![]() The GX(glass permalloy) heads are proprietary to Akai On the right side is logic control PCBĬassette dampening pad to keep stable pressure on the cassette in play back & recording mode Seen here from top view and right side up, is the 3 motor, direct drive cassette mechanism is front, with power supply transformer & regulator board. Surprisingly, it's not copper coated on the inside of the chassis! The bottom end with it's 2 bunkers, on the left in this picture which is up side down, is the audio circuitry, and on the right is the power supply regulator for the audio PCB. So I managed to source a compatible remote from my hifi repair buddy Mr Oh! My search continues for an original matching remote to complete my quest. Alas! this unit came without remote as it was lost by the previous owner in China. ![]() A very quick deal and airfreight saw this unit arrived at my door step 3 weeks later. I was looking around to source for a unit of Akai GX-95 MKII for sometime, then a buddy of mine whom I asked to look out in China found this unit in Foshan, Guangzhou for sale. Doesn't look very good, but functional nevertheless! Somehow, Akai as a audio company faded away shortly after making their best stuff, along with a few other big Japanese brands!Ĭompatible remote sourced from Mr Oh. The top panel with wooden side cheeks visible, typical of Japanese high end audio in the 1990's. The bottom panel is copper coated on the out side, and look at those big, heavy real glazed ceramic feet! The front facia is typical cassette deck design, but good ergonomics The back panel, note the copper coated screws and that funny grey power cord! My unit is a 220V unit from Europe, but somehow ended up in China, and now Malaysia. All this build leads to a rather heavy 10.2kgs cassette deck, 12.2kgs shipping weight, if came together with original packaging foam & box like mine! The back panel has an extra pair of RCA CD direct input for recording, other than the usual input & output. Those metallic Champaign footers are the real deal, where they feature glazed ceramic underneath. Most body screws and the bottom panel are copper coated for EMI/RFI screening purposes. The cassette well door is motorized and can be operated by wireless remote, as per most playback functions. On the outside, the styling is plain classy restraint and functional to boot. With such construction method, the 2U box becomes super stiff, whilst achieving isolation for each circuitry. The bottom left bunker contains power regulator board for audio only circuitry which is located in the bottom right bunker. The top right bunker contains all the operations and logic circuitry. The top left bunker contains the power supply transformer & power supply board behind the cassette mechanism. Each bunker or compartment houses different sections of circuitry for best possible isolation. It feature 4 bunkers inside the 2U all metal box, yep just built like the Yamato class battleship. Let's look at the build quality, it's as luxurious as cassette decks comes, with that brutish, big and bold body in all satin black aluminum facia and side wood cheeks. Then in 1991, Akai gave it a MKII facelift, with a slight improvement to specifications. The original GX-95, a 3 head, 3 motor, dual capstan closed loop designed with real time recording monitor function as most top dog models do, was developed by Akai to be a Nakamichi killer in 1988, so to speak, and Akai made it the best they could muster, in every way possible. As part of the Akai Reference Master series components, the line up also includes a matching CD player, tuner & integrated amp. In my exploration, I came across this Akai GX-95 MKII model, which was made between 1991-1993 and available only in Japan, Europe and US markets. And if you've been reading this blog, you'll notice my craze for cassette decks lately! My hifi appetite can be insatiable! There is always an aspiration for top tier stuff if I am ever serious about something. Akai GX-95 MKII cassette deck, it's big, bold, yet luxurious
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