
@@cannonshot7778 As long as you don't use Dolby at all, it's not that pumping effect that Dolby systems can sometimes generate on playback. I have no guess. But ya, don't mess with your azimuth unless you have a calibration tape so you can dial it back to perfect alignment. The problem with that is, IF it's not already perfect, then anything you've previously recorded before playing around with the head alignment is going to sound less than optimal after it is recalibrated to spec. Edited to add: I'm almost wondering if it might have something to do with the bias circuit. Does this happen only on tapes you've recorded on that deck and played back on it? Or does this also happen with tapes recorded on other systems and played back on that deck?
I have a question for you. How do I send you a video? I recently bought a brick with the sku TC20BRICK. It's a pack of 10 Maxell XL II. Is it real? I have yet to record to it. I have pics. Let me know. They seem strange. No label, no j card.
Здравствуйте. Видно, что эта кассета TDK Superior D90 из самых поздних выпусков TDK. Интересно, как это отразилось на качестве пленки... Если вы ее записывали, то какой ваше мнение? И чем она отличается по звуку от тех же TDK D предыдущих выпусков?
Hi Tony. I put my hands on a packet of D-super tdk, and labelled to use chrome position. This puzzles me because D are type 1 and not 2. Ever heard of it ?
Is a matter of opinion really. I think the D’s are a little bit better but depends also on the deck. On most decks you won’t notice too much difference but I believe the D’s can be pushed just a bit higher consistently.
Nice review of the last two US TDK D’s. I have a couple of these, but not the last two. I might get one of these one day if it’s still available on eBay and Amazon.
Hi I worked in 3M before they created Imation in 1996 to off load there medical devices and multimedia. The 3M cassettes were the Master Brand. Kodak purchased the medical devices in 2000 from Imation and that left Imation with the multimedia and other device equipment. Loved cassette tapes had a nakamichi cassette deck, it not the same. 🙂☘️🇮🇪
Good to know... I have a lot of variations of D's mostly in the 80's-90's and quite a few of the last ones... I'm not sure if I have the Korean one I would have to check by moving the stacks I have in my vault... Good comparison video...
My guess is that TDK is still around making capacitors instead of cassettes. Other companies like ATR and RTM are still making cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes, so did other like Walmart making ONN “Type 0” cassettes which is a waste of time. I always buy used blank cassettes from eBay and at thrift stores and yard sales whether I can find them. I got a bunch of these that I got a few days ago at a Red Hook Yard Sale including a bunch of Radio Shack Realistic C60 and C90 cassettes from the 1970’s and 1980’s, for Supertape Hi-Bias from the 1980’s, a bunch of 1985 Maxell XLII’s and lots more. Those were excellent cassettes.
Sadly I’am there With you my Sony died, bought a denon it soon died and my late 70’s Sanyo I refuse to try and fix again. Going with an akia or technics next time because parts are more available and it is claimed they have better build quality as well. Now if I could just afford the three head deck of my dreams 😂😂.
@@JD-lk7im what brands do you recommend? I don’t mind getting mine fixed but tired of buying badly made junk that can’t be fixed. I really liked the denon it sounded really go but the computer circuitry went crazy . I had gotten it used for the first six months it worked fine then it wouldn’t rewind replaced belts it still wouldn’t rewind ( I could live with that) then one day it would not play or rewind. Was told by technician no parts and to throw it out . He claimed most technics, aiwa have better parts availability and can usually be fixed.
@@JD-lk7im thanks! Like all things in life I will just have to be brave and pull the trigger and buy one and hope for the best . I have a lot of great music calling my name and it’s on cassettes . Have a wonderful day and thanks for the advice. I have stopped being a child of the 80’s and definitely sticking with a single deck in my old age 😂😂👍🏻👍🏻. Have a wonderful day and thanks for the help.
That image of a CD on the wrapping of the Superior D90 must have had the record companies *SCREAMING* in protest. But, if memory serves me correctly, there was a surcharge tacked onto blank audio cassette sales; where supposedly those (US) dollars were sent to record companies as a compensation for the songs dubbed from CDs onto blank audio cassettes.
