SHARP/OPTONICA RT-X1 (1981) | PCM Elcaset

The Tokyo Audio Fair from 1981 offered a lot of PCM sound. A lot of the equipment was presented as about to start production soon and some of them were already being manufactured in small series. The closest thing was PCM sound on tape. Truth is that PCM sound on video tape was already a reality. In that case, the Japanese manufacturers have managed to agree on a standard for the data format for consumer electronics, and this was the "14bit standard" (an important thing to remember for the future development of CD). With 14-bit quantization, you get about 85 dB quantization noise (error signal), which corresponds to 0.006% distortion at full output. However, note that the errors of the stages are constant regardless of the output. This means that the distortion gradually increases with reduced signals to finally amount to 100%. In the context of this technological buzz one of the manufacturers at the forefront of Digital audio development was Sharp with it's high-end brand, Optonica. However their proposition, a PCM tape recorder based on the recently introduced ELCASET ended up as nothing but a prototype model. This was the Sharp-Optonica PCM cassette deck RT-X1 from 1981. The picture you see is a colorized version created by 1001hifi using as source a black and white photo from a hifi magazine show report from 1981.

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Vintage Pioneer SA-9800: Power, Precision & Pure Sound

 

Experience True Three-Dimensional Sound with Pioneer’s Legendary Magni-Wide Amplifiers. In the world of high-fidelity audio, most amplifiers only capture sound in two dimensions — frequency and volume. But real music exists in three dimensions: pitch, intensity, and duration. Pioneer’s groundbreaking Magni-Wide Series amplifiers — the SA-9800, SA-8800, and SA-7800 — were engineered to reproduce all three dimensions of sound with perfect balance. The result? A listening experience that feels alive, dynamic, and truly natural. Perfect Balance: Power, Precision, and Dynamics. Each Magni-Wide amplifier was designed to excel in three critical audio parameters:

Frequency range – for accurate pitch and tonal detail.

Dynamic range – for controlled intensity and expressive contrast.

Timing accuracy – for precise transient response and rhythm.

Many amplifiers emphasize one or two of these qualities, resulting in sound that’s either overly aggressive or lifeless. Only Pioneer’s Magni-Wide design delivers the perfect cube of audio performance — equally strong in all three dimensions. Advanced Non-Switching Design for Pure Sound. Thanks to Pioneer’s innovative non-switching bias circuit, these amplifiers maintain ultra-wide power bandwidth and near-zero distortion. Their ultralinear Ring Emitter Transistors (RETs) and direct-coupled current design eliminate phase shift and switching distortion, ensuring that even the softest musical passages emerge from an almost silent background. This means: Cleaner highs without harshness, Tighter bass without boom, Faster transients for lifelike dynamics. Specifications: SA-9800 – 100 watts per channel (RMS, 8Ω, 20–20,000 Hz) with less than 0.005% THD | Distortion: less than 0,005% | Size: 420x150x425mm (W/H/D) | Weight: 18 kg | Original sale price: 750 USD, 1600 DM

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SHARP VC-D100X (1987) | Stunning Hi-Fi Quality

 

Stunning high-quality images stimulate your creativity. Equipped with S-VHS, this digital high-fidelity video editor lets you edit videos and more. S-VHS (Super VHS) delivers stunning image clarity with a horizontal resolution exceeding 400 lines, approaching broadcast-grade quality. By raising the carrier frequency to 7.0 MHz and expanding the FM bandwidth, S-VHS achieves superior detail and reduced noise compared to standard VHS. Equipped with the SX-4 four-head system, S-VHS ensures smooth playback, precise jog-shuttle editing, and stable forward/reverse motion control. The Flying Erase Head allows professional-grade, seamless edits without image degradation. Creative playback options include Color Art, Painting, and Strobe effects for visual variety. High-fidelity sound recording with a dynamic range over 90 dB brings true Hi-Fi quality to your videos. Additional features include insert and dubbing functions, frame-accurate editing, multi-display outputs, and remote control operation—all housed in a premium, user-friendly design. It also feature a motorized slide-out control panel and a tilt panel jog-shuttle control. All this was available from Sharp in 1987...in Japan.

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