1987 TDK D 46 Audio Cassette

I felt that the TDK D audio tape of the mid to late 1980s was very similar to the Sony HF. A basic and cheap Type I with quite a warm sound, relatively low fidelity, and a very similar appearance too by 1987, when the tape in this photo was made. Check the HF link above for a visual comparison.

1987 TDK AD 90 Audio Cassette

Zipping back a quarter of a century to 1987, for a recollection of this TDK AD 90 audio cassette. These were mid-level Type I tapes – normal bias, but formulated to reproduce music at decent, if not jaw-droppingly impressive fidelity.

1992 Scotch BX 60 Audio Cassette

This is a Scotch BX/60, from 1992. It’s not a good tape. It’s very hissy and pretty much personifies low-end sound quality. I suppose that’s fair enough, given that it sat at the bottom of Scotch’s range at the time, but it’s not a great advert for what was once a very well respected brand.