Yes, type 1's will always be hissy, but they did perform well. I have a few variations of them from the late 90's and early 2000's. I went to a local small indie electronics/hardware variety store to buy them, and they probably bought whatever they could get a deal on, so I'd get what they had at any given time. I also got JVC & SKC brands from him (I was going to type SMC but that was a record label lol.)
I have a TDK D that looks like the one on the right, except that the D90 logo is on the upper right and not in the center. But mine's got 4 screws, indeed.
TDK made quite a few variations of the D shells, I've seen white hubs and clips (these were common to see on Australian market D's since 1994), white hubs and red clips (the one on later European D's and earlier D's) and white hubs and black clips (I've only seen these on European last gen D's). I think they started doing welded shells in the 2000s, but there's differences depending where you are in the world. Here in Australia, our last D had the American design like the first one in this video, it started off with screws, and it stayed similar till they went all welded towards the end around 2005, then in 2007 Imation bought TDK's media division, I can remember in 2011 buying a pack and the shell was all welded and had the same tape as the "superior" D in the video but had a similar design as the first one in the video.
You have a very good Nakamichi cassette deck but you failed in your attempt to demonstrate wich one is better because you must compare THE SAME MELODY FROM THE SAME SOURCE. After you copy both cassette from yhe same source you must compare the 2 cassette sounds. In quality of video image from TV or monitor is the same principle. Compare image (and sound) FROM THE SAME SOURCE! Otherwise is imposible to tell wich one is better. Have a nice day!
Yes, you'll be able to make a fully accurate comparison of these cassettes after the audio is converted to digital whilst it's recorded, encoded for the first time in video editing and then encoded again when it's uploaded to RUclips. The aim isn't to compare really, it's just too demonstrate whether they sound good or not.
Great test, thanks. We know these ferric have a good shelf life. What ever happened to DIY tapes that made a lot of sense. Buying empty shells and tape on a hub by different manufacturers. Assembling these yourself. It could be done if someone would sell them again. The logistics are way simpler and you are not stuck with rubbish cassettes.
You would need a pancake loader, I owned 3 made by king cassette loaders. This machine required both a vacuum pump as well as the tape shells , air compressor as wel cases splicing tape and a decent single colour pad printer. Shells come best in full container so that this would be a huge investment before even selling one.
True, Ds are going up in price now. But you gotta pay for quality, dudes. Luckily, I have the odd D lying around, so I'm sorted for a while. Still looking for some of those Superior Ds, though. Only ever see them on USA lots on eBay and the postage is horrendous.
There are people who just are not happy unless they are over-paying for stuff. That is what is jacking the prices. It makes them feel all warm and fuzzy to overpay for audio stuff. Whether it's $100 patch cables or audiophile grade CF cards or whether it's a specific old cassette tapes. The more they pay, the better the sound quality.
why not just do 20-20khz sweep on rec, and then capture wav on pc and show spectrum? what are we supposed to hear via yt aac compression? manual.audacityteam.org/man/plot_spectrum.html
I used some of the last d's Japanese and they were extremely good. With dolby s I really struggled to differentiate between tape and original. Then I got into mini disc and then mp3. Oh well.
Myth and legend?? Or is it true?? Recording with Dolby and playing back without Dolby. Does it make your recordings sound better? An investigation by Tony. ....Just a suggestion.
If you don’t have a deck with adjustable bias, it might work if the tapes sound a bit dull. Or if you’re playing back older tapes that were recorded decades ago. I have many tapes I recorded in the ‘80s and I play most of them back without dolby while they were recorded with dolby. Especially the ferrics (mostly D) have a rolled off top end. The SAs are fine, although many of them suffer from railroading.
sadly in my country there are almost no new cassetes left 3 months ago maxell ur's got out of stock and till now they didn't come back. It looks like cassettes are going to die.. sooner or later.
Ahh, the Badger-Meinhof Phenomenon strikes again. I just loaded all my TDK Ds into a new storage cabinet ( ibb.co/mcJJBxb ), and boom the first thing I see is Tony's new video on the exact tape. Spooky!
