My cassette tape measurements
Wanting to learn the real performance of the cassettes I so lovingly used in the 80s and 90s I embarked on a project of characterising all tapes I could lay my hands on. Here are the results.
How the test was done
Maxell UD-XLII, XLII, Hitachi EX
Maxell XLII-S, Hitachi SX
Maxell UDII, UDII-S, UDII-CD, SXII, GPXII, USII, Capsule Cologne II
Maxell UL, UR, LN, S-LN
Maxell UD, UDI, UDI-S, UDI-CD, CD Capsule I, Hitachi UD
Maxell UD-XL, UD-XLI, XLI, XLI-S, Hitachi UD-ER
TDK SA, SF, CDing II
TDK SA-X
TDK OD, AD, AD-X, AR, AR-X
TDK D, A, FE
Sony UCX, UX, UX-S, UX-ES, UX-Pro, Walkman, Esprit II
Sony CHF, HF, BHF, HF-S, HF-ES, FX, HD-F
BASF Chromdioxid Super, Super II, Extra II, Chrome Super II, Standard II, Maxima II (chrome)
BASF Reference Maxima TPII, Chrome Super II, Super Quality II, Extra II, reCorD II, 353 CRII Studio (ferro-cobalt)
BASF Ferro Super LH, LH Extra I, LH-EI, LH, Ferro Extra I, Ferro Maxima I, Sound I
Agfa Low Noise, Super High Dynamic, Ferrocolor, FeI Ferrocolor HD, FeI-S Superferro HDX, F-DXI, F-DXIS
Axia PS-II, PS-IIs, AU-II, AU-IIx, Fuji GT-II, GT-IIs
modern-day tapes: NAC Studio Master 799, Audio Pro 731, Ferro Master C456, ATR ProChrome, Master, MDS
modern-day tapes: Recording The Masters Fox K7
various type Is: Akai, AudioSonic, Fuji, Memorex, PDM, Philips, Scotch, TEAC, That's, Watson
various type IIs: Agfa, Denon, Mark II, Memorex, PDM, Philips, RAKS, Scotch, That's
various type IVs: BASF, Fuji, Hitachi, Maxell, Scotch, Sony, TDK
Archive of older measurements (do not go here, nothing of interest)
Magazine cassette reviews
A large collection of audio magazine tape reviews (Audio, High-Fidelity, Hi-Fi Choice, ...)
Cassette deck restorations
TEAC A-550RX cassette deck restoration, part 1, part 2, part 3.
TEAC V-1RX cassette deck restoration, part 1, part 2.
Nakamichi BX-300E cassette deck restoration and modification.
Kenwood KX-880HX cassette deck restoration and modification.
Rotel RD-870 cassette deck restoration and modification.
Onkyo TA-2060 cassette deck restoration and modification.
NAD 6340 cassette deck restoration.
