Maxell LN - 1977 - US
"A late 70s Maxell Type I (1977-1979). This was the entry level Cassette before the UR was introduced. Great shell, great looks and decent sound, from a time when cassettes were expensive and made to reflect this. Give them some Dolby and negative bias and they make great recordings. Nothing more to say. More a collectible than anything else, but the clarity of the sound this tape can produce will surprise you in the best possible way." Tony Villa
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Note 1: 46 Minutes: This tape is 100% new and never recorded on, however the original wrapper was way too brittle (common to this era for Maxell and TDK tapes) and it's long gone. It will be placed into a custom plastic insert. Brand new J-Card, not even opened and stretched out. See pictures. SOLD
Note 2: 60 Minutes: This tape is 100% new and never recorded on, however the original wrapper was way too brittle, just like the one above (C46), it's long gone. It will be placed into a custom plastic insert. Brand new J-Card. See pictures. One available
Note 3: 90 Minutes: This tape is 100% new and never recorded on, however the original wrapper was way too brittle (common to this era for Maxell and TDK tapes) and it's long gone. The J-Cards are brand new and have not even been opened and stretched out, however these show a bit of paper aging. These will be placed into a custom plastic insert. See pictures. Very few available
Note 4: 90 Minutes: B-Grade: This tape is 100% new and never recorded on, however the original wrapper was way too brittle (common to this era for Maxell and TDK tapes) and it's long gone. The J-Card is brand new, never opened and stretched out. Paper also shows a bit of aging. These will be placed into a custom plastic insert. This one has been relegated to B-Grade only because of that top right hand corner cracked case. See pictures. Only 1 available
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Watch below a video by Tony Villa on another Maxell LN tape:
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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, originally part of Hitachi’s corporate family, emerged in 1960 when a dry‑cell plant was established in Ibaraki, Osaka. In 1961, Hitachi consolidated its dry‑battery and magnetic‑tape operations into the new Maxell Electric Industrial Company, positioning the brand as Hitachi’s key vehicle for consumer recording media.
Throughout the cassette era, Maxell became one of the most respected tape manufacturers. Their formulations, especially the XLI-S (Normal), XLII‑S (CrO₂), and MX (pure metal particle), were widely regarded as peak‑performance examples of the Compact Cassette format, earning strong loyalty from audiophiles and home recording enthusiasts. Maxell also produced a full range of consumer and professional magnetic media, including computer and broadcast tapes, before later shifting away from in‑house optical and recording‑media production.
The company’s cultural visibility peaked in the 1980s with the “Blown Away Guy” advertising campaign, which cemented Maxell’s reputation for high‑performance audio cassettes. Even as Maxell diversified into batteries, storage, and functional materials, its cassette legacy, and its long-standing connection to Hitachi remains central to its identity.
Maxell LN - 1977 - US - Made in South Korea