Blackwatch 4040 Trial

[gamve]

Guys gave the first of the BW's a go this arvo. Great Tape !!!
I have not had a lot of experience with metals but boy do they beat the shit out of chrome when it comes to shoving a bit of signal at em.
Source was Pioneer turntable PLC-590, ZYX Airy III, ZYX CPP-1, My FET MM phono stage feeding the ugly (sheesh that things fugly) Nak LX5.
Music:
Boston - Boston CBS 1/2 speed,
Don't look back CBS 1/2 speed
and snuk a bit of third stage on as well.

This program contains dramatic peaks and some quiet passages and will show how well the tape can handle fast rising transients with high peaks while still remaining relativley quiet with very little hiss at lower levels.

Results:
Peaks up to +10 db briefly but buggered if I can detect any distortion...clean as a whistle. Seems to handle everything you throw at it without breaking a sweat. Tape stays very quiet at low levels even without any form of noise reduction. What can I say IMHO Highly Reccomended. I'm a happy camper caus I have 39 of these suckers left to play with.

I'm no reviewer, come to think of it this is probably my first go at reviewing anything. (Not quiet up to our esteemed leaders standard, but gotta start somewhere) Hope I did not bore anyone to death
Cheers
G

[jbrainey]

Thanks for the review. I wish I had grabbed a few of those when then were offered here.

[Naknut]

Not bored here. I love this kind of stuff. Folks using their own equipment in an real world environment means more to me than a mass test by some magazine. Hey... the LX-5 may be fugly to you but to me it's a real beauty.

[Scorpion8]

Hardly boring. Nice write-up. What did you think of the bottom-end ability to reproduce bass and low signals noise free? Did you try with Dolby also to compare?

[gamve]

Hardly boring. Nice write-up. What did you think of the bottom-end ability to reproduce bass and low signals noise free? Did you try with Dolby also to compare?

Hi Scorp, Had another listen this morning. My TT setup is fairly well sorted and sounds fantastic to my ears. The tape I made on the Blackwatch turned out so well if you tested blind you might very well think it was actually the turntable playing and this is all without any NR. Please bear in mind that the cartridge on the TT is a top unit which makes the investment on all of my tape gear look totally silly. I am stoked with the results I am getting even using old second hand LN tapes let alone these 4040 top class units.
I have tried the NR systems but they do not seem to give the resolution I am after. Perhaps this is the machines rather than the NR systems. I have noticed that the NR systems seem to be fairly inconsistent between decks anyway. I have decided now to do all my tapes without NR and put up with the hiss on the LN varieties. The Dolby S on the Aiwa is probably the exception but I want to be able to use my tapes on all other machines. Lucky I have done this as the Aiwa has chucked a Playback belt and it's out of service at the moment. I will need to fix it as I reckon it has a slight edge on the Nak as far as recording quality goes.

[Mr. Lin]

Please bear in mind that the cartridge on the TT is a top unit

I'll say! Wow! That's what really caught my eye when I started reading your review. I can only imagine how incredible a tape made with a ZYX Airy-armed turntable would sound.

Good review, short and sweet, tells us what we need to know. I just bought one of these on ebay, now I'm even happier I did that.

[gamve]

I'll say! Wow! That's what really caught my eye when I started reading your review. I can only imagine how incredible a tape made with a ZYX Airy-armed turntable would sound.

Good review, short and sweet, tells us what we need to know. I just bought one of these on ebay, now I'm even happier I did that.

I have also heard the next ZYX up model, the universe on several occasions, one of my good friends has one. Stunning cartridge but I now think it's called something else. These suckers have a list price of 6K !!! way out of my league. If I win a lottery (If I buy a bloody ticket) I would love one of these. The Airy III is also fantastic but you need to match it well with the stepup trannie. I have used the ortofon T2000 that works well and of course the matching ZYX CPP-1 is also wonderful sounding. You will love this cartridge.
Cheers
G

[Marc Hugo]

Great write up Gamve - most entertaining and informative. I find that the least intrusive NR are on my Nakamichis, followed by the Dolby S implementations which tend to be very good as a rule, partly due to the quality of the machines and partly due to the nature of the algorithm. But the flexibility of rec/replay between decks is is so important that your logic makes perfect sense.

Have a great Sunday!!

