A high-performance midrange Normal cassette, “HF-Excellent.”
Normal. Since 1985.
First Generation, 1985
46 minutes - ¥450 / 54 minutes - ¥500 / 60 minutes - ¥550 / 90 minutes - ¥800 / 120 minutes - ¥1150.
The packaging was among the first to adopt Sony’s new cassette design, first used on “UX-PRO.” Light blue was used as the model color. The cassette had a high-precision shell with an extra-wide window and used the “DP-Ⅱ mechanism” with smooth transparent sheets. The white hubs inside had the same design as those of “UX-PRO,” with an orange clamper providing an accent. The 46-minute version used large hubs.
Explanatory Note
The original “HF-X” was released in 1985 as a new midrange Normal cassette.
The tape used the high-performance ultrafine-particle magnetic material Crystal Gamma, packed at high density using a “high-polymer binder system” (ハイポリマー・バインダー・システム). A special surface-treatment technique made the tape as smooth as a mirror, reducing modulation noise and raising high-frequency MOL by 0.5 dB over the original “HF-S,” released the previous year.
Because the original model was priced almost the same as “HF-S,” it might have seemed to be an evolved successor. However, prices were adjusted from the second generation, released in 1987, clarifying “HF-S” as an economical low-price LH and “HF-X” as the standard midrange model above it. This brought Sony’s Normal cassette range to five models: “HF,” “HF-S,” “HF-X,” “HF-ES” and “HF-Pro,” a range that symbolized the cassette’s heyday. The third generation, released in 1989, changed to a cobalt-based magnetic material and improved performance further, but became the final generation following Sony’s subsequent cassette range reorganization.
Second Generation, 1987
46 minutes - ¥450 / 54 minutes - ¥500 / 60 minutes - ¥550 / 80 minutes - ¥700 / 90 minutes - ¥750 / 120 minutes - ¥950.
The second generation’s appearance changed substantially with the redesigned hubs. The sight of the mechanical hubs, described as “two-color molded CI (Closely Injection),” rotating inside the wide-window shell was novel, with a design reminiscent of computer tape. It used a replaceable “two-tone color label” and a warm-gray smoked case. An 80-minute version was newly added to the range.
Third Generation, 1989
46 minutes - ¥430 / 50 minutes - ¥450 / 54 minutes - ¥480 / 60 minutes - ¥530 / 74 minutes - ¥620 / 90 minutes - ¥720 / 120 minutes - ¥910.
The tape was changed to the cobalt-based magnetic material “ファイン・コバルト・クリスタル・ガンマ磁性体 (Fine Cobalt Crystal Gamma).” This was applied uniformly using a “high-dispersion binder system” (ハイ・ディスパー・バインダーシステム). MOL rose by 0.5 dB at mid and low frequencies and by 1 dB at high frequencies, while the noise level decreased. Versions of 50 and 74 minutes were added for recording CDs, and the all-female band Princess Princess (プリンセス・プリンセス) was engaged for the television commercial.