Luxman D-7 (1976 / 2025)
The Luxman D-7 is an odd case in the archive. Two different products, fifty years apart, share the model number. The original is a 1976 stereo cassette deck. The second is a 2025 reissue announced as part of Luxman's 100th-anniversary celebrations. The record on the 1976 original is modest but solid. The record on the 2025 version is thinner still.
The 1976 D-7 was a straightforward two-head design - one erase head, one combined record/playback head - built around an electronically governed DC motor and Dolby B noise reduction. The published specs are typical of a competent mid-1970s deck: frequency response of 40-12,000 Hz, signal-to-noise of 58 dB with Dolby B engaged, and wow and flutter rated at 0.07%. It used a mechanical tape counter, not an electronic one. Inputs were MIC at 1 mV/50 kΩ and LINE at 75 mV/100 kΩ. Outputs were LINE at 500 mV/100 kΩ plus a headphones jack. The deck measured 420 × 131 × 280 mm, weighed 8.5 kg and drew 25 W. The original Japanese price appears to have been ¥220,000.
Luxman describes the 2025 D-7 as a newly produced two-head stereo cassette deck with a two-motor transport mechanism. It is priced at ¥220,000 in Japan (tax included) and €2,500 internationally. The Japanese price is identical to the 1976 figure. Whether that was intentional or a coincidence, the sources don't say. The materials the archive has give no frequency response, signal-to-noise, wow and flutter, or distortion figures for the reissue, and no dimensions or weight are recorded either.
HiFI-Stereo (July 1986, p.42) reviewed a Luxman integrated amplifier of the period with digital-synthesis tuning and tone controls, but no period review of the D-7 cassette deck itself has surfaced in the archive's records. What is documented about this model comes down to the specifications above — and the curious fact that Luxman chose to revive the name half a century later.
Known specs — 1976 original:
- Two heads (1 erase, 1 record/playback), electronically governed DC motor
- Dolby B noise reduction
- Frequency response: 40–12,000 Hz
- Signal-to-noise: 58 dB (Dolby B on)
- Wow and flutter: 0.07%
- Dimensions: 420 × 131 × 280 mm; 8.5 kg; 25 W
- Original Japanese price: ¥220,000
Known facts — 2025 reissue:
- Newly produced two-head stereo cassette deck
- Two-motor transport mechanism
- Japan: ¥220,000 (tax included); International: €2,500
- Announced February 13, 2025, commemorating Luxman's 100th anniversary
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