NEW LISTING
9/19/07
(Click on above thumbnails to
enlarge photos)
warranty
AKAI
MODEL GX-260D
GX260D
PLAYBACK ONLY DECK!
4-TRACK STEREO / 2-CHANNEL
3-HEAD /
3-MOTOR / 2-SPEED
AUTO-REVERSE*
REEL TO
REEL R2R
1/4" TAPE DECK
SOLD 1/3/08
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NEW LISTING 10/26/12
(Click on above thumbnails to enlarge photos)
warranty
AKAI 1/4" REEL-TO-REEL STEREO TAPE DECK GX-260D / GX260D
#...1134 (black VU meters)
4-TRACK / 2-CHANNEL
2-SPEED / 6-HEAD
AUTO-REVERSE
5"* - 7" REEL CAPACITY
"WORLD
AC POWER"
™
Circa
1973-76
SOLD 11/28/12
SHIPPING TO CALIFORNIA
We've been 'sitting' on this deck along with a few other 'difficult
/ performance critical' decks for a few years now, waiting until we
had a technician with sufficient skills to 'do them justice' and
realize their top potential performance. Sure we have been able to
do more 'bread-n-butter' decks for years, such as Akai 150 / 210 /
1700 / 1800 / 4000 series, Sony TC-100, 300 & 300 series, Teac
A-4010 / 6010 series, Pioneer RT-707's and 909's (yes, great looking
and darn good performing decks, but I hate to 'burst your bubble',
but while they have proven to be a 'durable' design 30 years after
they were discontinued, they're no where near the best performing
decks as R2R's go, sorry) and others, but chose not to 'tackle'
these. Well, now by a stroke of luck, we have 'him'. Our 'new to us'
technician is able to really 'do justice' to decks such as this.
Yes, he's expensive and it's time consuming, but AS ALWAYS, we are
striving for TOP quality and not for 'cheap'. If you want 'cheap'
there are plenty of 'as found' decks out there to 'roll the dice'
on. Our new technician spent much of the 1970's managing the service
department of the famous Pacific Stereo chain, then on to their
'Recycle Audio' division. Heck, the guy even 'co-invented' the
optical mouse (you're probably using one right now). He's our guy to
restore decks such as this!
Our
technician has completely gone through and 'Certified'
this unit.
We have completely and
extensively gone through the mechanicals and electronics of this
unit. Entire transport was disassembled down to the chassis, and
every mechanical part was cleaned, re-lubed and reassembled.
Flywheel was removed, cleaned and reinstalled with silicone lube on
flywheel thrust plate bearing. The capstan was burnished, heads have
been cleaned and de-magnetized as well as the entire transport.
Again, the entire transport assembly was painstakingly disassembled,
cleaned and re-lubed as well as the always at issue, 'Pinch Roller
swing arm' assembly. 'Auto-Stop' mechanism disassembled and re-lubed
with fresh 300,000 silicon damping fluid. Also hub brakes have been
cleaned, re-lubed, and adjusted on fast wind modes also. Rewind
'back tension' adjusted. Motor 'start / run' capacitors checked.
Voltage selector set for correct North American AC current at
117-120VAC. All internal pots / controls cleaned in both the
playback amplifier, record amplifiers and the built-in 'audio' amp
and tested for noise-free function. New VU meter and direction
indicator illumination lamps / bulbs installed. Both spindles were
completely disassembled, cleaned and had their bearings / bushings
cleaned and re-lubed and are in perfect alignment. Main Drive and
counter belts replaced for trouble-free service. Rubber pinch roller
was removed, cleaned & reconditioned. We also adjusted the reel
table heights. Tape heads and entire transports demagnetized.
