Pioneer RT-2022 (c. 1976–1977)

Pioneer's own documentation for the RT-2022 is thin. What's known comes almost entirely from period reviews, which treated it as a serious bid for the professional or advanced-amateur market. The machine was built as two separate modules - the RTU-11 tape transport and the TAU-11 electronics unit. Reviewers found that welcome for installation flexibility. As the model number suggests, the RT-2022 was the two-track, two-channel version of the design. A four-track, four-channel sibling, the RT-2044, shared the same transport and electronics.

It was a three-motor, three-head deck with two speeds (15 and 7½ ips), simultaneous sync monitoring, and variable bias and EQ. The head assembly could reportedly be swapped for quarter-track operation, with add-on electronics permitting full four-channel use. Audio (September 1977, p.68) listed the manufacturer's specs: frequency response of 30 Hz to 28 kHz at 15 ips, 40 Hz to 20 kHz at 7½ ips; wow-and-flutter of 0.04% rms at 15 ips; and a 57 dB S/N ratio at +6 dB. In the same issue's in-use test (p.71), the lock on the guide-roller arm was praised as genuinely helpful during threading, though the tension arm offered some resistance. All transport switching, including going straight from fast wind into play, was handled without difficulty.

Known specs as reviewed: