Here's one of my recent repairs: an Aiwa JX505, which is one of the most desirable Aiwas, made during a time when Aiwa was trying to stuff as much features into a high end machine. Of particular interest is the HX Amorphous head, which I believe stands for headroom extended.

Also included is a BBE chip, which is proudly proclaimed by a rather large sticker obviously added by someone from marketing and looks rather out of place on the machine's design...

This one is in nearly perfect external cosmetic condition. However, as I could not get the 505's original board to work, I swapped the board and several other parts from my donor JX2000. I swapped the board, pinch rollers and head assembly as the 505's Bi-Azimuth seemed to be broken, while the JX2000's was perfect. Along the way I re-capped the board with MVA/MVY Chemicon capacitors as the caps I originally used were a little too large.

The JX2000 was rather well-used by its previous owner, but I actually prefer the black finish rather than the slightly gaudy gold.

Aside from the earlier 80s Aiwa machines, I really like the design on this machine compared to the later, more "organic" designs that came a little while later (like the 707 onwards). The brushed aluminum look ornaments and no nonsense styling made it actually look expensive, and would not look too out of place with 80s HiFi machines.

Thanks to the parts-swapping, I have put together the best possible JX505 I could between my 2 units. It sounds absolutely fantastic, and everything works... except the DSL. I believe the switch is toast (the tape type selector was toast as well, so I swapped it from the 505's dead board) however I could not get the other DSL switch to work as well. Thankfully I never use DSL or any other loudness feature. No azimuth/tape speed issues, which is an absolute relief.

The LCD is beginning to leak at the edges, but I can still swap a spare from the 2000 in the future. In the future, I hope to get a PCB in perfect condition so that everything works and I could have a perfect 505...

It's a real joy to listen to, very nice sound staging. Most probably the best sounding Aiwa in my collection. I've heard this sounds better than a 707, with only perhaps other players in the 505 range or other earlier high end Aiwas sounding better. After the 707, Aiwa started to cut back on innovation and quality but started to compete on price.

Sadly Aiwa never recovered, and slipped to the point that it was acquired by Sony.

A somewhat modern touch with rechargeable batteries that do not actually suck.

Nice write up and good photos too. By the way HX refers to Hyper Extended Bass Head, as depicted inside the JX505 under the words Amorphous Head. The head assembly seems to be a later fixed head, and not the bi-azimuth.

If you think the sound is good on a JX505, wait till you get your hands on a PX303 or even a PX505.

The top of the line AIWAs from this era were some of the best walkman ever made by AIWA.

Ah, I forgot it said that on the back of the door! But I do remember reading that HX stood for extended headroom on another site, and I believe it sort of fits description.

I do know that this is the fixed version,but between adjusting the azimuth for both directions and putting on a fixed head I know is in great condition and perfect azimuth, I chose the latter.

It sounded absolutely terrible in both directions on the bi-azimuth head, which stumped me for quite a bit, as I could not locate the adjustment screw on the head assembly. I read the service manual and finally understood how it worked.

For the JX505, the Bi-Azimuth system involves a mechanism on the reel table side that presses against a small pin on the head assembly attached to the door. This in my mind means that over the years, the simple act of opening and closing the door to change tape (or changing sides) could affect azimuth. On this 505, however, it was barely used at all before the original owner stopped using it, so wear could not be the cause. To top it off, I remembered the JX2000's head had no problems. Then I discovered the difference that this was the fixed head design. (Interesting fact: the JX2000 lacks azimuth screws on the reel table side as it used the fixed head!)

While Aiwa may have switched to the fixed head design to save time adjusting machines on the assembly line, it also saved me a headache adjusting for azimuth here. I use Osci to get a perfect graph reading on a test tape, however most walkmans are too unstable to produce a consistent graph, and required test by ear as well. And after spending alot of time fiddling for perfect azimuth on other auto reverse units, well i took the easy way out.

I really like the look of the PX303. It is even more beautiful looking than the JX505 and has a puny cassette window, which I wish the 505 had. The PX505 does not look as pretty, but it does seem to come with a BBE slider (which is rather nice) and Dolby C! Another Aiwa I really want to find is the PX101, which looks very nice as well.

Regarding HX, sure you are not confusing with Dolby HX? I think in that context it is "headroom extended".

Ah it's a shame you couldn't establish good azimuth adjustment with the original bi-azimuth mechanism. I did have some problems adjusting for azimuth, but I find that if you cure any wow and flutter issues it makes adjustment easier. What frequencies were you conducting adjustment at? The lower frequencies are a lot easier to adjust for azimuth. I actually adjust by ear initially and use the oscilloscope as a guide.

