The Pioneer CT-A9 was introduced in September 1983 and it's production continued up to 1986 with the "D" version. With this deck Pioneer introduced it's own designed mechanism, the Z Mechanism (quickly renamed as "Reference Master Mechanism"). This is a staggered-resonance closed-loop dual-capstan drive for uniform tape tension and smooth tape running that eliminates dropouts, modulation noise and level variations. The capstan motor is a Quartz-PLL servo direct-drive DC motor that can achieve an ultra-low wow and flutter of 0.018% (WRMS). The Ribbon Sendust recording and playback heads are mounted on a pressure-diecast zinc support of extremely low tolerance. The mechanism is controlled by a 4-bit micro-computer. For optimum results with any tape the CT-A9 features Pioneer's own auto-tape calibration system, the AUTO-BLE. With a large 35 segment FL display the Pioneer CT-A9 was available in both silver and black versions. The black version usually was presented with vinyl-covered side panels in simulated rosewood grain.
