Reference Master, Akai GX-95 MKII Cassette Deck

 

Akai GX-95 MKII cassette deck, it's big, bold, yet luxurious

My hifi appetite can be insatiable! There is always an aspiration for top tier stuff if I am ever serious about something. And if you've been reading this blog, you'll notice my craze for cassette decks lately!

In my exploration, I came across this Akai GX-95 MKII model, which was made between 1991-1993 and available only in Japan, Europe and US markets. As part of the Akai Reference Master series components, the line up also includes a matching CD player, tuner & integrated amp. The original GX-95, a 3 head, 3 motor, dual capstan closed loop designed with real time recording monitor function as most top dog models do, was developed by Akai to be a Nakamichi killer in 1988, so to speak, and Akai made it the best they could muster, in every way possible. Then in 1991, Akai gave it a MKII facelift, with a slight improvement to specifications.

Let's look at the build quality, it's as luxurious as cassette decks comes, with that brutish, big and bold body in all satin black aluminum facia and side wood cheeks. It feature 4 bunkers inside the 2U all metal box, yep just built like the Yamato class battleship. Each bunker or compartment houses different sections of circuitry for best possible isolation. The top left bunker contains the power supply transformer & power supply board behind the cassette mechanism. The top right bunker contains all the operations and logic circuitry. The bottom left bunker contains power regulator board for audio only circuitry which is located in the bottom right bunker. With such construction method, the 2U box becomes super stiff, whilst achieving isolation for each circuitry. 

On the outside, the styling is plain classy restraint and functional to boot. The cassette well door is motorized and can be operated by wireless remote, as per most playback functions. Most body screws and the bottom panel are copper coated for EMI/RFI screening purposes. Those metallic Champaign footers are the real deal, where they feature glazed ceramic underneath. The back panel has an extra pair of RCA CD direct input for recording, other than the usual input & output. All this build leads to a rather heavy 10.2kgs cassette deck, 12.2kgs shipping weight, if came together with original packaging foam & box like mine!  

The back panel, note the copper coated screws and that funny grey power cord! My unit is a 220V unit from Europe, but somehow ended up in China, and now Malaysia....... 

The front facia is typical cassette deck design, but good ergonomics 

The bottom panel is copper coated on the out side, and look at those big, heavy real glazed ceramic feet! 

The top panel with wooden side cheeks visible, typical of Japanese high end audio in the 1990's. Somehow, Akai as a audio company faded away shortly after making their best stuff, along with a few other big Japanese brands!

Compatible remote sourced from Mr Oh. Doesn't look very good, but functional nevertheless!

I was looking around to source for a unit of Akai GX-95 MKII for sometime, then a buddy of mine whom I asked to look out in China found this unit in Foshan, Guangzhou for sale. A very quick deal and airfreight saw this unit arrived at my door step 3 weeks later. Alas! this unit came without remote as it was lost by the previous owner in China. So I managed to source a compatible remote from my hifi repair buddy Mr Oh! My search continues for an original matching remote to complete my quest.

The bottom end with it's 2 bunkers, on the left in this picture which is up side down, is the audio circuitry, and on the right is the power supply regulator for the audio PCB. Surprisingly, it's not copper coated on the inside of the chassis!

Seen here from top view and right side up, is the 3 motor, direct drive cassette mechanism is front, with power supply transformer & regulator board. On the right side is logic control PCB

Cassette dampening pad to keep stable pressure on the cassette in play back & recording mode 

The cassette mechanism, which is 3 head. The GX(glass permalloy) heads are proprietary to Akai

The Akai GX-95 MKII was swiftly plugged in to my system to check for function and sound quality. I am lucky to have got a fully functional deck. As for sound quality, it was a total opposite in character compared to my Nakamichi DR-3. The Akai brought out every last musical nuance & detail with every  type of tape used, and obviously for a deck of this status, sounded best with type IV metal tapes. With metal tapes, the Akai sounds full bass bloom and attack, with nicely focused mid range, and extended, yet airy treble & spatial cues. The Akai is able to project a  convincing 3D imaging trick, just like the best CD players can.

With lesser tapes types, such as type II chrome and type i normal ferric, the sound quality gets thinner & thinner, each with lesser bass bloom & energy, depending on recording quality, some type I normal tapes even sounded harsh. I think the Akai deck is just separating the rough stuff from the diamonds, due to it's SOTA of the time status as any respectable hifi piece should do. Also with this Akai deck, it made me realized that I don't have a pair of good enough high end RCA to match! While the beer budget Gotham RCA interconnects that I used all this while sounds decent with the Nakamichi DR-3 & Teac V-670 decks, the Akai just screams for a better pair of interconnects. Not wanting to spend too much hard earned money on what is a low-fi medium, I then procced to try a pair of Van Damme RCA interconnects. The mid centric Van Damme suited Akai much better, but was left wanting in the resolution department, for which I knew the JVC could just do better.

Salvation came in the form of an old friend, a pair of well used Audioquest Sky RCA interconnects. With it's 36V DBS die electric alignment system, the AQ Sky really brought noise floor down by a couple of notches, and with that, more tape resolution capability, and a smooth, wide open space heavenly high frequency reproduction! This is the 4th pair of AQ Sky to be residing in my system! I know, this is a 20 year old cable technology and surely there are better cables out there by now, but at what cost? What ever your opinion, I still hold the AQ Sky in the highest regard amongst all other cable-dom "king" contenders. The AQ Sky, just simply matches the Akai GX-95 MKII like a dog's best friend, that they are meant to be together!

Looking at the 3 cassette decks in my possession at point of writing, I find the Nakamichi to be the warmest of the lot, the Akai at the opposing end of the sound spectrum, and the Teac is just there, hanging on somewhere in between the 2 extremes. The Nakamichi's warm sound character is easy on the ear, sympathetic to system matching, that's why it's universally loved, but at times with poorer recordings, can venture in to the MCC(Mong Cha Cha) territory. The Teac is well balance and very in the neutral sounding character, which can also endear it self in a quite a few systems. The Akai on the other hand, is somewhat analytical, full of details, if slightly lean sounding, and will expose the weakness or lack or synergy in the hifi chain ruthlessly, if not addressed. That could be the reason, that the Akai is just not quite there as a Nakamichi killer, if feed back in the various www.forums indicate. But for me, it's the best deck so far and a keeper for sure. Sort of a last stop to cassette audio nirvana I guess.

Now back to ebay, Yahoo auctions and China buddies to source for that illusive matching remote...........

And do enjoy the video below of the Akai GX-95 MKII play back!