IIRC, the TDKs were smoother, cleaner, but had more frequent dropouts. The Maxells were brighter, a little grittier, with a little more detail, and suffered less from dropouts. I didn't think anyone still cared. I digitized all my cassettes (well, the ones I lacked a CD or LP of) and now my really nice Onkyo TA-2600 (bought new in 1989 - 2 motor, 3 head, with real time and time remaining counter!) sits at the bottom of my rack, gathering dust.
