Maxell XLII-S or TDK SA-X?

[valman13440]

Which one of these two high bias tapes would you choose in terms of sound quality,durability,construction and longevity?

[Marc Hugo]

Hi Valman

I should really say, Oh no!! Not this old chestnut!! But thesedays I can only say, buy as many of both as you can find and/or afford.

I like both, and I wish I had a few more.

Both will last well, and will not suffer any defective remanence issues. XLII-S is better when exposed to heat. SA-X is bit more neutral and less likely to suffer from print-through due to being double coated. XLII-S has a more steeply rising sensitivity so, while more of a job to calibrate, is also more likely to perform well on decks other than the one used to record it. SA-X is quieter, therefore more dynamic, although it could be hard to notice if you use Dolby C or S.

Both are reference type IIs - buy with confidence.

Marc

[Scorpion8]

Ford vs Chevy. Soccer vs Football. Maxell vs TDK ..... like Marc says, grab as many as you can of the older ones. I was always a TDK fan, so I stocked up on SA-X years ago. But then a bunch of XLII-S's came my way. It's all good.

[NAD613]

I don't recall ever buying the TDK SA-X back in the day, I think because they & the Sony UX-Pro were more expensive than the Maxell XLII-S. That's the only reason I can think of as to why I have so many of the XLII-S, besides that I thought they were the best tapes I'd ever used. Also, I don't recall them being sold in 4-pack bricks around here like the XLII-S were. I also seem to recall buying the Sony UX quite a bit, but I only have about 2 or 3 among my tapes.

I've made up for lost time, though; I now have about 25-30 of the TDK SA-X 90 & 100. Both those & the XLII-S are fine tapes, but I give a slight edge to the XLII-S.

[Mr. Lin]

I've discovered that I'm a TDK guy, and the SA-X happens to be my all-time favorite tape. So that's my answer.

[braxus]

I usually bought Maxells over any other, but I wasn't loyal enough to stick with it strictly. I also liked the SA-X and UX-Pro tapes, and used HD8 tape now and then too. I probably used more Sony tapes then TDK. But I find all of them good and will use whatever I happen to have.

[Web Police]

I like them both, although way back in time I usually bought TDK because they were better promoted here and cheaper. :)