I get it, we all like having certainty, it feels comfortable and safe. But there is also value in uncertainty. Not knowing if the totem keeps spinning, or if it falls over in Inception (2010), opens us up to considering more possibilities. Being in that state makes us wonder about ourselves and the universe. No one knows if the subject of this video actually works. There are ongoing debates and all sorts of tests that have been done. It's been over 40 years and there is still no definitive proof one way or the other. One thing is certain, many people did buy these. I think I presented a decent argument as to why that happened. Thank you to everyone who decides to leave a comment. Even more interesting to me is the uncertainty surrounding all this. I think the way people choose to respond to this video tells us much more about the psychology of the person leaning the comment than we may realise. I appreciate everyone for watching. And even if I can't respond to every comment, I make an effort to ready every one, thank you. "Certainty is an emotional state, not an intellectual one. To feel certain, the brain must filter out more information than it processes." - www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/202109/the-epidemic-certainty

@christophero1969

Жыл бұрын

If all of your music was on cassette tapes and if you HAD replaced the battery & two electrolytic caps and used the demagnetizer on a very-well-used cassette deck, you would have heard a difference. I did and still use cassette tapes along with other media.

@TheTruthKiwi

Жыл бұрын

Damn, Inception was 13 years ago already? If someone would go ahead and slow down time a bit that'd be great. :p

@TheReal1953

10 ай бұрын

Many people did buy these. But again, that's only observational feedback. And when you buy something expensive like this, you WANT it to work....like $10,000 speaker cables which skew the actual results.

@socksumi

6 ай бұрын

It's quite simple really. If you can actually hear tape head magnetization (a debatable topic) these devices should work as claimed however probe style demagnetizers are much more powerful and therefore more effective. Sometimes hearing differences isn't something that you notice right away since we don't have perfect discernment at an instant. Long term listening tends to be more revealing of subtle differences than instant A-B switch overs.

@30AndHatingIt

2 күн бұрын

What debate? Did the player sound like sh** before and sounds better after using it? Then there’s the answer. Period.

I had one of the TDK demagnetiser cassette, the exact model you show in the video. The magnetic flux generated by the cassette is minuscule when compared to the wand-style, classical demagnetiser, but the frequency isn't 50 / 60 Hz, but it is in the audio band. The flux generated by the cassette is 100 times higher than the field induced by the rolling magnetic tape. I conducted some tests with the TDK demagnetiser. You can verify its efficacy with a CrO2 reference tape with a 10 KHz note. The amplitude of the output is 15 - 20% higher after 4 or 5 demagnetisation pulses with the TDK cassette. This is because a magnetised head core (caused by playing CrO2 and Metal cassettes) limits the reproduction of the higher frequencies. By the way, it is difficult to evaluate the functionality of the TDK demagnetiser without proper instrumentation, because the ear can't pickup a 20 dB difference at 10 KHz or more. All in all, yes, the TDK demagnetiser works. It is useful? In a professional setting, where the audio equipment is properly calibrated, yes. As last note, the TDK demagnetiser cannot recover a magnetic head after an accident - when somebody intentionally put a magnet in contact with the head. You need a wand in that case. Regards, Anthony

@garbleduser

Жыл бұрын

Wonderful information, thank you! This should be a pinned comment.

@jeanbonnefoy1377

Жыл бұрын

Same with me: bought it when it was released by tdk, used it regularly on all my tape machines (Harman Kardon, Nakamichi, Technics, Sony, Revox, Teac, Tascam) with notably audible results. Still using it. Compard to other models (some shown in this video), it is by far the most efficient one and way easier to use than the magnetic wand (that, for obvious reasons) I keep for reel to reel tape recorders.

@francoisleveille409

Жыл бұрын

At 5:05 it is specified the signal from the demagnetizer is 588 Hz. This video seems to me like a joke. I recently purchased a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller along with a few small gadgets/peripherals. One of these was a BMX160 9 axis sensor which includes one incredibly sensitive 3 axis magnetometer. It would have been very easy to check the magnetic field generated by the demagnetiser as well as the one generated by a magnetized vs demagnetised tape deck head. A difference would have indicated the effectiveness of the device tested. Essentially since the creator of this video can't make sense of what the demagnetiser does and is too lazy to check these details, he comes to the conclusion its only purpose is to "look good". I always assumed the "transparent" aspect of it is so you know this is not some music tape. Also a thorough investigation would have included the electronic schematic of the device which is fairly easy to do.

