ELCASET - A new audio recording system

In the audio market, the Compact Cassette of the Philips standard has been widely accepted and had been extended even to use in hi-fi recording as a result of its easy operation and advanced technical development. On the other hand, open-reel tape is still strongly supported by music and audio enthusiasts, for its high quality sound reproduction, which has been difficult to attain with the Compact Cassette.

Your "ELCASET" system not only realizes both the convenience of the Compact Cassette and the high sound quality of open-reel tape but also has the following advanced features.

Wider dynamic range

The ELCASET tape is 6.3 mm (1/4 inch) wide and driven at a tape speed of 9.5 cm (3 ¾ ips). This results in more extended frequency and wider dynamic ranges (noticeable in higher audio range) than those of the Compact Cassette.

This ample headroom does make a difference in the reproduction of many recordings.

Stable tape transport

With a conventional Compact Cassette, the tape is guided by a tape guide pin in the cassette itself, and the accuracy of tape travel is very much dependant upon the precision of the cassette shells. This has been an obstacle in achieving high performance with the Compact Cassette.

Another problem with the Compact Cassette is that a multi-head (3-head) system has been difficult to use successfully since heads of recorders are put into the very limited space of a cassette. In the ELCASET, tape is in a case, but it is automatically pulled out by the transport mechanism of the recorder. Therefore, there is no influence over stability of tape travel by the lack of precision in cassette shells. As a result, characteristics such as wow and flutter, modulation noise, cross-talk and level changes are also remarkably improved.

Compatible tape track patter between stereo and monaural

The ELCASET has the same tape format as the Compact Cassette. This means tape is divided into two halves for side A and side B, each side permitting 2-track stereo or monaural recording and playback.

This track pattern assignment makes possible stereo and monaural between them.

The four-track tape width in the ELCASET is almost twice that of the Compact Cassette and nearly equal to the four-track open-reel tapes. This also attains excellent S/N figures open-reel tapes are able to obtain.

Tape protectors

The ELCASET has tape protectors at left and right front ends. When the ELCASET is out of your recorder, protectors are closed to protect the tape. Protectors are opened automatically by the tape deck for threading tape when the ELCASET is inserted and a function button is depressed.

Reel stoppers

Reel stoppers are also provided in the ELCASET to lock rotation of a reel hub to prevent tape from coming loose when the ELCASET is carried. The stoppers are automatically unlocked by your recorder when the ELCASET is loaded.

Erasure-proof tabs

In the Compact Cassette, recorded tapes are protected from accidental erasure by removing a tab in the cassette. But once the tab is removed, the cassette cannot be erased or re-recorded without covering the broken slot. In the ELCASET, the protection is achieved by sliding tabs.

Types of tape

There are three different types of tape for the ELCASET which are indicated on the labels.

One is called TYPE I which has the feature of low noise output (called SLH tape by Sony). TYPE II has the same performance as FeCr tape by Sony. TYPE III will be for the tape equivalent to CrO₂ tape.

For optimum recording and playback results, match the tape selector on the tape recorder with the type of tape used.

Automatic shut-off with ELCASET leader tape at tape-end

The ELCASET has leader tape at both ends of the tape. When the ELCASET is used on the tape recorder having the photo electric method, tape motion automatically stops at end of tape for any operating mode. This is because the tape deck senses the leader-tape portion and activates the automatic shut-off mechanism.

ELCASET specifications