Well, I can clearly hear less highs on either of tapes, with some high sounds being non-existent anymore (especially on the first tape), I understand it's just Type I, but it's a clear win for the digital. My point is, there is no reason for using Type I's nowadays, no matter how good they are, just my opinion.
I honestly could not tell any real difference, but I think it is down to the music and not the tapes. This music is just so bad it sounds bland no matter what. Both times I thought the source and tape were just as lousy. Why can't the audio library have music made from actual musical instruments? I want to hear drums, a guitar, some horns and some strings. MUSIC. Not a mod file, which is what all this music sounds like to me. Both of these songs heavily remind me of in-game music from the 16 bit era. It's just terrible. I'm not trashing your selection. It's all bad. Maybe you manage to find the least bad. But less bad is still bad. YT needs to fix this system so that 30 seconds of audio from real music can be in the video without the risk of copyright strikes or demonetization hell.
@@CassetteComeback You can go into the Apple store and listen to 30 second (I am pretty sure it's a minute now) clip of a song completely for free. There is absolutely no reason they cannot allow this. They do it because they're greedy and because Google lets them. Google could singlehandledly CRUSH the ENTIRE music industry. Hell, they could buy the entire music industry with their pocket change. Not only is Google orders of magnitude larger than the whole music industry, the music industry has collapsed. This stupid shortsightedness is an example of why. Napster should have their wakeup call. They are living off licenses. That is why they are so anal with their enforcement of their old IP. Hey man, best of luck with your music venture. I support it. I support your artists. Eff the music industry. Funny thing is, I think indy bands could put at least 1 song with real music into the free library. It is near impossible to get noticed today. Nobody has any incentive to expose small indy bands. Having good music in the library could get them more exposure than they could ever hope to get in any other way.
Good cassettes, but EU versions were prettier. I miss the red clamp in the hubs. Now it looks boring and uninteresting. The latest versions of USA TDK D "Life on Record" sometimes surprise with the words Made in Indonesia. Inside you will find the Pangungg (Maxell) cassette.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
This is a rare chance, a cassette Comeback video uploaded while I'm still awake! Nice topic too for this video.
I have several of the first type of D sealed, but some say "Tape Made in Japan, cassette assembled in U.S.A." and a different address in Port Washington, NY as well as some that are assembled in Thailand, like your example . (I have a few of the SUPERIOR 'play it loud' ones as well). Shells appear the same. I recently picked up a Sony HF with a date of 2012 on it (I thought end of the line was 2005-6). Thanks for the vid, Tony!
I'm impressed that Cassette Comeback used normal bias cassettes in his Nakamichi ZX-9 cassette deck. I've known audiophile snobs that would use nothing less than high-bias metal tapes on such a high-end cassette deck.
There's nothing better than making a great sounding recording on an ordinary cassette. My mum could make a great recording on a metal in a Nak...
Happy days! Another cassette video. Liking the TDK & have done for decades.
I really miss the good ol days of buying blank cassettes and all the options there were. I was pretty happy with SA or the SA-X when I wanted to upgrade and then the MA-R for the big splurge.
Is the force of gravity higher in the UK as compared to the US?
A cassette cartridge is 3 POUNDS?! 😳
That late D shell design was also used for a few other later tape types - the CD Bass (type I) and the CDing II (Type II).
I have some D's that have tape from Japan and assembled in USA.
I found 9 of the "Japanese tape" D's very cheap, and still sounds amazing, the TKD D never fails
Looking through my assortment of D's, I don't have any of that recent vintage, what I do have is the two previous generation tapes. Out of curiosity, I pulled them out to look at manufacture information.
The prior gen tape to the first US version you showed (similar looking CD to the last version D packaging, but superimposed and partially transparent behind the label) was also manufactured in the same order, Japanese Tape, Thailand Assembly. This is the '97-'01 US version.
