Obscure 1980s HiFi - The Stereo MicroCassette. The tiny tape that wanted to go big.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2015
- A look at an unusual HiFi miniaturisation dead-end from the early 1980s.
ebay link goo.gl/Cl04wz
My Website www.techmoan.com
AFFLIATED LINKS/ADVERTISING NOTICE
All links are Affiliated where possible.
When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON Sites (including, but not limited to Amazon US/UK/DE/ES/FR/NL/IT/CAN) - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
![ทททททททท #27 [หลุยส์ เค โตมายังไง ณ สระบุรี]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CaKoYw_Xmtg/mqdefault.jpg)
I used to have a Sony Walkman that had a Metal setting. I thought it was just a special preset for Heavy Metal music.
+GeoKaching Johnny New tape formulations mostly came about due to the needs of slower moving tape and narrower tracks. Traditional type-1 tape became somewhat low-fi when used in cassettes. As this video demonstrates, there are limits to what even metal tape can compensate for.
+GeoKaching Johnny Long Lost Evil Twin.
+GeoKaching Johnny What if it had a Chrome setting? Glamrock?
+KJER ERRT Ah, I wouldn't say all, I had a Sony Walkman in 1998 that my mother bought me from the US, it was actually made of clear transparent plastic so you could see what was inside it. I don't believe it could play metal formulation tapes though. Certainly some if not many Sony Walkman products had a tape formulation switch, but not every single one did.
Really?
The micro deck sounded way better than I expected.
The amount of money, time and effort Mat puts into these videos is insane!! Thanks for another brilliant look into our tech past
Felix Gardner Thanks - these videos have a habit of spiralling out of control on both budget and time - I find it difficult to cut any corners once I've got started.
That recording actually sounded really good despite the hiss.
I have a time machine too. I go into it, pull the covers up, and I awake 8 hours in the future feeling surprisingly refreshed!
I could do with one of those!
Mine sadly only goes 5-6 hours in the future and suddenly I have to go to work in an hour and all my energy is drained before I've even started. Considering not using it anymore.
'TH-cam audio library 2' is one my favourite albums of all time
Way better than the original!
Jack1138
They really went downhill after 3 though...
Are you kidding me?! I don't even prefer the TH-cam library (in general)... one of the lamest vile of sounds Ive heard (absolutely not my genre)... Especially stringy instruments played in a folk-motive (like the Water Lily song) makes me gag >__
@@KairuHakubi Well done. Unfortunately, the 'whoosh' will probably go 'whoosh' too.
Did either TEAC or Sanyo ever consider releasing a microcassette with removable reels? That surely would have been the pinnacle of useless tape media ;)
custardo Yes for sure. lol
custardo i'd like to design & 3d print a set that is JUST that
Your audio/HiFi videos are my absolute favourite out of all the videos you do. In fact, it was your HiFi videos that made me discover you in the first place. I love your style, your tech videos are the only ones on TH-cam that leave me feeling like I've learnt something, especially the audio ones, as I have a deep fascination for HiFi! Thanks again. :)
Kazzy TalkTalk Thanks old chap - always good to find out why someone ended up here and what kind of things they prefer to watch.
I originally thought the Metal option was playing Metal music. LOL
+WebVMan lol
So the chrome tapes where for softrock
So the chrome tapes where for softrock :-)
same when I was about 8 I thought that the metal option on my cassette deck meant it would replace my recording with heavy metal music.
Chrome would be for jazz! With saxophones trumpets etc.
Holy crap I never knew about walkman headphones, those are ridiculously cool!
I can remember wanting them (not that I ever saw any in the flesh), but they were way out of my financial league as a kid. They seemed so futuristic!
As a kid (I'm 37) I always thought the "metal" button was for equalizer preset. I was always wishing that one day they would have a "rap" button next to it. Lmao it makes sense now.
Great! When I was a student, I wanted this deck. However, it was so expensive that I couldn't afford it.
LOL! I gasped just a bit when you removed the cover and I saw that big power transformer. I was very much a consumer of Japanese audio gear back then, and did my share of repairing, and popping the cover off all kinds of gear, but I can tell I've really grown accustomed to today's high-frequency switching power supplies. That transformer (and I imagine the correspondingly big electrolytic capacitors in the power supply) really took me back to another place and time!
I lived in Japan in the early 80's I remember seeing Pre recorded micro cassettes at the record stores. I wanted to get a player but they were too expensive.
