I wonder if anyone knows what is the best blank tape compatible with the Sony WM-D6C as i have always like the Maxell Xl11 chrome tape even though they are hard to find.

But i have tried other blank tapes and as the unit not being three head like my tape deck. After recording there is a big difference of certain tapes you use in terms of level shown on the meter.

I have only just started to use my WM-D6C but don't want to waste valuable time trying to find which tape is best for that unit.

I be very much appreciated of your response

Colin

Colin, you can do a lot worse than a standard TDK CrO2.

Just found this on the web...

Advantages: Fantastic sound quality for Cassette (see review) ,Record facillity, Battery or Mains operation, substantial build quality, direct drive mechanism, recording level meter and adjustment,excellent headphones supplied.
Disadvantages: Discontinued in the UK, bulky and heavy by todays standards, needs (virtually) unobtainable 'Metal' tapes to get the best out of it.

...you only use the official Sony product for this-third party devices with the wrong polarity output or set at too high a voltage can wreck it). There are the usual PLAY, FAST FORWARD,REWIND, controls but also the welcome addition of a RECORD facillity. This Walkman also has full Logic control (instantly switches from PLAY to FFWD for example) , a Pitch Adjust (useful if you are playing tapes recorded on other machines), Recording Level Meters in the ...
...a couple of premium quality Sony Super Metal Master tapes I purchased from James Beattie Plc in Wolverhampton (£11.99 each!) and the reproduction was awesome-in fact it was impossible for me to tell that I wasn't listening to the CD's it was that good. I have played a fair number of different cassettes through it and granted the cheaper ferric tapes aren't so good they sound considerably better through this than most full size decks. The battery ... more

Well this Walkman is something i'd been hankering after since 1982 when it was first introduced but my wish wasn't granted until 1996 when after much faffing about,I was able to purchase one.
Being employed at Jessops back then certainly helped as I had a decent staff price on it at £219.95 compared with the usual asking price of £289.95.

The Walkman Pro was as mentioned introduced into the UK back in 1982 at a RRP of about £220-a considerable amount back in those days to almost universal acclaim. Hifi enthusiasts, videographers and even pro sound recordists raved on about it and it proved to be an instant hit. There is a good chance that any of you out there listening to 'bootleg' concerts recorded in the early to mid eighties. And that in my opinion says it all.
So what was so good about it?

Well firstly it was the only Walkman which had been designed and built with the sort of features only found on full size cassette decks of the time. Such things as a Direct Drive where the cassette drive spindle is connected up to the drive motor without using a belt(making for more accurate tape speed and therefore better sound), Bias selection for types of cassettes used( Standard Ferric, Cr02 and Metal), Dolby B and (the superior) C Noise Reduction, the ability to record onto a cassette either via a microphone for live sound or via a line input for copying records(!) CD's and even other tapes
Now I'm going to take a little time to explain about the various Audio Cassettes that were until recently available.

TYPE I or Ferric Tape
An everyday tape formulation based on Iron Oxide. Cheap and cheerful, suitable for most uses and was the basis for the vast majority of pre recorded cassettes sold.

An improvement on this was known as a Super Ferric tape which was able to hold more magnetic energy and therefore delivered better sound quality.
TYPE II or Chrome Tape.

An improved formulation which gave better sound reproduction over Ferric formulations. Ideal for archiving. One of the drawbacks is that Chrome tapes tended to fade after extensive use and as a result manufacturers switched to Pseudo Chrome such as TDK with their SA or Super Avilyn formulation.
TYPE III or Ferri Chrome tape

An attempt by manufacturers notably BASF who tried to combine the superior attributes of Chrome with the fade resistance of Super Ferric tapes. A good idea which worked well but there was only a limited number of decks which could be set up for Type III and it was superseded by the ultimate tape formulation...
TYPE IV or Metal tapes.

Utilising pure metal alloy particles in the formulation, metal tapes wete the absolute ultimate in Cassette tape formulation. With a recording energy far in excess of a standard tape, metal tapes were the premium choice for live recordings, copying from CD's and Vinyl and even archiving radio broadcasts. When used properly metal tapes could provide a near perfect copy of a CD,had virtually no background noise such as hiss and in my experience have proved to be exceptionally fade free and durable.
Those were the days..

Anyway back to the Walkman Pro.
It arrived in a very high quality box,well packaged and complete with a set of headphones and an instuction manual.

