There are some surprises revealed in this video. Yes, we are proud to be working closely with Cassette Comeback to bring our listeners something very unique and retro special! We love the analog richness that tape saturation can bring to music. We LOVE the way that our tune Detonator sounded on the TDK SA-XS (90 Minute) tape. It brought out some beautiful analog creaminess that is truly musical and is music to our ears! Thanks, Tony, for the shout-out and for including our tunes on your awesome channel!

$4.39 for a 90-minute Type II tape in 1986-1987 was actually not bad. Radio Shack's prices for their own 90-minute Supertapes at the time: Type IV $6.99, Type II Metal $5.69, Type II cobalt $4.29, "premium" Type I $3.79, "low noise" Type I $2.79.

The SAXS sounded like it was blunting the high frequencies more than the SAXG. I always remember normal SAX sounding considerably brighter (and better for it) than SA but maybe my decks back in the Eighties were under biasing SAX…

Superb video once again and nice twist at the end. Your increased level of new uploads to the channel is one of the very few good things to come out of lockdown!!! Keep up the great content!

I use TDK cassettes. I love TDK.

Thank you Tony for another excellent video featuring two brilliant tapes and one fantastic cassette deck ( I had to do this again as my first one did not save to the comments - I was the first person to view /comment on the video).

I see the auction is already getting interesting! Good for you for raising the money for charity, and also thanks for the cool videos and the webstore, and everything you do for all us tapeheads.

Fantastic tapes. They sound amazing, the XG looks stunning. Congratulations on 10K!

All of TDK type 2 tapes were fantastic. Amazingly good. A treble compass that was a thing of beauty, with low noise.

Never even knew about a SA-XS! Another fine video Tony, love to see the Nakamichi ZX 9 show it who's boss!

I got my first job in 1986 at 16yo and minimum wage was $3.35/hr. But even more relevant is that albums on cassette at that time, as long as they weren't new releases ran about $6 or so. That tape was a lot of money to teenaged me. That's why I always had to use the cheapest cassettes made.

Great Video! Thank you! When the girl of my dreams asked me for a mix tape back in the days - there was no question on which tape I was going to use: TDK SA-XS. I guess it was all spoiled by the mediocre deck I had at the time - oh well... It’s awesome to hear it on your gear.

Wow! That SA-XS was just suberb. The SA-XS tape inside the MA-R/MA-XG/SA-XG shell, that probably would be the ultimate type-2 tape. Also, hey! You remembered to bring a BIC pen! For a video like this, I suppose it's fitting.

The XS really sounded fantastic.

Great review as usual ! Glad to see the TDK SA-XS in action...😉

SA-XGS! Love it! I knew you were going to do that just before you revealed it!! ;)

Such a great video. This throws me back. I actually found a brand new unopened SA-X mixed in with some old MDs I had in storage. Curiosity about the cassette and the world around them now, led me to your channel. I have missed using cassettes and MDs. Growing up through the 80s, cassettes were how I listen to all my music, like a lot of us here I'm sure. I used both in the late 90s then MD only until I got my first iPod. 17 years later, I am coming back to to both forms. Thank you for the channel! I found this on wikipedia about where the SA-XG came from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Access It was a store in Berkley California.

Awesome review Tony! I am really glad the SA-XG finally showed up😉

The SA-XS i loved the design and the stickers / inlay and the what look like gold screws - stunning! then SA-XG an nice looking shell but printed only 1 side - dull boring labels and j card id pick the SA-XS anytime - but fair play to tony this is gonna be another a good buy and for charity fair play - keep up the good work tony, lets get to 20,000 subs what would tony do then? Answers on a post card!

Great video 😍😍👍🏻!! Both TDK tapes sounded really great too👍🏻👍🏻

even before you hear them they draw you in with how great they look!

Thank you for the video! I realised I had picked up a couple of 100min SA-XS with a handful of MA cassettes second-hand. I thought they looked cool, but now I know why! I shall tape a few records on them! Thanks!

Beautiful cassettes. I must admit I was thinking 'What the hell has he done?!' when you swapped them around, but it's a great idea. I'm sure they'll sell for far more than I can afford, but it's a great gesture. Hopefully you'll make a lot for charity. All the best with it. Also, as ever, top notch video Tony. Those tapes look unbelievably stylish.

