25.07.2022, 02:19
Thank you, that's a wealth of information,
so I guess I'll take it a little easier, we'll look at the SKM/SKC to start with.
I've always categorized SKM manufacturer's tapes into these categories and never knew of anything else. Since we live in Europe I've always considered SKC as the model.
ferro - LX, GX
superferro - AX
Type II FeCo - QX
Type II Chromium Dioxide - CD
Type IV metal - ZX
I thought SKC audiotapes and OEM products for other brands always included one of these base tapes I listed.
But it worries me that even within the same model over the years, or even within the same vintage in different batches, there could be very different tapes.
Then the mention of Memorex CDX2 with a tape called Epitaxial, as in Maxell, surprised me a lot.
From the leaflets you showed, did they really make Cobalt-chromdioxide Tape?
That breakdown was clear and now it looks so very complicated.
Are the tapes really the same within the same model?
In the future I plan to take all my SKC LX and GX for example, make recordings and tape comparisons with photos, tape color, condition, gloss, translucency.
And I will find that there is always a different tape.
Or another example, I take a Memorex DBS from SKM, compare it to SKC GX, compare it to Scotch BX SKM, and find that there is always a different tape with very different characteristics? And I could go on and on like this, SKM has made cartridges for many brands, if we are in the basic ferro oxide class, why are there so many different tapes?
And I could go on in the QX class, if I compare SKM type II products for other brands, again I find a lot of differences in how the tapes look and what properties they have.
In the case of the ZX, I was never sure if it was their own tape or if it was purchased from Japan. Some pieces have the typical white dust, textures arranged exactly like TDK Metal, some pieces have the tape just right.
The Memorex Cire IV and CDX IV in the C110 version were fine, but the length also suggests a possible TDK connection.
SKC ZX, Smat MT have white dust. Calibrated to TDK MA according to my Akai DX-57 machine, which according to the service manual is calibrated to TDK MA, so with the new generation SKC ZX or Smat MT the BIAS value corresponds to exactly 0, as per the manual.
The tape translucency test is also interesting, with the SKC QX model occasionally showing very little or no translucency. The colour and gloss of the tape also changes over the vintages, sometimes quite radically rather than what I would consider a classic evolutionary change.
Then there are the older generation SKC models with other names, or the Smat brand, where I felt there was a greater variety of models on offer than the actual tape they were able to produce.
In the photos I picked at random some SKC audiotapes, you can see the big differences between the ferro versions of the tape.
The Memorex CDX2 with the "epitaxial" tape is dark brown and noticeably translucent. It is thus completely different from all SKC type II tapes.
Smat MT looks like TDK MA according to the dust.
Finally, I also found AudioMagentics XHE HD II Canada, the tape is dark, not translucent.
so I guess I'll take it a little easier, we'll look at the SKM/SKC to start with.
I've always categorized SKM manufacturer's tapes into these categories and never knew of anything else. Since we live in Europe I've always considered SKC as the model.
ferro - LX, GX
superferro - AX
Type II FeCo - QX
Type II Chromium Dioxide - CD
Type IV metal - ZX
I thought SKC audiotapes and OEM products for other brands always included one of these base tapes I listed.
But it worries me that even within the same model over the years, or even within the same vintage in different batches, there could be very different tapes.
Then the mention of Memorex CDX2 with a tape called Epitaxial, as in Maxell, surprised me a lot.
From the leaflets you showed, did they really make Cobalt-chromdioxide Tape?
That breakdown was clear and now it looks so very complicated.
Are the tapes really the same within the same model?
In the future I plan to take all my SKC LX and GX for example, make recordings and tape comparisons with photos, tape color, condition, gloss, translucency.
And I will find that there is always a different tape.
Or another example, I take a Memorex DBS from SKM, compare it to SKC GX, compare it to Scotch BX SKM, and find that there is always a different tape with very different characteristics? And I could go on and on like this, SKM has made cartridges for many brands, if we are in the basic ferro oxide class, why are there so many different tapes?
And I could go on in the QX class, if I compare SKM type II products for other brands, again I find a lot of differences in how the tapes look and what properties they have.
In the case of the ZX, I was never sure if it was their own tape or if it was purchased from Japan. Some pieces have the typical white dust, textures arranged exactly like TDK Metal, some pieces have the tape just right.
The Memorex Cire IV and CDX IV in the C110 version were fine, but the length also suggests a possible TDK connection.
SKC ZX, Smat MT have white dust. Calibrated to TDK MA according to my Akai DX-57 machine, which according to the service manual is calibrated to TDK MA, so with the new generation SKC ZX or Smat MT the BIAS value corresponds to exactly 0, as per the manual.
The tape translucency test is also interesting, with the SKC QX model occasionally showing very little or no translucency. The colour and gloss of the tape also changes over the vintages, sometimes quite radically rather than what I would consider a classic evolutionary change.
Then there are the older generation SKC models with other names, or the Smat brand, where I felt there was a greater variety of models on offer than the actual tape they were able to produce.
In the photos I picked at random some SKC audiotapes, you can see the big differences between the ferro versions of the tape.
The Memorex CDX2 with the "epitaxial" tape is dark brown and noticeably translucent. It is thus completely different from all SKC type II tapes.
Smat MT looks like TDK MA according to the dust.
Finally, I also found AudioMagentics XHE HD II Canada, the tape is dark, not translucent.