Aiwa AD-3800 Stereo Cassette Deck

This Aiwa AD-3800 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B and C noise reduction, it was first sold by Aiwa in 1981 with a recommended retail price of USD $595 and discontinued 4 years later in 1985.

The main features of the Aiwa AD-3800 cassette deck are: 3 heads and no off-tape monitoring to save production cost, digital tape counter with 4 digits, tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome, ferro-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-3800 cassette deck are generic digital peak reading meters. Full-logic transport controls used on the Aiwa AD-3800 let it respond to the slightest finger contact for fast and effortless transport function selection.

Dolby C-type used in the Aiwa AD-3800 provides 20 dB of noise reduction above about 1,000 Hz, fully doubling the amount given by B-type.

For undisturbed listening a jack connector for a pair of stereo headphones is supplied.

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.