Cassette review: Avanti C-90

[NAD613]

These are tapes I bought online through an online office supply store, 99 cents/5-pack. Too good to pass up, so I thought I'd buy them.

I don't know how old these are, I assumed late 80's/early 90's. However, the inside of the J-card has the "Compact Cassette" logo, so I'm thinking maybe as old as the late 70's (?). The shell itself was pretty plain jane, but I thought it was better built that the current Sony HF tapes.

When I bought these tapes, I wasn't expecting the sound of a TDK Studio Master or anything. I was hoping they'd be at least comparable to the Target store brand cassettes I bought back in the mid-90's. After 13 years, the one I still have is quite listenable, perfectly adequate for background music. If I could get similar results from these tapes, I'd be more than happy.

The CD I decided to record was Billy Joel's "Turnstiles" from 1976, one of my favorite albums. After 10 seconds of listening to the opening track, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", it was say goodbye to the Avanti C-90. Wow, where to begin; by far it's THE worst cassette I've ever used; worse than a 3-pack of Certrons I bought years ago. Heck, these Avanti tapes make those Certron's sound like Sony UX-Pros! I don't know where to start; severe dropouts, garbled sound, no highs, etc.; the list just goes on and on. The absolute worst tape I've ever used.

Oh well, there is a silver lining. The boxes & J-cards are halfways decent, and I can use the shells for any future cassette repairs I have to make. But the tape itself is absolutely horrid; the worst I've ever used.

[clhboa]

I still have some Avanti vhs tapes buried somewhere. I can't remember where I bought them but if I remember they weren't too bad . I didn't remember they made cassettes.

[Scorpion8]

After 10 seconds of listening to the opening track, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", it was say goodbye to the Avanti C-90. Wow, where to begin; by far it's THE worst cassette I've ever used; worse than a 3-pack of Certrons I bought years ago. Heck, these Avanti tapes make those Certron's sound like Sony UX-Pros! I don't know where to start; severe dropouts, garbled sound, no highs, etc.; the list just goes on and on. The absolute worst tape I've ever used.

What this isn't Stereo Review where all the reviews were positive?!? Nice to hear some honest opinion. Maybe they would be good for voice or dictaphone stuff?

[TAGOMAGO]

I know this thread is three years old, but that is a later Avanti cassette from the late 80's early 90's. The late 70's and early 80's versions looked like this:

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/168463_184696631560073_100000592115449_585481_2184 482_n.jpg

In comparison to the later Avanti tapes, these were better, but they have always been on the Certron level (keep in mind Certron went from mediocre, to bad, to worse over the years). It's just that at one time cheapo tapes were at least somewhat useable, although later on they were not even good for dictation. It's funny to see an Avanti in a separate box since they were usually sold boxless in the old three pack bags.

I recorded some music on mine just to see what it would sound like and tonally it was okay, although there were more dropouts than average and the noise floor was fairly high.

[Dangerman009]

...they were usually sold boxless in the old three pack bags.

I got a pack of those once. The label said Gemeni though. At the time I was recording on portable stereos. The sound was not that great on that equipment. I remember examining the tape surface. It had what looked like little bubbles here and there all over. Not the nice smooth surface that we see on better quality tapes.

[NAD613]

IIRC, I bought something like 5 or 6 packs of those tapes. Hey, they were only 99 cents/pack! I ended up selling the rest of them on Ebay, hoping just to make back the $7 or $8 total I spent on them. They sold for over $50! Unbelievable.

[TAGOMAGO]

I got a pack of those once. The label said Gemeni though. At the time I was recording on portable stereos. The sound was not that great on that equipment. I remember examining the tape surface. It had what looked like little bubbles here and there all over. Not the nice smooth surface that we see on better quality tapes.

The Gemini tapes were worse than the clear Avanti tapes and about the same as the black ones. In fact I had one of a Gemini like brand where there was a spice in the middle of the tape where they ran out to make a 60 minute tape and continued on with a tape of a slightly different color oxide.

[Dangerman009]

They sold for over $50!

Someone sure liked them. *eyepop*

TAGOMAGO, that's terrible that they spliced two different tapes together and thought it was good. Bad show Gemeni. *bigthumbdown*

[TAGOMAGO]

Someone sure liked them. *eyepop*

TAGOMAGO, that's terrible that they spliced two different tapes together and thought it was good. Bad show Gemeni. *bigthumbdown*

While I just recorded voice on it, you could still hear a slight change in the sound characteristics on each side of the splice. I think that was the only time that I had ever seen that.

On a related topic, when I was quite young, maybe around 8 or 9 years of age I bought some tapes from a chain called Super Dollar and I think the brand was either VW or YW. Anyway the tape was filled with bumps and imperfections that made them sound all watery and wavery.

I think my father put the idea in my head that I should write the company and complain, although he claims that I came up with the idea all by myself. Given that this was many years ago and times were quite different, the company actually responded and sent me three more of their horrible tapes (although I wanted my .99 back).

I kind of wish I kept the apology letter. I wonder how many letters they got from kids under 10 complaining about the quality of their cassettes.

The guy who bought the Avanti tapes for $50 dollars, probably also bought a Crosley turntable for $249.99 and loves it.