Love that tape in that shell. Looks fabulous! Hope you get a great amount Tony! Good luck with the auction. You could always sell me your Revox if you are tired of it!🤣🤣🤣

Excellent as always Tony.✊✊✊

That is a phenomenal tape. Perfect sound in every way

SA-XS and ZX-9 ! Hohoou, AMAZİNG ! You are so lucky 😀

9:36 :D ... and we're back in the room!

That shell on the SA-XG reminds me of a TDK metal tape I have ..... I must go and seek it out!

TDK SA-XG: - Awesome sound - Awesome tape material - Resuming: It's a piece of art! I bought one here in Brazil, for a really expensive price, but despite of that, was a unique experience!

The SA-XG shows the classic double-coating frequency response with a slight lack in the "presence" range from ~ 1-3 kHz. This was probably due to a design compromise in particle formulation and the reason why we got the triple-coated SA-XS in the first place. I also like that you showed us why semi-manual calibration is always preferable to autocal systems. You get to see the results.

I'm really glad you didn't go "oh, whatever" and destroyed those wrappers anyway 😁. That SA-XS must be one of the most beautiful wrappers I've ever seen (mind you, most of the wrappers I've seen I actually saw on this channel LOL). An then the tape itself with the nice and curved window and the red hubs that look like beautiful eyes peeping out your deck when recording/played. All that looks, and then a great sound too. What an absolute wonderful gem of a cassette. If there would ever be a reason for me to start collecting cassettes, this tape would be it. Thank you for sharing this work of art with us, with some proper music too. It all came together in this video. Enjoyed it immensely. And while I normally would miss that nerdy graph thing, this tape just needs to be looked at and listened to without picking it apart scientifically, so we can just go "Oh wow. Just wow." It's THAT good. Magical almost.

Hi Tony!!Thanks for your video!!!I must say that I liked most the TDK SA-XS better than the SA-XG.I heard the SA-XS with fuller sound AND more clarity.I think the triple cobalt coating makes the difference.Finally the quality and composición of a tape ,in my opinión, makes all the job, independently from construction and aesthetics of shell, hubs etc, which Is also important ...but I think the tape , sonically speaking, Is the heart of a cassette.Thanks again Tony!Best regards!Rafael

@9:40 - a minute silence please for this beautiful tape and shell. ;o) You're video has just nudged me to go and have a look what I have 'in stock'. Ten, boxed, unopened SA-X 100 no less. I had forgotten I had these! :D But no SA-XS unless I'm mistaken.

When you think about the widely fluctuating exchange rates back in the 1970/80s they worked out at about a couple of pounds + The combination of Black and Red reminds me of sports cars of the period like the Ford XR2. A sports version of cassette. Many thanks Tony

Superb tapes Tony, thanks for sharing. Perhaps try them in the Revox set to metal - it's likely running out of bias range for these exotic formulations. On metal it might just work if it thinks they are low bias metal.

Good to see this video up again. 24:00 Oh well, good old tape transplants. Sometimes I find these in my father's tape heap - like a TDK D case loaded with Maxell type II tape... what's the point? Oh well, he would never admit it, "I'd never do such a nonsense" and maybe he didn't. 12:00 Speaking of Revoxes, my B215 always has a hard time with late model BASF CSII. B215 completes the cycle ok, but with over-the-top upper mids. Somehow, the tape fools the Revox into thinking it needs more of 4 kHz EQ. On a plain deck, same tapes record just normal.

I would love to experience an SA-XS. But alas, none to be found. 😕

Great review

There was another TDK with that color of hubs, the DJ2. Somewhat ironic that they initially used the red hubs on the best Type II they had, then used them on one of the lowest quality Type II they had...

Not pure crome,, but the best sounding.. congratulation on 10k subscriber..

How come I can hear drop in hights more so on the right channel - is it the time to calibrate the deck?

Oh yes I had four of those, wow sounded awesome on my Pioneer, really notiably better than normal tdk's

I've got 3 sa-xs in my collection. I think that tape is one The best iecII tape. Red colours of cassette are beautifull.

TDK SA (and higher models) sounds like a tube amplifier. Love this sound.

Both tapes sounded great the SA-SX had the edge, it is indeed the mystical Elenor out of all the chrome cassettes

Beautiful Cassettes 👌🏻👌🏻

Thank you for sharing this great Video with us! I have 4 (unused) of these TDK SA-XS 90! But without the Red Wheels inside...Is it an older Model?!? Greetz for Germany!

