WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO AKAI
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- Опубліковано 14 тра 2024
- You will never look at AKAI the same after watching this! Akai was one of the most famous brands in HiFi. But the company has a dark side. A story of Scandal that will rock you to the core.
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00:00 INTRO
00:23 BIRTH OF AKAI
02:20 AKAI & ROBERTS
04:52 AKAI AMERICA
05:19 AKAI REEL TO REEL
07:25 BEST AKAI REEL TO REEL
08:33 AKAI REMOTE
10:34 AKAI GX-747
10:56 AKAI RECEIVERS
11:16 AKAI VCR
12:00 AKAI RACK SYSTEM
12:25 AKAI REFERENCE MASTER SERIES
13:04 WHAT HAPPENED TO AKAI?
18:25 WHAT HAPPENED TO JAMES TING? - Наука та технологія
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I worked for a small electronic repair shop as a technician in the 70~80's. We were an Akai warranty provider. They made some great tape decks, including an 8-track recorder with the GX heads.
The AKAI GX series were the best made reel to reel tape decks. Glass heads changed the industry
So true. We have a GX266d with the glass heads and a McIntosh customized look using a Black fascia and blue meters which our family loves. Retro yet great sounding and auto reverse art in motion.
Yeah I wish all reels had them!
@@JustAudioHiFi true! That was an outstanding summary on AKAI history. Very informative. Thanks for doing that. I also loved their VCR in the 80’s. Underrated IMHO.
Agreed! I have my GX 635d to this day...heads still work like new,!
At the time of the GX-77, Revox was still the leader in the 7" market.
In 1975 I bought 4 pieces that was being sold as a set at a local audio store. The GX 215 D RtR with glass heads, the AM2000 Amp, the turntable and the AM/FM Radio. The last two were sold in the 1980s but I still have the RtR and the Amp. Not one problem with these in 48 years. Excellent pieces of engineering.
Great history lesson. Knew nothing about AKAI before. Please keep making these.
More to come!
Akai since the 60´s were the best in tape recording and their equipment was really good, even in early 80´s they release a series that was ahead of all other brands and everything works today not like nakamichi that can work forb 5 to 6 years but with heavy use in 3 years they start to fail, my early 70´s tape recorders all work with perfect sound today the nakamichi ones are working but had to fix them all ,well engeniered but the made from the cheapest materials around
You did not tell us what went wrong to akai in Japan n why it was sold to hk crooks 19:23
Really? It was better than Sony in so many ways.
I bought an Akai GX-635D while stationed in Japan in 1981 for $550.00. You could buy products there for about half of what you would pay in the US at that time. I still have it to this day, but it has the usual and well known transistor problem, so I found a guy that rebuilds reel to reel decks and he's going to go through mine at some point. I have the black version and really love this deck : )
I found a motor for our Akai 1710 at a small shop on Okinawa while on TDY there. My dad was overjoyed when I brought it home.
This is a great video, thanks very much. As a teenager in high school and college, for roughly 7 years I owned an AKAI 250D tape deck at the heart of my expanding audio system. This relatively obscure model, which performed flawlessly throughout my ownership, was sandwiched in between the end of the X Series and the new GX Series; it was their first model with servo-controlled motors. My hobby served as a springboard into a ten-year career selling consumer audio & video. Towards the end of that career I was saddened to see the commodification of the industry into cheap mass-market rack systems and quasi-disposable components. Most of those great brands are long gone now.....
Thank you for sharing your story!
*THAT WAS ABOUOT 100X* more interesting than I thought it would be...!!!
That plot twist was something I'd never imagined.
These old brand names still have cache in the market. Starter, Polaroid, Kodak, former famous brands that poured millions into advertising, still captures people's attention.
I loved Akai. I used to drool over their ads in Stereo Review. My brother owned the GX-9 cassette deck.
I wore out my 1972 Akai Reel to Reel Deck. It was played hours a day almost everyday. I was a music performance major in Grad School and I had accompaniment tapes for every piece of literature I studied seriously. Wish I would have had a remote then but the transport was mechanical and I was forever switching between play-rewind-play-rewind etc etc during long hours of practice. That Akai Recorder was just as much my instrument as my major instrument was (trumpet) and put in long hours without fail. It never got tired. Worked flawlessly. When I purchased a higher end two speed Cassette Deck with a remote control the Akai was sold. I bet it is still playing while that expensive cassette deck isn’t! I don’t remember the model number but it was a fantastic device and piece of Audio History (at least for me). Great Video and extremely interesting presentation.
