Ampex Model 401
Little is documented about the Ampex Model 401 beyond its appearances in the classified columns of broadcast trade journals. There it turns up as used professional equipment, not as a catalog hero. A 1953 notice offered an Ampex Model 401 rack-mount demonstrator, described as like new, at $795 FOB through Radio Engineering Company in Topeka, Kansas. A 1957 listing described an Ampex Model 401 single-case portable recorder with 10-inch reels, running 7½-15 ips, full track, offered at $400 in excellent condition by a Tulsa religious broadcaster. A 1952 "wanted to buy" notice sought an Ampex portable tape recorder, "model 401 or 401A," which is the only evidence in the available sources that an A-suffix variant existed.
Between the rack-mount and portable listings, the 401 appears to have been sold in at least two physical configurations. The transport handled 10-inch reels at both 7½ and 15 ips in full-track format. Whether both listings describe the same transport in different housings is not documented. No production years, factory specifications, service documentation, or independent bench measurements have surfaced in the sources available here.
The magazine chunks in the archive do not describe this machine. The Audio (November 1951, p.55) Audio Fair exhibitor listing names a "MODEL 400-A" in the Sonocraft booth, not a 401. The High Fidelity (November 1966, p.109) and HiFi-Stereo (November 1966, p.33) chunks describe Ampex loudspeaker systems (Models 4010, 1115, 3011, and 915) under the "sound in focus" advertising banner. The Studio Sound (July 1977, p.36) chunk mentions a "model 401" in the context of an auto-ranging product from MJS Electronics, an unrelated item. Collectors researching the Ampex tape recorder should treat all of these as unrelated to the Model 401.
- Known configurations: rack-mount and single-case portable
- Reel size: 10 inch (portable listing)
- Tape speeds: 7½ and 15 ips (portable listing)
- Track format: full track (portable listing)
- 1953 rack-mount demonstrator price: $795 FOB
- 1957 portable used price: $400
- Possible variant: Model 401A (mentioned in a 1952 wanted notice)
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