@franciscopostigogarcia2694

Жыл бұрын

Some side info that confirms this.. You can magnetice a screwdriver bit only using a passive ferro magnet. This means that continuous exposure from a magnet even if it’s passive can effectively turn the receptor metal into another magnet. That magnetic field will create a signal which will cause noise since magnetic fields are constant and non fluctuating

@Scrogan

Жыл бұрын

@@franciscopostigogarcia2694 Continuous exposure to a DC magnetic field, yes. But an AC field like from a tape is constantly going positive and negative. Furthermore, even if the signal from a tape or from the signal being output through the head is enough to magnetise it, why would a signal from this fancy cassette not just magnetise it further? There probably are reasons why it does actually work (still not entirely sure how you get rid of the remanence without actively measuring it and opposing it), but they’re not the simplistic ones suggested by your comment.

This is a certified Techmoan classic.

@HonestAuntyElle

Жыл бұрын

What is TechMoan?

@blakegriplingph

Жыл бұрын

@@HonestAuntyElle bruh

@subliminalvibes

Жыл бұрын

No it's not. Mat is an idiot. Janus Cycle explains everything in detail, whereas Mat says things like, "Well I'm not going into all that technical mumbo-jumbo."

@edwardfletcher7790

Жыл бұрын

@@HonestAuntyElle It's on the Internet.... LoL

@RC-nq7mg

Жыл бұрын

Yep! love it! Never used one of these but have used and still use the wand style. They do work and can be used on all tape heads.

A magnetized head erases highs from your tapes as you play them and it increases noise when recording. Not long after that TDK demagger came out, I tested it using a gauss meter to see if it actually reduced the magnetism of a magnetized head. It did next to nothing - too weak. A real demagger reduced the field to below what the meter could read.

@andygozzo72

Жыл бұрын

these were only likely designed to remove slight magnetisation, not where its enough to partially erase recordings, that said, i have a similar but different one, and it rapidly pegs level meters to the right for a second when activated, ..it did help in a couple of cases.....

I have been servicing tape decks for several decades, and I have a 110VAC demagnetizer I use every time I clean and service a deck. Most people will not notice the degradation over time, but it is a reason their tapes go bad. Yes, there is a hiss that can be heard when the head is magnetized, but the magnetization can cause the tape to be erased over time while it is being played, and in the end, the tape will be unplayable. These cassette tape demagnetizers were sold to do what the AC units did, but they didn't get the job done, if the head was seriously magnetized, and was the reason I kept my AC unit.

I was lucky enough to find a new in box Realistic tape head demag which I used to sell while working at Tandy's back in late 80's :) I have used mine once on a Sony CFD-5 boombox (first with a CD player built in the D-50) It had a lot of hiss and the demag really helped other than that it has not been needed. There is a guy I have dealt with from Romania his name is Segui and his name on Tapeheads is magnetic Blood. He restored my AIWA PX10 walkman and I he recorded some albums for me (Queen, Australian Crawl, 1927 Ish and others) onto 2 x TDK SAX-90 chrome tapes using one of his very high end tape decks ( Nakamichi or Revox) Playing in my AIWA PX10 and Sony DD9 Walkman they sound fantastic. Better than the cd version.

@app0the

Жыл бұрын

That's a good point, a lot of players play better than they record, which is a trick you can use to optimize your gear. Like I did back in the day - why buy something expensive if my dual head Marantz is fine for playback and keeping the speed constant, and when I need to record something I can just go to my friend's place who has 12 Nakamichi decks fully serviced :-)

@TheReal1953

10 ай бұрын

That's because of the pleasing coloration and harmonic distortion in analog recordings. It's what keeps us going in analog. Most everything I have sounded 'better' after going through my Tandberg TD20. The deck's preamps are responsible for that colored sound, along with my main amp/preamp etc. That's why it's not always the best choice just to throw a bunch of analog gear together and expect stellar results. It can take decades to get good matches.....and then there are the room acoustics...lol.

Love the narration and the cinematography! So relaxing!

A man who speaks the truth. I had one of these back in the day and I never noticed it making any difference whatsoever. It's as noticeable as having one extra hair on a broom, ie, no difference whatsoever. But they did look cool.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

That's a great analogy. I do love analogue technology. But it can be hard to talk about it without using analogous descriptions like this. I really enjoyed your comment, thank you.

@BrianG61UK

Жыл бұрын

I guess they might have been powerful enough to help if somehow your tape head had got magnetised. But unless you were stupid enough to poke a magnet into your tape player how would that ever happen?

