TDK MA-R90

[MacGyver]

Features
Aluminum Alloy Frame Enclosure
Clear Acrylic High Polymer Cassette Casing
( 2 ) Unique reusable Record/No-Record Replaceable Green Tabs

TDK MA-R blank professional quality cassette was only made available for a brief
period within the TDK product line. The original retail price within store inventory
was approx. $11 per cassette. Product was discontinued due to manufacturing & material
costs which increased in a very short time.

This Metal cassette is more than twice as heavy as a regular blank cassette.
Cassette Only Weight = 2.9 ounces each ( avg cassette weighs 1.3 ounces )

TDK METAL TAPE fully realizes the dramatic advantages of metal alloy over conventional
tape. Its far superior MOL and freedom from high frequency saturation deliver more
vibrant recordings of wider dynamic range than were previously possible on cassettes.
The long term stability of TDK FINAVINX metal particles is assured.

This cassette tape should only be used on a cassette recorder which has a metal bias position

TDK MA-R90 is a "Metal Alloy" cassette tape. It's a true break-through in sound recording,
and high coercivity and high re-manitence of TDK's magnetic particle assures superb MOL characteristics.


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/COMPACT%20CASSETTES/MA-R901.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/COMPACT%20CASSETTES/MA-R902.jpg
-TDK MA-XG- the very best audiocassette ever made!!

sorry, i couldn't resist! AKer "Stuwee" has singlehandedly turned me into a high end audiocassette collector!! thanks stuwee, i think...:D:thmbsp::music:

[stuartypoorty]

I don't know if this was the forerunner of the MA-XG or not but it is, quite possibly, the finest blank that has been produced to date.

Using a decent source, in my case a Pink Triangle Anniversary with recording done on a CR-7A/DR-10 the results are revelatory.

My record and tape deck are close to 20 years old so I can only guess how good the recordings could be with a modern turntable.

I never came across an MA-R when they were in production and probably would've baulked at the cost. Now they fetch a small fortune for sealed examples although I've seen a lot of used ones for sale.

As I've said elsewhere on Tapeheads, Germany is a strong market if you are looking for good quality blanks.

[Mr. Lin]

So have you recorded anything onto it yet?

[Nak_novice]

The MA-R was indeed the forerunner to the MA-XG and was probably the first "Super Metal" that TDK produced from 1979 on to about 1985 when the MA-XG took over.

The MA-R is my favourite tape and due to the one piece cast inner shell, even better looking than the MA-XG IMO.

It really does sound awesome and they have been very reliable. I regularly use 30 or so of these and have a stash of sealed ready for future needs which, like Matt's Vertex's, are not for sale.

[stuartypoorty]

So have you recorded anything onto it yet?

Yes, I have recorded a couple of tapes, a Stones compilation taken from "Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street".

The other one is the J. Geils Band, "Monkey Island and Sanctuary".
Incidentally, if you haven't heard it "Monkey Island" is a great lp, lots of styles played by a great band and the harmonica of Magic Dick really steals the show.

If you click on my screenname and go into albums there is a couple of pictures of my hoard of cassettes, all good stuff, including some MA-Rs

These tapes do command a premium but they're so good it's worth the extra outlay. I managed to get some MA-R 60s from an Ebay seller who wouldn't ship overseas and the cost was very reasonable.

[stuwee]

I only have one, I got into the TDK's late in the game for the R's apparently. I'm sure I had more with the green tabs, I never bought less than a 5-count box of anything, I think?