Akai GX-F95 3 Head Cassette Deck - Unboxing and quick test

In this video I unbox and do a quick test of an Akai GX-F95 cassette deck, to make sure it survived shipping and is as described.
If you're looking for the finest selection of NOS blank cassettes, then go to my website:
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[@martyjewell5683]

Never had this model. My girl bought me the GX-f31 model for christmas in 1983. Loved the wide range, two color meters and record cancel features. Had the f31 for over twenty five years before it died. Recorded a lotta stuff from my local NYC rock station, WNEW-FM, 102.7 in it's heyday during the 1980's. A great looking machine this GX-f95. My main deck now is a Denon DRM800A in excellent condition picked up cheap for $125. Nothing like a TOTL cassette deck for great recording and listening pleasure. Nice video.

[@pcorf]

Good old TDK SA90, a cassette that sounded great (very balanced) and worked superbly on all decks. I have an unopened SA60 from 1982.

[@bosscat4379]

Beautiful deck, love the 80's akai styling too.

[@CassetteComeback]

Looks like a piece of military equipment to me.

[@eiknarfmaharba221]

Lovely beautiful cassette deck. Bring it back. We love this stuff

[@Shifter-1040ST]

I used to have a big, bulky Akai reel to reel machine back in the 80s. Loved that thing. Very solid build.

[@CassetteComeback]

This is built like a tank...

[@jammasterj13]

Gorgeous deck. Sounds so vibrant and alive!!!

[@luthiercremona]

What a lovely cassette deck!!!!Beautiful!!!Sparkling sound!!!

[@R---66---R]

In the 70's my love for AKAI started. This japanese brand made stuff that grabbed me seriously by the throat...wanted it so badly...and I did/worked for it, until I could spend the valuable pennies on the GX-F35 and went on with the AM U-02 and AT-K03 (still remember the different types right now...amazing). A complete set and finished it all off with BNS speakers and Sennheiser HD headphones. It was magic/AKAI was always at the forefront of developing magical stuff and it still works, now, some 40+ years later! Thanks for this!

[@RetroCore]

Awesome deck. That motorised bottom lid is lovely. I'm a sucker for anything motorised. Even motorised volume nobs still make me smile ☺️. It just shouts out quality.

[@tonygarrett7214]

I’ve just come across your channel and am very impressed. I’ve been an ardent fan of the cassette medium fo 50 years. I still use daily a Sony CF 420L that I purchased in 1973. My system deck is a Denon DRM - 550. Please keep up your excellent work!

[@jovegairy8409]

omg this deck is a hell of a deck and it looks sweet. That's a beast right there! Luv it!!

[@xray111xxx]

I liked this Akai. I am glad you showed us Tony. Nice. I think these are getting rarer than rare. This is before Akai got absorbed by Diatone. Finances were not kind to Akai. Mismanagement killed this wonderful riding the wave company. I grew up with Akai. My Dad and his Dad had them. Saburo Akai would be proud to see his machines still loved by us. Now gone forever in 2002, these are the finest of a legacy that is no more. Like fine wines or Champagne you get just once. Tony you should get one of these. Epic machines. Nakamichi, Tandberg Studer Revox B&O and more were at the party fighting hard to earn your money. I have my eye on a Technics RS-M280. I need that like a hole in the head. Not smart, yeah I know, but I love my tape machines. My Teac X7 reel to reel is my go to for Reel to Reel tape. I don't need a big 10.5 NAB machine. This suits me just fine. Tape doesn't die if you and all of us do our part to hear, love it, and live it. Everyday!

[@watershed44]

@Vincent Chen Good to mention the founder of Akai. Like many of the big names the character of the products back then was pretty heavily influenced by the company founders, from audio products to cars and everything in between in Japan. There wasn't much "design by committee" back then, sadly it is the normal way of things there today.

[@CassetteComeback]

Nicely said. Yeah, the start, when passion was the driving force, not profit. You can still buy Akai cassette decks here...in name only. Underneath they just the usual crap Chinese stuff.

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

Hi my names Tony and I'm a cassette-deck-aholic. All of us tape nerds, hi Tony. That's a rad deck.👍👍

[@Fluteboy]

"Eee I'm on about.... three decks a week now pal, bur'I can handle it! Just a bit of negative bias, that's all!"

