TDK MA-XG90... Any good?

[Bloodhound]

Being new to this hobby I have no idea. Is this a good quality tape and can we record on it properly with our Conion C100F?

 

[docs]

It is metal type so will be of high quality tape standard.
Personally, I would only record on metal on a hifi deck to get the best results. Usually to do with frequency ranges and stuff I don’t understand.
Of course you can record on it in the C100, set tape type to metal.

 

[caution]

Metal is superior but they are no longer made and essentially collectors items if they're still sealed. That tape goes for nearly $100 now.

 

[Superduper]

Most boomboxes simply don't have the ability to use premium tapes to the fullest capacity. Basically, they would be wasted in the low end decks of most boomboxes.

 

[Bloodhound]

Wow... I had no idea! Thanks for the information.

Does the Conion C-100F have a deck worthy of such a cassette or would it be wasted? Leaving it the package is driving my son nuts! LOL

 

[Superduper]

I would save that tape to retain it's collector value. You can do equally well going to a goodwill and picking up some tapes. They sometimes have brand new "normal" tapes and even used TDK SA metal tapes probably only cost you like 50c used. As long as they look like they were taken care of (not exposed outdoors or wet), I personally don't hesitate to buy as they should be perfectly fine. For $10, you can buy an armload of tapes to record every program on the radio. No, the C100 is not a high fidelity deck. It's not just the tape deck itself, it's the electronic circuitry that is pretty basic. Even lower entry level home decks would be far superior sound quality wise to portables.

 

[floyd]

There are many compo boxes that have very good if not great decks like the Sanyo c7 and the JVC PC 55 also the pc5
. the decks in these boxes are leaps and bounds beyond the average box mind you there are several high quality 1 piece boxes that have good decks but they also cost good money.

 

[Reli]

Most boomboxes simply don't have the ability to use premium tapes to the fullest capacity. Basically, they would be wasted in the low end decks of most boomboxes.

Yep. Most boomboxes have crappy heads, crappy frequency response, and horrible wow & flutter.
Some exceptions include Aiwa CS-880, TPR-990, and various Sansuis and JVCs and Pioneers.

 

[Van Presence]

That version of ma-xg are meant to be better than the first version, but the metal frame looks cooler on first.
Mine have never been played in a boombox. Ha

 

[Bloodhound]

That version of ma-xg are meant to be better than the first version, but the metal frame looks cooler on first.

20190504_132520.jpg
Mine have never been played in a boombox. Ha

Those are cool! What do those go for these days?

My son and I are very confused about tapes. We went to a thrift store and bought a box with 200 or so pre-recorded tapes, mostly 80's metal. We've played several. Some sound fantastic and others sound like ****. Had to re glue a few felt tabs that were loose or falling off and that helped tremendously of course. Also had 2 CrO2 tapes which sound ok on the normal deck setting and crappy when set on CrO2... Also have a few with the XDR logo which sound like they were recorded yesterday and are amazing. We're confused

 

[Reli]

Well some pre-recorded tapes used crappy tape

And most people didn't store their tapes properly. They left them in blazing hot cars, humid garages, or left them near strong magnetic fields.

 

[Superduper]

Playback should match recorded settings. Just because a tape is CRO2 doesn’t mean it was recorded using that setting. Same with Dolby and other proprietary noise reduction settings. Used tapes are always going to be hit and miss. Keep the good ones, toss the bad ones.

 

[Van Presence]

That version of ma-xg are meant to be better than the first version, but the metal frame looks cooler on first.

20190504_132520.jpg
Mine have never been played in a boombox. Ha

Those are cool! What do those go for these days?

My son and I are very confused about tapes. We went to a thrift store and bought a box with 200 or so pre-recorded tapes, mostly 80's metal. We've played several. Some sound fantastic and others sound like shite. Had to re glue a few felt tabs that were loose or falling off and that helped tremendously of course. Also had 2 CrO2 tapes which sound ok on the normal deck setting and crappy when set on CrO2... Also have a few with the XDR logo which sound like they were recorded yesterday and are amazing. We're confused

Tape prices are mehh. Most on Ebay are over priced and don't usually sell unless started low/no reserve. I got my ma-xg for $25 and a sealed MA-R and opened 1 for $100. That's New Zealand $. Expensive but I wanted them and good tapes are hard to find here.
As said in the other posts, used tapes are 50/50 luck. Sealed blanks are usually fine. I've seen people with sealed tdk metals that are ruined with a white powder/mold inside. If ya start collecting tapes watch out for them.

 

[Ghettoboom767]

I’ve tecorded many TDK MA-R reference tapes on my JVC PC-55JW with amazing results!😊😎🎶🎼📻