A heat-resistant cassette designed for the heat inside a car in midsummer.
High Position. Released in 1991.
46 minutes - ¥430 / 54 minutes - ¥480 / 60 minutes - ¥530 / 90 minutes - ¥720 / 100 minutes - ¥780.
The package featured a road illustration suggesting use in a car. IEC markings and parallel English and French text gave the design the feel of an export product reimported into Japan. However, it was made in Japan, with Japanese instructions on the back as well. The cassette had an IS (Infinity Shape) shell with a slit window, and even the transparent window section was heat-resistant.
Explanatory Note
This cassette was intended for car stereos and designed to withstand high temperatures, on the assumption that it might be left inside a car in the blazing summer sun.
Plastic cassettes are vulnerable to heat: in the blazing summer sun, simply leaving one in a car can sometimes deform its shell. This model used a special heat-resistant resin for the shell, allowing it to retain its performance even at 115 °C. Heat-resistant resin was used not only for the cassette itself but also for its plastic case, and the label was a specially developed heat-resistant type. The tape used Super Fine Uniaxial magnetic material, making this a capable High Position cassette equivalent to ES-II as well.
With car use in mind, the design addressed vibration through an ultrasonically welded shell, added non-slip surfaces on both sides of the cassette, and included a marker allowing side A to be identified by touch. These features also took use in a dark car interior into account.
The product was developed at the request of the European market and released in Europe first. It was later released simultaneously in Japan and America.