How about one on Garrard Turntables?
Anyone else interested ?
It should be noted that Akai are not only a name associated with consumer audio but are deeply embedded in the professional audio market, particularly with their MPC line of performance samplers. I'm not sure who owns the Akai Professional brand at this point but they continue as a highly respected name among musicians.
it was harmon for a while. mate of mine consulted for them on some of the samplers, but that was ages ago. I often wondered how they went from half-decent tape decks to this brand new sampling technology suddenly in the 80s...
From Google search: °Numark, including Akai (and Alesis) is now owned by a company named InMusic, headquartered in Rhode Island in the U.S. Akai Professional continues in business today, marketing a wide variety of music products including synths, drum machines, DJ equipment, studio gear, and its EWI line of breath controllers.°
they also make professional broadcast components. Not available to consumer market. Many of these kind of HIFI brands like Sony, Philips etc made a variety of very high end quality devices for broadcast, radio and TV, film production. The prices reflected the professional specialisation of those products. In some cases custom built for the customer.
Oh, you mean like all the pro gear they discussed and showed in this video, like around the 7:40 mark where he specifically talks about "pro machines" they made? Is that how you figured it out? Because of course you didn't just look at the title of the video and immediately 'weigh in' with the obvious like you're solving a mystery? It should be noted that Ford also makes pro vehicles and not just Mustangs, and GUM makes pro toothbrushes and not just the ones at the grocery store.
The new series of fake mpc has nothing to do with the classics. They are basically a windows based cash register with a cheap sound card and a fake logo….
I bought an Akai hifi VCR back in the late 80s. Did everything I wanted the machine to do in glorious stereo and video and enjoyed it for a long time.
Currently still use one
@@JustAudioHiFican you guys tell me what one is worth on the retail market currently? Are they collectible?
It is implied that the person at the 1:29 mark is Saburo after the war. However, that is an American soldier, not Japanese.. There are many indicators such as the rank "Technical Corporal", his marksman medal and two American ribbons, one of which is for participation in the Pacific Theater of WW II. Soldiers with special skills were awarded the "T" for whatever specialized skill they had. Since this soldier appears to be Japanese, but is in an American uniform, I would suspect his specialized skill may have been fluency in Japanese which would explain his participation in the Pacific campaign, or perhaps electronics. Or, perhaps there is some other explanation. Whatever, the story is informative.
Absolutely love these historical videos of iconic hi-fi companies. Keep em coming. Thanks.
Glad you like them! Thank you Stealth!
Please do a video like this on Aiwa..... lol. My brother, 13 years older, had a serious separate system when we were growing up, I had a neat lil Aiwa all in one in my bedroom and thought I had something special in those days that the audio bug bit me
Great video! Very informative!❤
Wow! I'm so glad I found your channel. You have so much interesting info about anything audio, I love it! Thank you for the work
Welcome!
Thanks for these history lessons of Akai, Sansui, and Bose. I appreciate the work and research. Great stuff.
Thank you!
I know you're talking reel to reel, but I bought a GX-F80 cassette deck at Crazy Eddie for a crazy discount in 1980, and loved it! In a sad twist of irony, the motor stopped working, and I'm waiting for the right time to replace it and fix the deck again. (remember, how Akai manufactured mostly motors in the early days?)
Love these histories! Keep it up.
I really love these history videos
Awesome! Glad you are enjoying!
In Germany Akai was seen as the inventor of VHS for some time, because they shipped their first JVC clone VS-9300EG by plane, the JVC HR-3330EG was on sale later
I also really love all those photos you have in these videos. They are amazing and thanks for all the work in finding them.
Thanks, we try to curate the best we can on a time crunch
I own 2 AKAI DR16 digital records and 1 of their 4 channel tape decks from the 1970s. The DR16 is really great sounding. I sold my Studer A80 2" 24 track after I used the DR16 and did a A:B comparison with Dave Shogren of the Doobie Brothers. I was at a meeting in Berkeley CA where members of AKAI were buying the rights to manufacture a PCM digital recorder that was designed by an independent engineer. The DR series recorders have really great sounding A/D converters. I still use the DR16 and bought a second one last year as a backup.
Fantastic history lesson of an iconic oem. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER WONDERFUL & EDUCATIONAL VIDEO. GOD BLESS & MY BEST TO YOUR FAMILIES. TMP FROM N.J.
