SONY HIP POP - 1988
"An utter classic. If you were taping "back in the day" you most probably will have used some of these. The second HF. Now getting difficult to find. By 1988 many tapes continued to get better in formulation, but much of the quality of the shells starts heading south going forward. Put some Noise Reduction on them, and negative bias at 9 o'clock and you'll find they're very musical cassettes." Tony Villa
This rare HIP POP cassette uses the always reliable HF formulation as described above by Tony Villa.
Cassette Coins Rewards: Use your Gold Status loyalty reward points and get this tape for $49.17... That's a 6.71 discount... and almost $25.00 less than on eBay (March 01, 2026)
Note 1: 60 Mins: Japanese and USA parts. Assembled in Mexico. These are box-fresh tapes, however some have 1 or 2 tinniest wrapper blemishes. Very few available.
Click (Cut & Paste) on the YouTube link below to watch a video on an HF cassette by Tony Villa!
https://youtu.be/WKBlKW5BZHs?si=E4_7gh0276CbmjJZ
About Sony:
Sony Corporation (ソニー株式会社 Sonī Kabushiki Kaisha, /ˈsoʊni/ SOH-nee, stylized as SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo.[9][1]
Sony began in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita with a focus on turning advanced research into practical consumer technology. By the 1960s, the company had adopted the Sony name and expanded into magnetic tape, quickly becoming one of Japan’s most innovative audio manufacturers.
Through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Sony established a strong presence in the cassette market with lines such as HF (Normal), UCX/UX (Type II), and Metal‑ES/Metal‑XR (Type IV). These tapes were known for clean, stable formulations and consistently high build quality, earning Sony a reputation amongst the best in the upper tier of global tape production.
As the cassette era wound down, Sony gradually exited its in-house tape manufacturing and shifted its focus toward electronics, imaging sensors, gaming, and content creation. Unlike some of it's competitors, Sony did not sell or transfer its tape-manufacturing operations; the company simply wound them down as the cassette era ended. Yet its cassette legacy, from everyday HF to the premium Metal ES, remains highly regarded.
SONY HIP POP - 1988 - US - Assembled in Mexico