TEAC A-860 Stereo Cassette Deck

This TEAC A-860 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B and DBX noise reduction, it was first sold by TEAC in 1976 with a manufacturer suggested retail price of USD $1,750 and discontinued a year later.

The main features of the TEAC A-860 are: 3 heads and off-tape monitoring, mechanical 3 digit tape counter and memory stop, manual tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and ferro-chrome tapes with additional manual equalization selection, belt driven dual-capstan transport.

Typical front loading cassette deck with the cassette compartiment located on the right 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 A-860 are analog needle VU reading meters. Full-logic transport controls used on the A-860 let it respond to the slightest finger contact for fast and effortless transport function selection. Playback speed may be adjusted with pitch control. Cue 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 A-860 by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. Dbx Type II found in the A-860 is a simplified version of the Type I noise reduction system. The dbx Type II system was designed to be used with systems with limited bandwidth such as cassette based recorders and also uses a simple 2:1:2 compander to reduce noise. 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 A-860 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.