Great video! I never really realized that they went away.
I picked up one that resembled the 4000 (with aqua blue logo) in mid 90.
It was 4 track and we used it to cut and press an EP release. What a great recorder; bass guitar line-in was like butter!
Awesome stuff, love what you guys are up to!!
More to come! Thanks!
gotta say these historical videos are cool a f!looks like you put a ton of effort into this one.others will probably start doing this sort of thing please keep em coming.
Thanks for the story, interesting stuff. I have an Akai cassette deck from late ‘70s. Nothing fancy but has 2 cool VU meters, high speed rewind, metal tape selector (a big deal at the time) and a mic-in port that allowed voice intros to tunes when recording. Performed well but got pushed out by CDs in the ‘90s. Made many a great party mix tape on that deck.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
Very informative video - thank you for all your efforts to put these together! I remember seeing an Akai 747 as a nerdy teenager in the early 80s. The big reels were playing The Police’s 1981 song “Spirits in the Material World,” as I watched that r2r and listened, I wanted that machine more than anything.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing that story!
Really appreciate your professional editing. More channels could learn from how smooth your corrections flow.
Wow, yet another wild ride! The connection with Sansui makes this even more eerie. And, those last r-t-r decks from them - the only thing cooker than the 707-747 models was Tandberg's TD20A SE, which I used extensively for live location recording up into the mid-aughts. Looking forward to more of this, you're truly on a roll here!
I have some good ones in the works!
Proud owner of the Akai X-360. Although it is limited to 7" reels, the deck can record at 15ips! Combine this feature with the crossfield head and you get TREMENDOUS recordings. I do A/B demonstrations of tape and vinyl to friends and family and jaws drop and eyebrows rise in surprise. Really enjoyed this video. Thank you for the time and effort you put into it. HIFI United.
I used to have one, until the main transformer went bust. I've never seen a transformer with that many taps. It was impossible to find a replacement. So I got a Studer B67 mkII with a 4-track playback head as a replacement. But I was very much attached to that X-360, as I inherited it from my late beloved uncle.
Great video! I still own my 4000DS Mk1 from 1973, still working well to this day!
Wow, what a story, thanks for sharing!
As I recall, in the seventies and eighties Akai tape decks were highly regarded. Not far behind the likes of Nakamichi and Tanberg. Never owned an Akai product. My last tape deck, which I still own is a Pioneer CT F1250.
i can assure you that no nakamichi comes near it playing or recording ,no to mention that the pioneer is still working with regular maintenace today as my nakamichi´s that i own 5 taking two dragons that i sold cheap because they were really bad, 3 years working perfect at the most, the others only send them once to be repaired also did the maintenace , in 76 pioneer in magazines would put the first 3 head nakamichi in most of the page making fun of the brand and explaining how better pioneer decks were with a litle photo in the corner of the model under the CT-F1000 ,the one with a extra window for the dynamic bias
Love this HiFi history videos... Big names, vanished without a trace.
So sad but pls do keep them coming 👍
I love your channel!!
Wonderful informative video👌🏾👍🏽 similarly we would like to hear about AIWA
This video reminds of my involvement with the hi fi industry in the 70’s and 80’s. I miss those days and all those wonderful audio shows here in Toronto. Thanks for the journey back !
I love these audio history lesson videos. I have the GX 650D and the GX 220D.
Thank you! Very nice
This was great, really enjoyed this, keep up the great work. I had an Akai top load cassette deck in the early 70's, dont remember the model, would have been about 73-74, it worked well and recorded great.
In '74 I bought an Akai GXC-46D cassette deck, It was a top-load design. Perhaps yours was as well?
Later ('77 or '78) I purchased a GXC 285D front-load cassette deck. Along with the -46D I had an Akai RtR deck, but I don't remember the model number, sorry. All three decks had an auto-reverse feature, as I recall.
I bought and still own the AM2650 + Tuner you showed!! Still cranking and still having fun with it!
My uncle had an AKAI cassette deck. It was struck by lightning. Later he gave it to me, but I never heard it work.
Time to get that fixed
There are glass fuses under the cover.
I enjoy these videos.
Thank you…
Glad to hear it!
I still have an Akai 1720W reel-to-reel (pictured at 6.33 in the video) that my dad bought just after I was born. Over fifty years later, and I can still listen to all the Bollywood songs he recorded from vinyls. It came with a prerecorded demo reel, which I also still have.