Despite not having the bi-azimuth, the fixed azimuth works quite well on this tape transport. I have this on my PX505 and PL50 units. I've found both FWD and REV azimuth are closely matched.

I have a PX10 (Japanese PX101) and it had a number of issues when I got it, but I have those largely fixed now. Although the sound is one of the remaining elements I think it could do with improvement. It does not seem to have the spatial depth as heard on some other AIWAs and crucially it still does have its original capacitors. All of which I've tested and seem to be within capacitance, but slightly high on ESR. So maybe it needs a re-cap LOL. I love the automatic music search feature on this model. It is strange that this feature was subsequently dropped on the early 90s walkman from AIWA. (It was brought back on some late 90s models though).

Perhaps I did have it confused.

No wow and flutter on this 505, but on some other models, say, one of my Toshiba KT, is wildly unstable. I did not use the oscilloscope to test on the 505- I figured that if the original bi-azimuth is so off (I can only hear a very flat signal from one channel of the tape) it would save me the trouble of adjusting azimuth if I just put in the fixed head I know works.

I do not have a prerecorded test tape, so I do the following.

I use a 10khz tone (some manuals state 10khz , some 6.3) played back digitally from which I record on my D6C (my main recorder). I then play back on the D6C to confirm the graph is perfect. Then I compare it with my Nakamichi (good), and several (Fixed head!) Sony Walkmans I know are very stable (EX-1 mechanism series). Then I test it on other machines like Aiwas that I had never adjusted azimuth for. This assures me that the azimuth on my D6C is very compatible along most of the machines I have. Most of the time however for lesser units I just adjust by ear.

From a reliability and durability standpoint, I find that the fixed heads are more sturdy. Less small moving parts, less complexity. I will not be surprised that If you were to use the 505 when running/walking, the azimuth on the fixed head will be more stable (you can actually rock the Bi-Azimuth head with your finger). I must say that Bi-Azimuth in the 505 and WM-7 are very innovative and rather epic from an engineering standpoint.

As much as possible, I try to refrain using AMS or even FF/REW alot on any machine that has door mounted heads for the simple fact that the head is never fully retracted due to lack of space, which may cause head wear. (Also, FF and REW on these logic controlled units is anything but fast). However, I do like the AMS feature found on the later Sony  models, which are pretty spot on. Like using a really slow CD player.

Yup, I too do not have any pre-recorded TEAC azimuth correction tapes. It is cheaper and quite easy to just record my own. I also use a signal generator to generate the test frequencies from my PC. This I do from an application called TrueRTA, which also is my 'scope/spectrum analyser. Most azimuth testing calls for the use two standard frequencies - 1KHz and 10KHz. A third frequency of 15KHz may be used for ultra fine tuning, but is generally not useful on walkman (maybe for reel to reel?). I know the azimuth calibration is good on my Sony WM-D6C, so I use that as a reference to record a new test tape from.

I roughly calibrate by ear to 1KHz and then compare my result to that on the 'scope. The 10KHz frequency is very hard to calibrate via the 'scope as a starting point especially if the tape has any minor defect as drop outs from worn out tape would affect this higher frequency or if there are issues with wow and flutter. The 10KHz frequency is used for fine tuning. Starting with 10KHz is generally not recommended as it easy to calibrate out of phase at 10KHz with respect to 1KHz.

Calibrating bi-directional heads on say a PX101 or a PC202 is a compromise on both sides, since it is possible to get one side perfectly calibrated, but when playing the tape in reverse direction (due to minor defects in the head's manufacture), the reverse can be slightly out of calibration with respect to the forward direction. With bi-azimuth design, both sides are independently calibrated with respect to each other and therefore can be calibrated perfectly.

You are correct in observing that there are more moving parts in a bi-azimuth design. The fixed azimuth head blocks are also more stable too, but for those of us who like to fettle with head azimuth fixed head azimuth can be frustrating especially when both sides are not evenly calibrated. The urge to recalibrate is frustrated by the lack of any function to do so. Both designs have their strengths and weaknesses.

Listening to a properly recorded track on Dolby C with a correctly calibrated azimuth is a very pleasant sense. Whereas with a slight misalignment the same track can be the most difficult sound to endure.

I do have 1khz test tones too, should give that a try. The D6C is really useful for calibration I find as it also has a quartz lock, which can also be used to create speed tapes.