[@CassetteComeback]

😆

[@muhammadshafqatnawaz9022]

I need a cassette recorder which can record from cassette to cassette .

[@killmore75]

@@muhammadshafqatnawaz9022 What?

[@izziOnBass]

@@muhammadshafqatnawaz9022 You need a double well deck, where you can put dub master to the empty cassette. I used to do that in early 90s with the home player.

[@ApolosaCakau]

3:18 The way you giggle a little when you open the control cover 😆😅 , love this Akai!

[@ElectoneGuy]

Nice deck Tony. Akai made excellent cassette decks, especially the GX series.

[@russellmontielmontojo1974]

i love it i miss using cassette radios.i still collect cassette tapes

[@lazycalm41]

I have always loved Akai tape decks ( I have 3 myself) But have never seen this model before. That is a really lovely looking machine and is obviously high spec. Fabulous!

[@ychesnokov]

What a nice peace of equipment. thanks for the review!!

[@victorinborsciov6817]

I had GX-F91 back in 81 but this F95 is a dream, to my knowledge it was made by Mitsubishi. In the class of Technics RS-M95 and JVC DD9 but F95 is the one I missed, cheers bro!

[@chachavessel]

Mitsubishi, interesting. I didn't know that. I still have a GX-F80

[@giuseppedimauro7723]

Akai ha prodotto grandi macchine , ho un Akai gx-95 mk2 che ha un suono eccellente tridimensionale, completo, con una gamma alta nitida e cristallina !

[@JoeOrber]

Wow, I’m 3 years late, but what a beautiful deck! Subscribed, and just ordered a bunch of cool NOS tapes on your site! Thank you for sharing this fantastic content, keep up the great work 😊

[@mdavid1955]

I service many cassette decks in my "youthful electronic technician" days. The shop that I worked at was an Akai warranty service provider. Akai made some excellent cassette decks,, especially the ones with the GX tape heads..

[@richardbrobeck2384]

they sure did I also had shop here in the states and I worked on Akai equipment from cassettes to VCRS back in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s I service a lot Pioneer and Sony and Akai and Kenwood

[@mdavid1955]

@@richardbrobeck2384 I've repaired just about every major brand of stereo equipment , including VCR's, turntables, tape decks,amps, receivers,etc. in my youth. It's a lost art now and there is no money to made with most of it.. Most home entertainment equipment is designed to be disposable now. :-( exceptions would be items like big screen TVs, high end audio)

[@windyhoop62]

Fantastic deck & so well engineered! 👍

[@arthurfraguas]

Hi Tony! This is awesome this Akai is a beast! Congratulations for the new acquisition!

[@CassetteComeback]

But it's not mine...

[@arthurfraguas]

@@CassetteComeback Thought it was, but ok! Was great to see this beauty in action!

[@mapp4751]

ANOTHER beautiful and rare deck to add to the collection! Cheers!

[@CassetteComeback]

It's not mine 😁

[@iRepairElectronics]

very nice machine. i'd love to get inside it and have look around. Akai really made some great gear back then in the 80's

[@ttheone3518]

Looks really nice! I would really like to record some early 80s new wave on it if i could. Fit’s perfectly into that era!

[@alanaugustto456]

Very cool test Akai deck!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@rushyashringa]

Very fascinating, I still love to have tape decks

[@DaXande135]

A review of a cassette deck. Very nice!

[@alexford5214]

Owned that deck from 87' to about 97'. Amazing unit. I got it from a pawn shop for about $200 and that was a lot back then, for a used deck. Used to compare it to my Luxman K03

[@seacampal1425]

This deck can reaches up to 72 db on Dolby B!! This is a record at the time. My Nakamichi bx-300 need Dolby C to obtain this level of signal to noise.

[@Johand1985]

What a beauty

[@nodefour]

Always always always wanted one of these when I was younger :)

[@shakcohen4302]

Nice, always had very good results from the Akai decks I used to own

[@mbvideoselection]

You lucky chugger! I've always wanted one of those! This would go well with my GX-77 open reel deck from around the same time.

