1987 TDK SA or Maxell XLII which to choose?

K

K Hugo

New member
There is a guy in my area who used to own a music shop that is selling two big lot's of Maxell XLII-90's and TDK SA-90's both of 1987 vintage and both brand new old stock.He won't split up the lot's 50/50 so i have to choose one or the other.Problem is i can't decide on which to choose because i like both of them from that year and i can't afford to buy both lot's.If you had to choose between the XLII or the SA from 1987 which one would you choose?Please help me decide,Thanks very much for any opinnions.Keith H..
 
I'm not sure when the quality of cassettes began to decline but I think 1987 is not a bad year, especially that this was around the golden age of analog and quality was still king, more or less. Too bad you can't pick up BOTH lots. I'd do that. Are you sure it's Maxell XLII and not Maxell UDXLII ? The UDXLII I'd take over the TDK but if it's the XLII, I might choose the TDK SA. Then again I might not. Sorry to not have a definite answer but, just like me, opinions are all over the map. Some like Maxell over the TDK and vice versa. I don't think you'll get a def answer on this one.
 
Um, you do knwo that the tape will be like, 20 years old? Do you really think it will still be of decent quality?
 
The Maxell's are XLII not UDXL-II and i have Maxell's and TDK's that are older than that that are still perfect,and honestly i would use tapes from that year before i would use any of the junk that's made today..
 
fraserhutch said:
Um, you do knwo that the tape will be like, 20 years old? Do you really think it will still be of decent quality?
Click to expand...

Those tapes don't have sticky shed or any other associated problems. Their quality was better than you will find on same tape today. I have a box full of Maxell cassettes, for example, from early 80's, late 70's and they work flawlessly and have no droputs, unlike Maxells I bought a few months back.
 
cjacek said:
Those tapes don't have sticky shed or any other associated problems. Their quality was better than you will find on same tape today. I have a box full of Maxell cassettes, for example, from early 80's, late 70's and they work flawlessly and have no droputs, unlike Maxells I bought a few months back.
Click to expand...

That's true. I've got 60 minute chrome Basf cassettes from 1990... they're very good.
 
Going with the TDK SA's..

My main cassette deck for recording is a Yamaha K-1000 that is a fairly warm sounding deck so i decided to go with the 87 TDK SA's instead of the Maxell's.The SA's have a slightly brighter top end and i think they will do the Yamaha more justice in the high end department.
 
I would choose the TDK SA from 1987 in a heartbeat. The Japanese TDK from that era is excellent. 20-year old SA is not old. It will perform as well as the day it was made. I’m still opening NOS TDK SA and SA-X that I bought in the 80’s and the tapes I recorded back then on a 246 Portastudio are still perfect.

In 1987 I didn’t care much for the Maxell, but more recent stock of XLII sounds great.

:)

P.S. cjacek will probably say he would have gone for the Maxell 'cause I just have this feeling that he loves the UDXLII from that era ...and that's OK. :D
 
Last edited:
Based on a review in the May 1980 issue of Modern Recording, I would chose the TDK. Maxell always advertised like they were the best and everyone knew it; but according to this review, their UD-XLII was only average as high-end cassettes went, while TDK SA came out on top. In the high-bias tapes, seven were compared. Here's how TDK SA and Maxell UD-XLII compared.

R/P response @ 0VU record level:
TDK 24Hz-9.8kHz, Maxell 24Hz-9.4kHz

R/P response @ -20VU record level:
TDK 23Hz-25.6kHz, Maxell 23-25.0kHz

Maximum REC level for 3% THD @ 400Hz:
TDK +6.0, Maxell +4.5

MOL @ 10kHz:
TDK -2.5, Maxell -4.0

PB sensitivity @ 1kHz, 0dB REC level:
both -0.5

PB sensitivity @ 10kHz, -20dB REC level:
TDK -18.5, Maxell -20.75

SNR, "A" weighted, Dolby off, Re: 3% THD, 400Hz:
both 56.5

SNR, "A" weighted, Dolby on, Re: 3% THD, 400Hz
TDK 64.5, Maxell 63.5

THD @ 0VU REC level, 1kHz (in %)
TDK 0.9, Maxell 1.05

The machine used for the tests was a Nakamichi 1000. In all the areas except the two where they were tied, the TDK was better. In fact, TDK was the winner in the contest of all seven tapes.

TDK SA is still being made, but TDK's top-of-the line today is SM. I recently bought a bunch of SM, but I can't say I've used it enough yet to comment much from personal experience with it.
 
Thanks for the spec tests, most informative indeed but I still say they're pretty close and spec sheets don't mean that much to me anyway. I'd still get the Maxell UDXLII. I love that tape. Hey, but TDK SA of the vintage is pretty nice too!! Gimmie BOTH!!! :p :D ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top