Kenwood - KX-880SR 'Basic X1' Direct Drive オーディオカセットデッキ

Rare Kenwood direct drive deck with amorphous heads.

The Kenwood Basic X1 (also sold as the KX-880SR) is a high-quality, vintage 2-head direct drive cassette deck that was produced between 1983 and 1988. The device is part of Kenwood's renowned Basic series and is known for its reliable running gear and high sound quality.

Key features and technique

Sankyo Direct-Drive running gear. The deck uses a beltless Sankyo mechanism in which the capstan is driven directly. This is the same basic system that was also used in well-known Nakamichi cassette decks (such as the BX-300), which ensures a very stable band speed.

Amorphous recording/display head. According to the data on Hifi-Wiki, the deck has a wear-resistant amorphous alloy head for recording and display, combined with a ferrite erasing head.

Extensive tape selection and noise cancellation. The device supports Type I (Normal), Type II (CrO2) and Type IV (Metal) cassettes. For noise cancellation, both Dolby B and Dolby C are built-in, including a switchable MPX filter for FM recordings.

Useful search functions. The deck is equipped with DPSS (Direct Program Search System) and Blank Search to quickly skip songs or find empty pieces of tape.

Technical specifications

The specifications below come from the device's manual on HiFi Engine and Hifi-Wiki.

Property Specification

Type 2-cup single cassette deck (4-track, 2-channel stereo)

Engines 3 motors (1x FG servo direct-drive capstan, 2x DC motor)

Frequency range 20 Hz – 17 kHz (Normal), 20 Hz – 18 kHz (CrO2), 20 Hz – 21 kHz (Metal)

Signal-to-noise ratio 59 dB (without Dolby), 67 dB (Dolby B), 74 dB (Dolby C)

Wow and Flutter 0.027% (WRMS) / ±0.08% (DIN)

Distortion (THD) Less than 0.8% (at 1 kHz)

Connections Cinch (RCA) in/out, 2x 6.3 mm microphone input, adjustable 6.3 mm headphone output

Dimensions & Weight 440 x 111 x 322mm, 5.9 kg

Heads cleaned and demagnetized.
Sounds excellent
New green led light
speed set correct.
Record-play tested well. All works fine.
Contacts cleaned
Heads are as new.
New pinchroller!
Oiled
No idler tire, but gear.

Long term tested
Carefully insured shipped