DISCLAIMER: ATR Magnetics is not compensating me in any way for my time or efforts. I am doing this on a volunteer basis and all feedback below are my sole opinions.
----------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a long time coming. But the long wait is just about over. ATR Magnetics is in the final testing and preparations phase for a new 1.0 mil Long Play tape.
I have been asked to be a beta tester for it. A few months ago, I received a prototype sample and did and evaluation on it. My first impressions were mostly positive but there were a few areas of concern.
This week, I received a second sample, which appears to be a pre-production example.
So here's a quick summary:
MAKE: ATR Magnetics
MODEL: MDS-36
PRODUCT: Long Play open reel tape
TYPE: 1.0 mil X 3600' back coated
PACKAGING: Black tape care box, heritage Ampex/Quantegy style reel
The packaging is very minimalist. The labeling is an attractive color scheme of red/white/black and is reminiscent of mid/late 60's Ampex. The reel design is heritage Ampex/Quantegy style but with one minor difference: the bolts and barrel nuts that hold the flanges to the hub are hex-key style instead of the traditional Phillips screwdriver fit, which could be problematic for anyone who wishes to use them for loading and unloading pancakes or to mix with other reels.
One thing that was a disappointment was the model name.
MDS-36.
I'm sorry, but that is just AWFUL. That sounds like some kind of industrial strength cleaner that you would use to clean your stove or mop your floors with, not a recording tape aimed squarely at home hobbyists. I had been really pushing-and hoping-that ATR would call this tape "Classic", which would have a nice lyrical sounding ring that would compliment their existing "Master" tape nicely. Say MDS-36 out loud. It's long and cumbersome. Now say "Classic". This was another thing that Maxell got right. Say "XLI" out loud. It has a slick, almost poetic flow to it: "excel one" or "eck Sell one". Now granted, the tape has not yet gone into full scale production. So it's possible that they may change the name. But given that labels are already printed up, I'm not seeing this as likely. I know, I know, this has no bearing on the tapes physical and sonic merits, but marketing does matter. There are still people out there who have never heard of RMGI or PYRAL, so with such an tepid and uninspiring name, this tape may struggle to gain a footing just for that reason alone when it goes live.
This is a back coated tape. It does not come with leaders. So as expected, if you want leaders, you must attach yourself.
A question that comes up is the tapes overall thickness. So you can see here how it stacks up against some other 1.0 mil tapes. I did not include any Ampex, Scotch/3M, or Sony tapes for comparison simply because most of those are Sticky Shed and therefore unusable and cannot really be considered viable competitors to this tape. Likewise, TDK was omitted from this comparison because of stability issues as well.
Top to bottom:
Denon DX-1101B
Quantegy 457
Maxell XLI
ATR MDS-36
PYRAL LPR-35
Maxell UD
The pack was smooth even after the first fast wind. There was no sluggishness, squealing, or hesitation. Likewise the slitting appears to be smooth and clean. There was no excessive shaving, shedding, or clumping worth noting. This tape is very clean. The end to end, one pass play time clocked in at 1:37:30
For the sonic evaluations, I performed my standard array of tests using test tones and three musical selections. For the first time in all the years I've been reviewing tapes, there is no need to parse out all the technical minutiae. I can get right to the bottom line and report a summary of my findings.
This tape is absolutely fantastic. ATR got this one right. Unlike some tapes such as Quantegy 457 that require extensive adjusting to the calibration and/or bias-EQ to get good sound. Because this tape is intended for home hobbyist use, I ran the tests within two parameters: One at bias/EQ neutral (my deck is calibrated for Quantegy 457) and again to find the best and natural sound using the adjustments available to me.
At both settings, this tape was extraordinarily clean sounding and easy to use. My findings suggest that this is a perfect +3dB OL oxide, which is a perfect replacement for Maxell XLI. Indeed my first impressions were that ATR reverse engineered the legendary tape and updated it. And if Maxell were to have ever made an upgraded XLI-S tape, this would've been it.
I was absolutely blown away by both how clear it sounds *AND* how easy it is to use. If anyone is now using XLI and/or PYRAL LPR-35, they will LOVE MDS-36 and probably find it to be better sounding. Under all settings, I was able to achieve near perfect sound using the gain set to a sustained 0dB with peaks up to +4. -Exactly the best way TO do a recording. Saturation and distortion was not noticeable until the low test tones and the musical selections were pushed up to a sustained +4dB.
If I had to find one fault with this tape, it does have some base noise 'hiss' to it. This may only be a problem during quiet passages or in between tracks. But when the music is going, this tape offered crystal clear sound across all spectral frequencies. I am really, REALLY impressed with this tape and eagerly await getting more of it.