Probably the most common version of the D that I have encountered (through Ebay, thrift stores, etc.) is the '92-'97 US version. Aka- the "Red Triangle TDK D". What was the interesting part was one stated the same as the above tapes, Japan Tape, Assembled in Thailand, but this info was only listed on the sides of the package. However, another "Red Triangle TDK D", while looking almost identical save for how the text is arranged on the back, states, "Tape Made in Japan, Cassette assembled in U.S.A." So that must mean TDK started outsourcing halfway through production somewhere in '92-'97 and did not change the packaging significantly? (at least in the US) Which also makes me wonder where in the states was TDK assembling cassettes... because I'm fairly certain at that time both Sony and Maxell were assembling tapes in Mexico instead of doing it stateside to save on costs. (Maxell was also the OEM for Radio Shack at this time)
There is no manufacture code printed on the packaging either, so I can't give an exact date. Some folks would probably say I'm weird for looking at cassette manufacture dates and locations. I say it's part of the fun of the hobby!
Finally, a video on a tape that I actually have sitting around. Some of them are even sealed. I never really saw the "Superior D" versions in stores. It seems that most places (like the mixed media section of the drug store) just stocked the Maxell UR to the end of the cassette era. The only exception might be Best Buy, they seemed to have stocked all Sony media for their token obsolete media shelf.
We had once in the past large chain stores here... Tower Records and Wherehouse Records always had a huge stock of all brands... I sure miss those stores.. My massive collection of sealed cassettes mostly came from thrift stores..
I have a lot of TDK D's with Japanese tape in them. I don't have a working deck at the moment, but I assume they'll sound great.
In the early 2000s, that "Superior D--Life on Record" version was all over the place in New York in almost every one-dollar store. I used a lot of them with excellent results. My local store used to give one free if you bought 10.
I'm cassette collector and I love your videos!
TDK >>>>>>>>>>>> Korean Imation
Greets from Switzerland 🇨🇭
Great! The TDK D was my favourite cassette when I was a kid.
Out of all of these, the 1979 and 1986 TDK D’s are the best than the last two TDK D’s.
You're definitely on the D-Train! What would you do without music...
Always a pleasure Tony. Still settling into my new place. TDK D is still a performer. Maxell still in there also. Really love these two brands the best. Consistency in performance and that is what makes this hobby fun. Cheers Tony on the new label and I hope it works out for you! Stay safe mates!😊👍🏻😷
Good to have back sir nice.
Just when I needed it, thanks!
I was listening to a D last night with Dolby C and I was constantly thinking wow that does sound good for a Type1, peaking at +2
Even better with Dolby S at +4. I agree the D’s are very clean.
The tdk d. Wonderful. Thx for another great video.
We have all recorded on a D at some time in our lives as they were the most commonly available cassette and you could record over them many times. Although designed for speech, they handled all types of music well. My favorites were the 1985 and 1988 (1988 shell also used on some 1990). In fact AD's were just as common but the cheaper D sold better so it is more easy to come across AD's these days from what I have observed.
About two months ago, I got a boatload of second to last TDK D’s at a place called the Red Hook Yard Sale. It has a bunch of D60’s and a handful of D90’s and it’s the US version, and I haven’t done any recordings yet.
Those "Superior D90" TDK tapes used to be sold in 4 packs at Family Dollar stores in America right up through the final Imation tapes. Obviously they were miles above the Type-0 "Universal" 3--packs Family Dollar used to sell. Family Dollar's competitor, Dollar General, never sold branded audio cassettes, but always Type-0 "Realitech" bags.
I also love TDK D's. I live in the U.S and have all those D's and i noticed the "Superior" ones do not have the metal plate behind the felt pad spring. Wonder if it makes any difference in the long run or why they decided to omit it after all these years.
My late 90s European Ds do have the metal plate. I think it was removed in the early 2000s versions.
@@crashbandicoot4everr interesting, they are the only blank tapes I've encountered so far that did not have the plate. I wonder if it was a U.S only thing.
Removal of the metal was pinching tenths of a penny.
I’ve used many of those Japanese tapes in the recent past. Beautiful sound, especially for speech.
With French and Spanish on it, that was likely made for all of North America, maybe Central and South America as well. Products sold in Canada are required to have French printed as large as the English text. That one labelling will pass muster in almost all markets.