The first thing I noticed was the very substantial weight for a Walkman almost 600g(!). This will cause a bulge in your pockets so be warned. However this does give an impression of sturdiness.
Loading the batteries is done via opening up the cassette flap and removing a concealed battery holder which holds 4 x AA Batteries, as usual an Alkaline battery brand is best in this application. This Walkman does have an optional AC power supply facillity (WARNING-make sure you only use the official Sony product for this-third party devices with the wrong polarity output or set at too high a voltage can wreck it). There are the usual PLAY, FAST FORWARD,REWIND, controls but also the welcome addition of a RECORD facillity. This Walkman also has full Logic control (instantly switches from PLAY to FFWD for example) , a Pitch Adjust (useful if you are playing tapes recorded on other machines), Recording Level Meters in the form of red LED's and also a Record Level Adjuster in the form of a clearly marked knob. Volume is controlled by a sliding switch at the side of the unit.

So how did it perform?
In a word Magnificently!

I asked a friend to copy some Pink Floyd CD's onto a couple of premium quality Sony Super Metal Master tapes I purchased from James Beattie Plc in Wolverhampton (£11.99 each!) and the reproduction was awesome-in fact it was impossible for me to tell that I wasn't listening to the CD's it was that good. I have played a fair number of different cassettes through it and granted the cheaper ferric tapes aren't so good they sound considerably better through this than most full size decks. The battery consumption proved to be good as well, getting several hours use out of a set of Duracell's and the supplied headphones were excellent. The quality of Recordings done via the Line Input was also excellent, but again this is going to be determined by which tape is being used and the correct settings of the recording levels.
My particular unit has proved very reliable only having to be returned to a Sony Service centre twice in nine years albeit with the same fault (broken PAUSE control).

Drawbacks?
Well by todays standards, the WMD6-C is outclassed by alternative media such as I pods for playback and portable DAT etc for recordings. It's a bulky, heavy machine as well. For it to produce it's best, it needed very expensive Metal audio tapes such as the previously mentioned Super Metal Master, alternatives included TDK MA-XG and Maxell Metal Vertex, though they weren't quite as good in my opinion. Sadly due to the phasing out of the cassette medium all the tapes mentioned have been discontinued since the beginnig of last year and am proving almost impossible to obtain.

However, I could still recommend purchasing one if you have a collection of audio cassettes and you want a genuine high end portable cassette deck as wwll as a Walkman.in that area the WMD6-C truly excelled.

You cease to amaze me with you finding facts.

I have still have a few metal tapes sealed but don't really wish to open them just yet.

I wonder of the "Thats Suono" tape should work well.

Also do i need extra software to make my sound output better on the laptop while transferring music.

Records to tape still the best for me in terms of sound quality.

Many thanks

Colin

It's worth noting that transferring a digital signal onto an analog medium will loose a lot of detail through conversion by nature of the format differences. Play your iPod loudly through a nice audio system to see what I mean, you're ears will hurt.

Tape from vinyl using a nice home cassette deck (£300+) onto a nice CrO2 cassette then play back on your D6C through a nice set of cans & you will probably stop listening to mp3s altogether.

I totally agree with you

I have listen to my early tapes of my "rave music era" and even though i also have them on computer even to the highest format (about 60mb for a 4min song) and yet still it cannot touch the original recording i did years ago.

It does sound limited in some way.

But try telling that to the newer generation, even my wife now slightly admits it that the tape does sound better as she is ipod mad (who isn't)

Colin

Wonderful topic on such an iconic machine. I believe there were 4 formulations of Thats SUANO in metal. Only the top best one has SUANO in Gold letters on cassette tape housing.
I do not remember the model number of tapes off hand. Have read a review that said I believe the MX series Suano would flake bits off making a mess inside machine. Crazy prices on ebay for them such as $30-50 USD for ONE tape.

QUESTION AO : Thought I read some time ago in a topic that the WM-D6C did not like metal tapes well until you adjusted it internally. Both mine seem to have difficulty when recording onto metal formulations. Only referring to recording onto then playback on metal not metal recorded on home deck then played on D6C.

As for tape I generally fall back on TDK SA as they are still easily purchased new in cases for $2 each .

Hiya John,

yes i have the heavy metal casing which cost me about £10 back then. It really is a super tape.

The SA have always been fairly good which i am using a few of them right now. I bought one recently for 10 pence )about 0.12 dollars) sealed too at the car boot sale.


Thanks for the info

Colin

Hello,

The very best of the chrome type tapes, as well as metal is TDK. You will do great with TDK SA tapes if you can find some. I have boxes, I bought out a store. Even nakamichi used TDK as their reference tapes. But the important thing is, to have your WM-D6C biased for a particular tape, to get the very best out of the tape, and unit, soundwise. I have a Nakamichi RX-505 and Tandberg TCD-3014A, and both are biased for TDK SA Tapes now, as well as my Sony WM-D6C..so my tapes from one unit to the next, that I record myself, usually from my VPI Turntable, sound amazing. Better than any Digital Format I have heard. TDK are excellent, but you'll have to find NOS Tapes. There are Normal Bias Position Tapes, by TDK that are very good, and being sold now, in the States. Ray