Nakamichi 481 Discrete Head Cassette Deck

This Nakamichi 481 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B noise reduction, it was first sold by Nakamichi in 1979 with a recommended retail price of USD $655 and discontinued 2 years later in 1981.

The main features of the Nakamichi 481 are: 3 discrete heads and no off-tape monitoring to save production cost, mechanical 3 digit tape counter, manual tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and metal tapes with additional manual equalization selection, belt driven dual-capstan transport.

Typical front loading cassette deck 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 which is opened by a damped mechanism. Additionally the compartement can be accessed easly for head cleaning by removing the well-cover.

Level meters used on the 481 are analog needle VU reading meters. Soft-touch controls for fast and easy transport function selection of the 481.

The Dolby-B system reduces tape hiss on tapes recorded on the 481 by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. The 19kHz multiplex pilot slgnal present in FM stereo broadcasts can cause false triggering of the noise reduction system. The switchable MPX filter of the 481 filters out the pilot signal, and assuring proper Dolby processing of FM stereo programs.

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. All main transport commands can be issued remotely with a wired remote control.

• Diffused-Resonance Transport
• IC Logic
• Non-Resonant Chassis
• Pressure pad lifter
• Double Capstan
• Silent Mechanism
• Discrete 3-Head Technology
• Asymmetrical Dual Capstans