MANY moons ago when I worked on the railway one of our nicer commuters who had a ridiculously high-flying job in the City gave me a tiny boombox. It was made by AIWA and had an AM/FM stereo radio, and a stereo Microcassette deck, even had METAL tape setting. It didn't sound bad through decent headphones. Ran on 4 HP7 batteries, AAs today. Eventually the belts went in the tape part, but I did, somehow, manage to replace them ! Still have it kicking around somewhere. Picked up a deck like this Sanyo too, at a car boot of all places.
Thanks for this interesting review. The 80's were indeed a fascinating time with it's miniaturizing obsession.
Completely off the topic, but this reminds me of my old Pentax Auto 110 SLR camera that could be bought in kit form, complete with extra lenses that i can swap just like it's full-size 35mm cousins. It was a fully functional SLR, albeit in fully auto mode only - no aperture, shutter priority or fully manual mode. With it i took better composed and exposed pictures than possible with regular candybar, simple 110 cameras available at the time. It's major limitation was the media itself - 110 film was/is far to small a format to produce quality images with. Regular prints often showed far too much grain, especially in low-light situations and when developed, photo labs would often misalign the negatives in the enlarger, cropping out my careful compositions via the prism/fresnel SLR viewfinder.
Still, despite these shortcomings, it was as intriguing as this micro cassette deck.
I got my little brother a handheld micro cassette recorder back in the early 80's, lol. He fancied himself a ten year old secret agent.
I'm glad there's at least one other person besides me who doesn't treat old technology with disrespect like trash!
I love the 80s! So lucky to have grown up in that marvelous decade
The hiss just adds charm. Like a 1960's studio recording. The acoustic guitar piece sounded quite good.
I have a tiny little boombox that I picked up in a thrift store that has a microcassette player built in, right next to a tiny B/W television screen. I would link a photo of it but Photobucket seems determined to hold my old pictures hostage until I pay a license fee (for a service I only utilize three or four times a year, and block me from downloading my photo library). The thing is, the microcassette player didn't work. I've always put the idea of attempting to repair it on the back burner since this kind of thing usually doesn't work out well for me. After watching this video, I realize I'll never be able to get it working. It goes into the storage shed next to the other impossible repair projects languishing out there in the Texas heat.
In your next video can you explain how you built your time machine? :D
ThatBulgarian he didn't make it, he bought it in the future
@@Ndlanding and that was before the election
A Time Traveller gave it to him
Seeing his time machine setup, I can only think one thing... how does it get up to 88 miles per hour?!
Somehow I missed this FIVE years ago... But TH-cam, in their algorithmic wisdom, knew to suggest this to me today! Nice discussion of the attempt to turn a dictation format into a hifi format.
Just when I think you've covered every obscure audio format ever produced you come up with yet another one. Well done.
Compact cassette tapes are king's ! Low cost 's , high quality 's in voice's songs music 's ! Playing.... With sweet 's replays, playback..... Happy, back to life's!( 1985 years
Another great video. Reminds me of a small jam-box I had. Stereo micro-cassette, AM/FM radio, and a 3" TV in the same portable case. 4" full range speakers, and small condenser mics mounted over the speakers. I still have the mics, but the rest is trashed.
WOW, I just found it on E-Bay. a Sharp Tri-Mate 3000!
Old tech is fascinating, and that's why I love this channel
Microcassette deck arrived , didn't work out of the box but had the same issue as yours . there is a tiny white idler that runs both reel spindles and the lubricating grease appears to have dried out and gone sticky . I didn't try to take it apart as your "assembled by a jeweller" comment was bang on ! I just applies wd40 with a pin to both sides of the spindle and worked ffwd and rew and its fine now .The recorded quality with normal tapes is adequate for normal listening but as you say this is a novelty item and fun to use .
Keep the videos coming . Gordon.
Just wanted to say I really enjoy your videos. The calmness and professionalism in the way you make these is something I find very soothing :) Just a really nice, relaxed moment in my day. And learning something as well. Keep this up.
I would love that machine. Always fascinated with micro cassette.
I had a stereo Walkman with micro cassettes from Sony with record function and I enjoyed it very much. Even recorded concerts/live performances with it. It had no metal switch but I did manage to put new tape in a cassette one time because it's the same width as compact cassette, so you could fill it with metal tape yourself. I would have liked to known at that time that a deck existed. It's true that the quality is not so good, and it has quite some wow and flutter, but when you want to listen to your favorite music when you're far away from home, you accept any quality. This was before the internet eara.
Hi Techmoan, I just came across your videos and wanted to let you know that I really appreciate all the research, time and effort you have spent assembling these very informative videos. Your presentations are clear, instructive, and the subjects well delivered. I have learned a lot about the history of "Hi-Fi" that I did not know about (sadly enough for a Baby Boomer Hi-Fi nut). Thank you so much, Ciao, L
Just when I think I've watched ever techmoan video....I discover another 😂 youtube it's great a hiding videos until you watch a similar video
Thanks: your old-gear videos are my favourites.
