paul.cusentino - 2010-09-03 18:44
Hello everyone,
First off, let me say how great I think it is that there are other people out there fighting the digital age with cassettes, glad to have found this place. I have albums that I can't play anymore because my stereo at home starting eating them. So I figured why not just get a Walkman to play my tapes (carrying a cd player around in your back pocket gets old), and I have enough tapes to suffice. My last Walkman is long gone, but I ran into a Sony Walkman WM-10 that's as old as I am, and while I'm happy to have a Walkman again, this normal/chrome/metal switch makes me nervous. I don't remember ever having to deal with that switch in the past with other players. How can I tell what's what? I just don't want to have it on the wrong setting, possibly hurting the Walkman. My bad about the long winded post, just excited to be here.
Hello and welcome!
Do not aworry about theb tape type switch. The tapes that are usually regarded as normal position tapes are sometimes called type-1 or ferric tapes (that that is usually only true to a point). Then there are chrome tapes which are regarded as high bias or type-II tapes. Finally, you have the metal position tapes that are usually regarded as type-4. The setting is the same for the type-2 and type-4 tapes but different for type-1 tapes. If you are playing a type-2 or type-4 tapes you can set the switch accordingly to avoid the exaggeration of the highest frequencies. But it is not necessary for you to do that if you don't like the sound and it will certainly not damage your walkman.
The pre-recorded tapes are usually type-1 tapes. There are many type-2 pre-recorded tapes as well but the interesting part is that only the extereior shells are type-1, but the tape inside is type-2. When I say the shell - it is the exterior casing of the tape - the cassette if you will. In automatic tape selection players and cassette decks, the tape type is selected according to the disposition of the holes on the top side of the cassette. On the edges you have the safety tabs for recording protection so you don't accidently erase your tape. Then, right next to them there areholes that only type-2 and type-4 tapes have and inward the center of the cassette you have two holes that only zype-4 tapes have. Remember that the setting is the same for type-2 and 4 tapes so the walkmans do not have detectors for metal tape. They simply detect whether it's a type-1 or type-2.
Hope this helps!
Tuna
Welcome here
There are different kinds of opinions on this subject. I handle this way since 30 years:
The position of the switch is only important for record function.
By playback it are to used like a equalizer.
The writing NORMAL METAL on "only-players" I see as a recommendation of the manufacturer.
Like Tuna and renzgi said selecting the wrong setting will not damage your tape or player.
Since you are only playing back music, I recommend you just playback everything in the Normal / type 1 mode. All playback sounds better in the normal / type 1 mode, give it a try while you are playing your music and see what you think.
The tape type is only necessary while recording, as all the different types of tapes need different Bias while recording.
You are welcome Paul!
What everyone else said.
When playing back tapes, the normal/chrome is just a "treble" control, albeit at a specific amount and frequency range. When a tape is recorded, the high-end is boosted first, called "preemphasis". When played back, it's cut the same amount it was boosted at first, returning the signal to normal but also taking away some of the tape hiss along with it. This is "deemphasis". You can get more highs onto chrome and metal tapes (I've always assumed at least), and take out even more tape hiss when playing back.
(As an aside, by dynamically adjusting how much boost and cut there is depending on the signal loudness, you get the basis of Dolby NR.
)
Bias is the amount of constant magnetism the audio signal (variations in the magnetism) is riding on top of. Chrome and metal do better with more bias than what's used for normal. It doesn't matter when playing back because only the variations in the magnetism are picked up by the tape head.
paul.cusentino - 2010-09-11 16:47
I totally get what you're saying, HLR. Just recorded this album onto a normal tape, and I feel like it would sound better with chrome or metal. I don't mind the sound being sludgy all that much though, Wavves is a noisy band anyways. I just wonder now if it's the normal tape that is making the songs seem slowed down or if I might be heading towards a new motor or belt for the WM-10. The playback on my home stereo seems normal,(although it's an old Panasonic I just dug out of the basement to record tapes on). I'm not so sure about it's recording capabilities anymore, and the cd player likes to skip around (wonder if cd player cleaner is sold anymore). I bought a sealed copy of Nirvana's "In Utero" on tape, and that seems to play at the normal speed on the WM-10. I'm trying not to upset the Walkman, if that makes any sense. Hoping to hold off on having to track down parts. But you never know when a Walkman from 1983 is going to act up.
All of this feedback is much appreciated, for sure.
Originally Posted by HLR:
What everyone else said.