And I think others will too.
Thanks for reading.
----------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a long time coming. But the long wait is just about over. ATR Magnetics is in the final testing and preparations phase for a new 1.0 mil Long Play tape.
I have been asked to be a beta tester for it. A few months ago, I received a prototype sample and did and evaluation on it. My first impressions were mostly positive but there were a few areas of concern.
This week, I received a second sample, which appears to be a pre-production example.
So here's a quick summary:
MAKE: ATR Magnetics
MODEL: MDS-36
PRODUCT: Long Play open reel tape
TYPE: 1.0 mil X 3600' back coated
PACKAGING: Black tape care box, heritage Ampex/Quantegy style reel
The packaging is very minimalist. The labeling is an attractive color scheme of red/white/black and is reminiscent of mid/late 60's Ampex. The reel design is heritage Ampex/Quantegy style but with one minor difference: the bolts and barrel nuts that hold the flanges to the hub are hex-key style instead of the traditional Phillips screwdriver fit, which could be problematic for anyone who wishes to use them for loading and unloading pancakes or to mix with other reels.
One thing that was a disappointment was the model name.
MDS-36.
I'm sorry, but that is just AWFUL. That sounds like some kind of industrial strength cleaner that you would use to clean your stove or mop your floors with, not a recording tape aimed squarely at home hobbyists. I had been really pushing-and hoping-that ATR would call this tape "Classic", which would have a nice lyrical sounding ring that would compliment their existing "Master" tape nicely. Say MDS-36 out loud. It's long and cumbersome. Now say "Classic". This was another thing that Maxell got right. Say "XLI" out loud. It has a slick, almost poetic flow to it: "excel one" or "eck Sell one". Now granted, the tape has not yet gone into full scale production. So it's possible that they may change the name. But given that labels are already printed up, I'm not seeing this as likely. I know, I know, this has no bearing on the tapes physical and sonic merits, but marketing does matter. There are still people out there who have never heard of RMGI or PYRAL, so with such an tepid and uninspiring name, this tape may struggle to gain a footing just for that reason alone when it goes live.
This is a back coated tape. It does not come with leaders. So as expected, if you want leaders, you must attach yourself.
A question that comes up is the tapes overall thickness. So you can see here how it stacks up against some other 1.0 mil tapes. I did not include any Ampex, Scotch/3M, or Sony tapes for comparison simply because most of those are Sticky Shed and therefore unusable and cannot really be considered viable competitors to this tape. Likewise, TDK was omitted from this comparison because of stability issues as well.
Top to bottom:
Denon DX-1101B
Quantegy 457
Maxell XLI
ATR MDS-36
PYRAL LPR-35
Maxell UD
The pack was smooth even after the first fast wind. There was no sluggishness, squealing, or hesitation. Likewise the slitting appears to be smooth and clean. There was no excessive shaving, shedding, or clumping worth noting. This tape is very clean. The end to end, one pass play time clocked in at 1:37:30
For the sonic evaluations, I performed my standard array of tests using test tones and three musical selections. For the first time in all the years I've been reviewing tapes, there is no need to parse out all the technical minutiae. I can get right to the bottom line and report a summary of my findings.
This tape is absolutely fantastic. ATR got this one right. Unlike some tapes such as Quantegy 457 that require extensive adjusting to the calibration and/or bias-EQ to get good sound. Because this tape is intended for home hobbyist use, I ran the tests within two parameters: One at bias/EQ neutral (my deck is calibrated for Quantegy 457) and again to find the best and natural sound using the adjustments available to me.
At both settings, this tape was extraordinarily clean sounding and easy to use. My findings suggest that this is a perfect +3dB OL oxide, which is a perfect replacement for Maxell XLI. Indeed my first impressions were that ATR reverse engineered the legendary tape and updated it. And if Maxell were to have ever made an upgraded XLI-S tape, this would've been it.
I was absolutely blown away by both how clear it sounds *AND* how easy it is to use. If anyone is now using XLI and/or PYRAL LPR-35, they will LOVE MDS-36 and probably find it to be better sounding. Under all settings, I was able to achieve near perfect sound using the gain set to a sustained 0dB with peaks up to +4. -Exactly the best way TO do a recording. Saturation and distortion was not noticeable until the low test tones and the musical selections were pushed up to a sustained +4dB.
If I had to find one fault with this tape, it does have some base noise 'hiss' to it. This may only be a problem during quiet passages or in between tracks. But when the music is going, this tape offered crystal clear sound across all spectral frequencies. I am really, REALLY impressed with this tape and eagerly await getting more of it.
And I think others will too.
Thanks for reading.
Last edited:
L