On some of my earlier mechanical 80s Auto reverse (but no Bi-Azimuth) walkmans I find it difficult to get both sides corrected so I just stick to side A as well.

What I'm really interested to find out is how well they set the azimuth straight out of the factory, did they really use test tapes for every single unit or just approximate as "good enough". Reason being that I never felt the need to adjust most of  my fixed head machines (except a couple of my 90s Sony) while I had to adjust quite a few of the others.

Just wondering, do you apply thread lock on the adjustment screw after the head has been carefully calibrated? I do.

Depends. On units where I cannot get a satisfactory result I do not. Sometimes I use a temporary fix like a small dab of hot glue for testing.

I must say that most of these other units that needed adjustment tended to be Toshiba KTs, a fiddly unit like my WM-7, and some Aiwas like the T06. I also have an Aiwa based on your PC202 mechanism where I can only get it right for one side. I believe that it is either: older pinch rollers (although they seem fine) or depends on head design. On the flipside, I do have a Toshiba KT that needed no adjustment, and my WM-7 is far from a perfect example.

And then there is this modern panasonic that literally slides the head across to the other side when you changed direction, leading to the most ridiculous ability to sometimes knock itself out of alignment every time you reached the end of a tape. (Although strangely, not as bad as it sounds.)

Unfortunately any previous irregular head wear can affect achieving corrective optimal head alignment. This is especially noticeable on a bi-directional head. You will be trying to align for both but because of the irregular wear pattern, only one side will actually ever be in alignment. The remedy here would be to adjust away from the pre-existing wear and hope any new wear balances out both directions. This may not always be SIDE A however.

IIRC The PC202 doesn't have tape guides built into the pinch rollers, so I don't think that would be a cause.

That is very true for my Aiwa JS379, which was actually my only Walkman. I used it so much that Side A was no longer good and had to listen to side B. It remains to this day the only machine that I have considerably worn down. (After that I discovered vintage Walkmans). It was also one of 2 Walkmans I ever bought new.

Most of the Walkmans I have have seem to have very little wear or signs of use, almost as if they were used for a couple of months and left in a closet. Only a few of my collection has visible head wear, especially a TPS-L2. There may be microscopic imperfections then I guess.

I also have 2 other Aiwas based on the PC202 mechanism but I never re-capped them as they take a ridiculous number of caps (nearly 20!). They are T88s.

Wow 20 caps - I reckon if you ever get round to re-capping them, they'd sound really good 

Or maybe not. I can't say more is always better.

Certainly something to do if you were truly bored one long dreary weekend.

Guess what, I did try to re-cap one with temp caps (too large), just to test. Sounded absolutely terrible. Something was very wrong with the board somewhere. Couldn't be bothered to try the other one.

Well ,as i said , i've received my JX505 from Germany yesterday and i'm very pleased to get that in my hands again ,if you remember i bought one new back in the days and was very disapointed by sound and got refunded by the shop.I bought it just after my J08 went troubles ,it was smaller and very sexy but i was disapointed until i bought a used J303(excellent) then a JX303 wich brought more happyness for years... Now today it's different ,i use a different much better quality headphones and was not disapointed at all yesterday ,again i hear an increase in quality the more i use it , it needs a warm up like my JX707 ,certainly after years of sleep ,so it's too soon to tell now how i feel with it ,plus the fact the caps are surely originals albeit there's no weak sound at all , but i've noticed something wrong with DSL , i'm not sure it's here. The beep-beep-beep sound came later ,i was surprised not to hear them at first try. The logic went crazy at a time i had to reset it all by removing the battery ,i don't know if the seller tested it for a long time ? All in all , the unit is in really mint condition ,it seems it was barely used ,that's a good point ,the remote is mint too ,just a few dusts within the docking station. Given the head transport design it was supposed to be a fixed head , but i was surprised to see it  "floating" when i cleaned it , the JX 849 too has a floating head but a different transpot design , my PX447 and 747 has another design and those one seem to be fixed head , so i'm just wondering where's the truth ? I'll talk back later about my JX505. 

If you are not sure if this is a fixed azimuth or bi-azimuth, then compare it to your JX303 (Which is definitely bi-azimuth). If they both have a 2mm pin sticking out from the stub below the head, then your JX505 is bi-azimuth. No 2mm pin, then it is a newer fixed azimuth model.

DSL can fail on this model, if you are not getting any effect when the switch is activated then it is malfunction most likely due to ..... bad caps! I had this happen on both my JX505. With new caps and decontaminated boards, DSL is working for mine.