[@JozeatTxb]

Brilliant fun you are having👍.. Used to use decks for studio recording years back, because couldn't afford a 4-tracker, woe onto you if the tape got 'eaten'.

[@watershed44]

@Cassette Comeback *LOVE THIS CASSETTE DECK REVIEW!* Back when Made In Japan meant Quality! Love all the REAL brushed aluminum trim panels and it wouldn't be 80s Japanese electronics without the extra details and motorized control panel! I hope the new owner enjoys his new OLD deck. Thanks Tony, appreciate it!

[@jasejj]

Made in Japan still does mean quality. Problem is there isn't much made there any more. The industrial stuff is as good as it ever was.

[@watershed44]

@@jasejj I should have clarified that when it comes to consumer grade products the quality for the past 25 years is nowhere near as good as it was back in the late 70s through the late 80s even made in Japan items. I agree that professional and industrial items are still good, not quite as outstanding as they were back then though. Back in the late 70s through the late 80s to early 90s most high level consumer electronics like these were almost as good as the professional grade equipment, I was a teen back then so I remember pretty well even then as a kid I was amazed at just how great the quality was, even mid grade consumer audio components were still excellent most of the time. Solidly built, with a lot of metal, alum, made to last a long time with great specs too.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I also have two reel-to-reel machines that are made in Japan including the Akai 1721W, and my Concord 220 which was a 2-track mono reel-to-reel tape recorder and the amp chassis was made by Matsushita, the company that made Panasonic with all Japanese components. The Concord 220 has a typical amp with a vacuum tube and 2 Transistors in one.

[@ediionescu8424]

Amazing Akay ,love ,love love !

[@pikpen1433]

Just adopted one of these, original box, both doors, manual, original invoice purchased here in Canada in 81 for $1480.00!! That's $4171 today according to the inflation calculator. The play/rew/ffw ... buttons are not responding but play is still operational. Such a beautiful piece. I opted for the Pioneer CT-F1250 in 82. I was young and was swayed by the brushed aluminum, doorless front load and those flouroscan meters. Purchased with my University Grant. My priorities are still somewhat skewed. Not regrettably however. Just upgraded my MGIIIa to 3.7i. Life is good.

[@Lanae8199]

Wow is this deck really that old?

[@CandyAppleBlue]

What a nice looking deck!

[@nsw9154]

my first proper Cassette Deck i bought was a AKAI GX-325D that had 3 Heads & Dual Capstans it was a nice Deck but it was a Top Loader i bought that in 1976 i only changed it because i wanted one of the Newer Front Loading Cassette Decks with adjustable bios so i got a SONY TCK-81 in 1981 and i still have that lol

[@martyjewell5683]

Hey norman, was a time when there was only top loading cassette machines available. My first deck in 1974 was a Pioneer CT-f2121. Cut my "recording teeth" on that deck.

[@RightWing1]

Oh that is one hell of a beautiful deck

[@SuperBanana45]

thats a beautiful deck , i have a technics 90s deck which i hardly ever use but it works great and i will never get rid off it

[@stephencutler6289]

I've just bought an excellent Yamaha Double cassette deck KXW 232 and love it. I wish I had more tapes though.

[@kevinwicks007]

Yet another good video from you sir every time I watch you or listen to you I keep thinking it’s Vic Reeves so I’m always smiling as I’m listening don’t take that the wrong way I love it......Kev.

[@CassetteComeback]

You wouldn't let it lie! 😆

[@struspedzisraczka7853]

WOW!! Electrically closed flap !!. Solid machine.

[@dougbergen8157]

Nice too see some good decks. Thx

[@Musicradio77Network]

BTW, the cassette you see at 4:19 is a TDK SA from about 1992 or so, and this is the same cassette as it was used in “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York”. I have two of them which I got a few weeks ago along with the rest of my cassette haul. I called this TDK SA, the official “Home Alone” cassette.

[@LapisandHamtarolover]

*Bad Guys Saying They'll Kill Me*

[@LapisandHamtarolover]

These were also in 1992 with the newer blue and gold printings on the same shell instead of the white printings in European markets.

[@MrJuanschen]

lovely deck, congrat!!

[@johnmarchington3146]

It looked like a nice deck to me and seemed to work well.

