Maxell UR - 1996
"The UR is still the most common and available cassette in the world. However, that doesn't mean that this isn't a very capable Type I. Indeed, to our ears, it does its illustrious forefathers justice. These do need NR, and negative bias, but if you just want a cassette to use with gay abandon, in your Walkman, in your car, then there's no real need to spend more...unless you want to." Tony Villa.
Not vintage, and not ultra rare, however this 1996 version has become rather scarce. When you hold these in your hands and see them up close, you can still see and feel the quality and the attention to detail from Maxell. The high standards were still 100% there, as were the parts flowing from Japan to the assembly lines in Mexico. Just the difference in the way the magnetic tape pancake is cut so smoothly, as compared some of those manufactured after 2002... Not to mention how much darker the tape was back then. Quality continues to be sacrificed.
Note 1: 60 Minutes: Only (4) available. 60 minutes is consistently a much scarcer length.
Note 2: 90 Minutes: These are hard to come by, however a recent acquisition allowed me to drop the prices from $4.96 to $3.96 each! July 2025.
Assembled in Mexico. Key word! Assembled! Parts... Japan! These tapes scream "QUALITY"! Also, notice the smooth hubs! These smooth hubs were used by Maxell from about 1988 to about 1996.
About Maxell:
Maxell Holdings, Ltd. (日立マクセル株式会社 Hitachi Makuseru Kabushiki-gaisha), commonly known as Maxell, is a Japanese company that manufactures consumer electronics.
Maxell was formed in 1960, when a dry cell manufacturing plant was created at the company's headquarters in Ibaraki, Osaka. In 1961, Maxell Electric Industrial Company, Limited was created out of the dry battery and magnetic tape divisions of Nitto Electric Industrial Company, Limited (now Nitto Denko Corporation).
On March 18, 2014 the company was listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[7]
The company's notable products are batteries—the company's name is a contraction of "maximum capacity dry cell"—wireless charging solutions, storage devices, computer tapes, professional broadcast tapes and functional materials.[4][5] In the past, the company manufactured recording media, including audio cassettes and blank VHS tapes, and recordable optical discs including CD-R/RW and DVD±RW.
On March 4, 2008, Maxell announced that they would outsource the manufacturing of their optical media.[6]
During the height of the Compact Audio Cassette's popularity, Maxell's audio cassettes were held in high regard, producing some of the finest examples of the standard available. The performance of the XLII-S (CrO2) and MX (pure metal particles) cassettes was regarded by many audiophiles to be the ultimate achievement in the pre digital domestic recording medium.
In the 1980s, Maxell became an icon of pop culture when it produced advertisements popularly known as "Blown Away Guy" for its line of audio cassettes. The original campaign conceived by Art Director Lars Anderson began as a two-page spread in Rolling Stone Magazine ad in 1980, and was made into television spots in 1981 which ran throughout the 1980s.[10]
Maxell audio cassettes are available in 46, 60, 90, 100, 120 and 150 minute lengths.
Maxell UR - 1996 - Assembled in Mexico.