The owner of the Japanese shop 向実庵 "Kou-jitsu-an" ("Enjoyment of Sound and Music") — which sells audio cassettes and musical instruments — was born in the 1960s. In 2014, he came across a magazine feature about a giveaway for a unique cassette tape designed to replicate the color scheme of the Sony BHF series from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Inspired, he decided, "I want to create a cassette like this myself." After several years of trial and error, he launched his first line of cassettes in 2017.
While the production process utilizes industrial-grade materials, printers, and cutting machinery, the final product is essentially handmade.
In 2020, the Japanese magazine *Stereo Era* published an article based on recording tests performed using these "Classic" series cassettes.
When compared to the standard Maxell UR cassette, the UR exhibits a slight emphasis on the high frequencies, whereas these cassettes offer a more natural sound, reproducing the original audio with greater accuracy.
Furthermore, while the Maxell UR boasts a high MOL (Maximum Output Level) and remains relatively resistant to distortion even at high recording volumes, these cassettes require more careful attention to recording levels. That said, even a brief excursion to +7 dB may sometimes go unnoticed, so setting the recording level slightly lower than one would for a Maxell UR should be perfectly acceptable. On the other hand, these cassettes appear to produce slightly less tape hiss than the Maxell UR.
To fully unlock the potential of the cassettes with red and green labels, we recommend — whenever possible — using a vintage cassette deck equipped with adjustable bias and input sensitivity controls.