Marc

[Mr. Lin]

I have also heard the next ZYX up model, the universe on several occasions, one of my good friends has one. Stunning cartridge but I now think it's called something else. These suckers have a list price of 6K !!! way out of my league. If I win a lottery (If I buy a bloody ticket) I would love one of these. The Airy III is also fantastic but you need to match it well with the stepup trannie. I have used the ortofon T2000 that works well and of course the matching ZYX CPP-1 is also wonderful sounding. You will love this cartridge.
Cheers
G

I was about to buy the lowest ZYX model - the "Bloom" - a number of months ago, but ended up not doing it as my phono preamp, as great as it is, does not have adjustable impedance loading, and it's at 47kohms. Obviously this would not be ideal. George Wright, who built and sold me his 200C tube phono preamp, suggested that a step up transformer might make things better even though the 200C already has just a bit more gain than 60db, but I decided it's not worth the risk. Another time and another preamp, some day down the road. I did just purchase a Benz Glider that will be here next week, so I've still got a lot to look forward to.

Sorry this is off-topic Gamve but it's your thread so I didn't think you'd mind. *ill*

[gamve]

I was about to buy the lowest ZYX model - the "Bloom" - a number of months ago, but ended up not doing it as my phono preamp, as great as it is, does not have adjustable impedance loading, and it's at 47kohms. Obviously this would not be ideal. George Wright, who built and sold me his 200C tube phono preamp, suggested that a step up transformer might make things better even though the 200C already has just a bit more gain than 60db, but I decided it's not worth the risk. Another time and another preamp, some day down the road. I did just purchase a Benz Glider that will be here next week, so I've still got a lot to look forward to.

Sorry this is off-topic Gamve but it's your thread so I didn't think you'd mind. *ill*

Not a problemo. Enjoy your Benz should be a good cartridge in any case. Phono stage and cartridge matching is a pita, not to mention expensive. I have ended up with a shit load MC transfomers and an active as well as Tube and fet based MM phono stages. I am too frightened to get rid of anything as I have a selection of cartriges and they all like different setups. This bit of vinyl playback along with matching carts to arms is the hardest bit to get right.

[mrfoxboy]

Man you were not joking. The LX-5 is damn corny looking! Glad you liked the BW, and hope I can eventually get my paws on one of those :p

[stripedcat99]

I have loved the Black Watch tape every time I have used it. Now, after receiving the Sony Metal XR from that OC liquidating outfit, I am anxious to try some of that up against the BW. Of course, the length is completely different, 110 minutes vs 60 minutes, if I remember, but that is an inconvenience issue, mostly. The very informal recordings that I have made on the XR have been outstanding so far, especially for that price!

[Des-Lab]

The Blackwatch tapes are definitely "sleepers". There were two models of it: the "2020" Type II and "4040" Type IV. These tapes were similar if not identical (i.e. rebranded) to Denon HD-8 and HD-M respectively. To my knowledge, there was never a "1010" Type I. Although if there was, it would likely be a Denon DX4 or equivalent based on the other two models. Likewise, they only came in two lengths: C-74 and C-100.

I've had nothing but fantastic sound with them. Using my Denon DN-790R deck, I can plow the gain deep into the red and still get soft and distortion-free analog sound.

I absolutely swear by these tapes. I once came into a large batch of them and sold most of them through here. Most folks who tried them have also echoed my sentiments. A few who tried them did so at my recommendation and had never even heard of these tapes went on to also become die hard converts. They are rather ordinary and plain-Jane looking (save for the red hubs). But don't let their minimalist design fool you.

I of course have just one carton and a handful of singles left that I kept for myself. But plenty more are out there. If you can find them-and can convince the owner to let some go-they are worth it.

[gamve]

Des,
I'm surprised you did not keep a lot more of these for yourself? I'm glad I brought so many when I did, I must have 10+ cartons...lucky me

[mrfoxboy]

Des,
I'm surprised you did not keep a lot more of these for yourself? I'm glad I brought so many when I did, I must have 10+ cartons...lucky me
Very lucky you :p Care to trade a couple? :p

[stripedcat99]

Ah, thats right, 100 minutes. Probably same tape thickness as a C-90. I remember when you sold off some and I decided I had enough already, lol. Oh well.....
I have a car with a CD & cassette head unit and another with a separate cassette deck, so that is primarily my driving interest in the format (ugh. sorry. *devil*)

[gamve]

Very lucky you :p Care to trade a couple? :p

Postage is a bit expensive but if you would like to try a couple should not be a big deal Send us a PM and we will organize something

[vidguy]

I've got a small stash of BW2020's and BW4040's.
While I think they're great, I've not used them much, as I keep trying to "save 'em"

[mrfoxboy]

Postage is a bit expensive but if you would like to try a couple should not be a big deal Send us a PM and we will organize something

PM sent all I'd really want is one 4040. I do have a few Japanese TDK MA-EX 60's that I'd be willing to trade for. I did make a recording on one of the MA-EX and they sound fantastic