Yamaha K-960 Natural Sound Stereo Cassette Deck

This Yamaha K-960 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B and DBX noise reduction, it was first sold by Yamaha in 1981 with a list price of USD $495 and discontinued 2 years later in 1983.

The main features of the Yamaha K-960 cassette deck are: 2 heads, mechanical 3 digit tape counter and memory stop, manual 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 which is opened by a damped mechanism.

Level meters used on the Yamaha K-960 cassette deck are generic digital peak reading meters. Full-logic transport controls used on the Yamaha K-960 let it respond to the slightest finger contact for fast and effortless transport function selection.

The Dolby-B system reduces tape hiss on tapes recorded on the Yamaha K-960 by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. Dbx Type II found in the K-960 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. A Subsonic filter is provided in the Yamaha K-960 to prevent infrasonic signals generated when playing a warped record. These signals can upset the Dolby system and prevening it from functioning properly. 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 K-960 filters out the pilot signal, and assuring proper Dolby processing of FM stereo programs.

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. All main transport commands can be issued remotely with a wired remote control.

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