@poorboybmx2511

Жыл бұрын

I love your reply "one extra hair on a broom" priceless

@andygozzo72

Жыл бұрын

@@BrianG61UK yep, they're only really of use IF the tape head gets excessively magnetised somehow, more important keep the head and pinch roller clean, and replace head if worn

The first sound equipment I bought was a Sony double cassette + CD player. I played tons of tapes there but after some time, the recordings were being poorer and poorer no matter I cleaned the heads. Once I made an experiment erasing a whole tape. Curiosly the next recording I made wasn't too bassy, noisy and limited crunchy trebles. That was the time I read about residual magnetism on tape heads. I bought the same TDK model at a local flea market (more or less five bucks). At first, I didn't note any big difference in sound quality, except the noise floor was reduced substantially but recordings were improved 100%. After many years educating my ears and playing tapes I can assure you this little machine does its job and it worths every cent you spent on it.

Speaking for me, I still have my TDK HD-01, It works well to de-magnetized the tape heads on my decks, but one still needs to remember to clean the heads, the capstan and the rollers. Also, be sure that you have turned off the audio. This makes a horrible noise if you use it with the sound turned on.

Some cassette decks made by AIWA had automatic tape head demagnization built into the tape deck. All you had to do was power it on, and the process was done in seconds.

I had one of these! Used it on my expensive cassette player and I _still_ have no idea if it did anything or not. Sounded the same before and after.

@Guggel1966

Жыл бұрын

That's my story too! 🙂

I have two HD-01s. The older design, I believe, is better made, but both work. As for how much good they do... I'm not sure. Can't hurt anything, though. The clear housing is of little significance to me other than that it shows the parts. Otherwise a person might not be convinced there was anything functional in it.

I think the transparent look is so people can easily recognize they're not regular casette tape in case the stickers peel off

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

That is a really good explanation, thank you. I still think this added greatly to their popularity though.

I remember Radio Shack had one demagnitizer that had a permanent round magnet in it that was rotated by a cloth tape that also cleaned the heads. I think these did more harm, magnitizing the head than removing any. It made a weird rumble sound over the audio out that sounded like the traveling cylinder space probe in Star Trek 4, which I really think where they got the sound effect from lol.

Just recently had the chance to see this exact TDK demagnetizer. Very cool and interesting indeed.

Having used one I put this in the category of the $100 HDMI cables some vendors try to push today.

@MrDegsy69

Жыл бұрын

Just another brand of fake snake oil in a similar manner to CD light blocking pens.

@pnnielsen

Жыл бұрын

Yep. It's called snake oil.... In this case, the demagnetizer may work but the snake oil part is making customers believe they need one. Most customers never put enough hours on their decks to actually need demagnetizers

I still have the TDK model. This Channel is wizard! Cheers!

It's not needed very often with a domestic cassette deck. Cleaning the heads frequently is what makes the biggest difference. Also, aligning the head is sometimes makes a massive difference, especially on machines picked up second hand. The mains powered hand held demagnetizers probably do a better job, but in some cases they can be difficult to get near the heads of certain cassette machines.

@andygozzo72

Жыл бұрын

yep..most important, keep heads and pinch rollers clean,

I remember seeing these in the 80's, never had one though. Always kept to the much cheaper tape based head cleaning cassettes. I particularly remember one with a green tape inside that should have been able to demagnetize the head. I don't think it worked though. Back then I would've loved to have an electronic demagnetizer. Btw, for some reason I was remembering these demagnetizing cassettes as having little less electronics inside and a green circuit board (or perhaps the later 80's models did.)

I purchased one back in the late 80's, it came in a nice plastic case that also had a wet type head and capstan cleaner. From memory, I believe that it was the Music way brand... I still have it somewhere, probably used it once after I got it, couldn't notice any difference before or after. I noticed that your TDK one only produced one short blip while I specifically remember my one was very audible and the sign wave signal will continue until you stop it... But you are definitely correct, apart from the TDK MAXG and it's metal frame which was a very cool tape, the Demagnetizer tape was the coolest thing that I had ever seen and the primary reason why I got it....

This, to me, screams that it wants to be the heart of a hacked-together kick drum synth.

I had the exact same model, way back in the 80s. It definitely brought the top end back, on a well used hifi deck.

Just picked one, still in ordinal packaging….€30. Lost my ordinal one about 30 odd years ago. I think they do help, that depends on the cassette deck sendust and ferrit heads (Sony TC-K 75 etc) or ferrite and ferrite (TC-K 81) also JVC TD-V6 and the nakamichi BX series……whereas decks such as hinari, saisho, Waltham and etc would have zero benefits. Carlos Fandango in his MK4 cortina with argos special stereo and good man’s parcel shelf spears….would have no benefits….other than doubling the value of his worldly goods.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for those details. Analog audio has so many detailed aspects to it and I still have a lot to learn.

