Grundig CN 700 (c. 1974–1976)
The Grundig CN 700 is a stereo cassette player/recorder made in Germany around 1974-1975. One source puts it as available in 1975/76. It was the entry model in a small family - the CN 700, CN 710, CN 720, and CN 730 - that shared a common chassis but differed in features. The CN 700 was the simplest of the four. It had no auto-stop, which its siblings all had. One Grundig service manual covers all four models, and it is still freely available online.
Not much documentation survives, and what there is points to a modest, straightforward deck. It used a Philips-derived DNL noise reduction system, switched automatically for chrome tape, and adjusted recording level automatically. A single indicator did the metering. The rear panel had a universal voltage selector switch. The housing was silver plastic. One Russian-language source describes the CN 7xx line as built on one construction platform with different internal fillings, which fits the family picture.
Surviving examples turn up now and then on European classifieds. Recent listings have ranged from roughly €50 to €160, and one auction bid in Sweden reached SEK 349. One seller called the unit "Very Rare," but that is hard to verify given how thin the record is. A belt kit is still available from parts suppliers, and at least one seller says the unit was serviced with new belts before sale. A Polish YouTube video simply calls it a tape recorder. One informal owner report says that after plugging it in with an adapter, it lit up and played. That is about all the documented owner experience there is.
What's genuinely missing: no published specifications of any kind — no frequency response, no wow-and-flutter, no power figures, no dimensions beyond approximate ones from a Spanish listing (about 23.5 cm wide, 10.5 cm high, 26 cm deep, 2.8 kg). No original price, no production numbers, no period reviews. HiFi magazine never seems to have covered it, and no other contemporary publication appears to have either. The CN 700 is a real, functioning piece of mid-70s German consumer audio — just one that nobody bothered to write down much about.
Known specs
- Stereo cassette player/recorder, Germany, c. 1974–1976
- DNL noise reduction (Philips system)
- Automatic chrome tape switching; automatic recording level
- Single metering indicator; no auto-stop
- Universal voltage selector at rear
- Approx. 23.5 × 10.5 × 26 cm (W×H×D); 2.8 kg
- Part of CN 700 / CN 710 / CN 720 / CN 730 family (shared service manual)
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