Akai 34D
Very little is documented about the Akai 34D under this exact model number.
What survives comes from two brief appearances in the audio press. A reader letter in Modern Recording (February 1980, p.26) came from a small studio operator who called himself a user of an "Akai CS-34D recorder." He was writing about microphone technique and Scully recording circuits. The letter implies the CS-34D was used in a modest studio. It gave no specifications, features or review commentary.
A later correction in High Fidelity (December 1982, p.5) published revised noise performance figures for several tape decks. It lists the Akai at 60 dB below reference level plus 8 dB of headroom (68 dB total). It is not certain the figure applied to the CS-34D. The correction may have referenced a different Akai model. The timing and context fit the period when the CS-34D would have been current.
Nothing else has surfaced. There is no service manual, no original price, no dimensions or weight, and no frequency response or wow-and-flutter measurements. The CS-34D appears in print twice, with just enough context to confirm it existed as a working recorder used by at least one small-studio owner.
- Known designation: Akai CS-34D (cassette recorder)
- Period reference: Modern Recording, February 1980, p.26
- Possible noise spec (attribution uncertain): 60 dB below reference + 8 dB headroom per High Fidelity, December 1982, p.5
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