Thank you very much, good video, in those years I had a TDK very similar to the one you provided, it did work or at least it seemed that way, I had a great compilation of cassettes, I recorded many on a great nakamichi dr-3 deck, I used that cassette for degaussing regularly and it gave me a different sensation in the Audio, well regards and excellent video, now I technically understand how this system works thanks to your video document,🎩

In the 1980's I used one of these and to see what was happening I inserted the demagnetizer and pressed play on my cassette deck and I displayed the output on a CRT oscilloscope. I still have mine. My main use for it was pressing the demagnetizer head to watch the LED light up. In the 1980's it cost £7.95 from Curry's If you paid any more you were mugged!

This topic is for TechMoan he will solve the problem, anyhow thanks for lovely take on head demagnetizer witch i own exactly same one from TDK and few other ones but never used it.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

I would also like to hear Techmoan's take on this.

@RowanHawkins

Жыл бұрын

Then you should ask @techmoan what his thoughts are.

IMO magnetized heads are a problem not in a sense that the sound becomes worse when playing, but rather the head being magnetized acts as a heck of an underpowered permanent magnet, akin to an erase head in a very cheap recording mechanism - thus any of the tapes you run past it will get a decrease in signal level and an increased noise floor. By how much - that is an open question! :P On a Metal tape like you showed, or even Chrome tape, I think it would be negligible due to how much coercivity they have, compared to Normal (ferric) tape - they need much higher magnetic flux for things to start moving around. It would make sense in an industrial environment on open-reel machines where a single tape head can see multiple kilometers of tape in a day (wait that sounds like my old home when I was in a mood to listen to something) and the tapes themselves were supposed to be stored as best as possible, but a wand type demag would be more likely way better for those. Not to

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

Very interesting, I have always wondered how well magnetic tape holds it's magnetic field over time in general as well.

@RowanHawkins

Жыл бұрын

Well magnetic tape and floppy diskettes work on the same principal. The density of the encoded data and its storage characteristics play a huge part in retention. Manufactured audio tape would have a reasonably strong write coupled with a relativly low data density. this plays out with floppies in that the higher density have less stability, but sometimes the media flakes off the substrate due to storage issues.

@app0the

Жыл бұрын

@@RowanHawkins now that you remind me of floppies, that becomes very interesting - i assume floppy drive heads get magnetized as well, but i've yet to see a floppy drive demag in the wild. I guess the combination of it being digital (so you only need to distinguish 0 and 1 via FSK or whatever) and people never really spinning the same floppy for ages continuously ends up making the "noise floor" on the floppy not being a concern. Now that I have a floppy based MIDI player that never stops the motor and I'm listening to on a daily basis, we might find out - so long as that happens faster than the disk develops a hole from the head friction and the constant spinning :D

@organfairy

Жыл бұрын

You are right. I once had a taperecorder where the head became magnetized - not because of build-up from regular use, but because the left record amplifier had a problem. If I play some of the tapes I used on that machine on the one I have now I can clearly hear more hiss in the left side than in the right.

@andygozzo72

Жыл бұрын

@@organfairy yep, heads are unlikely to get magnetised in normal use but poor or faulty circuitry can certainly cause it, many cheapo cassette players used dc bias , much more likely to occur with these! once a tape has been played in a machine with an excessively magnetised head, that recording can be permanently 'damaged', partially erased even..

I had one that looked just like this in the late 80s. I think mine was Boots-branded in the days when they sold records and audio equipment. I didn't think it looked cool. It probably wasn't hugely expensive but I resented every penny I spent on it, not knowing for certain if it was necessary, did any good or damaged my equipment. I only bought it because the manual of my cassette deck told me to demagnetise periodically.

Here's a tip, just run the deck in record mode for a few seconds Then, swab the head with isopropyl alcohol. It's worked for me for 50 years.

It does work, They had two models the HD-01 and the later unit the HD-30 that worked better for decks with logic controls. I tested the HD-30 by magnetizing the tip of a small screwdriver and then pushing the tip of the screwdriver to activate the HD-30 and yes it WORKED the screw driver WAS TOTALLY DE-MAGNETIZED.

I had a couple demgs, not the one mentioned. I had totally forgotten this! And yes, demagging your cassette heads helps a great deal. And I just remembered, old crt monitors, some had a demag.cycle because residual magnetism from normal operation would distort.the.video.on the monitor.

Yes , they do work amazingly well , I used to by my records and record them straight on to tapes , and thrash the tapes , so to keep the Vinyl good , point is , tape heads got dirty , do cleaned them , but that after a while didnt restore sound , But when useing a Demagnetizing tape every thing came back to perfeck, You need to clean and demagnetize you tape deck heads regulaly

The ones I remember seeing had spinning magnets driven by the tape reels when play was pressed. This was back in the mid eighties when I saw it in the music store.

