19 December 2025

AKAI UC-4 (1982) | Mr. Compo

 

AKAI UC-4 (1982) mini hifi system

"This time's Mister is very sexy. A supple body with hidden power. Digital-inspired looks. He exudes the air of an urban man. And what's more, he's quite the technician. He approaches with a vibrating voice. He plays through the tape and picks out his favorite songs. His sensitivity is of course superb. It's no wonder women fall in love with him. Even men admire him. What a hateful playboy. Akai's Mr. Combo, UC-4." - that's how Akai marketing introduced this...sexy little mini Hi-Fi, the UC-4 from 1982. The tuner of this system uses a highly accurate quartz PLL synthesizer tuning method, also allowing you to preset 10 FM and 10 AM stations. What's more, when combined with the dedicated timer, you can even record two or more stations. The cassette deck is equipped with IPLS (Instant Program Location System = next track search), a self-starting mechanism that lets you listen to the current song again from the beginning, skip to the next song, and enjoy other flexible play. Naturally, metal tape is also supported. It also boasts a high power output of 52W + 52W and a built-in MC and MM head-up function. The sound of this two-way system has a "truly room filing sound". It's safe to say that this goes far beyond the conventional notion of a mini component system. Shown components are: UC-U4 stereo integrated amplifier, UC-S4 FM-stereo tuner, UC-F3 stereo cassette deck, SW-N5 2-way speaker system, DT-4 timer unit and FM stereo indoor antenna. Next step on quality ladder was the top-of-the-line, the AKAI UC-5.

Looking for more? Head to 1001hifi.com for everything vintage audio.

AKAI UC-4 (1982) mini hifi system