The A-420: TEAC lets their engineers do their own thing.

TEAC A-420, made in 1976 in Japan, was a successor of the most unusual deck A-400 crafted by TEAC one year before.



The engineers at TEAC ensured operational efficiency and user-friendliness by grouping search controls independently, based on their extensive experience with data recorders and analog computing.

A notable characteristic that distinguished the A-400 series was the absence of a 'RECORD' button. The Play and Record buttons danced on their own, easily activated with a deft turn of a knob. A small delay, a suspenseful moment before the record position, protected from unintentional removal, an intelligent move on the part of the engineers.

Convenience was integrated into the A-400 series design from the ground up, not treated as an afterthought. Light-filled, front-loading pockets held cassettes in place so both spools could be seen. A simple choreography was used to eject a cassette: a slight raise at a 45° angle made for easy handling.

The motor and drive system of the A-400 series was its key component. The best TEAC created a frequency-generated feedback control DC servo motor that achieved the highest speed accuracy while almost eliminating wow and flutter—it is only 0.08% or better.

With its High-Density Ferrite Heads, which preserve distortion-free recording even at the highest frequencies, the A-400 ruled the audio fidelity scene. Although the A-400 series cannot be regarded as high-end, the CrO2 tape has an overall frequency response of 30 to 16,000 Hz. The A-400 series promises crystal-clear audio, reduced electromagnetic transmission loss, and less bias current requirements.

However, the design of the A-400 series—a blend of practicality and style—was its most endearing feature. Its minimalist canvas front panel gracefully encouraged incorporation into any stereo system.

 

This reminds me of the Nakamichi DAT machine that came out in 1990. That's a nice looking deck.

 

Lovely decks thy made, also very good sounding and recording, their heads are very musical.
I have this A430, the first deck ever with automatic bias adjustment. It will adjust the bias to whatever tape you want to record on. The technique behind it and how to achieve it is just brilliant.