Memorex MRX1, MRX2, MRX3, What's the difference?

[4tified]

I saw some MRX1, MRX2, and some MRX3 tapes at local resale shop and was wondering what the differences were between these formulations....and what formulations are they? Of course I would have grabbed them, but they all had the the worst case of tape shed I have ever seen. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks!

[JXBJXB]

I saw some MRX1, MRX2, and some MRX3 tapes at local resale shop and was wondering what the differences were between these formulations....and what formulations are they? Of course I would have grabbed them, but they all had the the worst case of tape shed I have ever seen. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks!

The only thing I can tell you is that I have a few MRX1 cassettes that are Type 1 from the early to mid 70's that are absolutely terrible (gotta love those foam pressure pads that in 2008 have almost completely broken down) and that the MRX3 was evidently supposed to be in the same league as premium Type 1 cassettes of the day (UDXL-I, TDK AD, TDK OD, etc). So I assume that MRX1 was the basic tape, MRX2 slightly better, and MRX3 the best - although all are Type 1. See page 14 of this:

http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/pdf/bass/BASS-08-03-7912.pdf

That test, by the way, ranks a few of the FeCr cassettes of the day so you in particular might be doubly interested.

[4tified]

The only thing I can tell you is that I have a few MRX1 cassettes that are Type 1 from the early to mid 70's that are absolutely terrible (gotta love those foam pressure pads that in 2008 have almost completely broken down) and that the MRX3 was evidently supposed to be in the same league as premium Type 1 cassettes of the day (UDXL-I, TDK AD, TDK OD, etc). So I assume that MRX1 was the basic tape, MRX2 slightly better, and MRX3 the best - although all are Type 1. See page 14 of this:

http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/pdf/bass/BASS-08-03-7912.pdf

That test, by the way, ranks a few of the FeCr cassettes of the day so you in particular might be doubly interested.

Well, they may have been good in their time, but they suck now. The oxides on every tape I've seen are shedding inside the wells and the pressure pads are falling off. (I'm sure they don't sound that great anymore either). Would be nice tapes to have for collective purposes and to experiment with, but it seems Memorex tapes don't stand the test of time like Maxell, TDK, and Sony do.

EDIT: Interesting article by the way, thanks for the link!

[NAD613]

4tified, I noticed you said you have a Sony Elcaset deck. Awhile back, I came across a site of some guy who makes his own cassettes for those machines. He has some molds (I'm not sure if he made them or got them from one of the audio companies) to make his own shells out of & buys pancakes of current 1/4 R2R tape & spools them into the Elcasete shells. Just thought I'd mention it & no, I can't recall what that web address was.

[4tified]

4tified, I noticed you said you have a Sony Elcaset deck. Awhile back, I came across a site of some guy who makes his own cassettes for those machines. He has some molds (I'm not sure if he made them or got them from one of the audio companies) to make his own shells out of & buys pancakes of current 1/4 R2R tape & spools them into the Elcasete shells. Just thought I'd mention it & no, I can't recall what that web address was.

Thanks for the info, I'll look to see if I can find it, seeing as how these tapes are going for about $50 a pop on ebay now...if they can even be found.