Maxell vs. everyone else..........

[jjones1700]

I have to wonder what the attraction to Maxell tape is, in regards to the inflated prices (even over new RMGI and ATR at times). I have two reels of UD 35-180 and they sound great, but I can't say that I would pay through the nose for it.

However, I never really hear about Maxell being mentioned in the same conversations as SSS. Could this be the key? Keep in mind, I'm referring to 1/4" tape here. What little tape I have includes: Maxell UD 35-180, RMGI SM-911, RMGI LPR-35, and about a half dozen of old Realistic Supertape (1800 and 3600). Believe it or not, the Realistic has held up remarkably well considering my ignorance of reel to reel and tape handling in my youth.

Any insight to the "secret" of Maxell tape?

 

[Beck]

Maxell XL 35-xxB is decent tape, but I've always liked Scotch 207 and Ampex/Quantegy 407 just as much, if not more.

One thing that might account for some of the hype is that Maxell stopped making tape after eBay was established, so it was one of the first with the “OH MY GOD… GET THIS TAPE NOW BECAUSE WHEN IT’S GONE, IT’S GONE!” type of listings.

But it used to be even worse than it is now. A few years ago you could get $50.00 easy for any old used crap piece of UD 35-90… it was crazy. IMO, UD wasn’t any better than TDK back in the day, but they were one of the last tape companies… or really the last from the perspective of home hi-fi audiophiles. BASF and Quantegy didn’t have a very aggressive marketing strategy for the home consumer.

As far as sticky-shed, Maxell doesn’t suffer from it. However, despite my best efforts very few people buying tape on eBay have even heard of SSS, much less know which tapes to favor or avoid, so I’m not sure that would be a factor… I suppose it could be for some though.

The EE XLII is still out of sight, but you can grab sealed UD 35-90 and XL 35-90B reels for a pretty fair price these days. The 10” reels are still on the high side though compared to Quantegy or RMGI.

 

[jjones1700]

I could see the buying frenzy once they discontinued the line. Personally, I've used Maxell cassettes for as long as I can remember with 0 defects. I've got a small handful of TDK which do pretty well. Unfortunately, I got into the whole open reel arena a bit late. If I can find (sealed) UD35 for a decent price I might jump on it. Otherwise I'm just going to stick with new RMG. I'm not a gambling man and don't want to take chances on having to deal with SSS. I've already dealt with a gooey pinch roller and that was a real pain in the ass to with.

Is the ATR supposed to be any better than RMG? I know they haven't started selling 1/4" yet, but I'm curious to hear about a comparison. Which RMG would ATR be competing against..........900...........SM911?? Just curious.

 

[Beck]

ATR is most similar to SM900 as far as output. I don't really see it working for home hi-fi or semi-pro decks.

RMGI LPR35 is going to be most like Maxell 35-xxB, but RMGI doesn't really have an exact counterpart.

And just to reiterate, Maxell does not have sticky-shed no matter how old it is, so it’s a good bet if you can get a decent price.