I recorded on both of those last weekend. They seem to be quite common in Thrift Stores and Ebay. They are great cassettes.
I got all of mine from thrift stores in the past 10 years... Although in the past few years it has slowed down...
Hi, I have just gotten my hi-fi (Panasonic SA-AK45) back running and became obsessed with using the cassette deck again. Playing old tapes, watching your videos here discovering the different kind and varying quality of tapes and the newly learned legendary TDK D tape.
I have tested recording from cd to cassette (Maxell & TDK D) and the rock songs sound really great but I've noticed on certain instruments like acoustic guitar and some piano notes the sound isn't fully reproduced, it wobbly. If there is a vocal line over the acoustic or piano part the vocal is fine so I'm assuming the cassette deck and tape is fine. Song example...Sarah McLachlan - Angel and the intro to Metallica - To Live Is To Die
Can someone fully explain what's going on exactly on, I know I don't have a professional deck ar anything but I would like to know as I have put new belts and pinch rollers into my twin decks. Thanks, hope to hear what ye have to say. More detail the better:)
Are you running any kind of Dolby encoding on your recording process? I'm wondering if you are hearing what's known as "pumping" because of the Dolby encryption. Sometimes, when the sound signal is low, the Dolby system has a difficult time accurately doing its magic. It comes off sounding a little like flutter, especially when piano is played back, but also acoustic guitar. I've noticed the same on certain decks I've owned, despite them being very good decks and not exactly inexpensive.
@@carriestuart9921 Hi Carrie, I just know that I have a Dolby noise reduction button but I always have it off as it dulls the sound for me and I don't like it. I've never heard of "pumping" but ill look into it. I though my problem was related to playback speed but I tested it by playing the same cassette on both decks and it was exactly the same time. I do believe it most likely electronic related like you suggested the Dolby thing. I just cannot remember what the decks sounded like when I bought the hi-fi 20 years ago. I though it might be the actual heads of the cassette deck but my gut says no and to leave the azimuth alone. Anyway thanks for the comment:)
@@cannonshot7778 As long as you don't use Dolby at all, it's not that pumping effect that Dolby systems can sometimes generate on playback. I have no guess. But ya, don't mess with your azimuth unless you have a calibration tape so you can dial it back to perfect alignment. The problem with that is, IF it's not already perfect, then anything you've previously recorded before playing around with the head alignment is going to sound less than optimal after it is recalibrated to spec.
Edited to add: I'm almost wondering if it might have something to do with the bias circuit. Does this happen only on tapes you've recorded on that deck and played back on it? Or does this also happen with tapes recorded on other systems and played back on that deck?
TDk
I have some of those tdk d 90s just like the first one you unwrapped and mine say tape made in Japan cassette assembled in USA.
I have a question for you. How do I send you a video? I recently bought a brick with the sku TC20BRICK. It's a pack of 10 Maxell XL II. Is it real? I have yet to record to it. I have pics. Let me know. They seem strange. No label, no j card.
Since RUclips offers HD video, why not HD audio options without lossy compression?
@ is RUclips using the Opus audio codec?
this deck is a dream :)
Здравствуйте. Видно, что эта кассета TDK Superior D90 из самых поздних выпусков TDK. Интересно, как это отразилось на качестве пленки... Если вы ее записывали, то какой ваше мнение? И чем она отличается по звуку от тех же TDK D предыдущих выпусков?
Hi Tony. I put my hands on a packet of D-super tdk, and labelled to use chrome position. This puzzles me because D are type 1 and not 2. Ever heard of it ?
Yeah. They're a strange one. They're basically CDIng 2 in a blue tinted shell with a strange name.
I love my cassettes I just need to an affordable trustworthy deck with adjustable bias would be nice any suggestions?
Awesome review. Many thanks.
How does the D compare to Maxell UR?
Is a matter of opinion really. I think the D’s are a little bit better but depends also on the deck. On most decks you won’t notice too much difference but I believe the D’s can be pushed just a bit higher consistently.
