Panasonic HX - 1989 - JP
Panasonic cassettes are very rare outside of Japan, the market they were manufactured and distributed for.
Appears to be OEM by TDK. Possibly an SA or an SA-X. Please let me know your opinion. I will NOT be posting pictures of an opened one as I have none opened.
PLEASE NOTE: Only one of each available. Very doubtful they will ever be offered here again after they're gone.
About Technics & Panasonic:
Technics was introduced as a brand name for premium loudspeakers marketed domestically by Matsushita in 1965. The name came to wider prominence with the international sales of direct-drive turntables. The first direct-drive turntable was invented by Shuichi Obata, an engineer at Matsushita (now Panasonic),[2] based in Osaka, Japan.[3] It eliminated belts, and instead employed a motor to directly drive a platter on which a vinyl record rests.[4] It is a significant advancement over older belt-drive turntables, which are unsuitable for turntablism, since they have a slow start-up time, and are prone to wear-and-tear and breakage,[3] as the belt would break from backspinning or scratching.[5] In 1969, Matsushita launched Obata's invention as the SP-10,[4] the first direct-drive turntable on the professional market.[6]
Despite being originally created to market their high-end equipment, by the early 1980s Technics was offering an entire range of equipment from entry-level to high-end.
In 1972, Technics introduced the first autoreverse system in a cassette deck in its Technics RS-277US and in 1973 it introduced the first three-head recording technique in a cassette deck (Technics RS-279US).
In 1976, Technics introduced two belt-driven turntables for the mass market, the SL-20 and SL-23. The principal difference between the two models was the addition, in the SL-23, of semi-automatic operation and an adjustable speed control with built-in strobe light. They offered technical specifications and features rivalling much more expensive turntables, including well-engineered s-shaped tonearms with tracking weight and anti-skate adjustments. At the time they were introduced the SL-20 and SL-23, which sold for $100.00 and $140.00, respectively, set a new performance standard for inexpensive turntables.[9]
Panasonic - HX - 1989 - JP