Luxman K-118
The Luxman K-118 is a 2-head stereo cassette deck, a period when Luxman was building some of its most refined tape machines. It sits in the catalog as the sibling of the K-118V — the V being the direct-drive version — while the K-118 itself uses a dual-capstan transport.
What the record shows is a well-specified mid-tier deck. The transport is dual-capstan, which was Luxman's way of ensuring stable tape-to-head contact, and the electronics offer Dolby B and C noise reduction, an MPX filter, and a tape counter. It handles normal, chrome, and metal tape — the fact sheet notes manual and auto tape selection, with a dedicated metal tape setting. The wow and flutter figure is a tight 0.045%, frequency response runs 20Hz to 19kHz, and signal-to-noise is rated at 70dB. Distortion is listed at 1.2%, input sensitivity at 0.5mV, and output at 0.5V. It draws 30 watts and weighs 5.5kg (12.1 lbs), with dimensions of 440 x 128 x 260mm.
One point worth noting: the fact sheet initially flagged a conflict in the wow and flutter spec between sources, but on closer inspection the values actually match across Vintage Knob and Audio Database — no real discrepancy exists. All the major specs corroborate across at least two of the three reference databases.
Audio (March 1979, p.75) made the point about Luxman's tuner/amplifiers, praising the house sound over watts-per-dollar thinking.
Production years and original pricing aren't documented in any source I've found, and there's no record of user reception or common failure points. Collector market data is similarly absent. What survives is the spec sheet — and it paints a picture of a serious, well-built Luxman deck that's simply waiting for someone to fill in the rest of the story.
Known Specifications
- Type: 2-head stereo cassette deck, dual-capstan transport
- Noise reduction: Dolby B and C
- Frequency response: 20Hz – 19kHz
- Wow and flutter: 0.045%
- Signal-to-noise ratio: 70dB
- Distortion: 1.2%
- Power consumption: 30W
- Dimensions: 440 x 128 x 260mm (17.3 x 5.0 x 10.2 in)
- Weight: 5.5kg (12.1 lbs)
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