I'm gonna go and listen to a few tracks now!! Thank you @JustAudio
wow this was awesome! More please
More coming!
Great video. Still have my dads' Akai GX-230S albeit requires a new pinch roller. Any suggestions where i can purchase one there in the States as am from Sydney Australia.
very interesting video i have an AKAI 4000DB purchased here in the UK in 1975
Great video! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
More like this! Bravo! 👏👏👏
Very interesting! Love these episodes. Hope you'll do Technics, eventually. 🙏
I don't have any Akai gear unfortunately.
Thank you! Great suggestion!
I have asked myself the same question. In the late 1970's through the mid 1990's I was an Audio Technician. I repaired Roberts and Akai R/R decks. Parts were always hard to come by. The Glassheads were excellent.
Great video, great content related to the histoy of the recording technology, Akai dominency, Singer acquisition, and collapse.
I just wish you talk a little bit more about the revolutionary crossfield feature. Maybe this could be the subject of another video.
In 1973 I bought an Akai 4000 DS 4 track stereo deck for £75 in London. Also featured sound on sound recording. I still have it along with a collection of pre-recorded 7" tapes; West Side Story is one of them. Still have an Akai VCR that hasn't been used in years.
I grew up listening to my father’s Ampex reel to reel. I thought it was the best sound possible until a friend loaned me the Akai recorder he’d brought back from overseas in the service. The Akai was so superior in every way, it wasn’t even close.
That is one CRAZY story! Love it! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it Jack!
I have a couple of GX-625s and 'lil gx-4000D. I even have that RC-70 but cant get it to work (had some battery corrosion that destroyed the contacts, so who knows). The 625s don't have reverse playback, but that just allows me to enjoy the ritual of stringing tape twice. Every open reel collector know it's as much the mechanical aspect as the sound that makes this hobby special.
I had the 650D. I think I paid around $600 for it. I loved that unit. I used to record off FM radio in NY. I used it with the Sansui AU5500 and the TU5500 through a pair of Altec Lansing Valencia Voice of the Theater speakers. That was a LONG time ago.
This is an amazing video! I came across it when searching about the Akai GX-635D because I have a chance to pick one up at an estate sale on the 9th! (fingers crossed) I have my dads Akai D-210 turntable from when he passed, so I sort of have a soft spot for the brand. So much that my wife upgraded that turntable with the newer released BT-500 as a gift. If I can pick up the reel to reel then I most likely will continue to add to the collection. Thank you for the informative video behind the name!
Oh Yeah! Thanks for watching
Terrific story and history lesson! This is your calling! Keep up the terrific reporting! Thank you!
Thank you! Will do!
Great video thank you. I remember my parents buying an AKAI Pro Lab system in the 80's, was very flash and supposed to be the business in those days. LOL
Thank you very much for the AKAI and Singer story. Really sad to see such historical brands were ruined by corruption.
I bought a 747 dbx in the later 80's complete with dust cover and wired remote. Still have it and it runs without any problems, wonderful machine!
I had a complete Akai system back in the early 90's that I purchased used and it needed some work to the switches. It had the bright silver finish in front and included the tuner, tape deck, turntable, amplifier, speakers and stand. There was also a cd player(not Akai) included in the deal. After eliminating the noise in the switches I traded the whole setup for some car audio equipment. I'm curious as to what happened to some of the manufacturers of some of the car audio equipment such as MEI and Clarion.
I loved to look at Akai equipment. Back in the day I had an AKAI AP-207 turntable, Pioneer SX-780 receiver, Pioneer HPM 60 speakers, and an Onkyo TA-2056 cassette deck. The only one I have left is the cassette deck
In the 80s I had both their space-age looking receiver and awesome GX-R66 tape deck--complete with all tool b+ dbx plus music tape search too. They were as much known for their regular tape decks as they were for their reel to reels.
You really should have mentioned Akai's digital samplers and MPCs. Electronic music was hugely shaped by users of Akai's devices in the '80s and '90s. Possibly as pivotal a technology line as the Technics SL1200. As an oddity, Akai also had a go at making synths, AX60, AX73 and AX80, I own the latter and it looks absolutely mental
Akai pro is mentionned at 17:40
@@robroufla Video mentions Akai Professional in the context of a 1999 restructure. The Akai S612 was launched in 1985 it was also branded as simply 'Akai', so what are you observing on here?
