The Maxell tape is far from a few years old. This Maxell tape is between 35 to 27 years old. In my opinion Maxell made the best cassette tape and "reel to reel" tape. Once the Maxell tape has a chance to bathe in the open air, it will deteriorate fairly quickly and leave lots of oxide on your Sony heads. That's a VERY nice Sony recorder. In a few more years (5-10 yrs) we will be able to buy high quality cassette tape. You got scammed by this Polish company. These guys are operating out of a Crack House in a city ghetto and scamming anyone who comes along. Keep buying (new or old) stock of Maxell or Sony Low Noise. Thanks for your work on the tape comparison. Good Job.