Also, if I gave you a mixtape on CrO2 tape, I really liked you. I generally used name-brand, but cheapest, normal bias cassettes for mixtapes.
@Ellico2020bis
Oooooh mixtapes. I was a Maxell XLII-S/Denon HD8 person (TDK on occasion). All those amazing hours of planning and plotting!! I still plan my digital playlists to adhere to cassette running times of 60, 75, 100 or 120. Now I wanna make a mix tape.
@MPCavalier 4.5 years ago I bought a Denon Dolby S deck that I didn't need, then that pack of cassettes. I still haven't bothered to find out how Dolby S sounds. I paid like $37 for the deck, though, I had to.
@Ellico2020bis
Nice. I miss having all that gear. I went completely digital pretty early on. The only thing I have left is an old solid state pre-amp that sits between my mixer and my speakers to give everything a little more punch. Dolby-S, in theory, adds enough noise reduction to faithfully reproduce the sound of a CD. Never got a chance to try it though.
@northernbassist @Ellico2020bis
Yeah. Another reason I converted! And my cassettes got a work out. From the home deck to the car to a walkman, they never maintained their initial sound for long.
@northernbassist @MPCavalier Yeah, the dbx and Dolby C encodings didn't work without proper decoding.
What about HX Pro, which was specifically aimed at dynamic range?
@Ellico2020bis @northernbassist
I think that was for increased treble, which they imprinted directly onto the tape.
@MPCavalier @northernbassist I thought it allowed going to +5db vs +3db or +3 vs +1 or something, which amounts to noise reduction, by increasing signal against noise.
HX Pro was used in recording only, and wasn't really noise reduction...it automatically biased the recording tape to provide the best headroom possible. HX Pro recordings would play back on any deck.
JVC had a circuit in their high end cassette decks, called B.E.S.T. (Bias, Equalization, Sensitivity of Tape) that had a 20 second or so process that would bias the specific tape in the machine--it was a great sales tool.
@northernbassist @MPCavalier The Denon deck I bought also has an "auto-tune." When I try it, I will try it on the last minute of side 2 so that the side 1 can stay virgin.
@northernbassist @MPCavalier This is why I haven't made a mixtape and tried the Dolby S etc. It's too much pressure! I need to preplan the playlist, and from which media to play the selections!
one major benefit--tape it over...
@northernbassist @MPCavalier It's well known that a virgin tape records better quality than an erased one
one pass isn't going to make that much difference on a cassette
@northernbassist @MPCavalier it also isn't that much trouble to flip it over and rewind it a minute or two just in case
true enough....just for grins, either of you ever try one of the TDK MA-R tapes in the metal case? Recording on one of those was like making your own master.
@northernbassist @MPCavalier You know, no! I also found regular TDK MA to be subpar to SA. Likely my particular deck, being budget Teac, not tuned well for it with the triple tape selector.
great test bed, though---record the same song with, and without, then play the tape back on every deck you have...
@northernbassist @MPCavalier Wow! I could even include a Sherwood car deck (that had Dolby C). This is something I would but also wouldn't (b/c lazy) do. Maybe if my old buddy were still alive, he did video powering up the ole Sherwood AM Stereo model with a battery charger.
@northernbassist @MPCavalier the oldest is a 1985 Teac. That $40 thing had a backlight behind the tape! I can't believe the "more premium" models I bought later didn't have that (including the 1996 Denon). The backlight was very, very useful.
Denon was always a pleasure to sell. Sounded noticeably better, outstanding values in turntables, especially, solid builds and long lived.
@MPCavalier @Ellico2020bis
Dolby could never address the restricted dynamic range, but they did OK for noise reduction. JVC had ANRS (automatic noise reduction system ) and
later Super ANRS, dbx had the only system that worked, but required expensive outboard devices, and dbx-encoded tapes were not compatible with non dbx decks.
fun times.