[@otomobilmece]

So pretty design....looks more 70's than 80's deck by the colour....magnificent garment

[@MHzTweaker]

1981

[@watershed44]

True that bronze like brown color was very popular all the way through the early 80s. Panasonic and Technics liked to use it too.

[@BilisNegra]

And this is how one of Tony's most casual videos gets the most views. Life is disconcertingly weird.

[@Ale.K7]

Gorgeous deck.

[@gabrielcortes4965]

beautiful stuff thank you

[@jovegairy8409]

geez look at this deck. it looks decked out and luvin it! Its Lit! Turned Up!!!! Whaaaaa!

[@seand67]

NICE purchase

[@Rompler_Rocco]

What a beauty!!! 😍 Always wanted one, but is it true that unique parts make Akai decks especially difficult to maintain?

[@Rick_Todd]

Best Unboxing Ever.

[@CassetteComeback]

You need to watch more un-boxings 😂

[@rudyrabbit]

Didn’t know they made them in black. Thought I had the only black one, as I had it anodized to match my other components. It is a beautiful machine. A “poor man’s” 1000 ZXL.

[@f16pilotjumper]

That display area looks like it's bulletproof with that super thick piece of acrylic

[@wrestletube1]

The quality of that 3 head sound and that sexy long VU Meter probably has you tempted.

[@thisisnev]

That was better packed than my JVC KD-A55, which arrived wedged into a flimsy cardboard box with no packing whatsoever... I feared the worst, but it didn't have a scratch on it and (after a quick once-over with the head demagnetiser - always a good idea) it worked fine. They built them well 40 years ago!

[@watershed44]

@thisisnev The Japanese companies built these things to last a very long time. The peak of durability and quality was probably from the late 70s until the late 80s for most of the well known big names.

[@kanwaljitsingh8710]

Nice deck 👍👍

[@MHzTweaker]

Wow, nice one. I got me one just like it from a bloke over in the U.K. Small world.

[@CassetteComeback]

Uncanny. I bet it looked identical to this 😁

[@philipmorrisphilip]

My Sony cassette tape sterio already not functioning well.. can I purchase or buy new one cassette tape player from you ? How can I get it ? Thanks

[@oldgamecafe]

Beautiful machine.

[@andrewmorgan6734]

That Akai deck is gorgeous. I like the slate gray color of the deck it would match my NAD 3155 amplifier. It's pretty difficult find tape decks that make match my NAD amp besides other NAD tape decks.

[@ioanniskatramados7586]

Always wanted one....

[@CassetteComeback]

Keep checking online, pay the price, and one can be yours 😁

[@josesamayoa6010]

Excellent deck

[@rizmid]

Awesome Beast!!

[@DUOCAPRICORNS]

a really impressive toy

[@revokdaryl1]

The only thing better than a cassette deck is a reel to reel machine! These are awesome though and this beauty is in great shape!

[@FLH3official]

Always interesting as usual, Mr Comeback. BTW do you ever sell from time to time some of your decks in your collection, some duplicate?

[@CassetteComeback]

Not really. I don't buy duplicate decks, except for Duplicator purposes 😁

[@trumjohannsmancave]

What a beast!!😍😍😍

[@alanruine5946]

Had the GX 95 (NO F) great machine. Slightly different. It has the polished wooden end cheecks and an electric door mechanism if I remember right.

[@EricAndrich]

Cool video i love my Tapes, i am recording mixtapes sins 2004, so i have 213 tapes, 3 tape decks, 11 walkmen....its the best hobby, bought a brand new Panasonic rq sx 59....i'm sooooo happy, i have left a abo for you, sorry for my bad english, greetings from germany ☺️

[@georgedaju945]

So do I, I have a few Akai cassette decks, and a few hundred cassettes, and I'm glad someone has the same as me! CS-F14, DX 49, GX 52, GX 67 two, Pioneer CT 747 MKII two, Onkyo Integra TA 2570 two, Onkyo Integra TA 2550.

