Since its establishment in 1953, Standard Radio Corp. (SR), a Japanese company based in Tokyo, has been dedicated to the production of high-quality portable radio equipment. As its operations evolved, the company expanded its repertoire to include top-notch horizontal cassette decks and receivers. A significant turning point occurred in 1975 when the renowned American brand Marantz not only took notice of Standard Radio Corp. but also opted to integrate it into its own operations, marking a strategic move that involved Marantz relocating its headquarters from the United States to Japan. This acquisition served as a solid foundation for Marantz, sparing them the need to initiate operations from scratch. Within the Retro Audio Museum, a collection of pre-Marantz era horizontal cassette decks from Standard Radio Corp. is showcased. Among these artifacts, the KT-120 stands out as a particularly distinctive and unique device. Examining its design, one can immediately note the spatial separation of the control keys from the cassette drive, with the speaker ingeniously integrated into the central body. Noteworthy is the unconventional merging of the STOP button with the fast-forward function: to advance the tape, one must press the button twice and hold it down. Despite being a portable mono cassette recorder, the KT-120 surprisingly features a DIN socket, enabling users to connect an amplifier for playback or recording purposes. The versatility extends further with the option to attach an external speaker or headphones. We are proud to maintain it in our museum collection as the sole known Standard KT-120 cassette recorder for today.
You have that right, I've never seen that one before but it's a beauty. I'm assuming that with the DIN port it might have only been sent to Europe? Now I'm curious what was Marantz's first component recorder?
In this picture, you can see (from the left to the right) one of the last STANDARD horizontal cassette decks SR-T178DK PRO 2000 (1972), SR-T179DK (1973), and one of the first American Marantz Superscope CD-302A (1975) made in Japan on the Standard production line.
Thanks! That's awesome, is it proven history that Marantz used Standard Transports? I've always been curious since Superscope USA had Sony Tape Products Distribution Rights here. That Standard Deck is really nice looking and the stereo portable must be rare. For a long time our local forums really frowned on the old decks, hopefully some have been saved. I know I walked by a few because I couldn't "save" all of them. I'd like to hear KJ Bleus Parsons take on these, he has some of the first Marantz decks. (he's a member, usually popping in this time of year) https://www.angelfire.com/wi/blueswapper/bluesnak99.html https://kjbleusparsons.com/author/kjbleus/ https://www.angelfire.com/wi/blueswapper/bsmarantz.html
