1984 TDK SA 60 Audio Cassette

The TDK SA 60 was a really nice Type 2 high bias tape with a round but well defined sound. It also seemed a pretty durable piece of manufacture, and this one, whilst not having been played regularly since I moved its content to digital media in the late 1990s, does still sound very good – well over a quarter of a century after it was produced. ‘SA’, incidentally, stood for Super Avilyn, which was the receptive coating formulation TDK used on the actual tape.

1985 Sony HF-S 90 Audio Cassette

The Sony HF-S cassette was a normal bias Type 1, which was of a superior grade, and described by the manufacturer as Super High Fidelity. There was a big difference in sound quality between these tapes and the very basic ‘Low Noise’ range-proppers – although most high bias chrome tapes would still quite noticeably subordinate them in terms of frequency response.

1982 BASF Chromdioxid II Audio Cassette

BASF’s chrome Type 2 tapes had a great reputation in the early 1980s, courtesy of their very well defined treble response, which suited the era’s quest for super-high fidelity. It is of course hilarious looking back on the size of early ’80s ghetto blasters from the viewpoint of the 21st century, where everything is expected to fit into the pocket.