Maxell UR - 1988 - US
"One of the finest incarnation of Maxell entry level Type I. Great oval shell, great looks and decent sound. Give them some Dolby and negative bias and they make great recordings." Tony Villa
Note 1: 46 Minutes: South Korea: These are lightly to moderately scuffed. Generic picture shown. New Stock Sept. 20, 2025.. Only a very few available!
Note 2A: 60 Mins: Mexico: These cassettes are mostly box-fresh.
Note 2B: 60 Mins: South Korea: These cassettes have a price sticker on them, otherwise they are very clean.
Note 3A: 90 Mins: Mexico: Nearly all box-fresh cassettes. Some have very light scuffing.
Note 3B: 90 Mins: South Korea: Nearly all box-fresh tapes with some very light scuffing. 5 just added with light to moderate scuffing.
Note 4A: 60 Mins: South Korea: Made for Canada. These have the sticker/label imprint for the Canadian "Maxell Super Sweepstakes". These have some scuffing throughout the wrapper. Only 1 available.
Note 4B: 90 Mins: South Korea: Made for Canada. Light scuffing throughout. Only 1 available.
Note 5A: 60 Mins: Mexico: B-Grade. Only 1 available. It has a 1.5cm hairline crack on the reverse side. See pictures.
Note 5B: 90 Mins: S.Korea/Mexico: B-Grade. Only 4 available. One has a 2cm cut on the edge (spine) of the cassette case, see picture. Made in S. Korea. This one will be shipped first. The other, Made in Mexico, has a 2.5 cm hairline crack on the front side of the case, no picture shown. Two of them, just added, have one 2cm hairline on the reverse side (they are fine, save yourself some money).
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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.