The Sony Corporation
  Sony is one of those companies that always seems to have the latest technology quicker than anyone else. They are also the first to focus on what's ahead and abandon the past. Sony has not put a focus on cassettes since the advent of the CDit tapes and recordable CD. Granted, they still make tape decks (albeit, not anymore from what I hear) and the HF cassette today. Sony is all about their Blu-ray technology and whatever is on the horizon.

   Sony also had one of the most extensive Super Metal cassettes in Super Metal Master, which is still perfered by most audiophilles. Most magazine reviews were very positive and Sony had a hit. This one is most compared to Maxell's Metal Vertex, but Sony's cassette was much more available. Sony's cassette line in Japan was more than twice the size in the US during the 80's. In the late 80's, Sony had at least 8 or 9 cassettes in the US, including 4 High Bias. The HF line alone in Japan spanned 4 different models just for Normal Bias. During that time, Sony Japan was promoting a show named Overnight Success to help promote the cassettes. This show also features a very young Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy, Enchanted).

  Sony's focus seems to be more on technology like home theater and video games. But, there is always room for media like Blu-ray, CDs and UMDs (for Playstation Portable). Flash media is lately the media of choice these days and Sony improves on mp3 players and the such. Thus, the phasing out of Discmans as well as the cassette Walkman.

Check out the Sony Gallery!
  Sony's line of cassettes is very distinct, especially in the US with slight variations in European and Japanese markets. On these pages, there will be some of those tapes and the slight comparison differences visually. There will also be some info and brief histories about each cassette. Some cassettes may even have their own page on this site!

  Here below tapes are listed by Bias. Each page lists each cassette in that Bias plus most will have a summary about it. Some of the cassettes have their own page on The BTG.

Sidenotes:
  Sony still makes the HF mainly because they stil want to cater to people who have need for it. The HF is in no hurry to be phased out anytime soon. They even repackaged it as of 2009 to reflect current packaging changes.
  The TC-WE475 is the only tape deck Sony makes but they seem to put more emphesis on cassettes in "bookshelf boomboxes" like the Muteki.

Pictures on this page are borrowed directly from the official US TDK site. They are the sole right of Sony, and in no way are these pictures intended to be abused or utilized for profit. All information within this section is for research and informational use only. Illegal use is strictly prohibited. For more information about what Sony offers, head over to Sony's US website.
Email me at chris@btgallery.com if you have questions, comments, or something you would like to contribute.