Don't know if it has been written before - I'm quite lazy to search!!!
I'm talking about the last generations of the UR. What I understand is that there were 3 different versions around the world. I have a Malaysian tape. I took a photo of mine.
Although I have a good quantity of these, I never used any until now. I made a recording of "Born In The USA" vinyl for my boy (to get him to the correct way!).
The result was mixed.
Cons: not very much detail and quite noisy. Nothing like the old good URs. It's something like the TDK FE, maybe a bit lesser. But we have to remember it's a plain ferric. No bias shield (like the last TDK Ds). Cheap j-card (if looks taken into consideration).
Pros: the price. It still can be found for less than two bucks. I bought my stock a year ago for 1.3 € a piece. Great price! Very consistent, easy calibration and not a single dropout. It can handle huge amounts of levels, for plain ferric. I recorded it peaking at +5 dB over the Dolby level and it asked for more! The shell, not great but promising. I have seen a lot worse than this one.
Sum: this cassette is what it advertises. For everyday recordings. It's not suitable for demanding recordings but it can stand well with more vague sources or materials. Due to it's high noise floor, a user may consider using noise reduction. In general, it is a cassette above the average of what the last years were produced. It's a pity it's production was terminated. Let's hope Maxell will restart the line.
View attachment DSC_0624.JPG
View attachment DSC_0623.JPG
I'm talking about the last generations of the UR. What I understand is that there were 3 different versions around the world. I have a Malaysian tape. I took a photo of mine.
Although I have a good quantity of these, I never used any until now. I made a recording of "Born In The USA" vinyl for my boy (to get him to the correct way!).
The result was mixed.
Cons: not very much detail and quite noisy. Nothing like the old good URs. It's something like the TDK FE, maybe a bit lesser. But we have to remember it's a plain ferric. No bias shield (like the last TDK Ds). Cheap j-card (if looks taken into consideration).
Pros: the price. It still can be found for less than two bucks. I bought my stock a year ago for 1.3 € a piece. Great price! Very consistent, easy calibration and not a single dropout. It can handle huge amounts of levels, for plain ferric. I recorded it peaking at +5 dB over the Dolby level and it asked for more! The shell, not great but promising. I have seen a lot worse than this one.
Sum: this cassette is what it advertises. For everyday recordings. It's not suitable for demanding recordings but it can stand well with more vague sources or materials. Due to it's high noise floor, a user may consider using noise reduction. In general, it is a cassette above the average of what the last years were produced. It's a pity it's production was terminated. Let's hope Maxell will restart the line.
View attachment DSC_0624.JPG
View attachment DSC_0623.JPG
