About us
Who We Are
Ultra Ferric is a specialty retailer of blank recording media based in Northern California. We stock one of the largest selections of New Old Stock (NOS) cassette tapes on the internet, factory-sealed Type I, II, III, and IV tapes from TDK, Sony, Maxell, AXIA, BASF, Denon, and dozens of other manufacturers, sourced from warehouses and collections worldwide.
We're analog audio obsessives. Our catalog grew out of years spent hunting down deadstock tapes, the kind that sat in a Japanese warehouse for 30 years and emerged in perfect condition. If you've ever recorded to a Maxell XLII or a TDK SA and wondered why it sounds better than anything made today, you already understand what we do.
What We Sell
Our catalog covers the full range of blank magnetic media:
- Type I (ferric/normal bias) - everyday recording, voiced warm
- Type II (chrome/cobalt high bias) - the sweet spot for most decks; where the legendary tapes live
- Type III (FeCr) - rare ferrichrome formulation for collectors
- Type IV (metal) - the pinnacle of cassette engineering
- MiniDiscs and DAT tapes
The majority of our catalog is New Old Stock - factory sealed and never used. We also carry B Stock (opens but unused) and C Stock (previously used) tapes, each clearly labeled with condition details on the product page.
Why NOS Tapes?
Modern blank cassette production largely ended in the early 2000s. The tapes made in the 1980s and 90s, particularly high-bias Type II and metal Type IV formulations, used oxide coatings and manufacturing tolerances that simply are not replicated today. NOS tapes, stored correctly, perform exactly as they did when new. That's what we sell.
Who Shops Here
Our customers range from cassette deck owners rediscovering home recording, to musicians who prefer the analog signal chain, to collectors chasing specific formulations for specific machines. We serve customers across the US and worldwide, with free shipping on US orders over $50.