Sony ES deck eating tapes question..

Why is/was TDK always considerd to be the best blank cassette tape..I know that they have a little better high end response than Maxell but does that mean TDK is a better tape?I'm talking about TDK SA-X and Maxell XLII-S tapes..

Perhaps a bigger advertising budget? I know that after 10 years all the TDK tapes I made are essentially blanks, while the Maxells continue to sound good. And there is that vexing tape-eating question. I remember now it was then that I simply switched over to Maxell XL IIS.

I was looking up some of the old blank cassette tape tests from the late 70's through early 90's and TDK always won in the type II and type IV(metal) category's,but i guess even if TDK does sound slightly better it means nothing if the tape is not going to last..Plus i think TDK got most of it's reputation in thank's to Nakamichi,i guess most folks thought if TDK is good enough to be recommended by Nak it must be the best,even though the Tandberg 3014 will blow away anything from Nakamichi,and guess what brand Tandberg recommends and adjusts it's decks too?you guessed it MAXELL..

You may have a problem with deformed cassette shells that may cause the tape to track incorrectly. I have encountered such with Maxell XL-2 of late. Brand new you could see the cassette halve is bowed. I have encountered similar with TDk from time to time though very rare. Try an experiment just for fun, and swap the Tdk tape reels into a Maxell shell and see what happens or vice versa. Almost certain a bad shell is causing this healthy appetite the sony has for TDks'. Hope this helps,sincerely,Vincent.