I once tried to erase a recording on a normal bias tape with a wand demagnetizer and it couldn't even ease the tape. This was a popular lite up with transparent plastic and a metal rod though the center. Other types like this would work but definitely not this one. I use an older Sony RTR type to demagnetize my heads now. Not only does ths demagnetize the tape on contact but it also erases the spooled tape in the cart.

Well, back in the '80s these were mostly viewed as a novelty However, demagnetising the heads of tape based storage for microcomputers was a standard part of servicing and repairing them. It's highly unlikely that this was needed in most machines though as the heads are mostly stainless steel and paramagnetic rather than ferromagnetic Cleaning the ferrite dust from the heads was much more important though as that's designed to hold a magnetic flux

On any quality tape player the mechanical tape guides and feed parts are either plastic, rubber or stainless steel to prevent magnetic buildup influence on the tapes that could diminish the audio permanently on the tapes. I used an scope on the audio output to see if there was a difference. With most tape heads, there was very little discernable difference but, if someone had used a magnetized screwdriver to adjust the head, this device worked well to get the high frequency back. Most of the time there was build up of tape residue on the head from moisture and dirt/dust because of leaving the cassettes lying around unprotected but acetone and a q tip was usually the answer. Sometimes i would find that the head was actually worn down from friction till the tape path was uneven and not letting the tape contact the head completely due to the very wide variety of push pads used on different brands of cassette tapes. I used this device as a precaution when repairing tape drives because of my own OCD and strive for perfection.

Given many people felt it didn't work, the clear case showed that they weren't just buying an empty cassette. That being said, we've all seen devices that look like they're doing something but all they do is turn a light on when the tape head engages ;)

I remember wanting one of these when i was a kid in the 80s just because they looked so cool!

I use mechanical watch demagnetisers and understand the principle which is as you describe this. Though it’s a ton of current required to work on a watch and I’d expect more then a tiny cell battery could muster. I wouldn’t expect the magnetic field generated to by audible either, with the demag I have it’s 50Hz mains AC.

@sirspamalot4014

Жыл бұрын

The current needed is going to be to do with the mass of the item being demagnetised. Tape heads are super sensitive by design and have low magnetic mass, so it theoretically wouldn't need that much current to do.

@sofa-lofa4241

Жыл бұрын

I have a TDK HD-01 and a mains powered 'Zeeper' wand, The wand far outperformed the HD-01, I'm not sure if it's down to the electronics or greater output power, But there could be something to this

@UXXV

Жыл бұрын

@@sirspamalot4014 usign Lepsi or another phone app this could be tested :)

I had one of those I bought from Radio Shack back in the late 1980s. Always seemed to do the trick!

These are basically small versions of the large demagnetizes that plugged in and you stuck the metal rod on the tape heads. They had many brands and clones. Some work others not so much. They are low powered. But I can testify that they do help.

What is the music being played in the background? Where do i download this track?

Underrated channel.

I've had one for a long time now... I can vouch for its efficacy!

I have had reasonably good luck with this device on very well used decks, particularly in car stereos. For well taken care of decks in a home environment though, there's usually not much difference. No one can deny the cool factor though!

I have one of these and have used it many times. Most times it was preventative use. The deck still sounded fine. But recently I had a deck that could not make a good recording. So I tried this and bammm, the recoding improved dramatically the deck could then could record and play back high frequencies.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

Interesting, thank you.

@pwieringa2

Жыл бұрын

I can remember that , because that's why I did used it for my Sony cas. deck TC - 55 - Mark II 1980 and an older before als a Sony TC - 188/186 ?

I use to degaus crt tv with my soldering gun . It works amazingly well. Also if you remove the tip from a soldier gun and make and iron probe from a nail mounted into just one conection then you can degaus tape heads and parts with your old soldering gun.

it works - at least it worked for me in 90's. i had rly nice sony hi-fi system and somewhere in 94 i went aboard and bought TDK demagnetizer "tape" - after a first run it significantly improved high tones ie. sound become "sharper"

I was asking techmoan if he maybe could make a video about these a year ago, sadly no response. I have MAXEL brand and using it.

I still have my Radio Shack tape head demag, which I've had since the 1980's.

Excellent Camera work.

I bought a TDK HD 01 earlier this week and tested it on my "Aiwa AD-F810" equipment. The light turns on, but I don't see the VU indicator moving and I also don't notice any improvement in sound after playing it for at least 10 seconds. Do you know if it's possible that in 3-head decks it may not work properly or even not work at all with this cassette? Is there any other way to confirm that it's working properly without having to record a sample through Audacity? CHEERS FROM ARGENTINA, AMAZING AND RELAXING VIDEO !!

