UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post

paulsherwin · 14th Jan 2018, 2:45 pm

As said earlier, BASF were the only major manufacturer that stuck with true chrome formulations right through the cassette era. This was an odd commercial decision, as chrome tapes have different sensitivities and output levels to pseudochromes, and by the late 70s most decks were set up for pseudochromes on the chrome setting. True chrome tapes like BASF Chromdioxid resulted in incorrect Dolby tracking if used with them without recalibration.

Although chrome cassettes have a lower output than pseudochromes, they also have a generally lower noise level. They can give very good results on correctly calibrated decks, but these were always very thin on the ground, especially at the entry level and mid market.

14th Jan 2018, 2:45 pm	#20
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,936	Re: Chrome Reel to Reel Tape? As said earlier, BASF were the only major manufacturer that stuck with true chrome formulations right through the cassette era. This was an odd commercial decision, as chrome tapes have different sensitivities and output levels to pseudochromes, and by the late 70s most decks were set up for pseudochromes on the chrome setting. True chrome tapes like BASF Chromdioxid resulted in incorrect Dolby tracking if used with them without recalibration. Although chrome cassettes have a lower output than pseudochromes, they also have a generally lower noise level. They can give very good results on correctly calibrated decks, but these were always very thin on the ground, especially at the entry level and mid market.