1995 TDK D 60 Audio Cassette

One of many incarnations of the famous TDK D normal bias Type I audio cassette – in this case a 1995 version. This lightbox view of the tape takes advantage of the transparent casing to show both sides of the product, but more importantly, the innards. You get a good sense from this image of how simple compact cassettes really were/are. Other than the two reels and the length of tape travelling from one to the other, it’s just a set of guides, and a soft pad (bottom centre) which gently pushes the tape against the record and play heads in the tape machine.

If you look between the ‘spokes’ in the reels, you can even see where the ends of the magnetic tape have been pinched into the plastic to hold them in place. Quite a primitive system, but it’s remained essentially unchanged throughout the historical lifespan of the compact audio cassette. A tribute to a brilliant design which was pretty much right first time as a basic concept.

Early 1980s TDK D 60 Audio Cassette

If you were in any way interested in music, or had a need to record audio during the early 1980s, you must surely recognise this cassette. It’s the ubiquitous-beyond-comprehension TDK D 60 – perhaps the general purpose tape of the era. Not because it was the best – but because it struck the perfect balance between price, aptitude and reliability. There were strong rivals, but TDK was a highly respected brand, and that counted for a lot among typical consumers, who wouldn’t necessarily analyse performance in any great technical detail.

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.