JVC AFII Type-II Cassette - A Review

[Scorpion8]

I just got in a box of these, as reported earlier. Tomorrow I plan to record on one with probably my Teac V-1RX deck or Denon DR-M20 deck, and I'll post a nice review. Anybody have prior experience with these?

In the meantime, eye candy....

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p141/Scorpion008/JVCAFII-90Type-IICassette01.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p141/Scorpion008/JVCAFII-90Type-IICassette02.jpg

The tape uses a clear shell, 5-screw type that is almost entirely flat on the sides. No ridges or moldings at all. In fact the JVC info is put on with a label, not printed onto the side. It's unique.

[Marc Hugo]

Hi Scorpion,

AFII is an excellent tape in every way. It has a rising sensitivity, and rewards with copies that are really vital, energetic and rewarding. It is reminiscent of the zesty Maxell UD XLII of the mid eighties. I would buy a lot more if I could find them. A few years ago I recorded a live performance of Joshua Bell (visiting from the USA) with the Natal Philharmonic - the Four Seasons. I used Dolby C on my TASCAM 112. It resulted in a brilliant copy - somehow SABC hadn't wrecked the broadcast with its usual compression. Buy with confidence and, one thing: think nothing of the apparently lightweight shell - it gives no problems.

My version has a different wrapper, but the tape inside is the same.

Marc

[Scorpion8]

I recorded on this tape today, on my work rig consisting of an NAD 7155 receiver, Sony CDP-190, Teac V-1RX and Denon DR-M20 3-head cassette decks. Sony MDR-V100 headphones are used throughout. Source program was Loreena McKennitt's CD An Ancient Muse as it has a lot of silent passages, some very very low freq organ passages, and a few songs with overall higher dynamics and vibrancy.

Both tape decks were used, Tracks 1-4 on the Teac, and tracks 5-8 on the Denon so a comparison could be made. Besides, the whole CD wouldn't fit (its playlength was 54:28).

Overall, the tape was able to support a good level of signal before saturating. I had peaks in the 5-7dB range on both decks, but better on the Denon than the Teac.

The tape is very silent. No NR was used, and silent passages exhibit very little audible hiss. One issue is at one point the tape stopped all of it's lonesome. I didn't pre-wind this tape FFW & REV prior to recording, so I'll take responsibility for any storage stickiness issues. That only happened once, and hasn't happened during playback at all.

I played the tape back on both decks used in recording, and also on a Nak 480.

Results: Superb. I like this tape. The deepness and energy of the low freqs was captured faithfully, and rivaled most tapes that I've heard and used. The vocals had a clarity of tonal correctness, and Loreena's voice is quite beautiful. The tape did not seem to color the music in any way: bass was the same as the CD, and did not seem "enhanced", while mids and highs were brilliant. I guess I would say this sounded like a brand new tape from the glory days.

Highly recommended. I'd buy more if I could find them. I would be happy using this tape for any musical program, I think.

[Web Police]

Thanks for the review Scorpion. I may just bid on some of those one of these days.

[Scorpion8]

I'm ordering two more cases.

[Marc Hugo]

Hi Scorpion,

Your experiences mirror mine - great album from Loreena McKennit: a demanding choice.

I must say, that I so enjoy AFII that I have been perched on the edge "like a greyhound in the slips" looking out for a JVC UFII. Sadly, they seem even rarer, although they do come very occasionally - but only at premium prices.

Cheers - Marc