What to do with old cassette tape

[y_p_w]

I went through my stash of old stuff. It included a sealed Maxell XLII 90 cassette tape that bought years ago. This was my go-to tape I used on my Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2. which I can't seem to locate right now. Probably buried somewhere in my boxes of old stuff.

Is it worth much? I see that Maxell still makes the UR cassette tape, but that's it. I remember way back when the debate was about whether XLII-S was worth the higher cost (an audio shop said not really if the deck was properly calibrated to the tape) or between Maxell or TDK.

 

[deanm11]

MX-90 ("metal") was the top shelf as I recall. But I used a bunch of XLIIs. And now quick check of ebay shows the Xlii are available for a few dollars while people are at least asking in the $20 range for MX90s.

One of the Nakamichis would flip the cassette out and back in the switch sides! I think it was called the 'Dragon'

 

[Alfred_B]

It's probably deteriorated now.

 

[skyactiv]

Throw it away.

 

[CharBaby]

I threw away all of mine years ago. Whether they were pre recorded(junk) or my TDK SAC/SA 90. All gone now!

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by deanm11
MX-90 ("metal") was the top shelf as I recall. But I used a bunch of XLIIs. And now quick check of ebay shows the Xlii are available for a few dollars while people are at least asking in the $20 range for MX90s.

One of the Nakamichis would flip the cassette out and back in the switch sides! I think it was called the 'Dragon'

I remember the Dragon. It didn't have a flip out mechanism. It did have the most convoluted automatic azimuth adjustment system ever made for a Compact Cassette deck. It also had a traditional motor system to auto-reverse the tape. I think it was just a three head system with erase, record, and playback heads. My Cassette Deck 2 only had erase and record/playback heads, so I couldn't record and play back at the same time, which was useful for monitoring the recording results. I remember hearing that the non-reversing Nakamichi CR-7A was the equivalent in recording and playback quality, although it only had a manual azimuth adjustment.

This is a Dragon:

You're probably thinking of the Nakamichi RX series that had the mechanism that physically flipped the cassette. They called it "unidirectional auto-reverse" which I suppose meant it only played in one direction, but of course physically popped out the cassette to reverse it. I think the models were the RX-202 and this one - the RX-505.

 

[NO2]

As soon as you toss it you'll find some cassette of your kids you want to play.

 

[GSCJR]

The Maxell "super fine epitaxial" XLII-S was in my opinion the highest quality cassette tape available for both reliability and sound performance. They were subjected to substantial wear and tear when I used them as a DJ without any problems.

Believe me I tried many different models and other brands as well.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted by GSCJR
The Maxell "super fine epitaxial" XLII-S was in my opinion the highest quality cassette tape available for both reliability and sound performance. They were subjected to substantial wear and tear when I used them as a DJ without any problems.

Believe me I tried many different models and other brands as well.


I remember back when I was in college, and I made tons of mixtapes, copied CD to tape, etc.. for my car, since it only had a cassette deck, buying tons of cassette tapes.. and on at least one occasion, buying Maxell XLII-S tapes by the case through a catalog.. I think it was B&H Photo or something like that. I remember them not being cheap, either.. but I wanted the best quality sound I could get.

Also bought a lot of Sony Metal SR and Metal XR tapes, and plenty of TDK SA-X cassettes.. Man, just thinking of this brings me back..

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted by Char Baby
I threw away all of mine years ago. Whether they were pre recorded(junk) or my TDK SAC/SA 90. All gone now!


Believe or not, I still have some stuff recorded on TDK SA 90 and it still sounds great on the one old car that has a deck. It embarrasses the heck out of my kids

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Originally Posted by Char Baby
I threw away all of mine years ago. Whether they were pre recorded(junk) or my TDK SAC/SA 90. All gone now!


Believe or not, I still have some stuff recorded on TDK SA 90 and it still sounds great on the one old car that has a deck. It embarrasses the heck out of my kids

Send them my way I'll embarrass them some more.
I have one in my Explorer

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by SirTanon
Originally Posted by GSCJR
The Maxell "super fine epitaxial" XLII-S was in my opinion the highest quality cassette tape available for both reliability and sound performance. They were subjected to substantial wear and tear when I used them as a DJ without any problems.

Believe me I tried many different models and other brands as well.


I remember back when I was in college, and I made tons of mixtapes, copied CD to tape, etc.. for my car, since it only had a cassette deck, buying tons of cassette tapes.. and on at least one occasion, buying Maxell XLII-S tapes by the case through a catalog.. I think it was B&H Photo or something like that. I remember them not being cheap, either.. but I wanted the best quality sound I could get.

Also bought a lot of Sony Metal SR and Metal XR tapes, and plenty of TDK SA-X cassettes.. Man, just thinking of this brings me back..

