Luxman KX-100 (1980–1981)

The Luxman KX-100 is a stereo cassette deck. Luxman built it for a short window, 1980 to 1981. The Japanese market price was ¥51,000 (Luxman.info) or ¥52,000 (SecondHandSonic). It was an auto-reverse deck, and both hifiengine and Vintage Cassette list that feature for the model. The transport uses a single DC motor and three separate heads: permalloy for record, permalloy for playback, and ferrite for erase.

The specs are respectable for an early-1980s deck. Wow and flutter is rated at 0.06% (WRMS). Frequency response runs 40 Hz to 14 kHz on Normal tape, and out to 15 kHz on CrO₂. Signal-to-noise is listed at 60 dB with Dolby off and 68 dB with Dolby B engaged. Line input sensitivity is 44.5 mV and line output is 0.25 V. The deck measures 430 x 136 x 252 mm (Luxman.info) or 430 x 135 x 252 mm (Audio Heritage). It weighs 6.2 kg (Luxman.info) or 6.1 kg (Audio Heritage).

The KX-100 has no tape selector for Metal (Type IV) tape. As one Audiokarma user put it, the deck "doesn't have tape selector for Metal," so it cannot record metal, and the playback EQ likely isn't correct for it either. Owners report that the sound is "decent by cassette standards." Belt replacement is the typical service need by now - the same user noted, "Mine needs a belt, as most do by now."

- 4-track, 2-channel stereo

- Auto-reverse

- 3 heads (permalloy/permalloy/ferrite)

- Dolby B noise reduction

- 1 DC motor

- 0.06% wow and flutter (WRMS)

- 40 Hz - 14 kHz (Normal), 40 Hz - 15 kHz (CrO₂)

- 60 dB S/N (Dolby off), 68 dB (Dolby B)

- 430 x 136 x 252 mm, 6.2 kg

Documentation for this deck is scarce. Audio (October 1983, p.101) included the KX-100 in its cassette deck listings, but no substantive period review has surfaced. Service manuals are hard to come by, and one Audiokarma owner was specifically seeking a schematic or service manual for the deck.