Heads in Like New shape as well, with many hundreds of hours of
performance left in them and head alignment / azimuth has been
checked for peak performance on both play and record heads with
factory STL 30Hz, 50Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz, 500Hz, 1k, 2.5k, 5k, 7.5k,
10k, 12k & 15k as well as 700Hz 'reference' tones thru an
oscilloscope and with a dBm meter and were charted (we
have the full L&R, Forward and Reverse, Normal and 'High Bias'
results charted and available to the purchaser, but too much typing
to display here as it's over 100 documented results). Suffice
to say, this unit Plays and Records INCREDIBLY WELL starting with
the following results using 'High-Bias' tape, from 200Hz with -1dB &
from 0dB to +1dB 1k to 15kHz!!! We further tested it at
-1.5dB @ 20kHz and -5dB at 35kHz. YES, you read that right! All the
way to 35kHz. AND the above results were referenced at '0' dB on the
meters, not the typical and EASY -20dB!
Both PB output levels and VU meters playback internally adjusted for
even response. Floor noise measured at 0.4mVAC at idle and 1.7mVAC
with blank tape in play mode. (Akai GX-260D's do have a DC surge
/ thump at turn-on, by design, so keep the volume on your amp /
receiver down or off, or speakers 'Off' during power-up sequence.)
We really put them through the paces, testing both with well mixed,
recently recorded CD material and CD recorded / factory test tones
looking for correct head Azimuth and speed accuracy). Pinch roller
and heads all in GREAT condition. Speed tested / checked to 98.4% accuracy utilizing
'Institute of High Fidelity' test tape. Following electro/mechanical
restoration, unit received a cosmetic cleaning / detailing. There
are a couple of chips to the side panel Formica, but nothing too
distracting (see above photos). Overall looks fine.
Entire unit looks, works and sounds GREAT!
(Total time investment in refurb / testing ~ 16+ hours).
Pinch roller and heads all in GREAT condition!!!
____________________________
GREAT performing Akai GX-260D 1/4" Open Reel stereo tape deck! Great
for all-around Playback and especially recording of reels up to 7"
in diameter. This deck has some very 'sonic specific' features, and
while it would make a great deck for burning your tapes to CD or
Hard Drive or for a 'media transfer business', we hope it will go to
someone who will utilize and appreciate it's incredible recording
capabilities. Some of the aspects that make it 'stand above the
crowd' for recording,
“The
core of GX heads is comprised of a single crystallized element “single
crystal ferrite” which has proved far superior to ‘poly-ferrite’
in that there are no minute ‘composite particles’ to eventually
separate and cause head gap damage (wear). This is why Akai heads
are famously said to ‘NOT WEAR OUT’. 
Center Capstan Drive – Most Auto Reverse decks, (and frankly,
most ‘single direction decks’) place the PR/Capstan drive assembly
asymmetrically. This creates ‘un-even’ drag and friction on the tape
as it travels it’s path. One the GX-260D, the PR / Cap is situated
symmetrically in the center of identical head clusters, with an even
amount of flanking contact points. This greatly reduces tape
friction, which not only ensure identical performance in both
directions, but contributes greatly to the models incredibly low
‘Wow & Flutter’ (check the specs @ 0.06%!).
Also, as the heads are stationary, normal ‘head misalignment’
issues common with many ‘auto-reverse’ decks are not an issue on the
GX-260D.
As a further testament to the quality of Akai’s motors, Akai
was originally a manufacturer of motors in Japan before entering the
'tape deck' business. They had the ‘motor thing’ down!"
Akai GX-260D Reel to Reel Tape Recorder Features include:
- Glass-Xtal Ferrite Heads (virtually will never wear out)
- Symmetrically designed Pinch Roller / Capstan tape path
- Dual speeds at 7.5 ips / 19cms & 3 3/4ips / 9.5 cms
- 6-Head function (4 heads function as 6) for instant monitoring of
tape levels / record quality while recording and allow 'movement
free' auto-reverse
- Triple-Mode Auto-Reverse
- Bi-Directional Recording
- Solenoid assist, 'Touch Tape Transport' controls
- 'Echo' effect function (can be used as a 'tape delay' for guitar
or vocals)
- 5*" / 7" Reel Capacity (*compatible with standard 4-Track /
2-Channel tape format)
- Separate L & R input level and microphone controls
- 'Mic / Line' mixing capabilities allow microphone / musical
instruments to be mixed in with 'Line' signals to record yourself
'performing / playing along with the incoming signals'
- Variable output level control (rear located)
- Auto-Stop
- Dual analog VU meters for monitoring Playback and Record levels
- ENDLESS S.O.S. (Sound-On-Sound) capable w/ independent L & R
record engage switches
- S.W.S (Sound-with-Sound) capable w/ independent L & R record
engage switches
- Dual front mounted 1/4" mic input jacks
- 1/4" Stereo Headphone jack with dual output level selector
- Mechanical Tape counter
- Built-in Reel / Hub locks (no need for rubber reel retainers)
- RCA and DIN inputs and outputs
-True
WORLD AC
POWER
™
allows unit to be operated on 50 or 60 Hz AC and will select
voltages from 110v, 120v, 220v and 240 volts AC input.
