Aiwa AD-3200 Stereo Cassette Deck

This Aiwa AD-3200 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B and C noise reduction, it was first sold by Aiwa in 1981 with a list price of USD $295 and discontinued 4 years later in 1985.

The main features of the Aiwa AD-3200 cassette deck are: 2 heads, mechanical 3 digit tape counter, tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and metal tapes, belt driven single-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.

Level meters used on the Aiwa AD-3200 cassette deck are generic digital peak reading meters. Soft-touch controls for fast and easy transport function selection of the Aiwa AD-3200 cassette deck. Cue and review can be used to easily and quickly locate the beginning of a passage.

Dolby C-type used in the Aiwa AD-3200 provides 20 dB of noise reduction above about 1,000 Hz, fully doubling the amount given by B-type.

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.

DX Head
Timer Standby System
Soft Touch Control Mechanism

Historic events

1981 Dave Smith proposes the Universal Synthesizer Interface that would become the MIDI standard in 1983.

1982 Seiko introduced the world’s first TV watch.

1983 The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is introduced at the first North American Music Manufacturers (NAMM) show in Los Angeles.

1984 The first episode of the Miami Vice television crime drama series, premiered on NBC.

1985 Sony and Philips produced the standard for Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) computer discs that would use the same laser technology as the audio CD.