Never had the good fortune to own these cassettes. More of the standard SA-X is all I can wish for!

Listening to this in 4 channel stereo on a new Denon amplifier there is a whisper of difference in the source and the SA-XS, superb via the Nakamichi it is a testament to how great the format was... Nice Seiko Tuna by the way. Do you anyone who services tape decks, I have a 90's Sony twin deck I am thinking of pressing into service because of your video. Ta

I think the SA-XS looked the best too and it fit perfectly to the zx9 😍

You know what? Personally, I'd love to watch a video of your collection. Have a good one.

Dumb comment but I found a way to open the wrapper without destroying it since these cassettes are old I run a small flat object along the edges to lift up the flaps at the side and lift carefully

Amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't remember ever seeing these in the U.K must be rare as hens teeth! I do remember and owned a few TDK SA -X (X?) limited edition that came in a smooth shiney sexy rounded protective case. 😝 Not sure if you've featured them, will have to check your archive, if not then maybe a future feature? My cousin had one handed to him at Paul McCartney's gig in Liverpool back in the day, an 'official bootleg' he thought they were created just for the gig but he never believed me telling him I had blank versions of the same tape. I was younger than him and I think he brushed of my comments as not knowing what I was talking about. 😁

I just bought 3 SA-XG 60s for $2.50 each and I was about to open one until I saw this vid. I don’t even know what to do with them now lmao

A little trick is to blow air into the wrapper.

I'd have re-spooled the tape onto the XG hubs... those red reels are out of place in a TDK Reference mechanism. I do it all the time in cassettes I swap the tape... it just takes a couple of minutes more but it looks original and you can pretty much make any cassette sound however you want. The shell illustrated for the XS despite being a very nice design is outmatched in case quality and prints by the former version of the SA-XA, the "all black". Ideally you'd want TDK tape, Maxell shell, definitely BASF case, Maxell tape leaders... and perhaps SONY hubs?

SA XS wins by just a little. They all sound great!!!. I'm sure if this was available on CD and you recorded it to tape like that, I think it would have probably sounded even better than the source cassette. That's a very nice cassette deck too. You can't beat a Nakamichi.

Ok, the video is back, I can breathe now..

Crazy good tape.

I scored enough once recorded pristine MA,MA X, SA & SA X to last a lifetime. No white powder.

TDK,the best looking cassette tapes ever....I a have a lot of Tdk tapes,but this one not....Maybe in the future doing a video about best looking cassette from different makers?

My friend had me to record music on some TDK HX-S's instead of the usual SA/SA-X/SA-XS, they were like a nice looking dark blue color, sound quality was similar to the SA-XS.

Tony: *Describes SA-XS In an erotic way* Me watching eating ready salted walkers crisps well-knowing that i use hand-me-down blanks from family:

Listening on my headphones, the tape sounds “clearer” than the source. Like it stripped some of the bass off. Kinda prefer it that way. (Sa-xs)

first of congrats on the ten thousand sub. the both cassettes are beauts.iv'e never seen them before or new they existed tbh for once i did notice the drop on the both of them between the tape and source i was surprised the hear the revox would not bias the sa-xg and i thought you was gonna say it had something wrong with it (if that was the case i would not like the bill for that repair). i've seen how much they are for at on e-bay and unfortunatly they are way out my league but i hope they make double that as it is for a fantastic cause. and fair play to you for doing such a great gesture. i have a question for you what would you say the denon drs-810 cassette deck is like as i have my eyes on one.

Hi, How come when I click on the Web site to look at your cassette tapes for sale its in $ and not £ , i want to be sure before I purchase anything, I'm curious considering your from England?

I did a huge metal comparison. Concluding; Metal tapes are not that special, except for the Maxell Metal Vertex. That one really stands out, holy shit.

Why got the Video reuploaded? Ah wait, because the outro was in the middle in the video, or not? Well, my old comment was: Some very nice TDK's!

All these freebies you get sent! Premium ones too! Bless these people and their generosity. Or do you get sent Kaytapes and Walthams on a regular basis too?

I'd definitely agree SA-XS best sounding type 2

The last big cassette brand die. Maxell write on the Homepage from the UR: „Please note this product will be discontinued in the foreseeable future“ 😰

Actually quite a bit of high frequency roll-off on type II's, but it's usually done smoothly. Yeah, AB tests reveal it, but single generation copies won't really bother. But really not a great master-source tape unless you want that roll off.