Remember on this model, it is possible to extend the bass profile lower by increasing the value of the DC capacitors. This mod is further enhanced with DSL enabled.

AIWA advise to reset the logic by pressing the "memory set" and "tuning up" together at the same time. Removing the battery doesn't always seem to work. I suppose this is down to what condition the memory battery is in that is causing the erroneous logic.

Thanks for the tip about resetting ,indeed it's written inside...

Indeed no little 2 mm pin on mine ,does it mean no bi-azimuth for sure ? Couldn't it be a new bi-azimuth design ? Yes my JX303 has the bi-azymuth.Check high end walkman and middle to low , don't you see a different head design with two springs for the high-end ones ? Why no springs on lower ends one ?

edit:it often needs a reset , so this is a memory battery issue only ? The one on the tuner side ? What kind of battery is it ? Regular cell or rechargeable ?

edit2: well , finally only two minor issues with it , needs some resets sometimes and the DSL function inactive.

I've tested the recording function ,very good.

No 2mm pin. No bi-azimuth. Therefore it is a fixed azimuth model. "Lower end" ones are not technically fixed azimuth and can be adjusted manually.

It is the same type of memory battery as used in the JX707 - a rechargeable lithium. The JX505 should only really need resetting once when the AAA batteries are put in the first time, otherwise there is an issue with the power getting to the logic controller in the door causing it to constantly reset, not helped by a dead memory battery.

Ok thanks for reply. Well , the rest issue often occurs when i switch on something like the radio or playback ,surely something needs a good cleaning inside , it's old... but easily servicable you said. It sounds finally very good ,again another sound type but good ,especially on the tape side.

If the clock resets every time you try the tape radio switch, then check the flexible flat cable for damage. There may be a tear or crease on it that causes the power to cut out to the logic controller on the door.

I'll check that ok,thanks. Another strange thing happened... I tried the remote and...it wouldn't work at all.... Although i cleaned the connectors.I took the 303 remote thinking it was the same(no ,not the same ,not working on the 505,although i think so... ) , then i plugged again the 505 remote and...it would work.... crazy isn't it ? Only the potentiometer needs some cleaning because there's some crackling but that's nothing.It's really like it(the 505) had a long long sleep... The 505 remote is the J50E and has the "preset" instead of tuning "down" ,the 303 is called J30E.

I am sorry to write this, but I am observing a longer list of faults for a supposedly advertised item in good condition. I doubt this unit has been "asleep" like as you say, since I am familiar with the seller from ebay you have bought from, who I have noted has themselves bought and sold quite a few high end AIWA. More likely after testing it for a while they have decided that there are a few too many faults on this example of the JX505 that they have bought from someone and have decided better to sell onto someone else on ebay and get another example that is hopefully better. What annoys me in particular about this seller is that they usually put in ridiculous bids inflating the prices for all concerned when buying, and then when selling their unwanted purchases start with quite high opening prices.

Hopefully you can fix all these issues. The problems you are experiencing aren't too difficult to overcome. If anything, they are like mini-challenges to get you to better understand how these minature mechanical marvels all work.

I too have to reset my JX505 once in a while when I put in a new battery to get the clock to work right- no doubt due to the dead memory battery. I've never come across cosmo's problem of the switches resetting the unit though...

Update on my 505: It still works great!

Well,well,well... Plop in a way you're right ,that's what i told myself , it's not 100% working as announced.Should i sent it back and ask a refund ? No ,those are minor issues ,20 years old and certainly never serviced. Bub , no it sometimes needs a reset mostly when you stop playback(or record) or stop the radio ,sometimes not always ,wouldn't it be oxydisation ? Keep in mind it's a JX505 ,i see them go for high prices even when announced "dead" or untested. With this one , i can playback a tape , reverse pb ,rew , ff ,listen to the radio , record with high quality ,the remote seems to be working(need further testing) ,the unit is mint (and accessories) ,the head is pristine mint ,the carrycase has no trace of use ,it's strange because you can see that my JX303 carrycase has being use ,well i sometimes wonder if has ever been used.I was wondering should i ask for a discount ? Well it will be difficult since i didn't used paypal(Germany...) ,the seller did the job , waited for a week my payment(bank transfer) ,agreed to send to France ,always answered my messages.Well despite those minor issues i'm glad i have a mint JX505 that don't need immediate servicing.

Mine are working well too.