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

It's possible the pulse is so short your won't see the VU meter moving. If your deck already sounds great with very low noise it will be hard to tell how much this has helped. I would say be happy with the sound quality and have peace of mind that you can keep it that way :)

@samuelfellows6923

Жыл бұрын

And if it is a 3-head deck, the middle head is for recording and the other head in the direction of tape travel is for monitoring the recording, pre-calibration of the recorder and playback = your recorder simply didn’t hear it as the de-magnetiser was in the wrong place

I still have my HD-01 and it still works. Sure, it may not work _as_ well as something like the TEAC 'wand,' but on decks like the Nakamichi 580 or CR-2E, where the heads can be difficult to 'get at,' the HD-01 is useful, and in my experience, definitely does the job. Which, BTW, is *not* to "improve the sound," it's to prevent your machine _removing_ the high frequencies from a tape (which is what a magnetised or partly-magnetised head does). And regarding the short pulse: I knew about that, and I usually 'run' the HD-01 (say) three or four times, leaving a few seconds between 'passes.'

@JanusCycle

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for clarifying that a magnetized head can remove the high frequencies from a tape. I've not been clear on that aspect.

I had this exact one, and they work for what they are designed for, but the average person will almost never need it.

5:53 I still have the red one!! It made a continuous sound and the cogs moved the coil back and forth into the heads so the sound changed in volume. Maybe your tested circuit or the battery had not enough power to create the right signal so that's why it died so soon.

I have one (a newer, nicer-looking version). I also have the wand. I usually use the wand because the shell type requires the tape head to move up, meaning that for most decks, the deck must be powered on. The shell type is just too risky to use. As for if they works or not, I don’t know if they make the music sounds better, but I know for a fact that the wand type is capable of demagnetizing a magnetized screw driver. So it is only a question of whether a tape head can really be magnetized enough to affect music.

Nice Video! The Tape looks cool indeed! One Question: Whats the Song called playing in the Background?

I had one of these in the '80's...don't know if it worked but my Nackamichi tape deck worked well...a very high frequency for 5 -10 seconds...amp off,unplugged...snake oil ?...my tape deck was better than average but not a qualified expert...wow, 20+ years since i last seen one....kool..i used isopropyl alcohol to clean the heads first with a cotton bud every couple of months depending on use of tape deck....neat

Mainly you need to regularily demagnetize (degauss) your tapeheads only if you are frequently recording music onto tape (or formerly have done so. Best is if such is done after every recording session or when changing e.g. cassettes / tape reels). While the premagnetization (Biasing) used on standard Fe2O3 tape is comparably low (switch setting often "low" or "medium") therefor building up a residue of magnetism slowly, frequent recording onto e.g. metal tape which uses very high biasing levels (also notably higher than that on Chrome-/Cr-Substitute tapes) results in a faster buildup of magnetic residue requiring degaussing.

I noted that the demagntization waveform is clipped when the demagnetization cycle starts. Is the clipping due to overload in the computer's microphone input circuitry, or is the core in the playback head used for this experiment going into saturation? If the head core is going into saturation, then the head demagnetizing cassette is doing its job. The question that remains is, is there any value in demagnetizing a tape head without demagnetizing the capstain? I can certainly see how these cassette demagnetizers would have been desirable as convenience items for automotive cassette players.

It should be simple to perform some tests before and after the demagnetisation to tell whether it's really working as intended.

loooong time ago, i had a teac four track cassette recorder and used one of those. I used some kind of reference tape to measure results, per instructions at the time. Results were mixed. Some improvement but definitely not restored to initial performance. If others have more definite information in the comments i missed it, apologies in advance if so.

3:15 -I mean, this looks like a way more complicated means to an end, than other variants of tape head demagnetizing cassettes I have, or had, which have just some configuration of a permanent magnet imbedded in a plastic wheel, which spins behind a special cleaning strip tape, which you saturate with a bit of 91% isopropyl alcohol, prior to use. I don’t see why that in the video, wouldn’t work, as a demagnetizer, in theory, but, there’s far more simple head cleaning/demagnetization cassettes, which perform both maintenance steps, simultaneously, and cost a fraction as much. I can confirm, that the cheaper dual maintenance cassettes work excellently, and rarely require more than a single pass, unless the tape head is really filthy and magnetized, in which case, just run as many passes respectively, until it’s satisfactorily restored. ❤ In the case of where you can access the tape head, directly, with a Qtip, behind the door, pre-clean the tape head prior with isopropyl alcohol, prior to running the dual-maintenance cassettes, because this will help prevent the cleaning tape medium in it, from fouling with residue, sooner than later. Dual maintenance cassettes are invaluable for cleaning side slot loading cassette mechanisms, like you typically find in older car stereo systems because accessing the tape head directly, without taking the whole thing apart, is a lot more difficult. Plug in tape demagnetizing tools, like the ones I use for RTR player/recorders, aren’t usually as ideal for cassette decks, because of limited accessibility to the tape head, itself with the tool, and you only have a handful of seconds to use the tool, before you must unplug or switch it off, or the tool itself, will self destruct, because it’s essentially just a crude AC electromagnet with a polymer insulator over the tip. Basically, if you drag your feet too long using it, it’ll heat up like a soldering iron, melt the polymer insulator, and possibly short out the internal windings, breaking it, and/or posing a fire/electrical hazard.