Great job!
Keep up the good work 👍
Do You suggest cheap and good casette deck for Home users?
Quite a useful comparison, I also love TDK D!
Love a D, but hate a welded shell! :-)
Nice review of the last two US TDK D’s. I have a couple of these, but not the last two. I might get one of these one day if it’s still available on eBay and Amazon.
Hi I worked in 3M before they created Imation in 1996 to off load there medical devices and multimedia. The 3M cassettes were the Master Brand. Kodak purchased the medical devices in 2000 from Imation and that left Imation with the multimedia and other device equipment. Loved cassette tapes had a nakamichi cassette deck, it not the same. 🙂☘️🇮🇪
Gotta love the dark chocolatey brown color of the D...
I wonder if it was the same 90yr old guy in Thailand that assembled both of them????
I used to see 'imation' and think 'imitation.' Maybe they should have called themselves 'imitation' and maybe I was right!
Nice comparison. I just bought a B60 just for fun to try. Should they be the same?
Depends if it's a real one. Lot of fake ones out there at the moment.
I have one B, it is genuine in a 1990 D shell (screwed I think).
Good to know... I have a lot of variations of D's mostly in the 80's-90's and quite a few of the last ones... I'm not sure if I have the Korean one I would have to check by moving the stacks I have in my vault... Good comparison video...
Thanks for making us good videos!
This will drive the price up for sure. Thanks, I'm sitting on a small pile of them.
I've used those versions before and never had a problem out of them
Thanks for a new video Tony!! Why did TDK give up on media and where did Imation come from?
My guess is that TDK is still around making capacitors instead of cassettes. Other companies like ATR and RTM are still making cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes, so did other like Walmart making ONN “Type 0” cassettes which is a waste of time. I always buy used blank cassettes from eBay and at thrift stores and yard sales whether I can find them. I got a bunch of these that I got a few days ago at a Red Hook Yard Sale including a bunch of Radio Shack Realistic C60 and C90 cassettes from the 1970’s and 1980’s, for Supertape Hi-Bias from the 1980’s, a bunch of 1985 Maxell XLII’s and lots more. Those were excellent cassettes.
Where can I buy a cassette winder like that?
The 1990s 😁
There was one on Ebay asking $100 and I missed out on the same one that only 1 bidder won for $40 or so... They rarely come on auction or anywhere..
I might have to make my own lol..
All you need is a pencil that fits, then you twirl the cassette around to rewind it.
I've tried to make one... Miserably failed. It works, but looks like Mumbly's automobile.
Did anybody C that video about the wooden cassette? Also, who would like 2 fix my Sony decks?
Sadly I’am there With you my Sony died, bought a denon it soon died and my late 70’s Sanyo I refuse to try and fix again. Going with an akia or technics next time because parts are more available and it is claimed they have better build quality as well. Now if I could just afford the three head deck of my dreams 😂😂.
Hi there, I've just watched it.. I glanced past it before your comment reminded me. I also can repair all types of audio equipment.
@@JD-lk7im what brands do you recommend? I don’t mind getting mine fixed but tired of buying badly made junk that can’t be fixed. I really liked the denon it sounded really go but the computer circuitry went crazy . I had gotten it used for the first six months it worked fine then it wouldn’t rewind replaced belts it still wouldn’t rewind ( I could live with that) then one day it would not play or rewind. Was told by technician no parts and to throw it out . He claimed most technics, aiwa have better parts availability and can usually be fixed.
@@spotsill You can't go wrong with Aiwa. Inexpensive , seviceable and reliable.
@@JD-lk7im thanks! Like all things in life I will just have to be brave and pull the trigger and buy one and hope for the best . I have a lot of great music calling my name and it’s on cassettes . Have a wonderful day and thanks for the advice. I have stopped being a child of the 80’s and definitely sticking with a single deck in my old age 😂😂👍🏻👍🏻. Have a wonderful day and thanks for the help.
I have a lot of those TDK DS
That image of a CD on the wrapping of the Superior D90 must have had the record companies *SCREAMING* in protest.