[@mrnmrn1]

Tony, it's official, you infected me, I just bought my first 3 head deck! It's a lowly Sony TC-K511S with the dreaded TCM-190 mechanism, but normally I can't afford even that level, it was just a bargain buy which I *had* to make. The deck looks to be in decent cosmetic condition based on the pictures, it powers up, but no tape transport. Obviously needs new belts, and it most probably has the notorious broken gear syndrome of the TCM-190 mech. The deck cost $20. Yes, twenty bucks, I think it's really peanuts for a 3 head deck with manual calibration and Dolby S. It's not dual capstan, but that can be an advantage, as I heard dual capstan is a good thing only in really high-end decks, the midrange double capstan decks can put way too much stress on the tapes, stretching and damaging them, someone says you shouldn't use longer then 60 min tapes in those midrange dual capstan decks, like the big brother of my deck, the TC-K711S. I can't wait getting my new toy, but I have to calm down, it's not good to count your chickens before they hatch, I cross my fingers that it's repairable at all, without buying a complete donor machine, which would probably never happen, at least not in the near future, this deck for this price is really a rare bargain... I don't even know what is the condition of the head, it might be worn out, what would be quite a show stopper. Keep up the great work! PS: Have you considered making a video about the different Dolby (and perhaps other) noise reduction systems? I've never used Dolby, because all of my decks only had Dolby B, which I was not pleased with, it messes too much with the high frequencies. Dolby S seems very decent though. You said in some of your videos (I think it was you...), that you don't use Dolby S, because only one of your decks supports it, so you can't play Dolby-S recordings in your other machines. I've read in some places, including Wikipedia, that Dolby S is supposedly playback compatible with Dolby B, by the means a Dolby B deck would play back a Dolby S tape just fine (better than a Dolby B tape), but a Dolby S deck can't properly play back a Dolby B tape in Dolby S mode (which is not an issue, because all Dolby S machnies has Dolby B mode as well). Isn't it true? A video confirming or debunking this would be great.

[@hugobloemers4425]

Nice deck, and if you get anything from Akai it might as well be what they where famous for.

[@prabhuramk.r.6557]

From where did you buy the recorder from and what is the price.

[@alcoholisfreedrink]

wow they actually made decks that have buttons which light up different colour.

[@UrOpinionsSucc]

Now that's a deck i would love to have. It could replace the sony auto reverse deck i have which is very faulty.

[@AndyBHome]

Akai was my brand of choice when I was a budding audiophile in my early and mid teen years. I had 2 over the years, prior to the double well deck era. I thought they were a really good value in terms of overall quality and sound quality. Clearly I would have preferred to have a big Sony reel to reel, or eventually a Nakamichi, but I didn't have the money for stuff like that, so Akai was my mid-fi deck brand of choice. My first deck was a "Sankyo." Yes, Sankyo with a K inserted in the middle of the name. It actually wasn't awful, but predictably is wore out and started to wow due to some worn belt or something and I was not mechanically or electrically capable enough at the time to try to fix it myself. I was able to step up to a nice Akai with CrO2 setting and later for a second deck I eventually got another Akai in the "Metal" tape era for tape-to-tape dubbing.

[@katercasimir6423]

why a sony? Ok, everyone wants to have Dragon or a Revox, but a GX75,-95 is top class too? My old GX75 works perfect now, have a old pre, with MC for Phono!

[@AndyBHome]

@@katercasimir6423 I was just a kid in the mid 70s and to me Sony was the epitome of high end. I really didn't know much, plus I do think Sony was making some great stuff, relative to the rest of the market in those days. If I could magically go back, I'd probably be seeking out Tandberg and Revox or maybe even Nagra for reel to reel. For cassette players, maybe I'm wrong, but didn't it take until the early 80s before it got truly competitive with LP and reel to reel sound? Again, I was young at the time and it wasn't anywhere near as easy to find out about the possibilities in those days.

[@katercasimir6423]

@@AndyBHome I know what you mean, but the old Recorder, with big reel, most from Akai, Revox, Tandberg.. but Sony was better for Amps, Recordplayer, Equalizer.. than Akai! Sonys 80th Cassette Decks are expensiv and average! In the 90th there are some good decks! But, there is the beginning of the end!

[@katercasimir6423]

@@AndyBHome Nagra doesn't matter! Revox os not expensive like MBL, Nagra, Burmester! But they have Profi Stuff too, Studer, like Tascam! And the best Decks are a combination of both! Studer Revox!