Still have one and still use Also there's a cleaner pads that work rollers and clean heads as you fast forward

I might need one of those demagnetizer. I have a late 80's Sony stereo system Compact Disc, and Cassette Tape player/ recorder. But it does sound good when I did play normal stereo cassettes. It has CR02 and Metal tape selection options. Those do sound crisper sounding and extra sound recording pick up. Upward and onwards,

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

Chrome and Metal tapes are magical.

Nostalgia! I had one of these TDK demagnetizers, and I had a TDK handheld one too for my reel2reel deck. This was the snake oil of the 80's. I can't tell I ever heard a difference.... However, I probably never used my tape decks heavy enough to need these tools. Snake oil for most customers. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt opens the wallet to the guy who spent a ton of money in gear already...

I have one and it works .Also you can use an old school transformer type soldering iron works

I am a tape deck technician and I have and use one ot this TDK device bought brand new in the 80s, I think. Since then, I use this on a regular basis but, sincerely, I can´t perceive any improvement in the sound. To be completely sincere, in the 80s I noticed some improvement in cheap devices as entry level car cassete players and all-in-one compact radio and cassete players. However, since the end of the 70s most of the tape decks started to use heads that was made of some type of aluminum alloy that was almost imune to magnetization and, this, way, they simply do not get magnetized at all. That is my perception, but it was tested in thounsands of tape decks and players along all these decades.

Yes, cassette de-magnetizers do work.

For my 3 cassette player - deck from Sony 55 Mark-II and others, I used it often .... Its an electronic device and when you use it, I did always shut down the power outlet of all my speakers too ..... The battery has been replaced for an accu to be loaded for 10 hours ..... I did buy it in 1974 at Valkenberg Kinkerstraat at Amsterdam or AURORA Amsterdam Centrum near De MUNT tower ......

The voyager space probe runs on radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTG's. They are nuclear batteries that run off the decay of plutonium, but even they are running out of fuel and voyager will soon go dark forever.

It's relatively easy to check, if it works: with magnet tape visualiser find playing head with that magnetic affection of tapes - and test (of course with fresh batteries).

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

I have a small sheet of magnetic visualizer material somewhere. Great suggestion, thank you.

I had the maxell. Don't know if it really made a difference. A cotton tip with alcohol for sure did a lot more.

It seems to me that it worked like a degaussing coil on old TV screens. Technicians had a physical (and big) coil that was used to demagnetize the CRTs of the day. They tended to get a dark spot in the middle of the screen. The coil removed that.

@Songwriter376

Жыл бұрын

...or random color blotches anywhere on the screen. I knew of the man who invented the demagnetizer. Had a tv repair shop in the hood back in the day. He invented the demag that surrounded the crt's in all sets back then. Never got credit for it either.

The principle is certainly sound. I use a degausser on my Ferrograph open reel tape recorder. If you fail to do so then the heads can become badly magnetised and it impacts performance hugely. Not just like hi-fi nuts going on about nuances, no actually makes it work really badly. However that's a mains operated device so the energy available is hugely more than this device which uses a watch battery. One of the things that can cause magnetised heads, is the use of cheap recorders which have a permanent magnet erase head and/or DC Bias on the audio head. This causes tapes to have a large component of magnetised particles lined up in one direction, which then magnetises heads and other magnetic components. Note that head devices like this absolutely must not be used on Philips DCC cassette decks, whose magneto resistive heads will be instantly destroyed by it.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

I do love exploring the nuances of analogue technologies. But damn it can be a minefield sometimes. I really appreciate the knowledge you provide in these areas on your channel. Thank you for the work you do there.

what music are you playing around 1.26 ? please

Wasn’t familiar with these. Very neat niche product.

I still have one of these but need to get my tapedecks serviced, not so easy here in Ireland

Ive still got one of these TDK demagnetizers, not used for many years, not sure it still works, plus that TEAC hand held type for my Reel to reels.

