AKAI GX-625 Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck Review and Specifications
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AKAI GX-625 Manufacturer's Description
Hi-Fi Performance
Continuous innovation is the kernel of Akai's success. Follow the Akai's lead to a new concept in open reel decks and enjoy a deck which takes care of playback for you automatically. The automatic playback system newly developed for the GX-625 gives you a new route to easy, relaxed playback of any section from the very first note. Such accuracy has been impossible to date because of the very rapid rewind speed necessitated by the length of open reel tapes, and 10½" ones in particular. Working in conjunction with a new digital tape counter, repeat, playback, memory autoplay and stop are all possible with this deck. A press of a button converts the tape counter indicator into a digital timer which indicates the amount of tape used in hours, minutes, and seconds up to 2 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.
Unlike more conventional decks, the Akai GX-625 has an electronic brake controlled by a microcomputer type processor which is activated to slow the speed of rewind prior to the mechanical brake stopping the tape at the desired position. This novel device protects your tapes and ensures that playback will always begin at the very beginning of a selection. Add to these new features the benefits of Akai technology and you will admit that this is a deck that the most discerning of audio buffs itch to try it.
AKAI GX-625 Features
The Digital Timer Explained
The red LED display on the AKAI GX-625 is more than a simple tape counter. The system can operate as both a conventional tape counter and a digital elapsed-time display. By pressing the MIN/SEC button, the display converts reel movement into an approximate running time shown in hours, minutes and seconds.
According to the owner's manual, the timer can display up to 2 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds of tape usage. The feature was designed to help users locate recordings more easily and worked in conjunction with the GX-625's memory and repeat playback functions.
AKAI even provided recommended tape settings for different tape brands and formulations to improve timer accuracy. While not perfectly precise, the system represented a surprisingly sophisticated attempt to bring cassette-style convenience to open reel recording.
Automatic Playback Memory System
One of the more advanced features of the AKAI GX-625 is its automatic playback memory system. While many reel-to-reel machines of the period included a basic tape counter, the GX-625 integrates the counter with electronic transport controls to create a much more useful playback aid.
Users can store a tape position using the memory function and then instruct the machine to automatically rewind to that location. The GX-625 uses a combination of electronic braking and microprocessor-controlled transport logic to slow the reels before the mechanical brakes are applied. This reduces overshoot and allows the tape to return to a selected point with impressive accuracy.
The system can also be used with the repeat playback function. Once a position has been memorised, the GX-625 can repeatedly return to that location and begin playback again, making it useful for language study, music practice, transcription work or repeatedly auditioning a favourite passage of music.
Looking back from a modern perspective, this feature was surprisingly sophisticated for a consumer reel-to-reel recorder. It demonstrates how AKAI was combining traditional analogue recording technology with increasingly advanced electronic control systems during the late 1970s.
Curator's Notes
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