Original Akai
GX-260D Specifications:
Track
system:
4-track 2-channel stereo/monaural system
Reel Capacity: Up to 7”
Heads (4
(6)):
Two GX recording / erase combo heads (Akai RE4-5) and two GX
Playback heads (Akai P4-202)
Tape Speed:
3 ¾,
and 7 ½ Inches Per Second (+/- 1% @ 3.75ips (again, we tested this
deck after our refurbishment at 1k=.998, which is 0.2% - 5 times
more accurate than original spec!)
Motor (3):
One 4/8-pole, self-lubricating ‘Hysteresis Synchronous’ capstan
drive motor and two ‘eddy-current’, ‘outer-rotor’ reel motors
Wow & Flutter:
<0.06%
RMS @ 7.5 ips (2.5 times better than the GX-4000D!)
<0.1% RMS @ 3-3/4 ips
(2
times better than the GX-4000D!)
Frequency Response:
30-26,000 Hz
± 3db at 7 ½ IPS (w/ extended range tape)
30-20,000
Hz ±
3db at 3 ¾ IPS (w/ extended range tape)
30-23,000 Hz ± 3db at 7 ½ IPS (w/ normal tape)
30-18,000
Hz ±
3db at 3 ¾ IPS (w/ normal tape)
Distortion :
<
1.2% at 1kHz & 0 VU
S/N:
>57 db @ 7.5 ips (7 dB better than the GX-4000D)
Input Levels:
Mic -
>0.3 mv @ 4.7k Ohms
Line -
>50-60 mv @ 150k Ohms
DIN –
0.5V(high) / 25-30mV (low)
Output Levels:
1.23V / (+4dB) @/
100 Ohms utilizing a recorded level of '0' dB on th e VU meters
Erase Ratio: >65 dB.
Cross
talk:
>60dB
mono & >45dB stereo
Record Bias
Freq:
100khz +/- 5%
Fast Wind Times:
66-75 seconds using 1200 feet tape (2.7+ times faster than the
GX-4000 series)
Following the above stated bench work / testing,
our technician has 'Certified'
this deck and it is an great performer sonically and
mechanically.Again this deck has had EXTENSIVE restoration by our 'magician'
technician and is now a great performer sonically and mechanically.
It's pretty much had the clock rolled back 40 years on it. Looks
great & Ready to go! Best for playback but we hope will see plenty
of 'Recording' action due to the superior level of quality it
'finalized at' following restoration. Again, while GREAT for burning
your tapes to CD or Hard Drive, for a 'media transfer business', for
library archiving / researching / revisiting your tapes we hope it
will be used in an 'audiophile' system to make some fabulous
recordings. We had a blast revisiting some of our old tapes during
final testing with this unit. Can include a pdf 'e' copy of the Akai
GX-260D brochure, and owners manual. Includes our standard 90 day
limited warranty. Measures 18.6" wide x 9" deep x 17.5" tall and
weighs 46 lbs unpacked.
(Reels
& tape shown in photos not included. All are sometimes available
separately depending on stock levels.)
AKAI GX-260D REEL TO REEL TAPE DECK
Cond. 8.2
SOLD 11/28/12
SHIPPING TO CALIFORNIA
(Above text property of
www.oaktreevintage.com / Oak Tree Enterprises, LLC. See 'Copyright
Information' page for details)
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