But, if memory serves me correctly, there was a surcharge tacked onto blank audio cassette sales; where supposedly those (US) dollars were sent to record companies as a compensation for the songs dubbed from CDs onto blank audio cassettes.
Tdk ka set ka price kitna hai
What music was used (e.g 9:11)? Thanks.
Yes, type 1's will always be hissy, but they did perform well. I have a few variations of them from the late 90's and early 2000's. I went to a local small indie electronics/hardware variety store to buy them, and they probably bought whatever they could get a deal on, so I'd get what they had at any given time. I also got JVC & SKC brands from him (I was going to type SMC but that was a record label lol.)
So is this about the same as an skc lx?
Kupujem te kasete 10 komada. Skoljko mani. Rok isporuke. Hvala
Pozdrav joška Srbija.
TDK NUNCA FALLA
I have a TDK D that looks like the one on the right, except that the D90 logo is on the upper right and not in the center. But mine's got 4 screws, indeed.
What model is that tape deck?
Nakamichi ZX-9
I have never seen a real TDK without screws and red tape clips. Were those even real TDK's anymore?
TDK made quite a few variations of the D shells, I've seen white hubs and clips (these were common to see on Australian market D's since 1994), white hubs and red clips (the one on later European D's and earlier D's) and white hubs and black clips (I've only seen these on European last gen D's). I think they started doing welded shells in the 2000s, but there's differences depending where you are in the world. Here in Australia, our last D had the American design like the first one in this video, it started off with screws, and it stayed similar till they went all welded towards the end around 2005, then in 2007 Imation bought TDK's media division, I can remember in 2011 buying a pack and the shell was all welded and had the same tape as the "superior" D in the video but had a similar design as the first one in the video.
We want more from the A model.
You have a very good Nakamichi cassette deck but you failed in your attempt to demonstrate wich one is better because you must compare THE SAME MELODY FROM THE SAME SOURCE. After you copy both cassette from yhe same source you must compare the 2 cassette sounds. In quality of video image from TV or monitor is the same principle. Compare image (and sound) FROM THE SAME SOURCE! Otherwise is imposible to tell wich one is better. Have a nice day!
Yes, you'll be able to make a fully accurate comparison of these cassettes after the audio is converted to digital whilst it's recorded, encoded for the first time in video editing and then encoded again when it's uploaded to RUclips. The aim isn't to compare really, it's just too demonstrate whether they sound good or not.
Great test, thanks. We know these ferric have a good shelf life. What ever happened to DIY tapes that made a lot of sense. Buying empty shells and tape on a hub by different manufacturers. Assembling these yourself. It could be done if someone would sell them again. The logistics are way simpler and you are not stuck with rubbish cassettes.
You would need a pancake loader, I owned 3 made by king cassette loaders. This machine required both a vacuum pump as well as the tape shells , air compressor as wel cases splicing tape and a decent single colour pad printer. Shells come best in full container so that this would be a huge investment before even selling one.
True, Ds are going up in price now. But you gotta pay for quality, dudes. Luckily, I have the odd D lying around, so I'm sorted for a while. Still looking for some of those Superior Ds, though. Only ever see them on USA lots on eBay and the postage is horrendous.
There are people who just are not happy unless they are over-paying for stuff. That is what is jacking the prices. It makes them feel all warm and fuzzy to overpay for audio stuff. Whether it's $100 patch cables or audiophile grade CF cards or whether it's a specific old cassette tapes. The more they pay, the better the sound quality.
The bias is right. HA!! sounds like the price is right!! Nice!
I have both tdks
why not just do 20-20khz sweep on rec, and then capture wav on pc and show spectrum? what are we supposed to hear via yt aac compression?
manual.audacityteam.org/man/plot_spectrum.html
Oh I love it!
I used some of the last d's Japanese and they were extremely good. With dolby s I really struggled to differentiate between tape and original. Then I got into mini disc and then mp3. Oh well.
Myth and legend?? Or is it true?? Recording with Dolby and playing back without Dolby. Does it make your recordings sound better? An investigation by Tony. ....Just a suggestion.
