Maxell Professional Industrial Communicator Series C90 Audio Cassette Tapes - 5 Pack

All is well Thanks

Although I have a good stock of high quality high bias NOS tapes, I'm always on the prowl for something new, especially as "take outs" for my portable equipment. So when these popped up I decided to give 'em a spin and see (and hear).Overall I'm quite pleased. Build quality is nice, and they take a decent signal for fairly low noise (Dolby off). No dropouts or other mischief, and they bias out really well. High-frequency response is steady and adequate (especially for normal bias (120μs). In my opinion they're better performers than the Maxell UR; the tape is slightly darker in color so I suspect a somewhat different formulation.Technical details: Tested (so far) on an AKAI GX-Z7100EX. 3-head twin-capstan DD,15hz~19khz (Normal), freshly fully overhauled.Very fair deal IMO, I'm going to order more.

I purchased these as I have been recently reviving cassettes as a niche hobby and thought it would be fun to make some mixed tapes like I did years ago because I remembered how fun it was. They are 'okay' depending on what you are recording. What I mean by that is, I have attempted to record several genres of music, and whether I leave noise reduction off, or try using Dolby B or Dolby C (Dolby C usually helps even the worst tapes, but not with these), the highs are just not there and I am using a pretty good quality JVC deck. It would also seem that, you cannot push these as loud as you could a similarly priced TDK D-Series Type I. I also tried them on my Sony three-head machine and the results seemed to be the same as they were on the JVC. On my Sony three-head I even tried using Dolby S which gets as close to CD as possible on tape and usually allows for the levels to be pushed to the max combined with HX Pro, but not with these.The D Series TDK makes you can push peaks well into the +2 and even +4 range on some types of music and they handle it just fine, but the Maxell Communicators tend to distort at that level which is surprising considering they label them as 'professional/industrial.' The tape is a 'chocolate brown' color, not darker like the aforementioned TDK D and this is overall one way how to guage the quality of a good Type I.Now to defend Maxell fairly, and from what I recall using many different tapes throughout the 90's, the UR series were as good as the D's, where type I's were concerned. Many of these I still have old recordings on, and they still sound as good as the day I recorded them even as early as 1994, but in all honesty Maxell's best tape was the XL-II and XL-IIS -that's where they shined, but they no longer make these so you can only find new old stock and they are pricey. The newer UR's are not as good and I can't be sure if the tape formulation is any better on the Communicators vs the newer gen of UR. When you compare the shells, the reels look the same. These might be 'slightly' better than the new UR's available (those are horrible) but they are still not as good as the older generation of UR's from back in the day.Unfortunately, the Communicator Series just doesn't cut it for music in my opinion. There's just simply too much distortion at higher levels. Another thing I don't like is that the tape inside the shell seems to unspool when just moving them around (see picture). This isn't usually a factor with a well made cassette tape which is why I compare them to the newer UR's above (I wrote a review on those too). You may or may not like them I just feel they are overpriced and cheaply made for what you get.Now these factors are merely my opinion based on my own experience. I will say they are better than the newer and cheaper brands (brands never heard of before that are sketchy) that have come onto the scene and they may do okay for talk radio or recording dictation or using in a cheap recorder but I can't put my recommendation behind them for anyone who is serious about a good quality recording for music. They just don't handle the frequencies very well and you may be disappointed. If you are still skeptical, buy a two pack to try them and then you will see what I mean. Even the Sony HF Type I's are better than these in my honest opinion but for type I, I say stick with TDK D.One thing about tape you need to understand if you are new to it is no they are not all the same, especially if you are serious about recording music. Happy shopping.

They're normal bias cassettes similar to the old TDK D variety or Maxell UR. I've filled a couple with music so far with a Nakamichi CR7A deck and had good results. The slip sheets and cassette shell is excellent quality, just like the old Maxell. And considering it's 2021 and cassettes aren't everywhere they are a good option to have for both music and voice recordings.

Saved your money if you are needing this for music no dymanic range good for speech only maxell UR are better and the king is TDK D 90 which blows them all away

After recoding with this tape I do not hear any differance from tDK Sa or Maxell XLs They are a bargan price.

The quality of my recordings on this cassette are excellent. Low "hiss" noise and good dynamic without the high price tag of the chrome tape. Recommended.

Not adequate for high end recording. Fine for home demoing that will not be judged by others.I used it for home demoing.