Maxell XLII - 1983/85 - US/EU/CA
"The first bite is with the eye". One of the finest all round cassettes, when you take into account, shell quality, looks and performance. One of our favourites.
These still look so much cooler in your deck when taking pictures, rather than those poor quality "Reel 2 Reel" things.
A true classic tape and they're hardy! We've used many over the years, and they still sound great.
NOTE 1: 1983-1 US/EU version: Old 1982 XLII cassette in "New" wrapper. RARE transition version. No UPC Barcode. 1dB+
NOTE 2: 1984-1 US version: UPC Barcode ending in 13641. 1dB+
NOTE 3: 1984-2 EU version: UPC Barcode ending in 400828. 1dB+
NOTE 4A: 1985-1 CA version: Featuring a "Gold Seal sticker". 2dB+
NOTE 4B: 1985-2 CA version: Featuring a "Gold Seal sticker" + "Sweepstakes". 2dB+. This is for one (1) single cassette only! It is not for a 2-pack!
NOTE 4C: 1985-3 CA version: Featuring the "Sweepstakes" overprint seal. 2dB+
NOTE 5: 1985-4 US version: UPC Barcode ending in "13641". 2dB+
NOTE 6: 1985/86-1 CA version: Canadian version "Bonus Bucks". 2dB+
Sidenotes: There are more versions of this cassette. They will be added as I get them in. If you have any input about the information posted here that may contradict with your findings, please let me know, and we will adjust it. Thank you.
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 was formed in 1960, when a dry cell manufacturing plant was created at the company's headquarters in Ibaraki, Osaka. In 1961, Maxell Electric Industrial Company, Limited was created out of the dry battery and magnetic tape divisions of Nitto Electric Industrial Company, Limited (now Nitto Denko Corporation).
On March 18, 2014 the company was listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[7]
The company's notable products are batteries—the company's name is a contraction of "maximum capacity dry cell"—wireless charging solutions, storage devices, computer tapes, professional broadcast tapes and functional materials.[4][5] In the past, the company manufactured recording media, including audio cassettes and blank VHS tapes, and recordable optical discs including CD-R/RW and DVD±RW.
On March 4, 2008, Maxell announced that they would outsource the manufacturing of their optical media.[6]
During the height of the Compact Audio Cassette's popularity, Maxell's audio cassettes were held in high regard, producing some of the finest examples of the standard available. The performance of the XLII-S (CrO2) and MX (pure metal particles) cassettes was regarded by many audiophiles to be the ultimate achievement in the pre digital domestic recording medium.
In the 1980s, Maxell became an icon of pop culture when it produced advertisements popularly known as "Blown Away Guy" for its line of audio cassettes. The original campaign conceived by Art Director Lars Anderson began as a two-page spread in Rolling Stone Magazine ad in 1980, and was made into television spots in 1981 which ran throughout the 1980s.[10]
Maxell audio cassettes are available in 46, 60, 90, 100, 120 and 150 minute lengths.
Maxell XLII - 1983/86 - US/EU/CA