The push for smaller micro sized media eventually resulted in Mp3 and wav etc. etc. you can’t get any smaller than that. So now it amazes me when I see the “resurgence” of vinyl, cassette, etc.
We solved the miniaturisation issue with mp3s and later streaming.
The issue we have now is people who want something for home listening, display and ownership. So hence formats that lend themselves to that - Vinyl, Cassette, etc.
It's kind of amazing how we seem to have swapped problems.
I used micro tapes to record my music to back in the 1980s. it was a mono handheld player but I didn't care what others thought.
I don't know why, but I want one of these! Its just cute-as-a-button!
+1 for the Pioneer CT-F1250 and SX-3600 - and that gorgeous RT-909. I have an SX-3800, CT-F1250, CT-F950, SA-9800, the list goes on... Fluoroscan gear kicks ass.
I know longer find it all that shocking that sci-fi ideas become reality, because I have seen it all too often now.
I still recall watching a futuristic show in the eighties, where a doctor was holding a little pad in their hand, and it was giving them all kinds of visual information... kind of like an iPad.
Love that ive just found this channel in the last month and theres years of quality to watch
Whilst the tape stock on both standard and micro cassettes are of the same width (1/8 inch) and Metal standard cassettes still being relatively easy to get hold of, you could splice some Metal tape from a standard cassette into a microcassette replacing the original even without dismantling it.
I was surprised how well the piano noted were reproduced. They would be the first to suffer from the slow speed, so apparently the manufacturer did a great job in stabilizing tape movement even if the music sounds flat in generallys
i remember seeing pre recorded micro cassette tapes in a movie, a clockwork orange, might have been a prop
I never seen one of these! I have had (check that,still have) microcassette recorders and have contemplated a stereo deck. I didn't realize someone had ACTUALLY built them! Would fit in perfectly with the 8mm VCRs they used to make!
Sounded a lot better than I expected
that actually sounds quite good! the little tape that could
Again: nice video. Thanks for uploading. Real fun stuff and a walk through memory lane.
I do have an issue with any kind of audio tape noise reduction though. No matter which system (including professional Dolby A and SR for large format tapes): over time the signal on the tape will change: print-through, especially with thin tape, de-magnetization = neighboring magnetized particles tend to neutralize each other over time (the signal becomes softer and duller) and of course the head alignment issues of any kind of Cassette tape - not to mention drop outs, chemical and mechanical de-composition and "sticky tape syndrome". So the noise reduction can't interpret the original encoded signal correctly, leading to all kinds of unwanted artifacts. I apologize if I talk about well known stuff :-) Thanks again for uploading.
+Christian Schonberger You're right, head alignment was a big problem. I mean interchangeability between devices. If it's was not ok, the treble was gone! But it was ok! Today we see people listening to music from a cell phone, I mean without the headphones, just from the small speaker and they think it's ok!
I wish I had one of those, because I use microcassettes to make podcasts at home now. The recorder I used sounds like a AM radio.
excellent video. You made an interesting piece of history available for a larger audience.
Max Koschuh Thanks - that's the idea, I'm trying to make a video museum (whilst having a bit of fun).
Techmoan Use a ground loop Isolator. The unit gets installed inline and are relatively inexpensive. That should take the hiss away.
I have experienced such a hiss with a vintage TEAC A-500 tapedeck. It was an issue with the recording preamplifier. A record volume more than 60% caused a feedback in the rec amp circuitry.
Max Koschuh I agree that it was an excellent video. I'd never heard of the MicroCassette being used for music and wouldn't have thought that it would have been considered since the speed of the Compact Cassette (1 7/8 inches per second) was barely adequate for sound. A surprise was the size of the machine, which looked like a normal-sized device...until you tried to put the standard compact cassette in.
There was one possibility for music though: the music single. At 3 3/4 inches per second (4 times its original speed) each side of a 46 minute tape would hold about 5.75 minutes of music, comparable to the 45 RPM record. However, it probably would have been difficult to introduce a new, limited use, format.
Great video, many thanks.
In the age of Spotify instant availability I think we miss the thrill of using this type of technology. What we lost in sound quality we made up for from soft touch switches, bouncing LEDs and smooth turning dials.
I agree with that!
That solenoid makes the rest of the mechanism seem out of scale! Always good to see a solenoid in any deck of that form factor in my general opinion. That looks like a very well built deck and the sound was surprisingly stable for microcassette. Heavy fly wheels are good!
