Anybody test Maxell XLII-S against TDK SA-X?

[C Hugo]

This is probably a subject that comes up alot on these type of boards but it is a topic that interests me alot.Has anybody ever done a professional test between these two tapes?I know back in the 1970's and 80's TDK was the benchmark tape,why i don't know but it was(Maybe TDK payed manufacturers to calibrate with there tapes,i may be wrong.But the TDK tapes i see now just look cheap compared to the Maxell's out now.Just wanted to know if anybody tested these two tapes against each other?PEACE Guys and Gals......

[The Green Hornet]

Yo CHU CHU CHU & GO GO GO:

What you get on tape, most any brand name quality Hi-bias tape, depends a great deal on what gear you use to get the music from A to B to Tape.

I run stuff from my analog outs on the 2816 by Yam, into tape and I get great sounds. 16 bit is good stuff. But, I have a high end Sony dual deck for tape and the Yam 2816 does the rest.

So, if you use TKD or Maxell or Sony UX-PRO, [if you can find it], it still depends on your gear, your ingenuity, your mixing, your reverb, etc.


That's why this game is so fascinating to so many folks. Once we get a quality master, Mars is next.


Green Hornet

[C Hugo]

I run my analog outs from my Yamaha CDC-665 CD player directly into the in's on my Sony TCKA-3ES 3 head deck,this seems to work best for me because like most recievers nowadays my Yamaha HTR-5280 does'nt have a tape monitor.So this setup is the only way to hook it up so i can monitor the tape as it records.Right now i have been using Maxell XLII-S tapes because i got a real good deal from www.ttapes.com$1.25 each for the 90's.They are seeling them cheap because Maxell discontinued the XLII-S,(Shame on Maxell)!!And today i found out that TDK has discontinued the SA-X tape.I love the analog realm but this F#@king digital age is killing us analog lovers.I am trying to make up my mind on which to purchase now in a bulk quantity the XLII-S's or the SA-X's since both have been discontinued and won't be availible soon.

[The Green Hornet]

Y(o) CHUGO A GO GO:

You need to remember that when you hear the sound, it's analog. When you process sound via digital, it's 1's and 2's and zeros, etc.

So, eventually, all music comes back to analog; if not, then you would not hear anything. The digital numbers don't speak.

As to tape, whatever gives you the best results to your ears is the tape to buy. To tell you the truth, I buy 22 minutes chrome II tape cassettes in bulk from Full Compass. It works almost as well as the Sony UX-PRO, except the mechanism on the Sony cassettes is much, much better.

Putting 16 bit processed sound on these tapes, as well as many other brands, gives me good sound. I don't use the 90 minute tapes too much as they are too long and take too long to fill up.

Keep twiddling the dials Chug...

Green Hornet