The first ES cassette: a prestige metal model with dual coating.
Metal Position. Since 1983.
First Generation, 1983
46 minutes - ¥850 / 60 minutes - ¥1050 / 90 minutes - ¥1400.
Prices were changed later.
The luxurious package was wrapped in dazzling gold. The cassette used a frameless shell with an extra-large window. Stripes in the centre also served as a remaining-tape scale. Inside was the DP-II mechanism, the version of the DP mechanism for transparent shells. The newly designed hubs featured orange clamps, and the 46-minute version used large hubs.
Explanatory Note
ES was a designation Sony had given to high-performance, high-standard products. Metal-ES was the landmark first cassette to receive it.
In the early days of the cassette, Hi-Fi recording on it was considered impossible. Performance subsequently improved so much that a cassette finally joined the ES series.
The new model stood at the top of the metal range, with performance and specifications greatly improved over METALLIC, previously Sony’s highest-performance cassette.
The first generation used the newly developed ultrafine magnetic material エクストラロイ (Extraloy). For the first time on metal tape, two magnetic materials - one intended to reduce noise and one suited to high-density coating - were applied in two layers (dual coat). Residual magnetic flux density rose to 3600 gauss (versus 3200 gauss for METALLIC in the 1983 catalogue), and coercivity rose to 1100 oersteds (versus 1050 oersteds). Bias noise at middle and high frequencies fell by 2-3 dB, while dynamic range expanded by as much as 4 dB.
Second Generation, 1988
46 minutes - ¥900 / 54 minutes - ¥950 / 60 minutes - ¥1000 / 90 minutes - ¥1200.
Prices were changed later.
The package design adopted the subdued appearance common to Sony’s high-end cassettes. The cassette itself also changed substantially, with a dark-grey IS (Infinity Shape) shell whose slit window resembled an infinity symbol. The magnetic material changed to New Extralloy and coercivity rose to 1150 oersteds. Bias noise fell by 0.5 dB and high-frequency MOL improved by 1 dB.
Third Generation (Metal・ES), 1996
46 minutes - ¥570 / 50 minutes - ¥580 / 54 minutes - ¥620 / 60 minutes - ¥670 / 70 minutes - ¥720 / 80 minutes - ¥780 / 90 minutes - ¥830.
By name this was the third generation of Metal-ES, but in substance it corresponded to the third generation of ES-IV. The shell was dark green, with a small horizontal window in the centre and grooves radiating from the hubs. It incorporated BSM, a battery-saving mechanism for portable players. The tape was no longer dual-coated, but this was a high-performance cassette marking the final period of metal tape.