In terms of asking for a discount you should feel entitled to ask, since the seller did not disclose the problems that you are experiencing now. Whether you'd get anything is hard to say. Yes this is a 20 year old electrical device, but if someone states that there are no issues, then you should not expect to encounter any surprises upon receipt. But as I've already mentioned before and you've also agreed too, these are minor (albeit numerous) issues which I am sure you are capable of rectifying yourself.

As to the high prices you are seeing for second hand examples, well all I can say is that if you are patient then cheaper ones do become available from time to time. How long you'd have to wait, well it all depends.

Have you opened your JX505 yet, and perhaps examined the capacitors and circuit board for any signs of corrosion?

Not yet opened , i was wrong , it's mainly when you stop PB or REC that it needed a reset ,today there were no issue , working better and better , only when i recorded the radio at stops it lost the correct display and switched to the presets although it didn't lost the station ,but i did not needed a reset  today.I'm sure it needed a warm up afterall , and will work better and better with use ,we are far far away from the later Aiwa's models full of troubles...

Of course with patience ,sometimes ,no really i think it was a good deal ,may be not for everyone ,but really minor issues that could surely be solved later.

edit: finally i find the tuner excellent too.That make me think i really should change all of my JX303 caps because all the new comers seem to beat it....

edit2: i finally hear the DSL ,but it's not as immediate as on some other units and same ,it's lighter than other units but it's finally here ,i just figure it's here with...a tape ! Is it more subtle ?  I don't know if it's the warm up effect again ? Quite no more display problems ,well all this makes me happy. Sorry i was so wrong , this unit is fantastic finally but give it a good headset !!!

Sounds to me that your unit needs a checkup.

DSL on my latest JX505 when I received it was non-functioning. Engaging the switch and it sounded exactly the same level of bass. After a thorough clean with sodium bicarbonate and replacement of all capacitors, the DSL was working again. The circuit board on my first JX505 was in such a bad state I did not dare to switch it on before a clean up. Bass should increase immediately when enabled and when you disable it there is a 'pop' noise.

DSL on the JX505 requires the 100uF 4V capacitor nearest to the earthing bracket by the internal battery.

Yes i have the "pop" noise when i shut it off , as you imagine caps are slowly coming back to life wich is normal given they are surely 20 years old. Of course what i should mind is leakage ,for now i carefuly store it upside down when not in use ,given the excellent quality reproduction i don't think there is damage inside ,but i should check this soon.My JX303 wich had awfully caps leakage showed weak sound remember.Here it's not the case.

I don't know it we're talking about the same seller ? May be ,may be not. But he gave me a large discount on his JX707 (having sound issue) ,his package included everything(as the 505) plus the instruction manual ,he wanted the same 89/149 euro bid/buy it know , and after a bit of talk , he sold it 60 euro (43+17 shipping) ,isn't this a nice guy ? Again everything is in mint condition , this time it's the western version ,my fisrt 707 was japanes with tv sound. I'll come back later on the sound issue ,the belt seems fine this time.

Here's a couple PX1000 from your new favorite seller with ambitious starting prices. Strangely despite keen interest in PX1000 units on eBay, neither of these sold.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3207...id=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3207...id=p3984.m1423.l2649

Of course starting prices are too high ,those(this?) would never sold that high although those(this?) are in (almost) mint condition.Those are for parts... I suppose there is only one in fact.Well if you're smart enough you don't buy.

edit: ok ,he does seem to have two... didn't noticed the sticker ... 

Actually a recent one did sell for €150 + shipping, but it started from a humble price of €1 and that was with an obscure title as well!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1506...id=p3984.m1423.l2649

I do wonder how much money this individual has, as they also bought this for an amazing amount of money

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2208...id=p3984.m1423.l2649

Be sure to know, that if there is a nice AIWA on eBay they will be there ready to up the price.

I can't see your first link !Only this :

Unfortunately, access to this particular item has been blocked due to legal restrictions in some countries. We are blocking your viewing in an effort to prevent restricted items from being displayed. Regrettably, in some cases, we may prevent users from accessing items that are not within the scope of said restrictions because of limitations of existing technology. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, and we hope you may find other items of interest on eBay.

About the second link : OMG !!! Although it's complete in box ,it's for parts... Of course if you got money that's another story...

Strange you cannot open it. You can try searching for item number 150658590900 in your local eBay or click on the pictures below for bigger sizes.

Thanks! One of the best ever produced some says ,what do you think of it ?

I dunno. I am still looking for a good to get one.

Oh sorry i thought you already had one.

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