Can you believe it? Tape Project is ten years old! Thanks to everyone who has supported us in introducing studio quality tape reproduction to the audiophile community!

Author Topic: Tape types  (Read 9765 times)

Offline john

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 38
    • View Profile
Tape types
« on: August 01, 2008, 11:00:14 AM »
Can anyone explain to me the differences in the various formulations, i am new to r2r but have used cassette tapes for years. One of the reasons cassette was able to close the gap with r2r was better tape stock eg, metal tape or chrome. My question is are any of the various r2r tapes available metal/chrome? and if not why not!! what do the numbers, 468,478,499, 900,911 and GP9 mean?

                                                                         Thanks, John.
John Taylor

Revox C270, Teac X-2000R, Technics RS1506, RS7500, Nakamichi Dragon, CR7E, Sony WM-D6C, Sony EL7 ( Elcaset! ) Brinkmann balance, Brinkmann Ti Cart, Clearaudio Balanced Ref, Esoteric XO1-D2, ARC Ref3, Ref 210, JM Lab Micro Utopia Be and Jas Audio Plato.

Offline ironbut

  • Global Moderator
  • leader in spreading disinformation
  • *****
  • Posts: 2503
  • rs1500>repro amp#1
    • View Profile
Re: Tape types
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2008, 05:33:42 PM »
Hi John, welcome to the forum. Regarding the formulas, here's a link to RMGI spec sheets via US Recording Media's web site. That's what those numbers at the end of your post are. As to why they never made (or if they ever made) metal tape, I don't recall but it may have been answered here before. There is quite a bit of info in a sticky above the General forum and the link for MRL labs is very heavy on the tape and tape to head interface.
http://usrecordingmedia-store.stores.yahoo.net/datasheets.html
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
 HE Audio Jades

Offline High and Outside

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 364
    • View Profile
Re: Tape types
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2008, 09:50:09 PM »
Chromium dioxide only provides its advantages at very slow speed. Hence it was a boon for cassettes, but made no difference at the speeds that reel to reels use.
Paul Stubblebine
Managing Director, The TapeProject

Offline john

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 38
    • View Profile
Re: Tape types
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2008, 01:18:26 AM »
Thanks Steve and Paul, that answers my question. One of the reasons i asked is that there has been a lot of talk about tape manufactures closing down and starting up again but some of the big Japanese companies never stopped apart from r2r tape and cassette. I'm thinking here about DV cassettes etc. These are using the very latest formulations in quarter inch widths and it occurred to me that these formulations might be suitable for r2r.
                                                     John.
John Taylor

Revox C270, Teac X-2000R, Technics RS1506, RS7500, Nakamichi Dragon, CR7E, Sony WM-D6C, Sony EL7 ( Elcaset! ) Brinkmann balance, Brinkmann Ti Cart, Clearaudio Balanced Ref, Esoteric XO1-D2, ARC Ref3, Ref 210, JM Lab Micro Utopia Be and Jas Audio Plato.

Offline ironbut

  • Global Moderator
  • leader in spreading disinformation
  • *****
  • Posts: 2503
  • rs1500>repro amp#1
    • View Profile
Re: Tape types
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2008, 09:09:03 AM »
If you get a chance to listen to some Tape Project tapes (recorded on RMGI 468) I think you'll see that the tape that is available on reel to reel is pretty hard to find fault with. I do some home recording and use RMGI 911 and the tape isn't the limiting factor for me. I'm sure that studios can push the current production tapes past their dynamic range, but I haven't yet.
I don't think that it's by accident that this is one of the least popular forum categories here. When you start whipping tape through at high speeds and with larger format widths, the tape used becomes less and less important (at least to us consumers).
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
 HE Audio Jades