Maxell XLII - 1996 - US
"A classic Type II. Great tape with a great shell. Has pronounced treble compared to its contemporary, the SA. Best used with decks with bias adjustment. This however gives it great bass too. When you get the bias right, this is a remarkably good cassette with superb dynamic range and low noise." Tony Villa.
These were all Made in Japan.
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Note 1: 60 Minutes: Practically box-fresh cassettes. A rarely offered length. Only 2 available
Note 2: 90 Minutes: This 1996 run is always difficult to find. Get them while you can. These are all box-fresh tapes. Only 4 available
Note 3: 100 Minutes: Box-fresh cassettes or just about. Only 4 available
Note 4: 100 Minutes: B-Grade: Two cassettes with a hairline crack on the front side, one with a 1.5cm (5/8"), and the other with a 2.5cm (1") crack. No need to replace the case. Perfectly usable. Only 2 available
Note 5: 90 Minutes: B-Grade. Several tapes with very minor blemishes, mostly 1-2 tiny rips. No pictures. The one picture shown belongs to a sold tape. Only 3 available
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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.