I think a bunch of my mixtapes are downstairs in boxes. What I primarily used were the Maxell XLII and TDK MA 110. I know the tape was kind of thin, but I never had one break on me. I forgot what else I used for a Type I. The place I bought my Nak deck from would do annual recalibrations for life, although I'm not sure they would still do it. The place is still in business, got sold. They would ask me which tapes they wanted to calibrate it to. Might have been Maxell UR, which are still being made, the XLII, and TDK MA. But over the years I tried all sorts of different tapes.

My wife's 2002 Civic has a cassette deck. My 2004 WRX won't play CDs any more. It just kind of whirs around when I turn on the stereo and it just stops making noise. I think the mechanism is toast. However, the radio still work, and I haven't tested the cassette. Not even sure that any new systems do anything other than play from Bluetooth or via USB. I guess a few new cars still have CD players.

 

[GSCJR]

Originally Posted by SirTanon
Originally Posted by GSCJR
The Maxell "super fine epitaxial" XLII-S was in my opinion the highest quality cassette tape available for both reliability and sound performance. They were subjected to substantial wear and tear when I used them as a DJ without any problems.

Believe me I tried many different models and other brands as well.


I remember back when I was in college, and I made tons of mixtapes, copied CD to tape, etc.. for my car, since it only had a cassette deck, buying tons of cassette tapes.. and on at least one occasion, buying Maxell XLII-S tapes by the case through a catalog.. I think it was B&H Photo or something like that. I remember them not being cheap, either.. but I wanted the best quality sound I could get.

Also bought a lot of Sony Metal SR and Metal XR tapes, and plenty of TDK SA-X cassettes.. Man, just thinking of this brings me back..


You're right, they were expensive. I still remember having to peel off the gold wrapper using the little pull tab. Lol. Good times making tapes with my Hitachi and JVC decks.

 

[GSCJR]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by SirTanon
Originally Posted by GSCJR
The Maxell "super fine epitaxial" XLII-S was in my opinion the highest quality cassette tape available for both reliability and sound performance. They were subjected to substantial wear and tear when I used them as a DJ without any problems.

Believe me I tried many different models and other brands as well.


I remember back when I was in college, and I made tons of mixtapes, copied CD to tape, etc.. for my car, since it only had a cassette deck, buying tons of cassette tapes.. and on at least one occasion, buying Maxell XLII-S tapes by the case through a catalog.. I think it was B&H Photo or something like that. I remember them not being cheap, either.. but I wanted the best quality sound I could get.

Also bought a lot of Sony Metal SR and Metal XR tapes, and plenty of TDK SA-X cassettes.. Man, just thinking of this brings me back..

I think a bunch of my mixtapes are downstairs in boxes. What I primarily used were the Maxell XLII and TDK MA 110. I know the tape was kind of thin, but I never had one break on me. I forgot what else I used for a Type I. The place I bought my Nak deck from would do annual recalibrations for life, although I'm not sure they would still do it. The place is still in business, got sold. They would ask me which tapes they wanted to calibrate it to. Might have been Maxell UR, which are still being made, the XLII, and TDK MA. But over the years I tried all sorts of different tapes.

My wife's 2002 Civic has a cassette deck. My 2004 WRX won't play CDs any more. It just kind of whirs around when I turn on the stereo and it just stops making noise. I think the mechanism is toast. However, the radio still work, and I haven't tested the cassette. Not even sure that any new systems do anything other than play from Bluetooth or via USB. I guess a few new cars still have CD players.


My 03 Toyota CD player sounds like yours. Started acting up after I disconnected the battery last month. Now my CD's won't eject and I'm in the process of opening it. Cassette player still works as well as the radio.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted by NO2
As soon as you toss it you'll find some cassette of your kids you want to play.


"So that's where my Barney tapes were."

 

[Chris142]

My jeep and f250 have cassette players. I currantly have willie Nelson in the truck and black sabbath in the jeep

 

[eljefino]

My 05 prius has a tape deck (plus CD) while the 06 is CD-only.

Occasionally my town dump gets racks of tapes at its "swap shop". Dirty Dancing soundtrack, Jim Croce, etc. Dad music.

 

[Lubener]

I am a collector and still have my 4 track player and a box of 4 track cartridges which came before the 8 tracks. Player and the tapes still work.
If the cassettes work for you, use it and not be ashamed of it.

 

[Schmoe]

The truck still has a cassette deck, and the boat as well. Came across a Bluetooth cassette adapter that connects to my phone and I just play stuff from it. I had a TON of cassettes from over the years. I tried playing them through my Teac and Pioneer system I kept a few years ago, and they sounded horrible. The highs were gone, mids were pretty muddy. They would also squeal a lot. A bunch had probably demagnetized from the years and the ferrous oxide coatings were ruining the tape heads and capstans....so.....I goodwilled them all.

 

[Y_K]

I think it is a lovely retro touch to have a cassette playing in my Lexus LX. The best sound of the era was achieved by recording to a VHS tape (outside of DAT and other studio means). Helical heads had the best dynamic range