Aiwa AD-1800 Stereo Cassette Deck

This Aiwa AD-1800 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B and DNL noise reduction, it was first sold by Aiwa in 1976 with a list price of USD $450 and discontinued 2 years later in 1978.

The main features of the Aiwa AD-1800 are: 2 heads, mechanical 3 digit tape counter and memory stop, manual tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and ferro-chrome tapes (automatic for chrome tapes), belt driven single-capstan transport.

Typical of this deck is the 70's top loading layout with the cassette compartiment located on the left side of the deck. Tape eject is operated mechanically and the cassette needs to be placed with the side to be played facing forward in the cassette well.

Level meters used on the AD-1800 are analog needle VU reading meters with peak indicator for easy adjustment of optimum recording level. Mechanical transport controls for reliable AD-1800 transport function selection. Cue and review can be used to easily and quickly locate the beginning of a passage.

The Dolby-B system reduces tape hiss on tapes recorded on the AD-1800 by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. Unlike the various Dolby systems, which require encoding and decoding, the Dynamic noise limiter (DNL) used by Aiwa in the AD-1800 works on playback only and reduces noise by as much as 10 dB.

To make live recordings this deck has 2 microphone inputs to connect microphones with a jack connector. For undisturbed listening a jack connector for a pair of stereo headphones is supplied. Connection to other audio components for plaback can be achieved by a RCA cable and recording from a source by a RCA cable.

• Ferrite Guard Head