I've no interest in NR...
If you don’t have a deck with adjustable bias, it might work if the tapes sound a bit dull. Or if you’re playing back older tapes that were recorded decades ago. I have many tapes I recorded in the ‘80s and I play most of them back without dolby while they were recorded with dolby. Especially the ferrics (mostly D) have a rolled off top end. The SAs are fine, although many of them suffer from railroading.
Здравствуйте! Так какая лучше? I don't undestend.
I've got "play it loud", but it is still true TDK. and it says "tape made in korea"
Perhaps that was put together just at the switch-over point. They used up some of the last of the older wrapping, maybe?
the Superior sounded a lot more muddy on the high end to the source compared to the D.
sadly in my country there are almost no new cassetes left
3 months ago maxell ur's got out of stock and till now they didn't come back.
It looks like cassettes are going to die.. sooner or later.
Video: *starts*
Me: "Oh boy, i can't wait to see his D" :D
TDK D VS SONY HF
tdk AD yhe best of all better than tdk SA for recording the bias in mid is used for chrome iron
Nice video :)
Ahh, the Badger-Meinhof Phenomenon strikes again. I just loaded all my TDK Ds into a new storage cabinet ( ibb.co/mcJJBxb ), and boom the first thing I see is Tony's new video on the exact tape. Spooky!
If you're gonna use Type I tape, might as well be these. Honestly, the TDK D series was always the 'cheap' tape to get.
Variations of the D haha im a dirty bugger
TDK: PLAY IT LOUD!
Me: PITY LITD
I can bet “the last” has -3-6dB at a high end, and higher distortions. This is what I head
Well, I can clearly hear less highs on either of tapes, with some high sounds being non-existent anymore (especially on the first tape), I understand it's just Type I, but it's a clear win for the digital. My point is, there is no reason for using Type I's nowadays, no matter how good they are, just my opinion.
Opinions are always correct, but they're not always facts.
I honestly could not tell any real difference, but I think it is down to the music and not the tapes. This music is just so bad it sounds bland no matter what. Both times I thought the source and tape were just as lousy.
Why can't the audio library have music made from actual musical instruments? I want to hear drums, a guitar, some horns and some strings. MUSIC. Not a mod file, which is what all this music sounds like to me. Both of these songs heavily remind me of in-game music from the 16 bit era. It's just terrible.
I'm not trashing your selection. It's all bad. Maybe you manage to find the least bad. But less bad is still bad. YT needs to fix this system so that 30 seconds of audio from real music can be in the video without the risk of copyright strikes or demonetization hell.
You take what's there. Musicians using real instruments and investing a lot of time and money aren't going to give it away for free.
@@CassetteComeback You can go into the Apple store and listen to 30 second (I am pretty sure it's a minute now) clip of a song completely for free. There is absolutely no reason they cannot allow this. They do it because they're greedy and because Google lets them. Google could singlehandledly CRUSH the ENTIRE music industry. Hell, they could buy the entire music industry with their pocket change. Not only is Google orders of magnitude larger than the whole music industry, the music industry has collapsed. This stupid shortsightedness is an example of why. Napster should have their wakeup call. They are living off licenses. That is why they are so anal with their enforcement of their old IP.
Hey man, best of luck with your music venture. I support it. I support your artists. Eff the music industry.
Funny thing is, I think indy bands could put at least 1 song with real music into the free library. It is near impossible to get noticed today. Nobody has any incentive to expose small indy bands. Having good music in the library could get them more exposure than they could ever hope to get in any other way.
the best audio tape is vhs , audiable , there ranking of audio , 1- vinyl - 2 vhs - 3 dat - 4 chrome tape - 5 mini disc
Yes. I have superior d!
Don't Google "the D."
59 ages retirement tdk
Good cassettes, but EU versions were prettier. I miss the red clamp in the hubs. Now it looks boring and uninteresting.
The latest versions of USA TDK D "Life on Record" sometimes surprise with the words Made in Indonesia. Inside you will find the Pangungg (Maxell) cassette.
59 age tdk retirement tdk tdk tdk