Akai DM1200 (1989–1990)
Little is documented about the DM1200 on its own. What the record shows is that it was the meter unit in Akai's A'DAM (Akai Digital Audio Multi-track) system, a modular digital multitrack recorder launched in 1989. The package paired the DM1200 with the DR1200 Digital Multi-Track Recorder and the DL1200 Programmable Auto-Locator. Akai's rollout advertising promoted the trio as the first affordable, compact, professional digital multitrack system.
The system-level claims come from Akai's own launch ads, not from editorial reviews. Recording Engineer (August 1989, p.19) carried the announcement. It describes the A'DAM system's 16-bit linear resolution, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sampling rates, and dynamic range above 90 dB. It records onto ordinary 8mm video tape, and the modular design expanded from 12 to 36 digital audio tracks in a rack. Studio Sound (December 1989, p.27) ran the same campaign under the "everything you've heard about the cost of digital recording… forget it" headline.
The DM1200 itself was the metering component of that system. Beyond its naming role in the A'DAM ads, no standalone specifications have turned up in the archive. If you have an A'DAM brochure or manual that gives the DM1200 its own page, this entry needs an update.
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