When playing back tapes, the normal/chrome is just a "treble" control, albeit at a specific amount and frequency range. When a tape is recorded, the high-end is boosted first, called "preemphasis". When played back, it's cut the same amount it was boosted at first, returning the signal to normal but also taking away some of the tape hiss along with it. This is "deemphasis". You can get more highs onto chrome and metal tapes (I've always assumed at least), and take out even more tape hiss when playing back.
(As an aside, by dynamically adjusting how much boost and cut there is depending on the signal loudness, you get the basis of Dolby NR.
)
Bias is the amount of constant magnetism the audio signal (variations in the magnetism) is riding on top of. Chrome and metal do better with more bias than what's used for normal. It doesn't matter when playing back because only the variations in the magnetism are picked up by the tape head.
You are confusing with Dolby NR. They are different.
Best to always play back Type II, III and IV tapes at the "normal" way. I did that to a TDK CDing 2 tape recorded properly and it sounds awesome!
'Metal' will give more extended HF response than 'Normal'. A note, that earlier ones says: Normal/Metal (such as the WM-2/4/5/F5) whereas later ones says: Normal/Metal CrO2 (WM-1/3/5/DD).
dottor.walkman - 2014-02-16 06:22
In fact, should use the NORMAL position only to play the tapes Normal.
For tapes METAL and CHROME the correct position is CR/MT.
Unfortunately most of walkmans and decks is not adjusted perfectly, or has poor performance, so if using the CR/MT position in PLAY, the sound is poor in high frequencies. For this reason, using the Normal position, even for tapes CHROME and METAL the sound seems nicer, but this is a mistake, because the frequency response that you get is not exact, it's just an equalizer.
Instead, if the tape was recorded perfectly, even with the Dolby B or C ( but perfectly adjusted ) and if the walkman which is used for listening is of high quality and perfectly adjusted, in short if everything is as it should be, using the NORMAL position with a tape CHROME or METAL, there would be an excess of high frequency, very unpleasant, and if you used the dolby, you would also have an unpleasant pumping effect. All these defects disappear by using the CR/MT position, getting a perfect sound, high quality, no noise if using the Dolby C, without the lack of high frequencies, infinitely more pleasant the listening compared to the NORMAL position that almost all people mistakenly use.
I apologize for my bad English, but I hope to be able to explain the concept well .
wow guys i am impressed , what a knowledge on tapes,
so my conclusion is, if i have a METAL tape and i record it on metal position, i should listen to it in metal position too correct? same for NORMAL position tapes and CHROME TAPES.
Originally Posted by driptip:
wow guys i am impressed , what a knowledge on tapes,
so my conclusion is, if i have a METAL tape and i record it on metal position, i should listen to it in metal position too correct? same for NORMAL position tapes and CHROME TAPES.
Yes that is how it is designed to work, but you can always try playing back Chrome and Metal under normal position and see which sound you prefer.
I always playback all tapes no mater what type back under normal position. On my Nakamichi I choose the correct tape type but change the eq to 120microsecond. Normal tape (Type 1) is 120microsecond and Chrome and Metal (Type II and IV) 70microsecond, but to me they all sound better on playback at 120microsecond.
With DottorWalkman's players any other setting than the correct one sounds wrong. So, if the tape is chrome or metal it is best to select the appropriate position on the player or else the sound will be too bright and too saturated in the high frequencies. Properly serviced and maintained machines will always sound better when the tape select switch is set to it's appropriate position.
Some people like to record with Dolby B, or even C, and then play back the tape without Dolby just to get more high frequencies. While that will certainly happen, it is nt advisable, certainly when using Dolby C. Dolby C not only works as a noise reduction, it is an audio processor and the processed sound cannot be replayed correctly once it is encoded with such a system. Not without activating Dolby C during playback.
I definitely agree with Doctor Walkman and Tuna. The tape switch should be put to the appropriate setting; according to what type of tape it is.
For example, if the tape is recorded with Dolby C on and Type II switch on, then it should be played back in those same exact settings. If you do this, it will sound perfectly fine. If it doesn't, then there is someting wrong with your cassette deck or Walkman.
Also, keep in mind that headphones could be a factor in this. If you have crappy headphones then setting the position to NORMAL may seem better. But if you have headphones, like Sony Mdr-7506 like I do, then you will definitely notice the difference. Setting the position to NORMAL will make your ears bleed because of the sharp highs. Trust me, I've been there haha.
Hope this was helpful.
Can some simply explain the difference between the three "Cassette types".
Metal-
Normal-
CrO2 (chrome) -
i understand recommendations for recording and listening. I have this switch on my M90 and have kept it on normal since I've owned it (3 monthS). I'd like to play with this if I own cassettes other then Normal ones. Explaining the difference would be awesome
Mike
