TDK MA-R - 1979 - US
One of the most expensive cassettes ever made when new, and certainly up there now.
What's so special? Well, take TDKs best Metal tape from the early 80s and put it in an unparalleled innovative shell made out of metal alloy.
A superbly heavy and stable cassette that is one of the best ever made. Sounds amazing, but if you're going to unwrap it and record on it, it better be worth it! Even back when they were coming out back in 1979, you had to have a serious recording to do with these expensive cassettes.
Spectacular cassettes that seriously began to take all cassettes (for all manufacturers) to the next level of precision, quality and design. The race was on from this point onward and literally from this exact cassette, as to who could manufacture the best tapes, period. The race to achieve the best of quality and ergonomics was on! It lasted about a decade and then eventually it all went the other way,
Note: New and sealed. This one has some clear (opaque) tape repairs around the "spine" areas of the wrapper. Not repaired by us.
NOTE: See pictures... only 1 available! Get it for $123.02 with your 12% Loyalty program discount!
About TDK:
TDK was founded in Tokyo, Japan, on 7 December 1935 to manufacture the iron-based magnetic material ferrite, which had been recently invented by Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei.[3] In 1952 and 1957 they began production of magnetic tapes, with compact cassette tapes following in 1966; it is for these that the company is most widely noted. TDK used to manufacture an extensive portfolio of magnetic and optical media, including several formats of videotape and blank CD-R and recordable DVD discs until the recording business was sold to Imation in 2007.
Operations in the USA began in 1965 with a New York City office,[4] and European operations began in 1970 with an office in Frankfurt, West Germany.[5]
Since 1997 TDK has gradually withdrawn from the production of compact cassettes. First with the MA-X and AR ("Acoustic Response"), then the AD ("Acoustic Dynamic") and SA-X line in 2001 and 2002 respectively, then the MA ("Metal Alloy") line in 2004. The SA ("Super Avilyn") and D ("Dynamic") lines were withdrawn in 2012 under Imation ownership. Industry trends see the company moving into new forms of media; in 2004 TDK was the first media manufacturer to join the companies developing BD post-DVD technology.[4] TDK operated a semiconductor division in California for about a decade, but divested it in 2005.
In late 2007, Imation acquired TDK's recording business, including flash media, optical media, magnetic tape, and accessories, for $300 million.[6][7] This also included a license to use the "TDK Life on Record" brand on data storage and audio products[8] for 25 years.[6] In September 2015, Imation announced that it had agreed to relinquish this license[9] and would cease selling TDK-branded products by the end of the year.[10]
TDK MA-R - 1979 - US