Superb, little unusual thing. Bonus points for the Clockwork Orange stuff.
Not to worry, the hiss was barely noticeable. Thanks for the continued effort to bring forgotten tech back to the fore.
I have been listening to a Radio Netherlands Media Network programme online about the future of the cassette with somebody from BASF that was broadcast in the 1990's and maybe the metal tape cassette could've survived if regular Compact Cassette decks had a half speed control which would have taken advantage of the denser metal particle / metal alloy packed formulae of IEC Type 4 Metal Bias Cassettes, i.e. you really start to notice the benefits of metal tape at reduced half speed.
Just discovering your wonderful channel. A bit older than you, I remember all these things coming (and going!)
Thanks for another excellent video! The Clockwork Orange catch is a nice reference as is the distinction between mini and micro cassette.
I have a General Electric portable boom box if you will, that has a removable, docking stereo micro cassette Walkman that pops out. The other parts are a stereo FM and AM radio and a small CRT NTSC color TV and stereo speakers of course.
Like you, I love these forgotten corners of consumer electronics.
Man I loved my gear in the 80's and I defo can't remember this one! Loved your video here.
Freaking awesome! I had one, completely forgot about those things!
you are supposed to leave the dolby on on playback but if the sound is to dull you may have to adjust the bias internally to compensate for the tape quality.
There was a microcasette player that had an unbelievable frequency response of 20 to 19 khz I can't remember the brand though
Hi, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your channel, I recently found it on youtube and I'm watching every single one of your videos. So I couldnt wait any longer to give you my best wishes. My father recently passed away and left me with some vintage audio/video equiptment that now I adore and treasure. I remember my 80s 90s childhood just watching my father use these kind of equipment which for the time seemed like something out of a james bond movie to me. I'm from Mexico BTW and I never knew where my father gathered all these stuff because I grew up in a little city far away from the capital or big cities (we've got cable TV until the late 90s). Love your work man.
Ah, the 60's and 70's. Never running out of ways to put tape in different cartridges. 8-Track, Elcaset, Micro Cassette, and of course the Company Cassette. Oh and let's not forget VHS vs Betamax.
Hey man you already know this , but your videos are just the best!!! Thank you for educating and entertaining us!!!
The thing is, this was an ideal format for portable music. Back in the day, I had an Olympus SW-77 (still got it in the cupboard somewhere... It doesn't work now though.) Even with the bulk of it's dictaphone style mono speaker, it was still a bit smaller than a personal stereo, and I could have more cassettes in my jacket pockets too... But why anyone thought it would make a passable home system, and charge that much for it is anyone's guess...
I love your vintage audio videos. So cool! big thumbs up!
Love the vintage equipment reviews.
Wow I really miss that sound of old tapes. I never had a quality player but the warmth of the format has disappeared. At least I get to hear it on 7 inch vinyl, played from a juke box in our band room. Crackle, hiss, fuzz and warmth :)
i really like the look of old hfi units nice video too
I hope one day, someone will give you a kind of award for these videos.
Fantastic! Please keep posting! Thank you for great job!
I don't remember if I ever heard of a deck, but I saw a stereo m.c. AM/FM radio in a Panasonic catalog years ago. Thanks for the video!!
Excellent! very clear sound.
When I started the video first thing I thought of was "clockwork Orange".
the music in the demonstration tape sounds good as it's smooth and jazzy stuff of that time. I like it!
Always enjoy your work.
Love your videos, man.
I always watch one while evacuating.
These "micro cassettes " were often used in phone answering machines .
I don't know they were used in hifi devices .
The oldest hifi system that i have is fourty five years old , it's german ( Grundig Studio Hifi 2000 ) works like new , never serviced , it has a built in hifi record player , the system was ready for the 4Dstereo , but 4D stereo vinyl records were rare and expensive , a radio tuner with five presets for the fm radios or manual too , still have the stock speaker boxes ....this device sounds better than crappy medern made devices of nowdays , it has real bass and fine treble ....very pleasant to listen .I can plug a tape deck , there is a special plug for it in the rear panel of this stereo .I made a special plug-adapter , then i can play mp3 devices by using their headphone output : works fine !
Who knew watching videos on dead-end old technology could be so much fun, cheers mate. I hope you do one on the tape DAT format one of these days.
Haha.... I just commented on your other video about the cool BTTF Poster. I should've known. I'm sure that setup will fit in a Delorean and it then the vehicle will have a great sound system. Double Bonus.
interesting subject as ever,although not something I'd get for myself. What did stand out for me was the editing of it. Really well done.
slicedpage Thanks - the editing on this one took quite a lot longer than I anticipated, so I'm glad it showed.