I have owned this since 1980, and it does in fact do what it promises. Head demaging should be done periodically along with a thorough cleaning of the heads, tape path and pinch rollers. Once magnetization reaches the point where there is an audible loss of high frequencies - it is too late. The magnetization has already diminished the sound quality of recorded music. Do it about every 100 hours of paying time, more frequently if the deck is used principally for recording. Replace the battery when the red light appears dim or after three years if the cartridge has not been used recently. The TDK demagnetizer uses an A76 or type 357 battery if I recall correctly.

I had a old Sony tape deck that would not play a tape. The tape would wind but could not get any sound out of it. A friend that was good with electronics fixed it. He said the tape head got magnetized. All he did was demagnatize the head and it worked perfectly after that. Still wish I had that stereo set up.

I just purchased one recently, and it lit up once on my tape deck. When I tried it on my Walkman no light came on. Weird. Cheers

Here we got a funny one with just a sponge like tiny scrubber which rocked back & forth 😄

I’m surprised you didn’t do any comparison testing with it - would have expected at least a sound quality test with a before-and-after on a tape deck or two.

I had one of those, and I also had a much cheaper one that was a cylindrical magnet that would rotate due to gearing inside between the 2 tape spool spindles. The electronic one did a much better job of lowering hiss levels.

3:20 The Voyager space probes are powered by Plutonium-238 radioisotope thermoelectric generators. The TDK demagnetizing cassette certainly also.

The wand type supposedly works better - lower noise floor and better high frequency sensitivity. I don't have pro grade equipment to test dynamic range, noise floor only REW and Clio which I use for DIY loudspeaker hobby. From what I recall, of the few decks I had, the 3head Nakamichis were one with the lowest playback self noise and freq resp up to 25k @-3dB, -20dB level (250nWb 0dB standard).

I was recently given one of these, and I didn't know it was as old as that.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

You now have an intriguing piece of audio history my friend :)

Just recording a sine wave audio signal, starting loud and falling in volume to nothing, ending at the zero crossing point should do the same thing if the record head puts out a strong enough signal to cause the problem in the first place.

If the tape head was becoming magnetized to the extent that it was affecting the audio, it would be damaging the data on every cassette that went through it, which no one who promotes these has ever said. The tape has a *much* lower coercivity than any material in the tape deck and so would be incredibly sensitive to this. Also, there are next to no ferrous metals in the tape head, so next to no hysteresis, so no significant residual magnetization. Additionally, DC bias on the tape head would not cause hiss. Stainless steel is incredibly difficult to magnitize and the little bit of magnetism in the domains of the tape can not do it. BTW...the pulse is clipping very badly on that TDK and could potentially cause damage even with the volume down. Bottom line, tape companies made these because consumers wanted them, not because they were useful. Oh, and this would be so easy to debunk with a magnetometer.

@tomsherwood4650

Жыл бұрын

SO you are saying a magnet will not adhere to a tape head? And that studios wasted their time demagging their machines?

I really like the way you use the music in your videos. it is all put together like a little piece of art, just to play some nice tunes. what's the song at 1:24?

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

Such a beautiful comment to make, thank you. That music does not have a proper title and I'm still searching for it's origin.

@rainboworange

Жыл бұрын

@@JanusCycle Oh thank you, and thank you for entertaining us!

surely, (unless it can't record) you could feed a signal into your player without a tape in it and perhaps get a stronger effect than playing the signal into the head. though I suppose being an audiophile product, it's almost entirely placebo, like shaving the edges of cds.

No one mentioned the banshee sounding ones they were a little better than the just plain scratchers they had some reverse magnet action imbedded in the Emory cloth that was the tape,you had to make sure it wasn't playing in wrong direction clearly stated on right side of tape,still use the one I swiped from me old band mates studio in the 80s.

I thought this was like a little FM radio in a cassette that you can put in players to turn them into radios haha. That's what it looks like from the thumbnail 🤣

I have opened a bunch of these in the past and haven't found one that actually has a battery port. Alot of the times the circuitry isn't attached or there is just a cap. Also im not actively looking for one. I can understand why a reel to reel machine may need demag but idk about cassettes.

Hey, what's the 'Bangin' Tune' 😮🤔😁

Int-resting. I think I still have mine from the early 80's. Was this thing just a placebo? Is 550Hz the fundamental frequency, or a harmonic of a much higher, more powerful pulse? I thought it generated a tone way up around 85Khz or so. After all, the erase head on a deck I think uses a frequency around there. Do you have to "de-magnetize" an erase head? Lol.

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

It's undecided with people still debating the claims.

Not sure what brand mine was but it did work. Less hiss afterward.

BEAUTIFUL VIDEO

@JanusCycle

Жыл бұрын

Thank you