Maxell XLII-S - 1992 - US
"A classic Type II. Great tape with a great shell. Has pronounced treble compared to its contemporary, the SA-X. 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.
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Collector's Corner: (1) This 1992 version is scarce. Want the same tape, but cheaper? Look at the 2000 UK version, now at $8.99 for a C100! Other versions like the 1991 and 1998 are also less common, and more expensive to buy, but cheaper than this 1992 version. Made in Japan.
Collector's Corner: (2) White / Black Letters Variants: This 1992 run of XLII-S tape has two (2) significant variants. One has black "maxell" letters on the front, while the apparently scarcer variant, has white "maxell" letters. See picture below:
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Note 1: 60 Mins: Black letters "maxell": Rare length. Lightly to moderately scuffed wrappers. Only 2 available
Note 2: 60 Mins: White letters "maxell". Out of Stock
Note 3: 90 Mins: Black letters "maxell": Box-fresh cassettes. Very few available
Note 4: 90 Mins: White letters "maxell": Lightly scuffed, if at all. Very few available
Note 5: 100 Mins: Black letters "maxell": Wrappers have light to no scuffing. Very few available
Note 6: 100 Mins: White letters "maxell": Mostly box-fresh cassettes. Very few available
Note 7: 90 Mins: Black letters "maxell": B-Grade. Box-fresh cassette, however this one has a 3.4cm (1 3/8") hairline crack on the front of the case. A second is also available now with similar blemishes. Actual picture shown. Only 2 available
Note 8: 100 Mins: Black letters "maxell": B-Grade. Very clean tapes on the front, but they have other blemishes, mostly on the back. Someone added some clear caulking on the back of them, probably for display purposes. They are otherwise fairly pristine. Good deal! Two (2) pictures shown here, one with a pink rubber band on the top right hand corner, the other showing the caulking spread on the reverse side. There is one that has caulking and a tear on the reverse side. Very few available
Note 9: 100 Mins: White letters "maxell": B-Grade: Box-fresh cassettes, however, just like the ones from Note #8, these also have some clear caulking on the reverse side. Only 1 picture of the back is shown. Very few available
Note 10: 90 Mins: Black Letters 'maxell': C-Grade: Two cassettes with broken cases that need to be replaced. Some damage on the J-cards as well. Cassettes are still sealed and appear to be in perfect shape and fit for use. See pictures. $8.92 each. Only 2 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 remain central to its identity.