20 December 2018

LUXMAN K-05 (1983) - Pure Audio by Lux

cassette deck

The K-05 and K-04 are the cassette decks developed under the ultimate yet essential proposition to realize ultimate fidelity reproduction of original sound. Most of the decks said to sound good accompany a certain colouration, and in many cases such particular atmosphere delivered by colouration is preferred in actual listening. Dissatisfaction at such present status urged LUXMAN to design the top-notch deks K-05 and K-04. Tape travel mechanism is life of tape deck and determines whole sound quality. Good tape transport is a precondition for a good deck. With the K-05 and K-04, the tape trasnport mechanism has been reviewed from the very begining not by means of such temporizing measure to provide ostensible reduction of wow & flutter with Direct Drive motor but by means of newly designed robust "G.T. Transport" - Grand Trust Mechanism, which eventually brought about a dramatic improvement of total tape travel mechanism. Rustic, sturdy chassis made of thick die-cast zinc alloy is moulded and integrated with 2 pairs of capstan bearings, which assures perfect parallelism between the shafts of pinch-roller and capstan as well as their strict verticality to the chassis. 3-DD Motor Configuration, exclusive motor is arranged for each function of capstan drive, reel drive and head-assembly movement. 

High quality recording and playback are made possible only by an accurate 3-dimensional control on tape contact. Many manufacturers put great emphasis on the zimuth adjustment (to parallel both the head gaps for recording and playback and to set them perpendicular to tape) With the K-05 and K-04, all of these conditions are fully satisfied on the basis of ultra-precison R/P combination head. In the case of discrete 3-head system, the most critical point is in the azimuth control for the recording and playback heads. On the contrary, the R/P combination head has a big advantage that it can be fixed at the exact position in addition to its close positioning between the recording and playback head-gaps. To make the most of this merit, during the manufacturing process of the head, its azimuth is aligned in the strictest manner by the unit of microns. As commonly known, cassette tape has quality variations even in the same kind supplied under the same brand. To make most of its recording potential, an optimum value has to be selected for each bias current, tape-referenced recording level and equalization. In the case of the K-05 featuring automatic calibration system, the on-deck computer calibrates all of these 3 items individually then correlatively to locate the optimum points, confirming the result of each calibration step in the form of frequency response. Specifications K-05: 3 Head System - Record Sendust, Playback HIP (Hot Isostatic Press) Ferrite, Erase Dual-gap Sendust/Ferrite Junction. Wow & Flutter (JIS WRMS0 no more than 0.022%. Frequency response Metal 15 - 27.000 Hz, CrO2 15 - 22.000 Hz, Normal 15 - 22.000 Hz. Dimensions 460mm(W) x 361mm(D) x 158mm(H) Weight 11.5 kg.

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck



10 December 2018

Technics SE-A1 (1977) - Extraordinary Class A+ Power Amp

Power Amplifier

From the manufacturer:

"SE-A1 Stereo Power Amplifier
By developing Class A+ operation that provided amazing 350 W + 350 W output power, Technics aimed to achieve the highest level of power amp performance with the SE-A1. Theoretically, Class A operation does not generate switching distortion or crossover distortion. On the other hand, it is low in efficiency, so it is difficult to produce a high-power Class A amp. The Class A+ operation employed in the SE-A1 was similar to the Class A operation, which constantly requires electric current, but with floating ground potential. This system supplied high voltage from a separate power supply amp as needed in sync with the audio signal amplitude. This achieved high output power without using a forced air cooling fan, thus enabling a compact housing. The SE-A1 was a full-fledged DC amp, and boasted excellent waveform transmission performance. The active thermal servo circuit suppressed DC drift. The power supply section featured a dual monaural structure with four power supply units per channel for a total of eight power supply units. The peak meter was a quick-response type. The SE-A1 and SU-A2 were made-to-order, and only one unit was produced per day. The SE-A1 developed in pursuit of the highest possible performance had a considerable impact on the industry.

SU-A2 Stereo Control Amplifier
Using Class A operation in all stages, the SU-A2 was completely free of switching and crossover distortion, and realised low distortion and a high S/N ratio. Featuring the DC amp structure, the SU-A2 used no capacitors and achieved faithful waveform transmission. From the Phono MM input to the output terminals, the rated distortion factor was 0.003% in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz (at 1-V output). The SU-A2 was provided with a low-noise dual FET for MM and a newly developed low-noise transistor for the MC preamp. Use of the active thermal servo amp minimised DC drift. Despite the multi-functionality, the simplified wiring and switches in each section offered minimal crosstalk. The universal frequency equaliser was configured with four elements in each channel for a total of eight elements. The SU-A2 was highlighted as the most advanced, top-level control amp of the day."

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

Power Amplifier

03 December 2018

PIONEER CT-A1 (1979) - Spectacular Big Black Recorder

cassette deck

Introduced in 1979 the PIONEER CT-A1 is one of the top recorders of all time featuring a Quartz Lock Direct Drive Closed Loop Dual Capstan mechanism, 3 Head System and Automatic Bias Level Equlizer Tuning System. The CT-A1 can get the best out of every tape, because it has a microcomputer that works like a lab technician, testing each tape and making precise recording adjustments. The AUTO - B.L.E. system automatically determines optimum bias/level/EQ, and stores this data for 9 different types of tape in its memory. Like a technician, AUTO - B.L.E. applies a test tone to the tape, then varies the bias current over 64 possible steps. It then scans the tape in playback to determine optimum bias with an accuracy of +/-0.2dB. It sets optimum level and EQ the same way. You get the most out of Metal, Normal, CrO2 and Fe-Cr tapes. And it takes less than 45 seconds. 

To avoid pitch variations the CT-A1 uses a dual capstan mechanism. The "drive" capstan's speed is regulated by a quartz-phase lock loop system that detects any speed variations, and instantly corrects them. Speed drift is less than 0.02% and wow & flutter drops to an amazingly low 0.03% WRMS. The CT-A1 out-performs all other cassette decks, and rivals the best reel-to-reel. Signal to Noise with Dolby on is -70dB. Double Dolby allows you to record with Dolby, while monitoring it with Dolby. The 3-head system with Uni-Crystal Ferrite heads achieves a frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz, -20dB with metal tape. The fluorescent meter gives you 24-segment resolution for easy readings from -30dB to +8dB. Since PIONEER briefly acquired the Phase Linear company this model was available for a short time also as Phase Linear Model 7000 Series Two however these were silver models while the PIONEER models were all black.

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck

cassette deck