[@AndyBHome]

@@katercasimir6423 I did have fascination for Tascam. Yes I know now that Sony tape products weren't really so great, but I was unsophisticated back then. I'm still sorry DAT didn't become more popular. Of course now the irony is that we can use flash memory to store digital high resolution files better than any of those old formats, and yet the overwhelming majority of audio is streamed via lossy compressed formats. NO! I admit those lossy digital files are still very high quality, but why WHY when we have the opportunity to just use something like 24/48 lossless digital that can be so very good? The market for audio is uniquely frustrating since CD eliminated most of the effort required to get reliably good sound.

[@mrspeeddemon727]

I only own one cassette, but I want to buy this just because it looks awesome. LOL

[@CannondaleCAAD]

I love my akai gx M50, also the heads on the super gx machines don't seem to wear fast at all. Also thats a really nice thing to do for a friend tony!

[@CassetteComeback]

He'd do it for me so...it's called karma 😀

[@thisisnev]

If I remember rightly, Akai offered a lifetime guarantee on their GX ('Glass X'tal') heads.

[@watershed44]

@@thisisnev I'd love to know if the company would still honor it today? They still do exist....I would imagine that it's possible they still have NOS parts in a warehouse somewhere for any lifetime items they made.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I’ve never seen a cassette deck before. There was also a US version of this same model that has a US plug. I don’t have to get this one, because it’s too expensive on eBay. I might as well go for a lesser cassette deck or portable cassette recorder that I can find that are not as expensive as this one. I can go with Superscope, Sony, Panasonic, and others along with brands like Califone and Audiotronics for their classroom cassette recorders, and cassette players or recorders that are designed for children, for example the My First Sony and Fisher-Price.

[@alexandrossotiropoulos5621]

It is a beast! It is probably for musicians to write songs on it and plays good.

[@UrOpinionsSucc]

Nice deck! Wish i had one like that, but the one i have is an Auto-Reverse TEAC. (88 or 89). It records pretty well though.

[@V.J.J.V.]

Best deck from Akai

[@jackbarnard1781]

Wow... What a fantastic deck!!! Goody goody gumdrops for sure no self respecting 70s vintage system isn't complete without a monster cassette deck. My system is a 50/50 mish mish of vintage & modern equipment. A 1979 onkyo tx4500 mk2 a proscan CD transport. Scott 675dm cassette deck. Pyle pcb4 loudspeakers. I would replace the Scott w/ the akai so fast I'd make your head spin. 😆 lol. Cheers from Arizona

[@R33Racer]

Hope you're well Tony, not seen a video in nearly a month. Stay safe mate.

[@5argetech56]

My old AKAI CS - F12 needs to be restored. It is nothing like this supreme deck. But it did have logic controls, and microphone inputs..❤❤❤

[@anasevi9456]

meanwhile living in regional australia where gumtree and facebook is a graveyards, only things that pop up on Ebay are $500 asks for ill regarded decks that are rotted out beyond repair. 😂 like fast cars, some hobbies are just meant to be appreciated from afar.

[@CassetteComeback]

There's no bargains here either. If you want the good stuff, you've got to pay for it.

[@Joseph-fd8bp]

wowww..i love tape player 80s...

[@reeltorock]

Looks great in the black finish. I have the silver version, waiting patiently on the shelf for an overhaul. For a TOTL deck with auto cal, it's a shame the transport is only single capstan, albeit with quartz locked capstan motor. The motorized door on this one is not opening all the way, it should end up fully horizontal when opened.

[@xray111xxx]

I am doing what you are doing soon. Aiwa AD-F660 coming. Fully Teched out belts the whole kit and caboodle. It is 1983 again. I have A&D 6300 Cassette deck too. Nice looking Deck! Wow!

[@CassetteComeback]

I've got an A&D, but it's got really bad wow and flutter for some reason...

[@xray111xxx]

@@CassetteComeback belts idler? Servo control maybe drifting or speed control?

[@ofthedawn]

I love the music you play. What's something I could get in the USA ?

[@megawhitemaster7740]

great machine!!!

[@Julian-el3fd]

Fantástica máquina. Lástima que la música no le haga justicia.

[@sobolanul96]

Holy mother of cassette decks!