90 vs 100 Minute

[Rat44]

I just picked up a 5 pack of TDK SA-X tapes today.
It was one of those flat pack boxes still sealed.
I have been a Maxell guy for 30 years.
Are these as good as the XL-II's I am fond of ?
I would hate to open a new box and use them if they are worth more as a collector item.
I have little experience with 100 minute tapes.
They are made in Japan and assembled in the US according to the box.Appears to be about 1991.
Thanks for any thoughts on this.

[Scorpion8]

SA-X competed with XLII-S and was supposed to be a better tape than SA, heavier shell, and so forth. I've always enjoyed them but I was always a TDK-guy before a Maxell-guy. The 100s were just the limit of how much decent tape they could put in a shell to combat CDs since most newer CDs (once artists found they weren't limited to the 46 minutes of the LP-world) soon rose to 50 or 55 minutes and finally 70 minutes.

Use them. Enjoy them.

[Rat44]

I had heard that some 100's were prone to stretching.
Was this a function of lower quality tapes or all 100's?

[Naknut]

Not to say that this may never happen but, I think that would not be a problem on a better deck that is well maintained. I've used 100s for many years of my recording life and have never had this as an issue. Granted they were all good name brand tapes.

[JaeTee]

Not to say that this may never happen but, I think that would not be a problem on a better deck that is well maintained. I've used 100s for many years of my recording life and have never had this as an issue. Granted they were all good name brand tapes.

I agree with this 100%. Yea, C-90s were the staple "long" tape for years and years and remain my #1 preferred length, but I have never shyed away from C-100's and consider that pretty much my upper limit. I used them in car decks for a very long time and never had a problem with stretching.

I do not go for C-100's or C-120's because that just seems to me like too much tape to cram into a case without having to use thinner tape.

[Dimitar Georgiev]

I just picked up a 5 pack of TDK SA-X tapes today.
Are these as good as the XL-II's I am fond of ?


Definitely better than XLII. You should compare those with XLII-S.

D.