Wow, that's interesting. Thanks Techmoan for putting this together. I never knew about this deck but it was a couple years before I really got into audio anyway. It was like the DAT of it's time - speaking of things to come. Seems like it would have sounded better if they would have given it a double tape speed mode. The downside of course would be short recording time, but to have a decent recording in that small of a package in 1981 would have been very cool. I wonder if they could have tried this format again using digital technology? I bet that could have worked fairly well until recordable CD's, MP3, and Solid State came along.
What an education! Thanks for putting such an informative video!
I love your videos. This one I found to be very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
My grandmother had a Fisher (I think that was the brand in Canada too) system in that same style... full-size cassettes, mind you (and I'm pretty sure a turntable too), but seeing a similar product brings back memories.
Your commentary reminds me of Ringo Starr.
This is fantastic haha.
Great video.... One error, most of the turntables shown weren't Transcriptors, they are Michell GyroDecs. Michell did make the Hydraulic Reference under licence from Transcriptors, and I believe (may be wrong) that the one in A Clockwork Orange is a Michell version, as they are made in Borehamwood, near the studio the film was made.
Estou fascinado. Sou apaixonado por equipamentos vintage. Um grande abraço
I may not be an audiophile at all, but for me the microcassette sounded really good
LOL...I laughed like crazy when you first tried to put the cassette in...I assumed it was normal size. Well done.
McRocket Glad I caught someone out - I was concerned the video description would give the game away.
Techmoan Well, maybe I am just thicker then most people at this. But whatever it was - you got me.
Well done.
Can you do a video on how you made the time machine?
+Louis I didn't make it, I bought it in the future.
+Techmoan But how did you get to the future in the first place.....?
+Louis I'm guessing someone in the future fast forwarded him.
John Platko I guess so.
Time machine won't work with bad caps. Makes it hiss too much.
0:23 - "I made a time machine." I have one too but damn is it expensive to operate. The electric company, however, loves it whenever I use it though. lol
it's funny how the most futuristic thing they could imagine in Clockwork Orange was a micro casette hahah
There's a pun: If microcassette is best for voice, you should be able to just plug in a MICROPHONE(-cassette).
Well, it's now 2019 and I looked up the link and as expected it is now a dead end. I need more equipment like a cow needs two utters, but I would have bough one for £59 just because it is a marvel of pre integrated chip technology with all kinds of discrete components and looks pretty nicely engineered.
That's impressive that a no-wires cassette "Walkman" existed before the advent of MP3. Heh heh, the good old days when "solenoids" was considered a major selling point. 😄
I have a microcassette stereo boombox. It was by National if I remember right. I think I have some brand new metal microcassette tapes, too, lol.
The best part of that micro cassette player are the lights that sync to the beat of the music.
I think time is overdue for a correction: the turntable seen in Steve Job's home and in the movie Looper is not the Transcriptor, but rather the Gyrodec / Gyro SE. A funny side note is that J.A. Michell Engineering who makes them also used to manufacture a licensed version of the Transcriptor. Another fun fact is than the late John Michell (of Michell Engineering) made the scale model of the space craft used in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I remember you were bad a** when you owned one back when they first came out. Lol ah the 80s and we thought we had cool stuff. Now the kids got it made of what we dreamed of lol
I came to your channel for the dash cams, stayed for the obscure audio equipment. I burst out laughing when you tried to shove the full size cassette into the deck -- love how your videos often have those goofy bits!
Perhaps the market for this device was little people? I wonder if the Little People Big World family has one in their stereo system.
I just re-watched this video & closed my eyes during the comparison clips. apart from it been slightly tinny & sharp, I thought the sound reproduction was pretty good.
Worth the hassle .... maybe not but _as always_ , an interesting video.
The demo tape clearly shows the Dolby logo while the player did not have Dolby enabled. The audio levels are at the extreme end of the scale and will result in tape saturation and will add distortion and soft limiting while Dolby again was not enabled for playback. I would have expected the recording to have had Dolby enabled. The hiss is a given since it appears to be external to the deck in use, but it really did not sound too bad and optimized would sound better. For comparison, Nakamichi had a 2 speed deck and the 15/16 ips half speed specs are 20 - 15,000 response with a s/n greater than 60 db with metal tape, but then nothing compares to a Nakamichi.
Dennis Romo I bought one of these and the demo tape honestly sounds better with Dolby NR off (still terrible), its much more muffled with it switched on. Recording your own stuff sounds fine, so the demo tape just used really terrible quality recordings