@@hydorah it says it was created in 1984, that's all.
I mean I thumbed up your comment, I agree with you
@robroufla Oh I see, Yeah I was a bit confused by the observation. Yes you are correct the 'Akai Professional' brand was launched in 1984 - as mentioned in the vid but the video talks about a split in 1999 before mentioning this, and no Landmark devices are mentioned. Seems Akai didn't start branding gear as Akai Professional until 1986, as even then, not consistently. The AX63 was branded 'simply Akai' and launched in 1986 - Although it said 'Akia Professional' on the ads, etc.
I had an Akai "walkman" in the 80's. No problems with it.
I was given a GXC-325D tape deck in the 80's and it still works
We had the Akai tape deck featured in "Apocalypse Now". I used to record pop songs off the radio in Singapore as a teen in 1968.
The Most Famous AKAI Tape Recorder was the "M-10". As it was the type used in Coppola's "Apocolypse Now" - The "VALKYRIE ATTACK" on the "VC VILLAGE", by the "Air Cav".
Nice! I enjoy HiFi in movies!
Me too
far out!
Hi, great video. I was curious what happened to AKAI. Never new AKAI was so big in reel-to-reel tape recorders.
I bought an AKAI portable black and white video set in 1975. The VT120S reel-to-reel video recorder with VC115 camera. This was before VHS existed. I still have it and restored it a few years ago, it still works.
I used to have a Akai 1030 receiver with Altec Lansing speakers it was pretty awesome
Great Video, Thank you
I had an Akai Cassette recorder and player in probably 1981. I used to record my albums onto cassettes than listen to them in my car. It worked flawlessly and I loved it.
I owned an AKAI projection TV manufactured in 2007 (PT50DL14). Great TV was my first "big screen" TV until I finally bought a plasma tv when the LCD tvs hit the market and made them cheaper. The TV was relegated to a secondary TV then. Still, it lasted almost 15 years before the projection lights started failing.
In my mid 20s i bought a n Akai reel-to-reel, the centre piece of my audio system then added the Hi-Fi stereo 6 head VCR with near-digital sound which i still own to this day. Beautiful, purpose built kit.
Thank you for the research and the subsequent video. I had always wondered. Now I know. I was 14-15 when I worked in a HiFi dealership in 1980 ish. The UK was not a big market back then for Akai. However, with the newly adopted business plan, the mark exploded in retail oulets with the Pro Series. Visually attractive and sonically and mechanically competant, the brand was an instant hit with me. Now, 40 years later, I too hanker after a 747 to add to my collection. Being extreemly curious to hear its sonics compared to my Studers and Naks. What a time for 'Brown Goods' in the UK. Bw Mike.
The AKAI GX Series are things of art as much as they are reel to reel tape decks. I don't have any AKAI reel to reel decks in my collection because they are HUGE 10 inch reel monsters. If I had to pick my favorite AKAI shown here it has to be the AKAI GX-747. The AKAI GX-747 smoked my boots. The AKAI Glass ferrite tape heads were quite the improvement. I have 4 AKAI GX F-31's cassette decks that Just Audio refurbished for me. They all run like tanks for the most part but can be fussy every so often. I don't have room for another monster receiver but that AKAI receiver did get my going a bit. AKAI's monster receiver looked a LOT like a Yamaha with its clean look and simple lines. AKAI products look like precision instruments. Love em! Loved this!
I still have my Akai GX95 mk 2. Recently set up by Armstrong Audio in London, fantastic machine.
Wow, another vid that brought back some serious memories. In 1982 while station in Germany, I had put the Akay 747 on layaway at the PX, but unfortunately I had to cancel due to money matter back then. I have always regreted that decision to this day, as if I had got it back then, I probably would still have it today. Anyway another great vid!
Thanks!
I used Akai 1000 pros and 747s as mix down decks to do final stereo mixes from Akai & Teac 4 tracks. We even mixed down from an Otari 8 track to an Akai from time to time. We did some SOS work on a Revox before we got the Akai products and our Revox SOS work went onto vinyl pressings rather well too. By the mid 1980s we had a Studer dealership too. We sold loads of Fidelapacs & carts, all kinds of decks, desks, amps, monitors etc. etc. The company started out as an RCA dealer back in 1954.
My dad had an akai stack system in the early 80s, the tiner still works though it always had lots of interference. The tape deck will work again if the belts get replaced. The amp died after almost 20 years. My dad fixed it but it only lasted another year or so. In its day it was incredible. We had a pair of goodmans mezzo speakers. They are hard to find anything obout them online but the had an led metre on the front that showed how much power went into the woofer. It was a great setup.