Pulling the rapper of the tape like that at the beginning can " snap " the hinge clean off . Good job you did not pull like I did

Do you know why TSK made the MA-R as well as the SA-XG had metal sorround?

Those SA-XG for $5!!!! Where the hell was I? Having a coffee or something. I woulda scooped up a box or two. Just the other day I decided to record some Adele 21, and broke out a maxell XLII-S and the top end type II really did make a difference. It sounded damn good. Usually I'm rather scroogy and use a type I and don't wanna waste my Type II, but I just remember you can't take'em with you.

Could you do a review of the Justine C60 cassettes you have on your website? Even though they are type 0, they look really cool and I'd like to see how they perform.

Whoo- hoo- great casettes those. Pretty sure i do not have these but are now checking just in case. By the way, have you ever come across any of the Chasing The Dragon audiophile cassettes at all? As always, please keep up the excellent content.

The SA-X was less sensitive in the upper midrange and definitely could be identified from the source. The SA-XS, not so much. It was an obvious upgrade. I'd like to hear to hear those tapes against an XLII-S.

Damn,where could I find one?

Next time try a little slit at the other end to let some air in. Sometimes works.

How does a Maxell XL-IIS perform compared to the SA-XS?

those SA-XGs are insanely expensive now, they cost over $120, more then most metal tapes even, absolutely insane prices due mainly to it's rarity. Not worth it for most people. And no, they don't come up second hand very often(one for sale now from Canada for $45), not a single used SA-XG has been sold on ebay in the last 4 months, and only two 2 new SA-XG has sold even new in the last 4 months; both for over $120; absolutely insane price for a single cassette no matter what the quality.

Do you have an opinion regarding the ZX-7 in comparison to the ZX-9? Worth upgrading? (I have the ZX-7)

SA-X never impressed me back in the '80. Got an Akai GX-52 back then (and still have it), and like in this video, the highs are not brilliant and kind of muted too. Actually liked the cheaper TDK SA better! SA-XS sound very nice though. My fav. type II tape, is very clearly the Denon HD-8's - very good highs, and just a lovely sounding tape. Got a huge bunch of HD-8-100's :-)

Love TDK tapes, back in the mid 80's I only bought TDK SA tapes for 4 track recording, I could not afford SA-X tapes as a 1st year apprentice....I still have those tapes....Question, before the event of digital studio recording, all recording was done on 1 inch multitrack tape, then transferred to CD...when CD's came out, so are the early CD's as good as what the studio tape was?, Then we in this demonstration copy the CD to the SA-X tape....should sound as good as the CD? The hiss if there is one should be from the original recording? Anyway as we get older....our hearing is not as good as it was when the original was recorded.

Being honest,I thought the 1st tape was positively muffled and devoid of sparkle compared to the original. I wonder if there has been some coating degradation over time affecting the HF response,which would account for the Revox not being able to calibrate it because the HF response was not within range (too low?) If the same result occurs on the Dragon,then this might point to the tape. In terms of experimentation,the bias could be lowered to give + 2db at 15 khz,but also,I would like to see a type 2 recorded at 120 micro seconds which I understand the Naks can do. Now that would be interesting.

You're absolutely right our Tony, the XG is the finest, sexiest looking cassette I've seen. I remember, at school I always got tongue-tied in the presence of the sexiest girl that I fancied. Perhaps the Revox got tongue-tied calibrating the XG? The XS is no slouch in the looks department either. The combination of red and black is gorgeous too.

At 4:30 I believe that all you needed to do was make a small slit in the other side of the packaging from where you cut it, in order to let the air in as it was going to suck in, vacuume style, as you pulled the cassette case out of the other end. Please note: I **believe** that is the way to do it, I do not know for certain and, if I am wrong, I shall change my belief.

I wish somebody would talk about me the way you talk about that TDK SA-XS.

the name of tape sounds like SUCCESS :)

Ya has probado el SONY metalmaster?

Please review National Audio Company Cassetes, thank you

Beutiful

Online "inflation calculator" says that $5.49USD in 1986 equals $12.84USD now. Judging by the quality, it was a bargain then and would be absolute steal at the adjusted price now!

@23:20 you havn't got sie tanberg 😅😅😅

tdk es la mejor marca de cassettes

Are the SAX’s available in America?

Don't you mean "Yesterday's jam", Tony? ;) XD