My only Reel to Reel Tape Machine was an AKAI D4000DB acquired 40 years ago - lost it in a house break-in with rest of my hi-fi some years later. I used it for Off Air recordings of BBC Radio 3.
I bought a used Roberts version of the Akai X355D deck in the early 1970s. Three motor drive, with a moving crossfield head that would move into position when recording. Due to the heavy usage before this deck was a bit tempermental but still gave excellent performance. I sold it to a friend as my hi fi system expanded.
Some years later I came across another Akai X355D on Ebay. It came from the estate of a military man and came with all the bells and whistles - remote control, microphones, lots of tapes. The only thing it didn't have was the 15 inch spool adapters. I already owned a much newer Teac deck and was very surprised to find that the Akai bested it in every way, especially frequency response and noise. This Akai had almost NO wear compared to my first one. I still have this Akai but need to replace capacitors and such for safety. The Teac died, it just lost all torque on the drive motor, so it's headed for recycling.
Just out of curiosity, is this the same Akai that makes the MPK Mini midi keyboard that is popular today? I have one of those and wondering how Akai's business practices have changed since.
Loved watching this. Was always hooked to Akai for some reason. Really good value for home entertainment stuff. Very popular among DJ's and other stuff that related to turntable's, mixing devices, sample machines and such. Generation of now does'nt know what we had before and how people think they have hifi with a soundbar today lol.
*This brings back memories! Danang, Vietnam, 1970. a lot of us ordered Akais through the PX. I ordered a pair of Sansui 3000 speakers and had them shipped home, along with a pioneer receiver that had a reverb spring with adjustable tension to adjust the effect. The speakers had amazing range, with adjustable bandpass filters on the back. there were at least five speakers inside, might have been seven, but the tweeters were crystal clear. When I got home, I noticed the "Robertson" brand was the same thing. You can occasionally find them and the Sanuis in thrift shops, but it's hard to say if they'd still sound as good after over fifty years. My 75 year-old ears probably couldn't tell the difference.*
My father's AKAI X-150D reel to reel deck and his AKAI GXC-325D was passed on to me many years ago. They still run beautifully to this day.
Plenty of stories in them I'm sure!
@@JustAudioHiFi Absolutely!
I still have my GX210D, owned this since I was a kid. One of the channels got a bit scratchy but replaced the pot and all good.
The early 80's was a time when the audio components performed well AND were enjoyable to use. The Akai GX-F71 cassette deck is one such unit that served me well for many years,
I still have a 1730D-SS and a 4000-DS. Still working, bought new and maintained - love them !!
Love these videos
Thank you
Ahhh.
From the 60's through to the 90's we saw some of the greats in audio gear.
Even our old early 1980's National VCR that cost 6 months wage to buy (it was that cheap end one) was heavy.
The IR remote worked even when hiding behind the sofa at the other end of the room, it was a slim controller and used 2 AAA batteries. The IR signal would reflect off the wall and would still work when the sun was shining in the room. Now you have to near push the IR hand unit up to the receiver for it to work even when it's dark.
Loved the Akai GX cassette decks ,bought my first GX-32 cassette deck in '89 ,have had two amps by Akai in the late 80's and early 90's and used my father's late 70's record player.Went full Sony in the mid 90's (apart for my record player) but their cassette deck never sounded as good as my GX 32 .Recently after acquiring some more high end audio Sony components (QS & ES) I acquired a serviced Akai GX-35R autoreverse cassette deck and an Akai AP-M7(clarity series) linear tracking record player that thing despite it's size sounds clear and crisp like a cd and with the warmth and depth of record player best record player I ever heard. Same for the cassette deck which I regularly used for playing and recording cassette tapes untill about a year ago when I swapped it for a Sony 3 head tape professional cassette deck.Still own the GX-35R though .
I've had my GX-77 since 1983. I had it worked on in 2014 but haven't used it much since then.
I owned one of the X series. Bought from a friend who purchased it while in the service. The head could be rotated if I remember right and an issue with the capstan being not quite perpendicular to the pinch roller. It was okay, but I really wanted a Teac 3340.
Interesting vid! I had the GX-630D. It was awesome. It’s was gorgeous too. I ran it with a DBX224. Dem was da days..
Yes they were!